I’m on the planning committee and will be helping to emcee the Central Florida Bloggers Conference on September 15th in Orlando, Florida. I’m super excited about it because it’s a chance for hundreds of bloggers and social media all-stars (current or up and coming) to get together and share stories, advice and more. Tickets are on sale now but will go up in price the closer we get to the event so sign up ASAP!
One of the amazing things that we’re doing a this year’s Central Florida Bloggers Conference is a project called “Blogging for Good.”
By “Blogging for Good” we’re uniting together to make a change here locally. You can participate in our “Blogging for Good Program presented by the Rollins Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center by simply making a choice… a choice to write about something powerful, something beneficial, something right here in Central Florida.
Simply follow these directions to become a “Blogger for Good.” It’s free an easy and you’ll also be in the running to win some awesome prizes like a $100 American Express Gift Card or even an iPad 3!
And, lastly, if you choose, you and your readers can get a raffle ticket for one of six incredible baskets our nonprofits have put together just for this occasion! 100% of the money raised goes directly to the nonprofit of your choice, so, come on and join the movement!
Special thanks to the Rollins Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center for their support of this program!
I have talked here before about my college experience:
I went to a prestigious private university — and racked up a TON of debt. As did my husband (whose program was five years…yuck!). We have great jobs that we love, but it took time to discover them. Neither is 100% what we went to school for and both really came from discovering our passion after graduation.
Which is why I think for many — maybe most! — kids, going to a smaller community school can be the right decision. You’ll save money, you can spend time figuring out who and what you want to be and you can get a fantastic education.
A close friend of mine, Professor Josh, is passionate about higher education. He’s an instructional designer at Valencia College and a digital professor. Plus, he’s just one of the nicest people I have ever met. So I have learned a lot about Valencia over the last year or so. Enough to find out that it’s pretty awesome.
Valencia College was named the top U.S. community college in the nation in 2011. The Aspen Institute awarded Valencia College the first annual Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence after a year-long effort to recognize excellence in the nation’s 1,200 community colleges, based on student performance and graduation data collected by the U.S. Department of Education.
Valencia Foundation‘s board comprises nearly 60 community leaders who volunteer their time and talents to support scholarships, faculty chairs and learning programs.
Of the top five reasons students cite for dropping out of college, four are financial. This makes Valencia’s work building scholarships especially urgent.
VOLUNTEER. Did you see that? The board volunteers its time working to help kids who deserve a good education get one. Regardless of finances.
Many Valencia students work in addition to going to school, so every penny counts. And Valencia AA graduates have the opportunity to transfer to another school to continue their studies — schools like the University of Central Florida, which is the second largest university in America.
Take a moment and check out what Valencia and the Valencia Foundation are doing in Central Florida.
About Katy
