The digital magazine for faculty, staff, students and friends of Pensacola State College
December 8, 2021
Mitzie Sowell walked into a room where busy hospital staff were moving to and from to assist patients.

A minute later, there were fireworks bursting in the room. Then came the snow, leaving shoe impressions on the ground where she walked.

A minute later, Sowell was facing down a dinosaur.

In reality, the room on Pensacola State College’s Warrington campus was empty. Indeed, it was Sowell who was controlling the moving audible environment.

Sowell, head of the Health Sciences Department, was showing off the College’s new Immersive Technology Room, where instructors can recreate dozens of virtual environments that can in assist in health care training.

Pensacola State College will hold nursing pinnings and graduation ceremonies on Thursday, Dec. 9, and Sunday, Dec. 12, respectively. 

Summer and fall Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Associate of Science degree in Nursing and Practical Nursing program graduates will be pinned during a 3 p.m. Dec. 9 ceremony at First Pentecostal Church, 6485 Pensacola Blvd., Pensacola. Dr. Troy Tippett, a Pensacola State College District Board of Trustees member, will be the guest speaker.

Adult Education graduation is set for 6 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Delaino Student Center, Building 5, on the Pensacola campus. Richard Carr, a PSC Humanities and Social Science instructor, will be the guest speaker.

The PSC commencement ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Pensacola Bay Center. Julian MacQueen, a Pensacola State College District Board of Trustees member, will be the guest speaker. 

Students are limited to eight guests each. Attendees are encouraged to wear face masks and follow social distancing protocol at the nursing pinnings and graduation ceremonies.

For family and friends who cannot attend, the events will be livestreamed at:



PHOTO: Julian MacQueen
PSC New Faculty Spotlight: Todd Duren
If you ever want to tour Historic Mobile, Todd Duren is your guy.

The Pensacola State College Graphic Design instructor has owned a walking-tour company in Mobile – Secret History Tours – for almost four years, specializing in everything from haunted tours, pirate tours, historic tours, cocktail tours, Mardi Gras tours and more. 

Duren joined the PSC faculty just before the fall 2021 semester.

“There’s a lot of great and interesting history in Mobile," Duren said. “A lot of people in Mobile don’t even know about it.” 

Duren was born in Florence, Alabama, but grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and his Bachelor in Fine Art and Graphic Design from Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. 

He has taught Graphic Design at Pellissippi State Community College, Spring Hill College, and Coastal Alabama Community College, as well as Chickasaw High School.  

“I love it at PSC," Duren said. “I have spent most of my career in two-year teaching institutions. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. So I understand that a vital mission in higher education is to provide an affordable option for nontraditional students as well as traditional students.”

He said schools such as PSC help “students get a degree or earn a certificate or whatever they need to go forward.” 

In his free time – when he’s not conducting walking tours – Duren enjoys cycling and kayaking.

He and his wife, Karen, a Mobile high school teacher, have two children, Chlöe and Stella. 

Though he knows his Mobile history, he’s still learning about Pensacola. 

“I lived an hour away from Pensacola for 10 years, but I just wasn’t that familiar with the city,” he said. “I know some of its history. It seems to definitely be more of a Florida town than an Alabama town.” 

— Troy Moon
PSC Alumni Spotlight: Lia Johnson
Amelia Johnson was named for famed aviator Amelia Earhart but has always gone by “Lia.” And even though her father was a pilot, Johnson never really considered flying as a career. 

“I didn’t think it was something that every day people did," she said. “But at PSC, we would talk about what we were hoping to do next.” 

Her softball coaches noticed she always seemed to enjoy looking at the airplanes flying from or into Pensacola International Airport across the street from her outfield perch at the PSC softball field. They suggested she consider the aviation field.

Now, she is a senior softball player at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, where she is working toward her Master of Science degree in aviation, with a specialization in aerospace operations. She previously earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle. 

She also has her pilot’s license and is working on her instrument rating. Her first solo flight was over her hometown of Panama City on her father’s birthday ─ July 16, 2019. She earned her license a month later. She has garnered 150 flight hours.

Before her solo flight, Johnson first flew the route her father – her flight instructor and an Embry-Riddle instructor – then dropped him off for her solo voyage around Panama City.

“I wasn’t nervous until I took off," she said. “I’m normally talking when I’m flying, but I was the only one there. It was so lonely.” 

After her first solo flight, “It was cake from there," said Johnson who hopes to eventually become a commercial or corporate pilot. 

“But if I get in job anywhere in the field of aviation, I will be a happy girl.” 

Johnson earned her associate degree in general studies from PSC in 2018. While at PSC, she was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She graduated with a 3.91 grade point average and was a two-time NJCAA Academic Student-Athlete Award recipient. 

She’s still playing softball, on scholarship, at Embry-Riddle and has been classified as a “senior” for three years. That’s because two years of play were canceled because of COVID-19, so Johnson was granted another year of eligibility. 

She credits PSC for giving her a strong collegiate foundation.

“When I first came to PSC, I wasn’t there for academics, I was there for softball," Johnson said. 

“But that’s where my mind shifted, and I realized I couldn’t be a softball player if I wasn’t a good student. There were small classes and you always felt like you received the attention you needed. I still have some friends from PSC that will be lifelong friends.” 

— Troy Moon