They Were Once SGA Leaders. Now They Run Medical Campus

When Alwyn Leiba was elected Student Government Association president at Medical Campus in 2006, Madeline Pumariega—the campus’ dean of students and administration at the time—called him into her office. 

“What do you want to accomplish as SGA president?” she asked. 

Leiba insisted students wanted healthier snacks. 

“We then put in healthy vending machines and we both learned that students tell you something but act in a different way,” Pumareiga jokingly recalled at Miami Dade College’s Board of Trustees meeting last month. “The M&Ms were always sold out and the hummus was there to rot.”

Eighteen years later, Leiba and Ron Winston, who served as his SGA vice president, are putting the wisdom they acquired into practice, but this time, on Medical Campus’ executive cabinet. 

In June, Leiba and Winston were tabbed as interim president and dean of health sciences, respectively.

“We always said: ‘We’re going to come back [to] Miami Dade [College] and work as faculty members, and if the opportunity presents itself, we’re going to grow,’” Winston said.

The duo got their start at Medical Campus in the early 2000s, pursuing associate’s degrees in pre-medical science/dentistry and dental hygiene.

Eventually, Leiba and Winston became president and vice president of the Student Dental Hygiene Association and SGA, where they learned how to listen and advocate for students’ needs. 

“When there were issues with students…we would come together as a team to make the decision best fit for the situation,” Leiba recalls. “Now [as] interim campus president, it’s the same. You’re not making decisions on your own, you’re going to [a] team, getting their input and making sure that we’re making the right decision, not only for the campus, but the College.”

During their academic career at MDC, Leiba and Winston served as instructors in the Honors Clinic, an initiative in the dental hygiene program. The experience planted a seed that bloomed into a full-fledged love for higher education. 

“I enjoyed it—teaching someone and seeing that light bulb click,” Winston recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh man. Wow. I could do this.’”

The pair also co-founded the now-defunct L&W Dental Staffing and Consulting, an agency that provided dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants to Miami-Dade and Broward County clinics. 

After graduating from MDC, Leiba and Winston earned a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from St. Petersburg College in 2009. 

The following year, the two graduated from American InterContinental University in Arizona with a master’s degree in healthcare management and a master’s degree in business administration, respectively. 

By 2011, Leiba and Winston had returned to Medical Campus as adjunct professors and eventually became full-time faculty, teaching courses such as dental anatomy and dental office emergencies. 

Five years later, the pair pioneered Mu Beta Tau (Minority Brothers Together), an initiative aimed at fostering community and mentorship between Black and Hispanic males.

“We work very good in tandem,” Winston said. “Our goal is always—how can we better individuals around us and, at the same time, how can we improve and get the skills we need to help others?”

That same year, they both obtained a doctorate degree in higher education from Northcentral University, a private school in Arizona. 

In 2017, Leiba was tabbed chairperson of the School of Health Sciences. Two years later, he was promoted to dean and Winston became the department’s chairperson.

Under their leadership, Medical Campus developed 11 new career pathways, including a bachelors’ degree program in clinical laboratory science, an associate’s degree program in surgical technology and certificate programs in central sterile processing and dental assisting technology and management. 

“Coming up from the level of a student, taking the steps forward to complete [the] dental hygiene program, [and getting] additional education to come back, teach and get into the positions they are in [today] is a pure example of what can be accomplished [at MDC],” said Lorraine Hahn, who served as the SGA advisor during their tenure.

As interim president, Leiba aims to strengthen partnerships with local medical institutions, such as Jackson Memorial Hospital and Baptist Hospital, and champion the financial and educational resources available for students.

“Even though we took the ‘community’ out of Miami Dade Community College, we are still a college for the community, and I’m part of the community,” Leiba said. “It supported me [and] I am going to pay it forward. That’s the passion, respect and love I have for this institution.”

Winston plans to elevate the campus’ customer service and maintain a culture of care for students, faculty and staff.

“Being visible for the students—that’s the perspective I got from being SGA vice president,” Winston said. “For students to know: I’m there, I see you, and you are not just a number, but someone that is cared about.”

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