Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to Kendall Speaks.
I am Brian Stewart, Kendall Campus President. And today we have four amazing ladies to talk a little bit about some great things going on here at the Kendall campus. With us today is our Senior Director of Administration, Ms. Christina Matteo, Via Design Studio Management Principal, Ms. Anna Paula Ibero, and. And then Rebecca Rafos, Miami Rush Kendall Soccer President. And then Magna Pereira, MCDPs, administrative director of Innovation in School of Choice. Welcome, ladies.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Let's start by hearing a little bit of your background and we'll start with Senior Director Matteo, who I know has a very strong history here at Miami Dade College. Talk a little bit about your role at the college and how you got to the Kendall campus, if you would.
[00:00:50] Speaker C: Thank you, Dr. Stewart. And thank you for inviting us to this incredible podcast here at the Kendall campus. So, yeah, I have been with the college 46 years. Wow.
So I am actually considered. I am MDC like we always do. I have been almost at every campus.
So I started at Miami Dade Wolfson campus and I was there for 20 some years. Then I went to Padron campus and for a year and a half or so and I went then to North Campus where we made huge strikes in terms of facilities and programs that we put together. And I'm now at Kendall. So it is wonderful to be here at the largest campus of Miami Dade College.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Absolutely. I'm glad we're a team here. There's a lot of great things going and we're going to get to hear about some of those things in just a minute. An Apollo, you have a strong history with Miami Dade College and tell us a little bit about your path to us and maybe your academic background too, and how you got to Miami Dade College.
[00:01:51] Speaker D: So I'm an architect by trade. I graduated from Cornell University and I've been working with Miami Dade College for well over 20 years. I've done work in every single campus. I do love the Kendall campus. We have a lot of active projects going on in the college that I guess we'll be talking a lot more about today.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Yeah, very good. Well, thank you for, for your great work with us and we're, we're excited to hear about those projects. Rebecca, tell us a little bit about your background and how you're a part of Miami Dade College.
[00:02:18] Speaker E: Yes. So my name is Rebecca Raffles and I work with Miami Roach, which recently changed the name to Miami Football Academy Roach. My academic background is in education, but for the last 28 years, I have dedicated my time to the soccer program, executing different roles in the administration and organization of the club, bringing the club from a recreational level all the way to one of the best clubs in the state and nationally recognized.
I'm very honored to be here and sharing my experience with the campus.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: And we can't wait to hear more about that here in just a minute. And finally with us is Magda. Tell us a little bit about yourself, if you would.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: I am an administrative director with Miami Dade County Public Schools in the Innovation and School Choice office. I have 29 years with Miami Dade County Public Schools. I've been from a teacher all the way through a principal, and now I'm so blessed to be the administrative director over all the magnet programs district wide. We have 119 schools, 400 magnet programs nationally recognized. So I look forward to this podcast and be able to share the great things that are happening between Miami Dade County Public Schools and mdc.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Yes. And we value our partnerships with you. And I have to just say, last Saturday I had the pleasure of going to Moss Performing Arts.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: That's one of ours. That's an amazing performing arts program.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: It was an amazing night and it was so cool to see all the great partners that we have and that we've developed. And we can't wait to hear more about that here in just a minute.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: All right, well, let's talk a little about campus facilities. Christina, I know you've had your hands in a lot of great things. Talk a little bit about some of the major ones that are getting ready to complete and are on the horizons if you.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: So lately we have completed a couple of instructional spaces that have actually made a major difference to the Kendall campus, one of them being the Data Analytics Center.
So we have incredible faculty that actually teach. Data analytics is one of our courses that have the highest enrollment. So the Data analytics center is here at Kendall. It has 30 stations with very, very high end computer and technology capabilities.
And it's open and the place is always packed. Great connections with MDCPs in order to recruit the students from those magnet schools that, you know, come to us from the technology academies. And in addition to that, we are about to open the Business Innovation Technology center. And that one is going to be located in Building I. It is a state of the art in technology.
It's going to be housing courses such as financial technology, digital marketing, social media. So we envision a lot of cooperation and collaboration among students on cap projects that will be engaged in, let's say, putting together a campaign for any company. So we will be able to also bring in industries that will work with our students in the Business Innovation Technology center, which we actually call it Bit.
So it has ticker tape also all throughout. So in terms of visuals is very attractive to all of the students that are coming here. We've completed the Learning commons last year, which is very, very attractive also. And we support students in all different disciplines. And in January, we are opening our Engineering Technology lab here in Building 6. And as well, we have close to 50 stations and a collaboration area. But I also wanted to engage Ana Paula on this conversation because we are already on full design of the AI Innovation Hub and I'm going to turn it over to Ana Paula to talk about a little bit about that.
[00:06:21] Speaker D: The AI Innovation Hub is extremely exciting. It's going to be a state of the art area for students to engage with AI technologies. There'll be over 50 stations for students to be able to learn, engage and interact with different aspects of AI, from the wearables with which are the latest in goggle technology, to the latest in computing technology that already have AI embedded in it. Everything is going to be very flexible, open. There will be screens inside and out. Students will be able to engage with what's happening inside the classroom on the exterior, which is very exciting. It allows for common shared spaces and students to have impromptu engagement with each other and with the things that are around them. So we're very excited about that.
There will be classrooms inside, but also there will be a nook huddle that will be open to students to come in at any time and use. So we really do hope that students feel more empowered and more interested in, in what's coming in AI, since it's pretty much touching every aspect of our lives. It'll be in the ground floor of Building 6. It'll be visible from the catwalk as you're going in to the different areas of campus. So we're really trying to revamp this whole idea of the technology corridor in the Kendall campus and with even more projects that are upcoming that will engage this, this area of campus as well.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: Very good. Thank you. Just a question to either one of you. How do we get input to do some of these great things? What's the process we go through to gauge how we're going to make these projects what we want them to be?
[00:08:01] Speaker C: So the first thing that we do is we check our enrollment, because at the end of the day, it's also business.
Where do we have the most amount of students?
We engage our faculty. They are our number one priority.
Well, as our students, but our faculty, we engage them into a charrette to be able to determine what kind of facilities do we want to have in the AI innovation hub.
One of the things that we are very proud of is that this AI innovation hub is primarily not just a center, it's a hub that you. It's how do you integrate AI into multidisciplines? For example, there will be a Metaverse studio, so faculty from biology will be able to be there and be able to use the augmented reality, virtual reality for the anatomy, for different botany, for different things. Architecture, we'll be able to use that as well to talk about ancient Rome and the history of architecture in those places. We also have an AI cybersecurity, which faculty also wanted to be able to do that.
We have a powered software area for networking.
So it is very multidisciplinary but very high technology on how do we integrate AI into that. And faculty were the primary contributors to make sure that we had a good design on the right appropriate spaces.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Very good. Great answer. Anna Paula to you real quickly. Talk about from your professional side. How do you take this information and convert it into something that we can sell to our college president and the board and so forth?
[00:09:44] Speaker D: That's part of the, the beauty of architecture is trying to interpret what the client needs, what they want. But we also have to look into a lot of white papers, a lot of research, seeing what other higher ed institutions in the country and in the world are doing, because we also have to have the forethought we're dealing with taxpayer dollars, so we, we have to spend them wisely. So we have to think of not just the now, but what's upcoming, what's best for the future, something that's long lasting and that's the best for the Miami Dade College community.
So we take in all that research and we compound that with all the information that the faculty and that, you know, senior administrator like Christina Matteo provides us. And then we go into a whole design phase where we provide different options and we've got them out and we see what's best. We do a lot of test fits and then go through the entire process, go back to faculty and see from our previous experience, we completed recently the AI center at Wolfson, some technology has changed. How does that work? Learn from our experiences to then come out with the best product possible in terms of design and in terms of the actual construction.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: Great. Thank you both for that. You know, we have students and we have an architecture program and I think those kind of things help our students, maybe, maybe see what kind of positions they're going to have.
Let's turn our question next to maybe bragging a little bit about the Kendall campus, which is Kendyl Speaks. And so we're all about Kendall. But let's talk. This is open to anyone. We may start with you, Christina. What are some of the unique features of our campus and things that you would like someone to know about the Kendall campus?
[00:11:22] Speaker C: Actually having the privilege of being almost at every campus before, I would say that some of the unique features that we have here at Kendall, one of them is the, the athletic fields. So we have a baseball field, we have a soccer field, we have a softball, we have Rocket sports complex with 14 pickleball courts, nine tennis courts, we have an Olympic sized pool that we enjoyed in the aquatic center. So in terms of athletics, you know, it's incredible the amount that we don't have at any other campus. We also have a very strong arts and performing arts program.
So we have a makerspace that is huge.
Within the makerspace you will see sculpture rooms, you see ceramic rooms, you have 3D printing areas, you have a wood shop that has over 50 different pieces of equipment to be able to work in the arts. But one of the things that I enjoy the most here is the Open University campus feel with hammocks and swings and herb gardens and beautiful gardens to walk around that will relax the students, especially this week during final exam. So I feel that those are some of the unique features. But I'm going to turn it over to Magda because recently we have been engaged in a project which MDCPS is going to be an intricate partner with us. So, Magda, you want to talk about it?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I'm thrilled to talk about this amazing project. Well, I believe in my personal opinion, it's the gem of MDC Kendall. It's the environmental center. Wow.
Seven acres of beauty, nature, amazing location, right in our own backyards, in our community.
MDCPS is excited to start bringing back our students so that they can really learn the standard in the classroom setting at their school sites and then come to the environmental center to see the practicality, to actually take in the beauty that they've learned and actually see the surroundings. That environmental center is not only a nature walk, but it's also an ability for students to think creatively.
You're learning about nature, but you have an opportunity to sit underneath a tree, feel the breeze, hear the birds chirp, and then sit there and have some creative writing.
There's the most beautiful lake right off of the grill where Classroom settings can take place, outdoor classroom settings, where it really fosters and builds that creative thinking for the students.
So I am super excited to start bringing back our MDCPS students so that they can have that learning expedition. Our magnet programs will thrive. Coming to the environmental centers as well. We have 11 themes and two of them are information technology and our STEM program.
What an amazing concept where our students can come and actually partake, volunteer, or actually host internships. Right. Bringing back and giving back to our community to make this environmental center one that.
It's a hidden gem, in my opinion, but I want everyone in our community to learn that in your own backyard. We have this environmental center for you.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Yeah, thank you for that. We're really happy with your partnership. I've had the pleasure of going through there several times, even with Ms. Mateo the first time, I believe. And you know, it is a hidden gem and we need to bring it back and integrate it back into the Kendall campus. Let's talk about one more thing before we go to our next question on and one of the other new things is our soccer stadium. Anna Paul, talk a little bit about that. We're really excited about that. And then Christina, you jump in with some of the partnerships that are related to that.
[00:15:25] Speaker D: We're super excited about the soccer stadium. It truly is amazing. It was done under FIFA regulations. It meets NCAA regulations. There is a practice field, a full on practice field, and a full on FIFA field. There's seating for 750 with a fully technology integrated press box. There's a concession stand. It's just amazing. The grass is one of the greatest you can get in South Florida. So it's truly a professional soccer field that MDC Kendall should really be proud of.
[00:15:57] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:15:58] Speaker C: So for the past several years, we have been very blessed to have local organizations like Miami Raj that Rebecca is here, and they have been practicing here with over 450 to 500 kids every night here on the grounds of Kendo campus in the open fields this coming summer, we are actually engaging conversations to be able to host the World cup for FIFA. So summer of 2025 and summer of 2026, we are hosting FIFA here for the World Cup. There are close to 300 referees that will be using our stadium as a training ground for them. We will be hosting games at night, 5 and 7pm and we're very proud that our athletes will be able to contribute, support them, and we will also engage our local community partners to also be part of it. So we are very proud of that and we're Looking forward to that partnership with FIFA and with our local organizations.
[00:17:04] Speaker A: Thank you for that. Are there opportunities for our donors, our student and community members to partner with us in any of these endeavors?
[00:17:12] Speaker C: Absolutely. Absolutely, yes. We have so many opportunities for community to contribute to support Miami Dade College and we have many partners that the college work with through internships, through donations, et cetera, et cetera. And FIFA is also one of them. But I'm going to turn it over to Ana Paula because Ana Paula has been one of those contributors and maybe perhaps she can mention one or two opportunities that she has taken in order to support Miami Dade College.
[00:17:41] Speaker D: So I think it's very important to support our community and support such a great organization as Miami Dade College. So there's some amazing events throughout the year that Miami Dade College does that local companies, small companies, large corporations should participate and contribute. One of those is the hall of Fame. It happens once a year in the spring. It's a great event where great alum of Miami Dade College are recognized and sponsorship opportunities are always open and welcome. And I would invite everybody in town to participate and to be there. It's a lot of fun.
There's IMMDC Day, which is in September, also a lot of fun. It happens in every campus and you celebrate Miami Day College. And there are also great opportunities to donate. Miami College has other ones such as internships that Kendall campus has internships. We've had interns, amazing interns come to to our office and work with us and for us.
So there are very many opportunities. Miami Dade College can be part of your business and the business can also help them.
[00:18:44] Speaker A: Thank you for that. Christina. What about ways we involve students and faculty to learn about this project and be a part of it.
[00:18:52] Speaker C: So like I mentioned before, we don't do anything without them.
We are right now involved into the development of a STEM building we just completed last week, for example a charrette with our faculty. But we also invited industry partners.
For example Space Florida was there, Siemens was there, Bluegrass was there.
An APAO was there because she's our architect to the project. The faculty were there. We had a really grade exchange and it was a brainstorming, it was a charade. It was be able to get all of the data that we need.
How we also involve a student is. For example, I have had projects where let's say the architects are about to do presentations and I invite an architectural class. So for example, Professor Lyle Culver from Architecture has brought his architecture students to one of our projects and they have sat there with Architects, they have sat there with commercial furniture companies.
They have seen the presentations, how they do it, how they present. Because presentation I have learned in architecture is essential. And I know that Ana Paula is the queen of presentations when it comes to architectural projects. So they have benefited also from that aspect.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: Very good. Thank you. Rebecca, this question's for you. Let's stay on our soccer field for a minute, talk a little bit about from your perspective and expertise, the value of that, the importance of it and how you view it.
[00:20:33] Speaker E: Okay, so Miami, the beautiful part of Miami is diversity.
So within that diversity, we have families that come from other countries that bring their passion and their love of this into the city of Miami.
So Miami is becoming a soccer hut in the world.
How is this happening?
First we have the introduction of the soccer stars, that international stars coming to the city with the Inter Miami, Messi, Suarez, Alba, Busquet, all these players are putting Miami at a stage level of the world. So with that is the domino effect. Now you have more tickets, more funds, more merchandising, more kids wanting to play the sport. And that's the growth, the second factor, which is the growth of the sport. And as you have growth, you need expansion, you need space.
So the city is lacking of the land and the space to growth the soccer that internally is growing in the city of Miami. Then you have the MLS involvement, the MLS contributing with the professional level and getting involved with the youth level, promoting the methodology and player development and providing growth to MLS youth academies like we are one Inter Miami has one Weston Juventus at Letum in Hialeah.
So you have that growth and then the World cup coming to the city. Imagine all the most famous athletes here in our city. And it's awesome that the campus will be offering some sort of preparation and activity for the campus. That's very important.
Now how we the community, because community program benefits of the campus immensely.
We need the campus for training, but what impact that creates in my players.
So for me it's very important the exposure of the college life. So you're bringing players that had never seen a college. Now they know how a college looks like that inspires them to a second education.
Then you have the integration of sports and education.
So training in an academic setting, it undergoes the importance of balancing sports with education. You need to keep good grades to be able to continue higher education. And that's what we have to put in their minds, keep good grades. So you continue higher education. And here you have the environment of education with the sport. Then you have role models.
Now we have the men and women soccer teams here, they see them when they come to practice, then they become role models.
They feel, wow, I inspire me this I could achieve.
Because, look, there were players that I was players.
Then you also have. You're bringing families that she mentioned from the community to the campus. You are offering their view. Oh, the campus is great. Look, my kid could come here to continue their education.
So engaging the families from different socioeconomic backgrounds of the city, bringing them to the campus, that's very, very important.
The safe environment that the campus protects. And as mentioned, the great fields is one of the best or the best fields in the city of Miami right now.
So those, those important factors are for my organization that are need and the results of being here are so positive. And that's a relationship that we would like to continue.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: Thank you for that. Tell us a little bit more about your organization. How many athletes do you have and you some of the age ranges, if you don't mind.
[00:24:44] Speaker E: So we have from 4 years old all the way to 19 years old. And we have the different levels. We have recreational, competitive and the elite, which are the MLS next soccer academies. Those are the elite players. So in that area, we are responsible to find the talent in the city and the better. At a higher level, good players with good players, higher training become better.
So that presents the possibility to go to the next level, either college being a student athlete or professional. So we have players that go to the second stage with the majority go to being student athletes in a college program and others, they go the professional pathway.
[00:25:36] Speaker A: Well, thank you for that. We appreciate your partnership and hopefully Miami Dade College, Kendall campus has been in the right place at the right time. Any other thoughts on soccer before we turn to some community engagement?
[00:25:48] Speaker C: Basically, I think we have gone over what we are doing. The soccer stadium here at Miami Dade College will be very unique. I remember at the beginning when we were tossing around the idea of do we do turf, do we do natural grass? And we went back and forth until we say, no, we're going natural grass. And we have made an investment to be able to do that. And like Paola mentioned before, we engage actually FIFA in the development of the stadium sizes. So we had experts from FIFA who came down, provided us feedback on measurements, et cetera, et cetera. So we are ready. We're ready for the World cup and we're ready to continue supporting our, you know, athletes here. Our soccer teams have done for the first time, this is their first year, and they have done incredible well. So we're very proud of that well.
[00:26:39] Speaker A: And we're excited to see the future and see how FIFA works. So let's now move to community engagement. One of the things I've most been impressed with was all our partnerships and you know, all the things we do to engage the community. Christina, talk a little bit about that. Some of the highlights and partnerships and facilities that help make Kendall unique in.
[00:26:56] Speaker C: That capacity, we enjoy and we encourage a very open door policy. Here at Kendall, we try to accommodate the community at large through many different venues and opportunities. For example, we just talked about soccer, but we also have the racket sport complex. Those pickleball courts. We started with four and within two months we increased them to 14. And they're all packed day to day and we're not open on Sundays and I have people that call and say, but we want to be there on Sunday.
So we have now hosted tournaments for pickleball. So that's great because we are opening our campus to many different opportunities beyond the educational classroom. The Aquatic center, for example, last month hosted over 800.
It was 880 people that use the Aquatic center and they were swim teams, water polo teams, et cetera.
We enjoy a very close relationship with MDCPs. They are our, what we call bread and butter because all of the students that come straight from high school to Miami Dade, they primarily come from MDCPs. And I would like for Magda to talk a little bit about, you know, the opportunities that we provide through teacher professional development, the different annual conferences that we have, expos, etc.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Great. And I'm going to be a little biased because I am a proud alum of mdc. So I want to say that mdc, their hospitality is amazing.
And then from the professional feedback that we receive from our staff is that the hospitality, the locations, the treatment, the facility, the parking, everything is so easy and so amazing that it just draws our MDCPS staff back to mdc. And what better way to make that bridge, right? To ensure that they continue to come back and forth. And yes, we are very fortunate to have a portfolio in Miami Dade county public schools from pre K all the way to technical colleges. But that doesn't shy us away from the partnership with mdc. How we continuously and annually foster and build our students opportunities and pathways into mdc, our student service department and our CAP advisors, right? Their intricate position is to ensure graduation, to ensure that all of our students in Miami Dade county public schools graduate from the state of Florida. But seamlessly we continue to foster dual enrollment opportunities, career technical education, industry certifications to ensure that our students graduate college ready and career ready. And that is the most important thing, that they have avenues, learning or educational opportunities to be able to continue their courses of studies whether they're magnet or not. We want all of our students from mdcps to continue and take those educational opportunities while they're in Miami Dade County Public Schools, but also continue their pathways into the amazing learning educational opportunities that are offered right here in their own backyard, in their own community.
[00:30:30] Speaker A: That's great. Magda and Rebecca, could you maybe each give us one more example of a collaboration that you'd like to highlight?
[00:30:37] Speaker E: Yes. The success stories, let's say success stories of what we have achieved with our collaboration with Miami Dades College. The first one that comes to my mind, we have four alumni playing for the men's soccer team and that makes us.
[00:30:54] Speaker A: Thank you for that.
[00:30:55] Speaker E: Yeah. Very proud. In the male, in the men's soccer program. In the female, we have five that somewhere in their soccer career were part for a long period of time with our club. So that also is contributing. The club is contributing to the campus. Right. The second, your soccer staff, I have the men's and women, I have worked with them many years.
So it's a community engagement.
Your staff has engagement with the community, a soccer community of the city. So that's also a success story. It makes a big impact.
I mean, we have used the campus to host games of the MLS next of teams coming from far away from Jacksonville, providing a beautiful environment for the competition with beautiful fields. And then we also run soccer camps that provide that service to the communities on camps. And now with the proximity of the World Court, I'm excited and looking forward to many more activities with the campus. Very, very excited.
[00:32:06] Speaker A: Good. Thank you.
[00:32:07] Speaker B: And my success story is our annual Synergy Conference.
It is an MDCPS culminating professional growth opportunity. We have over 4,000 participants and the most creative thing is that we go into the classrooms here at mdc. Our administrators, our teachers, our district staff all take part of this professional growth opportunity. Our superintendent of schools does an opening to kick off the next school year. But really the synergy is really about reflecting on what we're doing, seeing where our data is taking us for our students to ensure that we're moving forward in a positive trend and then kicking off the educational opportunities for next school year. It's really an amazing opportunity to be able to house it here in mdcndall. And the hospitality. I have to go back to the hospitality because yes, we have a very strong partnership with MDC but the hospitality here just draws us back. And that is what's truly amazing, that the facility is so easy to come back to and that the staff is so willing to house 4,000.
Right. Educators in this amazing. It's a week event, it's a weak event. So imagine it's 4,000 participants in a week event. So we bring vendors from outside. They actually see what MDC Kendall is doing and they rave about the opportunities that are here in Miami Dade county in MDC Kendall. So we're very fortunate to be able to have that strong partnership and be able to come back every year and have that Synergy conference for our educators in mdcps.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: Thank you for that. I had the chance to witness it this summer for the first time and it is an incredible event and it's great to see all of your team here at the Kendall campus.
[00:34:01] Speaker B: Yes, thanks.
[00:34:02] Speaker A: Christina. Let me ask you and Magda one more question here. Talk about any other future collaborations that you, you might see in the future between Miami Dade College and Miami Public Schools.
[00:34:12] Speaker C: So I would say that I'm going back to what Maita just mentioned. One of the things that is so amazing about this collaboration and partnership is that we become one team. I remember when we first hosted Synergy and another project that we're going to talk about how the staff from MDCPS became ushers on campus, how their police department became part of our public safety team, how their setup crew brought people to set up tables chairs, how they help us to at the end to pick up and make sure that the campus was ready for classes the following day. We really appreciate that partnership.
One of the new things that we are bringing to the campus is called Choice Expo. So this year the superintendent came up with, why don't we open this to the community? Why don't we showcase what the school system has to offer, the different magnet programs, the different academic programs that they have and do it in a very open environment.
They went back and forth and they partnered with Kendall Campus.
And we of course MDCPS is very large and they have schools all the way from border of Broward county to here. So we say, why don't we do it in two campuses? Let's open it up to North Campus and Kendall Campus. And in May we hosted the first school Choice Expo.
I'm going to say it was a total success. It blew us out of proportion.
We had over 250 schools represented.
We partner with Dade County Public Schools and we also showcase all of our programs here at Miami Dade College. We Did a one stop shop for financial aid to be able for families to complete their fafsa. And we also did registration one stop to complete application.
All of our academic programs were present. New student center was present.
So it actually became any families that will come to the school Choice Expo was able to enroll at MDCPS and enroll at Miami Dade because there are many families that have kids that range from a school age to college age. And it was total success. And maybe Magda can talk a little bit about the one coming up in January.
[00:36:46] Speaker B: Yes, so absolutely. And when we talk about a one stop shop, that's exactly what it is. It's a choice expo to open up and educate our community, our students of all of the educational opportunities. Miami Dade County Public Schools is a choice district. There is a program for every single student Pre K through 12th grade and beyond to our technical colleges. And that's why we like to house it here. And you've opened up the doors and we opened up this podcast talking about the open door policy that you guys have. And it's truly what you are. You're opening up your doors here to our community. And yes, 250 schools showcased here, all ages. And the most pressing thing that I want to talk about is really the transition that you do for students, right? Those that graduate from Miami Dade County Public Schools and what availability you have here for them. Hosting those FAFSA workshops during the Parent Choice Expo is so important. Not only are you educating the parents, but you're helping the parents. Some that might not speak the language need that extra support, especially for our newcomers coming into our district, that we need to make sure that we offer those bilingual services to them to facilitate the process of registration, fafsa, financial aid, et cetera. I also want to talk a little bit about during that expo that this community Parent Choice Expo is really to advocate and present resources for parents for them. If you're trying to find the perfect educational school for your child, if you want to meet those amazing principles that we have, if you want a change of career, you can do that here. It's a one stop shop. We have our human resources department here and you can become an educator if you would like to change careers. And truly it's a great partnership and it was super successful and we look forward to seeing it again in January right here in MDC Kendall.
[00:38:54] Speaker C: And that will be January 11th from 9 to 1 at Miami Dade College Kendall campus. We also enjoy dual enrollment with mdcps. So we have this year we hit the highest enrollment that you can ever imagine at Miami Dade with dual enrollment. And that was because of the great partnership that we have with you. Students are able to come to Miami Dade and take a dual enrollment class with us here on campus, or we can go over to the school and also host it there. And we also have a lot of open dialogues and discussions on curriculum development pathways from high school to college. So it's really a blessing to be able to do that.
[00:39:35] Speaker B: And I do think that the AI Innovation Hub and the Engineering Tech Lab are going to be amazing locations for our magnet students and our informational technology magnets and our STEM magnets to come in and really see and take part and participate in those learning environments. That's only going to draw our students interest to continue their educational studies here at mdc.
[00:39:59] Speaker A: Yeah, we appreciate that. Just a few numbers on the dual enrollment. We're up 14% and have over 3,600 students here this semester. So great work on that. Well, we like to end our broadcast by turning the microphone around. We first had our student government association here, and they wanted to ask me a question. So, ladies, I'm turning it around to you. Anything you would like to ask me before we close?
Not all at once.
[00:40:23] Speaker D: What do you forecast for the future of sports in the kennel campus?
[00:40:26] Speaker A: Wow, that's a great question.
We do have a couple of things in our pocket that we can't really comment on today, but there are some exciting things. I was on a call yesterday with the presidents in Florida, and there's push to add some more programs, and we do have some spaces, and we've got a plan in the works, and I'll answer that when I can without getting in trouble.
[00:40:49] Speaker D: That's exciting.
[00:40:49] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:40:50] Speaker B: Well, since we're on the topic of athletics, as a former principal, I'm super grateful to MDC Kendall for affording us an opportunity to use your facilities for sports.
Some of our high schools don't have baseball lights, so we can't do night events. However, we take part in the aquatic center that you afford us an opportunity to utilize.
And we do our water polo matches there, and we also do our swim meet. So we're very grateful for that and we look forward to future opportunities to take part and utilize your facility, which is within our own community.
[00:41:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I have to be honest, I've stopped many times and watched your water polo team play and a couple of the meets that are very impressive. And there have been nights that every lane in that pool is full, so. Well, all right. Well, thank you, ladies. So much. Christina, Anna, Paula, Magda, Rebecca, it's been a wonderful conversation. I want to take this moment to thank Christina Saenz, our head writer, Paul Klein today, who's doing double duty. Not only is he producing, but he's the executive producer of this podcast. And thank you all for being here today. And goodbye for now. There.
