Valencia College

Many congratulations to Valencia College student and boxer Omari Jones for his tremendous Olympic journey – and winning a bronze medal for the United States!

Omari, 21, is the only U.S. boxer to medal at the and we are of him and all that he has accomplished!

Thanks, Omari, for representing Valencia College with such class and grace! We'll always be in your corner!
USA Boxing

We need your help to cheer on Omari Jones!
Come show your support at a campus watch party for our first Olympic medal winner!!

Join us on Tuesday (Aug. 6) at 3 p.m. for a WATCH PARTY to cheer for Valencia College student Omari Jones as he boxes for a gold or silver medal in the !

Invite your friends and wear your Valencia College colors! The bout starts at 3:30, so please arrive at 3 p.m. to prepare for this medal-round match!

Details:
West Campus, Bulding 11, room 106
3 p.m.

What are you doing this morning, Pumas? We'll be watching Omari Jones boxing at the !

Omari Jones and Jahmal Harvey will represent Team USA in the quarterfinals tomorrow morning!

We're so pumped that our Puma, Omari Jones, won his first bout at the ! You can watch the highlights here (if you weren't up at 5:48 a.m. like we were!)

Omari Jones takes care of business against Kan Chia Wei in Paris Olympics debut | NBC Sports Omari Jones was dominant against Kan Chia Wei in boxing preliminaries and sets his sights on the quarterfinals with a chance to medal at the Paris Olympics. ...

Attention students:
Canvas Courses Remain Open Through July 31

Due to the July 30 collegewide network outage, Canvas courses will remain open for students to submit assignments through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31.

Summer Term grades will be available as scheduled on Friday, August 2.

Good news, Pumas! When classes start on Monday, Aug. 19, we'll have new food options at the East, Osceola and West Campuses,

The college has contracted with Metz Culinary Management to offer deli, pizza and grill selections at the campus cafes on those campuses. The college selected these campuses because of the volume of students on site.

The cafes will be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. On Fridays, due to the decreased number of students and employees on campus, only grab-and-go items will be available.

Starting in fall, students and employees can place orders and pay through an app or through touch-screen kiosks, similar to quick-service restaurants. Our cafes will be cashless and will only accept credit cards or debit cards.

Additionally, the following will be offered for the Fall Term, including options on the other campuses:
- Smart Markets, on East and West Campuses, and the School of Public Safety;
- Dunkin' on West Campus; and
- Just Baked Smart Bistros, on East, Osceola and West Campuses. Plus, Just Baked Smart Bistros will be reactivated on a trial basis on the Lake Nona, Poinciana and Winter Park Campuses, where there will be a limited-time, buy-one-get-one offer (This offer is for Lake Nona, Poinciana and Winter Park Campuses only and may end at any time).

The last day that food trucks will be on campus is Wednesday, July 31.

On , let's check in at Valencia College's Downtown Campus, where Valencia College graduate and Chef Mike Collantes prepared Cold Thai Chicken Noodle Salad as part of the Get Cooking program, which teaches low-income families how to create healthy meals on a budget.

Collantes, whose Winter Park restaurant Soseki Modern Omakase earned a Michelin star in 2022, graduated from Valencia College's culinary program in 2005 and began a professional journey working with renowned chefs including Joel Robuchon, Wolfgang Puck, Eric Ripert and Jennifer Carroll.

We're honored that he's giving back to the community by participating in the Get Cooking program. To see his recipe, please visit https://getcooking.org/recipes-of-each-chef/

And to read more about Collantes' story, please read this article we wrote about him in 2021: https://news.valenciacollege.edu/chef-and-culinary-grad-finds-big-success-by-thinking-small/ #:~:text=Michael%20Collantes%20can't%20sit,they're%20all%20wildly%20different

As the Olympics kick off in Paris today, we'll be watching and cheering for one of our own -- boxer Omari Jones! Omari graduated from Edgewater High School and, while he's been training for the Olympics, he's been taking classes online at Valencia College, as he shuttles between Orlando, the USA Boxing training center in Colorado and international boxing tournaments.

Let's send many wishes his way!

Mild-mannered Orlando boxer Omari Jones eyes gold medal in Paris Omari Jones predicted three years ago that he would be in the 2024 Olympic Games. The 22-year-old is one of only four U.S. men to qualify.

Who's the big cat on campus? It's gotta be Purrcy!

Get your own Purrcy Plushie now at the Campus Store!
https://www.valenciabookstores.com/shop_product_list.asp?catalog_group_id=Mw&catalog_group_name=R0lGVFM&catalog_id=194&catalog_name=RXZlcnlkYXkgQnJhbmRlZCBJdGVtcw

At Valencia College, we're thrilled to announce that we've been selected as one of 11 new Lowe's Foundation community college recipients!
We'll use the $500,000 grant to launch a new, short-term plumbing program at the Valencia College-Heart Of United Way Center for Accelerated Training.
Many thanks to the team at the Lowe's Foundation! We can't wait to see how many lives we can change together!

Lowe's Foundation Selects 2024 Community & Technical College Gable Grants Recipients For more information about Lowe's Newsroom, visit:https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroomFind us on social media:Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/LowesMediaFace...

On , let's look back to June, when Valencia's West Campus hosted local middle-school students to participate in fun STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities. And, yes, there was slime involved!

🌍🥳Happy World Emoji Day! 🎉

Feeling 😁or 😕today? No matter the mood 😵, there's always an emoji to help you express ❤️that emotion 😅. At Valencia College, we have a soft spot for the 🎓emoji! What is your favorite ⭐one? Share it with us below!

We’re already planning our arts events for fall and spring semester - check out the lineup of plays, art exhibits, dance performances and concerts!
See calendar here: https://news.valenciacollege.edu/valencia-college-announces-show-line-up-for-2024-25-arts-season/

We hate to say it, but sometimes students from the class of 1977 did come to campus a little overdressed. 🙂

Meet Anthony Byrne. He didn't graduate from high school, and some even considered him a "lost cause."

But at Valencia College's program, Anthony earned his GED in one month, while learning carpentry skills. Today, he's helping to rehab houses for senior citizens and veterans through his job at the Osceola Council on Aging – and he loves it!

We're excited that we'll soon bring the same opportunity to Orange County, where Valencia College will expand its YouthBuild program, thanks to a $1.5 milion grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Learn more from this story from Maria Serrano of Spectrum News 13
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2024/06/21/youthbuild-expanding-to-orange-county?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2fvMr06htWu_DjERlIrMI_0VeoMp4FSVOSEsbLo22iwGw04vXzimx1lec_aem_DaeoMiamo7RSEDf6oeOQqw

For many international students, attending college in the United States is a dream -- but it often comes with financial sacrifice. Read this article from Voice of America, which recently interviewed Valencia College's Talia Popovski and one of our international students from , to learn how Valencia College is opening doors for students from around the world.

Read the article here: https://www.voanews.com/a/international-students-navigate-financial-challenges-to-pay-us-tuition/7685629.html

There's still time to get tickets to this weekend's Summer Repertory Dance Concert!
https://events.valenciacollege.edu/event/valencia_dance_summer_repertory_concert_5766?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=Valencia+College

We're proud to be home to two Little Libraries -- thanks to a partership with Osceola Reads and the Early Learning Coalition of Osceola County!

At our Osceola Campus and Poinciana Campus, we now have two Little Libraries stocked with books (for all ages) written in Spanish, English and Haitian-Creole. Students and visitors, particularly those with young children, can take—and leave, if they choose—materials home to foster a love for reading, and a readiness to read once those kindergartners reach school.

You can read more at this link: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/little-libraries-be-installed-2-valencia-college-campuses/BSSRH5QMHFHPTILHVRN7T25TJU/

In observance of Independence Day, Valencia College will be closed on Thursday, July 4. No classes, online or in-person, will take place & all offices will be closed.

All campuses will open on Monday, July 8. You may find helpful resources online at: https://bit.ly/3TlHPHr

We're excited to expand our successful program into Orange County -- where we can help more young people like Anthony earn a GED while training for a career.
Thanks to Spectrum News 13 for helping us spread the word!

YouthBuild expanding to Orange County An Osceola County YouthBuild graduate says this expansion into Orange County will change lives.

Now that it’s season, it's time to download the Valencia College Safety app. The app will keep you informed about weather emergencies, road closures and more. Plus, the app is an easy way to contact the campus security team.

We're excited once again to partner with CareerSource Central Florida's Summer Youth Program!
Every summer, this program gives local high school students the chance to learn about career paths they can explore here at Valencia College.

At Valencia College, we want you to succeed. That’s why Valencia offers free tutoring to all students – in person or online! Take advantage of it now, Pumas! https://valenciacollege.edu/students/learning-support/

Heads up, Pumas! Valencia College culinary student Ken James and his Plates On Deck team will be competing on The Great Food Truck Race, Season 17, which kicks off on Sunday, June 30th at 8 p.m. on the Food Network!


Learn more about all the contestants here: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-great-food-truck-race/photos/the-great-food-truck-race--season-17--meet-the-teams?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1av_iMFgN-VBOwJ9ofr3D12qmyHXK58gF4jgVzFLfmdf71F_8fcQpFvP0_aem_RLqT0Tkmdm3tmIfm76FjxQ

Our recent Summer Enrollment Bash was hopping! We can’t wait to see all these new on campus this fall!

Pssst: If you haven’t registered for fall classes yet, here’s the link to get started: ​​https://valenciacollege.edu/atlas-registration

When David Greene was a kid, he was obsessed with cloning dinosaurs and bringing them back to life. That small boy dreamed of a career in gene editing.

Those dreams may have been derailed by difficult circumstances in his home life, but today, Greene – one of the finalists to be Valencia College’s Distinguished Graduate in 2024 – is pursuing his goal of a career in medicine after spending years working in hospice as a licensed practical nurse.

Learn how Greene discovered the life-changing power of education in his 30s -- and his advice for anyone thinking about college, whether they're graduating from high school or considering returning to school.
https://valenciacollege.edu/about/stories/graduation-story-david-greene.php

Happy ! Today we celebrate the significant contributions and impact of the African-American community on our college and our nation's history.