Kendall Campus President Setting The Standard For Student Engagement
By Victoria Martinez and Juan S. Gomez
After her psychology class on Sept. 21, Angelina Fuentes met with friends at Finn’s Bistro.
At the popular hangout located in the heart of Kendall Campus, Fuentes found campus president Anthony Cruz drinking coffee and hobnobbing with students.
The event—Colada with Cruz— will be held monthly. It’s the latest initiative created by the social media savvy president, as he aims to increase student engagement.
“It’s awesome that he would take time out of his day to talk to students,” said Fuentes, a freshman studying pre-veterinary medicine. “It shows a lot of leadership and compassion on his part.”
Fuentes chatted with Cruz for about ten minutes. The Honors College student shared how the Student Government Association allowed her to meet new friends and how she started the Veterinary Sciences Club.
“I was looking for a way to engage people on campus in an informal way,” Cruz said. “It’s about building a sense of community on campus.”
In June, Cruz started Keeping Up With Kendall, a bi-weekly social media show inspired by the talk show ¿Qué Pasa Hialeah? that he led when he served as Hialeah Campus president.
Thus far, the segment has produced seven 15-minute episodes that feature alumni, community leaders and faculty. The show’s slogan has also been plastered on blue, navy and green T-shirts that feature flamingos and beach balls. They have been distributed to students and staff for free.
Each episode is recorded on the second floor of the Learning Commons and can be seen on the campus’ Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts.
In the past eight months, the campus has also undergone several beautification projects to the soccer, tennis, basketball gym and the baseball field. In addition pickleball courts have been added and furniture such as hammocks and outdoor rocking chairs have been strategically placed in the Fred Shaw plaza area.
“I just love seeing the campus so busy,” said Sophia Chebli, a second-year engineering student. “It feels a lot more like a college experience than last year.”
Future campus upgrades include making an esports room and a career closet inside the Student Life Department.
The ESports room, which will be located in Room 101, will showcase various video game characters and include rows of gaming computers. The facility hopes to host a campus esport club and high school gaming competition. It’s expected to open on Oct. 25.
The career closet was inspired by the one operating at Hialeah Campus since last Spring semester. It will offer Kendall Campus students access to professional attire to use in interviews.
Items will include suits, ties, collared shirts, dresses, skirts, shoes, heels and blouses.
The facility, located in Room 130, will allow students to select items free of charge when it opens on Nov. 7. Currently, the campus is raising funds to stock the closet.
Kendall Campus has also hosted several events with non-profit organizations—such as the Miami Dade College Foundation and Farm Share—to increase student participation.
On Sept. 20—the 10th anniversary of voter registration day—the Institute for Civic Engagement & Democracy and Engage Miami held an event featuring food trucks, a mechanical shark and a DJ.
More than 70 students registered to vote by the end of the event, according to Engage Miami.
“The campus has been more lively,” said Janeth Zaldivar, a political science student and voter engagement intern at iCED who organized the event. “This gives us an opportunity to host more events that will have a greater turnout.”
Cruz has been at MDC for three years. His first assignment was president of Hialeah Campus, a position he started in 2019. In January, he also became the president at Kendall Campus.
He held both positions simultaneously until Georgette Perez was appointed as the new president at Hialeah Campus on Aug. 15.
Before MDC, the 53-year-old worked in student affairs for two decades at institutions such as Broward College, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Sinclair Community College and St. Louis Community College. At every stop, he always made student involvement a priority.
“I really believe that engagement is very powerful,” Cruz said. “The bottom line is changing lives.”
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