The digital magazine for faculty, staff, students and friends of Pensacola State College
January 31, 2020
“ Jaco’s keeps upping the ante," says Mark Francis, Pensacola State College photography program coordinator. “They’ve been contributing throughout the years, and their support has really helped students.” What kind of support? Well, in 2019, Jaco’s made contributions of $1,400, $1,500 and $2,500 to the PSC photography program, most of which is used for student scholarships. And all through February, Jaco’s will once again showcase PSC’s Photography Program, when students’ sunset-inspired photographs will be featured and displayed. The student who is chosen by Jaco’s patrons to have the best photograph wins a month-long exhibit in April. Troy Moon speaks with some of the featured photographers and with Jaco’s owner David Hambrick, pictured above with 2015 exhibit winner Erin Amis Perez. Says Hambrick, “It’s just fun to see the kids participate."

Pen Air Federal Credit Union has a mission of “helping people and enhancing lives,” said Stewart Ramsey , the credit union’s president and CEO. On Jan. 13, Ramsey and other Pen Air officials put those words into action (again), giving $5,000 to the Pensacola State College Scholarship Fund in a ceremony held in the Pen Air Federal Credit Union Classroom located in Chadbourne Library. PSC student Katherine Castle was awarded a $450 scholarship award from Pen Air – the third scholarship awarded using interest from the Pen Air Federal Credit Union Endowed Scholarship . In the above photo, left to right, Robert Jacobson , Pen Air Federal Credit Union Board Member; Shirley Harris , Pen Air Federal Credit Union SVP/CFO; Ramsey; Castle; Pamela Hatt , Pen Air Federal Credit Union Vice President of Marketing; Ed Meadows , President, Pensacola State College; and Andrea Krieger , Pensacola State College Executive Director of Institutional Development.

Pensacola State to present 25th Multicultural Job Fair on Saturday
More than 20 Northwest Florida employers are looking to hire at the 25th Multicultural Job Fair set for 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Feb. 1, in the Student Center, Building 5, on PSC's Pensacola campus, 1000 College Blvd.

The public is invited to meet with such employers as the National Park Service, Meyer Vacation Rentals, LandrumHR, the Florida Department of Corrections, The Track, Krispy Kreme, Waffle House, CareerSource Escarosa and more.

Come dressed to impress and bring your resume and cover letter.

This free event is sponsored by the College’s Student Job Services and Black History/Multicultural Committee. For more information, call 850-484-2161.
Micah Cain eager to shape a legacy at PSC
New ceramics instructor excited about joining local clay community
There’s probably a nice pottery-related analogy to be made about ceramics instructor Micah Cain, who recently begun only his second semester at Pensacola State College.

Something about being newly formed on the wheel, and then thrown into the fearsome heat of the kiln, otherwise known as the classroom.

Two things get in the way of that analogy, however: 1. We don’t know that much about pottery; and 2. Cain has enjoyed every minute of his time here at the College.

“From the moment I first stepped on campus, it’s just been awesome,” Cain says. “The administration has been helpful, department heads, fellow faculty, everyone has been helpful, and not only with classes. Everything.”

The Rome, Georgia, native comes to PSC after eight years teaching at Shorter College, where he received his bachelor’s degree in fine arts. (His MFA was from Georgia State.) At Shorter he was an assistant professor in the art department.

“Those eight years at Shorter really taught me, 1, how to teach, and 2, exactly what I wanted to do,” Cain says. “Shorter is a small liberal arts school and over those eight years I realized I wanted something larger.” 

Cain has been devoted to ceramics since his first pottery class in high school. Soon after arriving in Pensacola in August, not long before his first semester as a PSC instructor began, he learned about the city’s large and active ceramics community.

“I’m slowly getting plugged into the local clay community, and it is pretty vast,” Cain says. “There are a lot of clay artists around. That was an exciting thing I didn’t know about Pensacola.”

He said he’s already hooked up with the folks at the Gulf Coast Kiln Walk Society, whose annual festival in Navarre has become renowned among potters nationwide.

Local enthusiasm for the pottery arts extends to the classroom.

“By the time I left Shorter, students were just taking ceramics just for fun, they really weren’t engaged,” Cain says. “The students here are engaged and dedicated. It was great to see that the Ceramics I students that I had came back for Ceramics II. That’s really exciting, to help build the clay community.”

Cain says he was aware, stepping into the PSC visual arts facilities, that he was following in the footsteps of a beloved ceramics professor, the late Bill Clover. Clover, who died in 2018, was PSC’s longest-serving faculty member, having spent more than 52 years at the College. He since has become the namesake of the Clover Pick a Bowl Fill a Bowl annual fundraiser for Manna Food Bank.

“Of course, when the person you’re following has been in the position for 50-plus years, there’s always going to be some intimidation, some hesitation, not knowing how you’re going to be received,” Cain says. “But the community here has been great. There hasn’t been one single person to make me feel out of place. I’m very happy to continue what he began and what he created.”

For example, Cain says, he’s looking forward to continuing with the Pick a Bowl Fill a Bowl campaign, which is similar to a project he worked on in Georgia. 

“That is what’s so exciting about being in Pensacola,” Cain says. “There’s such an established culture. I’m looking to build upon that and continuing the reputation of the art department, and certainly ceramics. I go anywhere here and tell them where I am and it’s always talked about with respect within the community, so I certainly want to keep that up and keep that tradition of well-rounded students.”

-- Mike Suchcicki

Know someone who would make a great Pirate profile? Let us know at thepirate@pensacolastate.edu .
W orkday update: We're one year along in Workday implementation
The week of January 20, 2020, marked an exciting milestone for the PSC Workday Project Team. One calendar year has passed since the official planning stage of PSC’s Workday Phase 1 began in January of 2019.

That week also marked another important time period for the Workday implementation process. Approximately 50 members of the project team, including Alchemy consultants, gathered at one of our PSC Pensacola facilities to begin End-to-End Testing. The purpose of End-to-End Testing is to validate that automated cross work stream transactions are performing as expected throughout the system from start to finish.

We are pleased to announce that the first week of testing went well and are looking forward to continued success throughout the remainder of the process, which will take place over the next five weeks.
Throughout February, Pensacola State College’s Career and Technical Education Student Resources will share its success in sending students straight from the classroom to the workforce. February is national Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, and the college will participate with a series of events designed to showcase the program’s effectiveness in job training. Highlights include a Multicultural Job Fair (see above) set for 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 1, at the G. Thomas Delaino Student Center on the Pensacola campus. A second job fair is scheduled for Feb. 28 at the Century Center. Other events include a series of open houses, “Lunch & Learn" speakers and tours of various CTE programs. Food and beverage will be provided at the Lunch and Learn events, at which students can sign up for drawings. (You must attend the Lunch and Learns to receive lunch.) For more information, contact Hooks, 850-484-2161, or Lois Hurd, 850-484-2163 at the CTE office, Building 6, Room 641.

Featured events from
the Student Activities Calendar
• FITT & Well Club presents “Tuesdays @ 2” where each week they showcase different fun ways to exercise and stay healthy. The session for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, features instruction and information on Tai Chi, complete with a guest instructor. Join the action at the Student Center, Building 5.  

• SGA holds meetings at 3 p.m. on the second Monday of each month in Hagler Auditorium on the Pensacola campus.

• The International Food Festival will be 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Student Center, Building 5.

• From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday in February the African American Student Association is presenting a Black History Month Event in the Student Center, Building 5 on the Pensacola campus.
There's never an idle moment at Pensacola State College, whether you're into art, athletics, drama, music, science, technology, engineering, dance, movies, books or just plain socializing. Make plans to make plans with our online Calendar .

H ave a great PSC graduation story? We want to hear it!
If yours is like most families that include Pensacola State College graduates, you have memories of great anecdotes or unique situations having to do with the graduation ceremony. Perhaps something fascinating or unusual happened at the event. Perhaps you have three generations of PSC grads in the same family. Perhaps your journey to a PSC diploma took a unusually circuitous route. If so, we would like to hear that history, those memories, those anecdotes. Share your tales with an email to thepirate@pensacolastate.edu . Be sure to include your full name and contact information (phone number or email). And thanks for sharing!
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