FGCU, Immokalee Foundation unite to create pathways for students

Katherine "Kitty" Green and Noemi Y. Perez
·3 min read

In the nonprofit world, collaboration among organizations is highly desired but not always achieved. In the case of Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and The Immokalee Foundation, however, collaboration has resulted in wonderful outcomes for each organization and, more importantly, for the students of Immokalee, where the poverty rate is 148 percent higher than the U.S. average.

Katherine "Kitty" Green
Katherine "Kitty" Green
Naomi Perez
Naomi Perez

For years our organizations have worked together to make more opportunities available to Immokalee students. We help them understand the many career options available as we prepare them for well-paying positions.

As a result of her active participation in The Immokalee Foundation in high school, Maria Aguilar Ortiz received enough scholarship support to pay for 100 percent of her college tuition. Her journey led her to study civil engineering at FGCU's U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering.
As a result of her active participation in The Immokalee Foundation in high school, Maria Aguilar Ortiz received enough scholarship support to pay for 100 percent of her college tuition. Her journey led her to study civil engineering at FGCU's U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering.

The Immokalee Foundation's Career Pathways Program provides a comprehensive educational approach to preparing students for professional careers. These include after-school, summer programs, work-based learning, mentoring and ongoing support for postsecondary students.

As a regional comprehensive university, FGCU is what President Mike Martin calls "a ladder, not a filter" and works hard to help students who may be the first in their families to go to college.

Together, we have created four week-long summer camps held on the FGCU campus. The camps include STEM immersion for middle school students. Additional camps align with The Immokalee Foundation's Career Pathways curriculum for high schoolers: Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Education & Human Services, and Healthcare. While students participate in lectures and hands-on projects in the camps, exposing students to the university campus and the concept of higher education is of equal importance.

FGCU and The Immokalee Foundation have also created scholarship opportunities that lead to debtless graduations for numerous Immokalee youth.

Maria Aguilar Ortiz is just one example of what can happen when organizations collaborate to give students the opportunities they deserve. A 2016 graduate of Immokalee High School, Ortiz, the daughter of a landscaper and a stay-at-home mom, always had her eye on the educational prize; however, with the limited resources that plague so many of Immokalee's youth, she often thought college was beyond her grasp.

As a result of her active participation in The Immokalee Foundation in high school, Ortiz received enough scholarship support to pay for 100 percent of her college tuition. Her journey led her to study civil engineering at FGCU's U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering. Her transition was helped by The Immokalee Foundation's postsecondary program, which assists students with the often-challenging transition from home life to college life.

Ortiz says her FGCU experience "exceeded her expectations." She credits the university with opening her mind and eyes to new cultures and ways of life. It also served as a great proving ground for leadership development and the sometimes underestimated skill of networking.

Ortiz received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from FGCU in 2021 and, ultimately, found herself thriving professionally farther away from Immokalee than she ever thought possible. Turner Construction currently employs her as part of its engineering team in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, where she was recently promoted from field engineer to assistant superintendent. And with a tip of the hat to the importance of education, one of Ortiz's recent projects was a health and science building at Drexel University.

Currently, 50 students who have benefited from the focused education programs offered by the Immokalee Foundation are enrolled at FGCU and another 65 students have graduated. And with a new formal agreement between the organizations executed in 2022, FGCU has promised four-year full scholarships to 15 new TIF students each year.

The Immokalee Foundation's programs have proved successful, but there are many more students in Immokalee who could be served with additional funding. FGCU can offer more scholarships to those students with the help of generous community donors. To learn more and to donate, go to: immokaleefoundation.org or fgcu.edu/advancement/

Katherine "Kitty" Green is Florida Gulf Coast University's vice president of advancement, executive director of the FGCU Foundation and an Immokalee Foundation board member. Noemi Y. Perez is The Immokalee Foundation’s president and CEO and Florida College Access Network's 2022 College Ready Florida Innovator.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FGCU, Immokalee Foundation unite to create pathways for students