Like sleep and exercise, food plays a critical role in student well-being and academic success. Whether it’s a healthy breakfast before an important exam or a hearty dinner at the end of a long week, there’s no discounting the significance of a balanced meal. Helping to support the University of…
UF Student Life initiative promotes literacy and college readiness in Gainesville students
Encouraging children to enjoy reading from a young age can be a challenging feat to accomplish, especially with the added stress of classroom disruptions and COVID-19. Over the past year, however, the University of Florida Division of Student Life team has been working toward fulfilling that very goal. In late…
A Q&A with Dr. Janelle Garcia, associate director of GatorWell, on how to build resilience
Dr. Janelle Garcia graduated from the University of South Florida with plans to be physician, but she later pivoted to a career in health promotion and wellness — allowing her to impact quality of life more meaningfully and on a larger scale. Now, as the University of Florida’s new associate…
Shaped by unique life experiences, student veterans cultivate rich community at UF
Savanna Turner returned to the familiar brick buildings of the University in 2019, roughly a decade after she first set foot on the campus as an undergraduate. Usually talkative, she found herself remaining quiet and reserved, she said. After a five-year run as an active-duty member of the U.S. Coast…
More than the sum of its parts: Signature program for first-generation students at UF turns 15
Since 2006, the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program at the University of Florida has awarded more than 5,500 first-generation students full scholarships to pursue bachelor’s degrees at UF. But students in the program, called scholars, flourish thanks to its centerpiece, which goes beyond the financial award: a deeply cultivated community…
Searching for the career advice you can’t find on Google? UF alumni can help
Students are getting an inside look at how they can get a leg up in their industry from University of Florida alumni, thanks to the Career Connections Center. Since the launch of the Gator Career Consultant Program just over a year ago, more than 230 alumni have signed up to…
A Q&A with UF alum Jelece Morris, businesswoman extraordinaire and career mentor
Jelece Morris, center, graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering before earning master’s degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her expertise has fueled a multifaceted career: Morris is now a consultant, entrepreneur and…
A Q&A with Gator Career Consultant Tarolyn Plumley
Tarolyn Plumley graduated from the University of Florida in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in entomology from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Now, as a Gator Career Consultant at the Career Connections Center, she helps current students find their paths. More than 230 alumni have joined the consultant…
Despite distance, Career Connections Center helped new students kick-start their paths at UF
The Career Connections Center on Level 1 of the Reitz Union is the heart of many of its services. But, at the start of the pandemic, identifying where students were – and then meeting them there – became the key focus. That challenge rang especially true for first-year students, who…
To shift campus culture, GatorWell opens bystander intervention training to all students
The University of Florida has been training faculty, staff and student leaders through Green Dot, a violence prevention program, since summer 2019. Now, the opportunity is open to the entire student body in the form of a 90-minute virtual training designed for groups of 10 or more students at a…