School Bus Driver Plans Move To Classroom With Bachelor’s Degree
Toni Montoya gets on her Polk County Public Schools bus at 5:45 a.m. each weekday to begin the first of three routes, but when she drops her last students off at 8:30 a.m., Stambaugh Middle…
Polk State Alumna Finds Her Purpose Helping Homeless Through The Arts
Joyce Irwin warns visitors that the paint on her hands and apron is dry, greeting them with a bear hug and excitement to show off the Repurpose Art Studio adorned with crafts of the homeless…
Polk State’s 117th Commencement: Top 10 Grad Caps
Graduation is a time to celebrate, and what better way than creating a festive grad cap to distinguish yourself among the commencement crowd. While many spend weeks before graduation prepping their colorful caps, students also…
Polk State’s 117th Commencement: A Milestone For Students, President, And District Board Of Trustee
Polk State College’s 117th commencement ceremony was extraordinarily special, marking milestones for students, President Angela Garcia Falconetti, and District Board of Trustee Cindy Hartley Ross. Nearly 500 students flocked to the RP Funding Center –…
Pinning Ceremony December 2017
Polk State held its annual Pinning Ceremony on Dec. 13, 2017, for nursing graduates. The candlelight processional represents the traditional “Light of Knowledge” and “Ray of Hope” associated with the lamp that Florence Nightingale carried…
Retired Theatre Director George Randolph Remembered For Larger-Than-Life Personality
George Randolph was a performance always looking for an audience. With passions for students, live theatre, and all things Disney, his larger-than-life personality shined through in all that he would do. The retired Polk State…
Graduating Polk State Student Fought For Her Health And Education
Don’t mistake the purple streaks in Heather Canterbury’s hair as merely an edgy fashion statement. After her battle with the earliest stage of colorectal cancer in the form of malignant polyps, the 30-year-old’s body doesn’t…
Polk State Joins National Distance Education Agreement
Polk State College is now a participating member of the Florida-State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (FL-SARA), part of a national collaboration that expands online learning options for students and significantly reduces the costs for institutions to…
The Last Partials: A Jazz Experience
Voices of the People presented The Last Partials: A Jazz Experience featuring Shawn Edmonds and the Polk State Jazz Ensemble Dec. 9 at the Polk State Winter Haven Fine Arts Theater. A trumpeter, Edmonds made…
She Started College “So Many Times,” Graduating Criminal Justice Student Wasn’t Going To Quit Again
Winsome Francis-Raghu has been in and out of college for nearly 40 years, but this week, her higher-education journey will come to a rewarding end. The 63-year-old will graduate Dec. 14 with a Bachelor of…