The digital magazine for faculty, staff, students and friends of Pensacola State College

February 10, 2021



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The front line of the COVID-19 pandemic battle recently received reinforcements from Pensacola State College’s nursing program. 

More than three dozen PSC preceptor nursing students who graduate this spring already have begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to patients in area hospitals. 

In January, students began giving the vaccinations at Baptist Hospital. This month, students are administering the vaccinations at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital. 

“This pandemic will be written about in our history books someday,” said PSC nursing student Anjelica Desoto. “We are part of an effort that is going to be effective in combating the virus. It’s amazing.” 

Troy Moon speaks with the students about their work on the COVID front lines

PSC sonography program earns second-place national ranking

The accolades keep rolling in for Pensacola State College’s health care programs.

The College’s Associate of Science Degree in Sonography has been ranked No. 2 in the United States by Best Value Schools.

Pensacola State was among the colleges included in the Best 15 Associates in Sonography Programs in the Best Value Schools’ 2021 listing. Each college was ranked based on its acceptance rate and estimated tuition and fees (published on each institution’s website). The tuition data also was calculated by the in-state tuition rate and academic semester year for all schools. 

“Our health care programs go up against similar programs from across the country and we tend to rank highly. This speaks well of the top-notch programs that Pensacola State offers its students,” Pensacola State President Ed Meadows said of the ranking. 

“We have outstanding faculty and staff members as well as state-of-the-art facilities that are conducive to an excellent learning environment.”

Read more about the program's national ranking

‘Hinterland’ exhibit melds pottery, photography into unified vision

An art exhibit at Pensacola State College explores landscapes in two distinct ways featuring two distinct artists.

Photographer Donald Clark turns ravaged quarry scenes into surrealistic pictures that show beauty and the chaos of humankind’s effect on the land. 

His colleague, potter Wil Shynkaruk, molds clay from the land, and explores the idea of beauty and societal progression through his art. 

Both men are teachers at Minnesota State University Moorhead and their joint exhibit, “Voices From the Hinterland: Art by Don Clark and Wil Shynkaruk,” is on display through March 5 at the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts on the Pensacola campus. The exhibit debuted on Jan. 14.

“It connects in multiple ways," said PSC photography instructor Mark Francis, speaking of the exhibit. “The photographs are from a quarry where you’re digging up the ground for the dirt and the materials. Then, you have pottery made from materials from the earth. It makes a nice juxtaposition.” 

There was no official exhibit opening because of COVID-19 concerns, but the exhibit and gallery are open to the public. Clark and Francis are friends, and on Jan. 20 Clark visited the Gallery for a video interview and a few small gallery discussions. He also visited three PSC photography classes, imparting his own knowledge and guidance to students. 

“It was a good experience for our students to be able to hear from (Clark)," said Michelle Schulte, Gallery Director and Chief Curator of the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts. “It adds to what we do here.”

The Switzer Center is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. The center is always free and open to the public.

Contact Schulte at 850-484-2563 or mschulte@pensacolastate.edu for gallery information. 

All guests to the Switzer Center and Pensacola State facilities are required to wear a face mask and maintain social distancing. Visit www.pensacolastate.edu/COVID-19 for more information. 

--Troy Moon

See a video interview with photographer Donald Clark conducted at PSC in January.

PSC Sunset Photo Contest exhibit is on display at Jaco’s

Jaco’s Bayfront Bar & Grille offers perfect glimpses of sunsets, boats bobbing on blue bays and seabirds flying amid backdrops of pink and orange twilight skies.

And those are just the pictures on display at the popular Pensacola restaurant at the southern tip of Palafox Pier.

The works of seven Pensacola State College photography students are currently on display at Jaco’s for the eighth annual Pensacola State College Sunset Photography Contest. Restaurant patrons and online voters can select their favorite photo from the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 28. The winning photograph will be announced in early March.

The artist whose photograph wins the contest will then get her or his own monthlong exhibit at Jaco’s in April. 

“If a student wins and handles it right, it can be a magnificent opportunity for promotion," said Mark Francis, PSC Photography program coordinator. “You get to show off your work and skill set, and hopefully it can lead to other opportunities.” 

Though there are seven students whose work is in exhibit, there are 13 photographs on display, as Francis said PSC photography students juried the works and decided on the pieces that would be part of the Sunset Contest. Students who participated must be enrolled in a PSC photography capstone course. 

Last year, Lisa Carver won the contest. She’s still a PSC photography student who will earn her associate degree at the end of the fall term. She is not eligible to compete again this year as she has completed the capstone course. 

“She’s so good," Francis said of Carver, who is currently a wedding photographer in Northwest Florida while finishing her education. “Just an amazing photographer who has a promising career ahead.” 

Carver said last year’s win and the subsequent solo exhibit were both “rewarding experiences," though she admits she was nervous about hosting her own exhibit. 

“I’m not really comfortable putting my work up there like that,’’ Carver said. “But once it was framed and done and up, I was really happy about it. And we had a nice turnout.” 

Carver hopes to work eventually find work as a photographer who documents humanitarian and conservation efforts.

She said this year’s entries into the Sunset Contest are “really strong this year.”

“There are some very creative pieces,’’ Carver said. “I think it’s very competitive.”

Here are the student artists whose work is on display in the Pensacola State College Sunset Photography Contest at Jaco’s Bayfront Bar & Grille:

Heather Helm (four photographs)

Amber Beasley (four photographs)

Enrique Viveros

Haylee Paxton

Cheryl Sturges

Amelia Moore

Sheila Bishop

To vote, visit Jaco’s at the southern tip of Palafox Pier or vote online here.

--Troy Moon

Despite pandemic, PSC works to keep students engaged in campus life

Yes, we’re almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and students still aren’t back on Pensacola State College campuses in large numbers.

But the College is doing it all it can to keep students engaged in campus life and connected to their fellow students, advisors and faculty. 

Those efforts include monthly (safe and socially-distanced) movie nights at the Pensacola campus and numerous virtual outreach efforts including trivia contests, messages of encouragement, club information and updates, online tutorials, club promotion and more.

“It’s been difficult to keep students engaged and involved since the pandemic, so we’re trying to reach them on every platform possible,’’ said Abigail Bott Roberts, interim coordinator of Student Engagement and Leadership. “We have our clubs that are still active, so we’re trying to keep students engaged through those little pockets. One thing we’ve heard from students is that they feel alone, and we’re working to make sure they can still have some sort of connection.” 

Each Friday, the office of Student Engagement and Leadership sends out an email to students and faculty noting the activities, almost always online, for the upcoming week. Notable events next week include a “Curious Question” get-together at noon, Feb. 16, on Instagram; a “Star Wars” movie bracket poll at noon Feb. 17 on Instagram and a “Star Wars” Virtual Trivia Night at 6 p.m. on Zoom.

To participate in the social media events, follow @pscpirateslife on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and PSC Student Activities on YouTube. 

One venture the Student Engagement and Leadership office is promoting is the Emerging Leaders Program. Students who want to become leaders and are interested in leadership programs are encouraged to join the six-week program. 

Applications for the Spring term are now being accepted. Applications can be filled out online here.

PSC has also been holding a monthly “Movie On the Lawn” series where feature films are shown on a large screen set up near the track at the Pensacola campus. On Feb. 19, the 2019 hit film “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will be shown. There is no charge, but masks must be worn, and social distancing must be maintained. The film begins at 7:30 p.m. but beginning at 6:30 p.m., PSC clubs and organization members will set up around the track with information about the College’s 23 active clubs. 

Tonie Anderson-Steele, an advisor to the PSC African American Student Association, said keeping clubs afloat and active during the pandemic has been a tough task. 

“We’ve been meeting virtually, but it’s just not the same,’’ she said. “So we’re trying to stay in continuous contact with our students through emails and social media. I hope we get some more people are interested in what we’re doing.” 

--Troy Moon

Pensacola State College provides high-quality, low-cost education to the residents of Northwest Florida through university transfer, workforce certificates, degrees, continuing education, corporate and professional development, and televised programming through the WSRE Public Broadcasting Service.

The PSC Foundation seeks to enhance the College’s ability to provide these services through a five-year campaign, "Your Community - Your Legacy," focused on supporting student scholarships, academic programs, faculty and staff professional development, and facility and technology infrastructure.

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