Profiles

Ryan Vasquez, has a vision of what the College’s Innovation News Center can be as it moves from just an experiential opportunity to an innovation incubator.  That is just one reason the multimedia news manager and adjunct professor was named CJC’s Staff Member of the Year.

Exposed to various cultures at a small, diverse performing arts high school in Atlanta, Yewande O. Addie decided to continue on a path of multiculturalism to learn more about herself -- and use storytelling and research to affect changes in society.

CJC alumnus Harrison Hove spent years working as a television meteorologist when he felt compelled to teach, a calling to “give back.” Fortunately for hundreds of CJC student journalists, that yearning led him back to Gainesville.

Isaiah Arias overcame the passing of his mother in the third grade, tending to his aunt with Down syndrome and calling various Miami motels home throughout middle school to become a passionate student with big dreams.

Increasing engagement and building community define Carolyn Lok’s time as president of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Tireless and focused define Lok, B.S. Public Relations 2021, the first PRSSA president to be elected virtually, the Communication Department’s social media guru and an Operations Manager at The Agency.

Building upon her background in corporate communication research, Public Relations Associate Professor Rita Men went into high gear during the pandemic to study effective communications from CEOs as well as chatbots used for social listening.

After growing up in Tucson, Arizona and marrying a Florida State University graduate, Lt. Col. Marc Vielledent never thought he would call himself a Florida Gator. Now he's pursuing its highest degree.

Clarence Thomas, the first Black person to graduate with a doctorate from the UF College of Journalism and Communications, is retiring from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) after more than 20 years, knowing his legacy will be his advocacy for diversity, inclusion and equity for those around him.

Fitz Koehler was enjoying a career as a professional race announcer and running her own fitness empire, Fitzness International, when her world was turned upside down. Seven weeks after a clean mammogram in December 2018, she found a lump in her breast.

Catalina Santana: “I wanted to be healthy so that I could do everything I wanted to do in life. When you don’t have to worry about your health, you can do so much.”

Jake Best started his political life while at CJC and, at 24, was named press secretary for John Ossoff, the newly elected U.S. Senator from Georgia.

Moni Basu began her career as a journalist in Tallahassee and has been reporting and editing for 37 years. She’s worked for CNN and major newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and has reported on presidential elections, the 9/11 attacks, hurricanes, earthquakes and war.