Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to the Kendall Speaks podcast. I am Dr. Brian Stewart, Kendall campus president.
And today, Kendall speaks with Dr. Philip Patterson, Chairperson of the Physical Science Department, and Dr. Alejandro Vieira, Chairperson of Life Science. Gentlemen, thank you for both being here today.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Glad to be here.
[00:00:24] Speaker C: Thank you for having us.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: I'm honored to have such distinguished gentlemen in my midst today. Well, let's start with both of you maybe telling a little bit about your journey here to the Kendall campus and how you arrived here at Miami Dade College.
[00:00:34] Speaker C: Well, let me go ahead and start. I started Miami dade college in 2005. I had really heard a lot of different things in my previous college about Miami Dade and what an exciting place this is. And I said, you know, I really want to be a part of that place. And I got lucky enough to be an administrator and a chair of the Life Science department for the last close to 20 years. So it's really been exciting the whole time. It's never been a dull moment.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Talk a little bit about your academic background. What was your path?
[00:01:02] Speaker C: My pathway was that I got my bachelor's degree, then I got a master's degree in general Biology. I had always really been interested in biology. Biology is always exciting to me that you deal with living things, and so I always found that really fascinating, and I really wanted to get into that. And when I was working at the previous college, I got the opportunity to finish a doctorate in anatomy and cell biolog, the New Jersey Medical School. So that's my educational background that really prepared me to come down here and work with our students.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: Well, we're blessed to have you here for so long. Dr. Patterson, tell us a little bit about your trek to Miami Dade College.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Well, I was originally at Kennesaw State University. It was actually Southern Polytechnic State University, which was an engineering and technology College with about 6,500 students. And somehow the Board of Regents decided to merge Southern Polytechnic State University with Kennesaw State. I was over the physics department initially. And so my dean said when we came together, he said, I want you to bring these two units together to work together to be a working unit, which I did and did a really good job at it. And then he told me, you're going back to faculty. I said, no, I'm not going back to faculty. I've been doing this job since 2005, and I've done well at it. I've honed my skills, and that's what I want to do. And so I began looking at different schools, and somehow on ZipRecruiter, Miami Dade College kept coming up and I really didn't know a lot about my Miami Dade College at the time. So I began to do some research and realize it was a large school with a large population of students who liked science. So I applied for the position. I initially got a position over at the west campus, but that didn't work out. And so I ended up at the Kendall campus. And it's really been a good run. I've been here since 2017 and it's really been really the best part of my career.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Wow, we're lucky that that didn't work out at west and, and you came here. What about your path? What was your academic path to it?
[00:02:54] Speaker B: My undergraduate is in mechanical engineering technology.
So I worked for General Motors for five years and decided that that's not what I wanted to do. So I went back to graduate school in Atlanta and got an mba. And while I was working on my mba, I was given the position to teach physics labs because they needed someone who can teach calc based physics labs. I said sure. So once I graduated, they offered me a job to continue working there as. So I took the position and I really enjoyed it. And then I got a master's degree in physics at Clark Atlanta University. And then I was working as a tenure track position. And then the dean came, said, we got a position as a department chair. Are you interested? I said sure. So that was in 2005. So I accepted that position in 2005 at Southern Polytechnic as a chair, and I really enjoyed it. But then again, they merged the two schools together and then I ended up here, which is what I really like.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: Well, we're blessed. I think we're three gentlemen from three states that all came to Florida together. So it's wonderful to all be together. Well, Dr. Vieira, let's talk a little bit about Life Science Department. Tell me a little bit about the disciplines and the programs that we offer there.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: Yeah, certainly I'm glad to be able to talk about our programs. Basically our number one program of course, is the AA and the Associates in Arts, which a lot of students take, in which they complete the courses to go for, continue with their bachelor's in general biology. But we also have a tremendous number of students that go into the allied health field. So we have a lot of students taking pre nursing classes, which are the anatomy and physiology, the microbiology. But we also have some other programs that are probably not as well acknowledged. One is bachelor's in biology. So a student can theoretically go for four years here at the Kendall campus. And complete the bachelor's program and be ready to apply to medical school, for example.
[00:04:42] Speaker A: That's great.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: And we also have another program that is really not as. Well, we don't really talk about it as much, which is the as the Associate in Science in Landscape Technology. And that program is really good because it's really more hands on for the people that are more hands on because not everybody's going to be is really cut out to be the scientists in the lab. We have some other type of people that like to work outside. And some of these people get some really nice jobs working for some of the farms and for some of the city parks. Right now we're working with Costa Farms, which is probably one of the biggest growers in the whole country. And we're getting students to work there and we're working on trying to get more collaboration with them. So that's a really nice program. People start with some really nice salaries with an AS degree. And I was always shocked by how much some of these people may end up making.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: Talk a little bit about the landscaping lab we have out toward the well.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: We have a landscape technology center which is located right across from the baseball field. And there's where we have all of our hands on classes. We have a very nice greenhouse. We have a large shade house and we have a lot of projects going on. One of the things we're working on right now with Dr. Chermansky, Teresa Chermansky, is on hydroponics, growing plants without soil. I mean, that's really one of the programs that is really good and it's really contemporary and really useful, especially in some of the different opportunities that are coming up in the county.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: It was sort of amazing. Today one of your faculty and one of our ceramics faculty made a pot and it gave me a bonsai plant today for the landscaping. So I was really impressed with that.
[00:06:24] Speaker C: Yes, we do collaborate with some of the, with the architecture department quite a bit. And sometimes they prepare the pots which then we use in our plant sales.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:06:33] Speaker C: It's really neat how we get the students that are not science students at all. I mean, they're architecture students and they're collaborating with us.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: That's awesome. Well, that's an area we'll find a way to continue to collaborate. Dr. Patterson, let's talk a little bit about the physical science department and highlight some of those programs, if you would.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Okay. We have AA degree in chemistry and an AA degree in physics. And to a smaller degree we also have geology. The largest program we have is chemistry. We have probably twice, maybe three times as many students in the chemistry discipline as we do in physics. Most of what we do, we're service oriented courses. We offer those courses for students who have to fulfill the chemistry or the math science requirements. So we do have some majors, but chemistry major and physics major is not very popular. But most of the students who come through our programs are wanting to go into nursing, are wanting to go into medical school, and they are struggling somewhat. So we really work with those students to try to get their learning up so they can get into these programs and we've been somewhat successful.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: Well, I have a little experience with the nursing program and I know for a matter of fact that your students that come from this campus are the best that make it to the medical campus. So kudos from me for your great work. Any other popular courses either of you like to highlight or have? We hit them all pretty well.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: We have an earth science course and we also offer astronomy. So those are not major courses, but they're courses that help fulfill the science requirement and students seem to enjoy those courses. They fill up pretty fast, especially the ESC 1000 courses. I think for the most part they fill and students seem to enjoy those courses. We have really good teachers who have backgrounds in those areas and they do a really good job of taking those classes and teaching those classes. So that's kind of a highlight that we have here.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:08:18] Speaker C: I would like to highlight our bachelor's in biology program because a lot of the students here don't realize that you can finish your four year degree right here at the Kendall campus at Miami Dade. And you don't have to go to fiu, you don't have to go to ucf, you don't have to go to UM and overpay over there. You can do it right here for less cost. And our programs are better in terms that you have more of a dedicated lab experience than then you take more lab credits and more lab experience than you would at fiu, for example. So that's why I really want to highlight our bachelor's program and really tell the students, you really need to consider us because we really got something really truly excellent here and you're going to be missing out if you just go ahead and transfer.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Well, that kind of leads me to my next question. Talk a little bit about how both of you prepare our students for careers in life science. I know. And physical science. I know a lot of our students, as you both had mentioned, come to us to take science courses, but a lot of them end up staying in that science field. And how do you guys help prepare our students for the workforce?
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Well, one thing is the teachers we have are probably best on the planet. And I say that without reservation. They do a very good job. And the students even know that you look on rate my professor. And what they're saying is these teachers are tough and they are. And one of the reasons why the students do so well in the nursing program is because they're pretty rigorous on this side in taking chemistry. Now there are students, a lot of them, that do struggle. And so we work hard with that, which I can talk about a little bit later on if you like, to try to help them. But most of the students we get have a desire to go into medical school or into nursing school. So that is what we do, you know, to try to help these students get prepared. So we work real hard with those teachers. They roll their sleeves up and they do such a great job of helping to repair those students.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: You know, you talk about students who think they want to be a nurse or think they want to be in a medical field. I see a lot of students who, this is what I think I want to be. And then they get into programs and oh, that's not really it for me. So are there things that you guys can do to help those students? Maybe they know they want to be in a medical pathway, but maybe they don't know about radiology or all they know is nursing. And there may be other science related things that they may fit better in.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: Well, one of the things that I, that I do, that I've been doing is working with a smart action plan students. These are students who are taking a class for the third time and they need to have some help in some direction. So every student that comes through physical sciences that has to take a class a third time on our campus, I meet with them. It ends up being about 100 of them per semester.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Wow, that's amazing.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: And so I meet with every one of them initially to have an initial conversation about what is the problem, why are you having to take this class a third time? And I mean, we have a really in depth conversation. What's going on in your life? Are you working? How are you studying? That sort of thing? And then sometimes it does come out that, you know, I really don't want to study that. Right. So what I have on my computer already set up is the Bureau of Labor Statistics has a very good website that talks about and gives information on different areas of study and different careers. What's required to get into those careers and what salaries you can expect to get out of them and where the most jobs located in the country. So many times what I'll do with the students is I'll go through there and say, well let me tell you, what are you interested in? And we'll go to that site and then I'll send them a bunch of stuff to their email, bunch of links that will help them to maybe look through and do some research to figure out what it is they want to do. Most of them have never heard of BLS Gov. They've never heard of that Bureau of Labor Statistics. And so that is a really good resource to help students kind of figure out what they want to do. And the other thing is, is that I encourage them to talk to the professors because they are the subject matter experts and they know a lot about the areas associated with their areas of study and everything around those areas of study. So encouraging the students to talk to them kind of helps them to navigate that.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Great answer, great answer. Dr. Vieira. Same, same to you. What do you do to prepare students and then maybe talk about how you can kind of help students shape their pathway?
[00:12:17] Speaker C: Well, I think the, one of the key things when the students come in is that they have to have proper advising. We have two advisors here in the department in room 3265. We want to work with all the students to make sure that they have a map of the classes that need to take as well as learn about some of the different opportunities that are available within the different subfields you mentioned, like radiology. There's dental hygienists, there's a bunch of different programs that we have at Miami Dade that they can all kind of get into if they're not really want to get into that main program.
So we really want to guide them and we want to help them. We want to expose them to faculty. One of the things we do in the fall is we do an expo in which students begin to see and speak to some of the faculty that we have so that they can become introduced to what's available. Because a lot of times people don't know what they want to do. And I understand that. I mean, in my case I knew I loved biology and I really had to get into biology and that was the only thing for me. But you know, some other people are not as directed, they're not as, as ready to make a commitment as somebody like me. But you know, we need to help those people see all the different options until they find exactly the right niche that they really want to get into.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: You know, when we went to school, that 120 hours was just sort of a number. A lot of students experimented with that. And I knew math was what I wanted to do pretty much from when I first got there. But a lot of students did what you said, they'd experiment. And now we've kind of taken that opportunity out for our students. So I think those are great answers. Dr. Patterson, you mentioned something that I want to go to both of you to in my next question, and that's talking about mentoring and tutoring opportunities. Talk a little bit about how we can enhance the and support our students experience.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: We have three tutors that we've hired specifically to help students with chemistry, and they are very good tutors. One of them, Anna Maria Rodriguez de Sousa, she's been with us ever since I've been here. She is a senior citizen and she is one that many.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: Some applause for that being here to support that.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: She is one that many students have adopted as their grandmother.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:19] Speaker B: They actually bring her food, bring her lunch, and they love her. And she does a really good job of tutoring. And the other two students we just hired are students here at Miami Dade who did very well in chemistry. So we have those three people in place to help those students. And they're doing a good job. I mean, because anytime you go past their offices, they got students in those offices. They're in there, they're working, trying to get that done. The other thing we do is we always encourage the students again, to talk to the professors, to get mentoring from them, because again, them being the subject matter experts, well, they can tell the students better than anybody else about what it is that you need to do to get where you want to go. And then when I'm taught working with students that are smart, action plan students, I sit down again and have long conversation, try to help mentor them as best I can. I do meet with each of those students after every one of their five exams. So that's 100 students per semester, five exams. So you can see how, where my time goes. And I use a lot of that time to have a personal conversation with these students about what it is you want to do. And I never tell the students, you can't. I tell them what you need to do to get there. And I said, what my job is, is to help you get there, help you to navigate that. And we can help you find whatever resources that you need in order to get there.
[00:15:32] Speaker A: That's Good.
[00:15:34] Speaker C: Well, I mean, to add to Dr. Patterson, we do have one tutor that tutors in the Life Science department, Anatomy and physiology. His name is Max, and he works with the students that are taking that class. But really, our biggest endeavor in tutoring is the Stitches program, which is led by Dr. Sean McLean and that works together with the chemistry faculty in really developing a cohort of students that go through the whole allied health program. We particularly focus on the nursing students, and we really had some fantastic results. We've increased the passing rates in the Chemistry 1033 class tremendously with the amount of intrusive tutoring. And we introduce the students, we have field trips to the medical campus. We have all kinds of different services that are available to really help those students to really get focused on that allied health track.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you for bringing up Stitches. That is an amazing program. And we'll do a future podcast on that program. So, great, great group. Great answer for both of you. Let's talk now a little bit about research and projects and those kinds of things that might be going on within your department. I know we have several faculty who do research, and typically at a community college or a college like US versus FIU or somewhere, we hire as Dr. Patterson, you mentioned teaching. That's what they're here for. But I know we have faculty that do other things, so talk a little bit.
[00:16:53] Speaker C: Well, research is really an essential component of science, and a lot of times students don't really get that research experience, and they really, really would help some when they do get that research experience. For many years, we had some of our courses had integrated research. The students would be doing research in the lab as part of the curriculum for the lab. And at the end of the semester, they will be putting together a poster presentation that they would bring to the School of Science and introduce that to. We had. In the fall, we would have a showcase of posters, but we do have additional research. One of our faculty members, Dr. Catalina Arestizabal and Dr. Marbelli Spino, are doing research on orchids, and they're looking for students to work on this orchid project that they're working with Fairchild and Montgomery Gardens on orchids. We also have Dr. Chermansky that's doing research, especially in the summer, from the School of Science with students in the landscape facility. One summer, they were working on developing a better fertilizer mix for using for growing plants.
These are the type of things that really get the students into seeing what science is really like. Science is not sitting in a classroom looking at a book it's being in a lab with your hands on an activity. That's what science is really like. And science is research. That's why we have. The whole scientific process is about research. So we really have to. We have a lot of that going on and we want to encourage our students. And if anybody's interested in research, come and see us and we can get you together with these faculty members that are doing research. So all it takes is for you to take that first step and come and see us in 3265.
[00:18:32] Speaker A: Well, I can't imagine that some of our audience won't be changing their majors after hearing from both of you two today. What about research and things in your area?
[00:18:40] Speaker B: We generally have two research projects going on. We have two researchers. We have Dr. Sumi such AK and she typically does a research project. It's called the Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Periodic Media.
[00:18:54] Speaker A: What a name.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Yeah. And she revises it somewhat so that it's kind of a new and fresh project every semester. So she generally has about two students working with her and she does a big bigger project, more advanced project over the summer. All this is funded generally by the school of science, Dr. Sacasa at the North Campus. And then we have Dr. Servando Munoz, he's an organic chemist. And he will generally have one to two students working with him from time to time on different areas of organic chemistry. And those students will present at conferences, poster projects, oral presentations at various conferences.
[00:19:31] Speaker A: Very good, very good. Let's go to technology. What about technology, Dr. Vieira, in AI are those things that are. That you're seeing in your classroom and with your students and faculty?
[00:19:41] Speaker C: Well, I think one of our most really impressive projects that has to do with Technology is a HoloLens in anatomy and physiology. We have Dr. Maria Sendon, who teaches the anatomy lab, and she has the students use a HoloLens that creates a hollow image of a human, and they're able to take apart the human using their hands, using those lenses. So they really are really getting into the dissection without having to really. You're not really doing any wet dissection. You're doing a holographic dissection. And a lot of the students are really excited about that course and they really are always asking, oh, I want to take the class with Dr. Sandon. I really want to get into the. Into the HoloLens. That's really probably our most exciting project that's. That's been funded with the stitches grant.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: Very good. Dr. Patterson, how does Physical science department collaborate with other fields in the life and environmental science and such.
[00:20:35] Speaker B: Right now, we're working with True north, the charter school, and we are offering chemistry 1025. And we are also. We were offering physics 1025. So chemistry 1025, physics 1025 with true north. That's kind of one of the things that we're doing. And Dr. Veer already talked about the Stitches grant and how the tutors in that area as far as. And also the professors in our department are working. And what he was so gracious to. To not say was that the grade distribution has increased. It's gone from about 30% pass rate to about 70 to 75% pass rate.
[00:21:10] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: That's because of the intrusive type of tutoring that Dr. Vere has been over, and we've gotten the benefit of it in our department.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: So, yeah, that's. So it's basically Stitches is what we're doing. And then also True north is what we're doing.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Is the True North a dual enrollment partnership?
[00:21:27] Speaker B: It is. Yeah.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Dual enrollment is doing really well at Kendall, and I'm glad to hear we're doing some things in the science area for both of you. What about any industry partnerships or any. Anything related to businesses that we might be doing?
[00:21:42] Speaker C: Well, as I alluded earlier, we work with a lot of different partners as part of the landscape technology program. I mentioned Costa Farms, which is probably one of the biggest farmers outfits here in Miami Dade county, but we also work with a bunch of other different programs in Montgomery Garden, Fairchild, and we're really partnering and our students get the ability to go in there and do work and a lot of them get hired. So this really has become a. We've had so many phone calls from some of our collaborative partners that they are looking for employees that we don't even have enough students to provide them with enough employees. So, you know, for the students, if you're looking for something that's going to get you a job, landscape technology. I mean, we have more people looking for folks to work and we don't have enough people to supply them with. So, I mean, that's really. And that's why Costa Farms is so interested in our students, because, I mean, this is a source of people that are trained that are ready to go into the workforce.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: So maybe we need to develop some sort of marketing brochure or something for those students. So we'll talk about that on the side after this. That's really good. Anything, Dr. Patterson, that you Want to.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Well, the only thing that we're looking at is putting together some type of a program within chemistry on water testing, because that's something that's pretty big in the chemistry area. So we haven't done it yet, but it's something that's in the works, is on the horizon that we want to work with maybe the water quality people here in this area.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: I know I don't have to tell you this, but we have seven ponds or creeks or lakes, we call them all different things in Texas, but we've got some great ability to do that here. So I'm happy to hear that. Well, one of the reasons all three of us are here are students. And I think we all do this job because of students. So let's talk a little bit about some of the students you guys have seen pass through your areas and success stories and impacts that they've made in the community. We'll start with you, Dr. Patterson.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: We have several students who've been able to go into medical school. We have some students at UPenn. We have some students at University of Miami. We have students that are at Ph.D. programs in physics. We have students that are in Ph.D. programs in chemistry. And some of them been talking about wanting to come back here and teach once they get their degrees. So we have. That's what we've done. We kind of track them and they're doing very well and we're very proud of them.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: Yeah, there's no better feeling when you see them come back and want to be adjuncts with us and, and maybe even full time. So that's awesome. Dr. Vier, any.
[00:24:08] Speaker C: I mean, in our case, we had students. Like one of those students I want to highlight is Xavier Grotakos. He used to be in the Landscape technology program and now he's the superintendent at Montgomery Garden. So that's one of the people that have graduated from our program. We had David Hardy, he is at Biscaya Gardens, another one of our landscape technology students. And we have just like an innumerable number of biology students have gone on that have gone to a bunch of different schools. We create success for our students. And that's what I really want to highlight. You do your degree here, you're going to be successful because we have the top faculty, not only the ones that we have in chemistry, the ones in biology. And these faculty are really dedicated to making you your best, the best that you can be.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: Thank you. Just made a new logo for one of our T shirts coming up. That's awesome.
What about Any upcoming new technologies or resources that maybe will help set our Kindle students apart. Any. Anything either of you have going on you want to highlight.
[00:25:09] Speaker B: We're trying to figure out how best to integrate AI in our classes. It's here we got to figure out how to use it. You know, there are positives and negatives to AI, so we're trying to teach the students how best to use AI so it'll prepare them for the workforce, but also so it will help them in getting through these classes. So what I've done is I've asked a chemist, a physicist, and an earth science person to kind of come up with how we could best integrate those in our classes. And they're going to present to us at our next department meeting. So that's what we're looking at. Aside from the fact that we have a lot of expensive chemistry equipment that's down in one of the research labs, I think we're pretty good right now. Maybe I shouldn't say that. Maybe hit up some money, but I think for right now, we're pretty good as far as the equipment's concerned.
A lot of the equipment that we use in the teaching labs, it's getting kind of old, you know, so we have. And some of it is very expensive. Like there's an experiment called the E to M experiment and the light bulbs, and those things are like 700 or 800 bucks.
[00:26:13] Speaker A: Oh, goodness. Yeah.
[00:26:14] Speaker B: And so we are in the process of looking to try to replace some of these things. So that's where we are in terms of.
[00:26:20] Speaker A: Before we come to you, Dr. Vera, let's talk a little bit about labs. You know, as I've walked in your spaces, and I know we have labs that have been around a day or two, but they don't make labs like we have anymore. I've opened some campuses and built new labs, and you guys really have good hoods, good facilities, and good equipment. Talk a little bit about your equipment and some of those things you're proud of.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: We've got a lot of equipment.
We tried to avoid going the simulation route, and we, of course, had to do that during the pandemic. But now the pandemic is over. We're getting back to. Because we found out is a lot of students didn't really get the. The learning that they needed and trying to sit in front of a computer and type things out. So the equipment that we have, it's hardcore equipment. You have masses that are 1 kg. You cannot replace those. We have air tracks that do pretty good we have some computer related things that we're doing over in the chemistry lab. We have a lot of reagents, we have equipment that we. Some of them, we're in the process of replacing it now. So we have a lot of good but a lot of very expensive equipment. And we have certain things that are electronic that they're in and out that work sometimes and sometimes they don't. But we do have spares and so we're in pretty good shape. But we are in the process of trying to revamp some of those labs.
[00:27:35] Speaker A: Well, give me a list. We'll work on, on repairs.
[00:27:38] Speaker C: We have a very long.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: I'm sure you do. I'll take that. Talk a little bit about your models. I've seen some of your models and some of your. You have some really good things for our students.
[00:27:46] Speaker C: One of the things we do, we have 11 labs in the life science department and some of the labs. And I know you like the models, but one of the things I really think is really cool is the biotechnology lab. We are able to do pcr, we're able to do gel electrophoresis. Some of the techniques that are used in biotechnology are really exciting for the students. And we have the equipment to do all of that as well as some of the specialized microscopes. We have a whole room dedicated to tissue culture so we can grow cells, we can grow plant tissue right there. So we have all these specialized equipment. A lot of this which is you will learn when you do the bachelor's program. We have a lot of the courses that use some of that equipment in the bachelor's program. So we do have a lot of nice models too. I mean, of course, but I mean, of course my favorite is the, the Hololens because I mean, I just like that 3D stuff.
Any of that stuff in college. I mean it's amazing. I can't believe that you can actually do stuff. You know, I'm taking the whole person apart and it's like, you know, you really get hands on. You're like pulling the muscle, you're pulling the nerves, you're pulling the blood vessels. I mean that's really cool, you know.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: Well, this has been a great conversation today and I hope our listening audience can see the passion these two gentlemen have. And for those that don't know how hard our chairs work at Miami Dade College, I want to just take just a few minutes to tell you how grateful I am for your two positions, all of our chairs. But I've witnessed you guys firsthand and I Can tell by the passion in these questions how valuable you are to our campus. And I'm glad Dr. Patterson didn't go back to the classroom. I'm glad you said, I'm going to stay as a chair because we're blessed to have it here. So thank you too, for what you've done. We have a little tradition that we like to turn the microphone around. If there's any question you'd like to ask me and put me on the spot, we'll do that right now.
[00:29:33] Speaker C: Well, Mindy, from the faculty and from the staff, we're really glad to have you here because what we've seen so far, everybody's really impressed by you, and we want to work with you and we want to work with our students because after, at the bottom, at the end of the day, the students are number one. So, ladies and gentlemen, come to us. We want you. We want to teach you. We want to make you the best scientist you can be.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: Very well said.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: One of the things that I heard from students and faculty is he can barbecue. Uh, oh, and that, that just. That was. That was a turn on. Because they figure if they got somebody who is down to earth that can talk, that's relatable, then that is something that's a draw to the students and the faculty. The faculty, they're excited that you're here. And so we're glad you talk about you're glad I'm here. We're glad you're here.
[00:30:23] Speaker A: I didn't mean it for it to turn into those kind of questions, but I truly am blessed to be here. There's so many great things about this campus, and I'm excited. I love our students. I love walking the halls and classrooms, and I'll be teaching a math class real soon, next semester.
[00:30:39] Speaker B: Do you have a vision for this campus that we might not know about or something we might want to know?
[00:30:45] Speaker A: You know, first of all, I will say, I know that you have cycled through several leaders in the last. I think you've had four now in six years. And so that would be the first thing I'd say is some consistency. I think that's what I want to bring. But also I really want to focus on academics. That's where my career has been. I've opened two campuses from the ground floor, hired everybody from the ground floor. And so it's always a challenge when you walk on a campus. And I really didn't know anyone here when I first came. And so this first, I guess we're now almost on six Months has been trying to meet people. And you know, what I want to do is continue to provide partnerships with our business and industry. That's one of the things I think I did at the medical campus. And I think there's a lot of opportunities for us to bring in graduate students or students that graduated from us and partner with them. When I first got here, I would be in the community and I promise you, four out of five people that I would meet would say, oh, I graduated from the Kendall campus. And so I want to turn those people into people that are giving back and helping the students you guys have in the classroom. So that's kind of one of my goals. I obviously want to grow this campus back. I hear what it was in 2012, where people were parking on the grass. I mean, I really don't want to go back there, but I want to see our numbers grow and we are in a very big growth cycle. So. But all of that's to say we still have to have quality. We want to turn out students that are doing what you guys have been doing for the last several years.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: Well, one of the concerns that we have is that we're trying to, at least in the chemistry and physics, we'd like to see the level of rigorous across all campuses be equal. And that's really a problem. So we would like to get some help there in that area.
[00:32:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's something we can have conversations about and maybe we can model our success. And I know our school of science is on the north campus, and so that's something I'd also like to work on too. And we'll maybe brainstorm on what we can do to support that, because I agree with you, we need to be consistent so that our students transfer around to different campuses that they're all at the same level. So I think that's a great goal for us to work on.
[00:32:51] Speaker C: And one of the things I really want to highlight is that we have a lot of in person classes. All of our labs are in person. So ladies and gentlemen, if you really want to get the experience of science, you can come here and get it in person. We have a lot of our lectures in person, so you are able to really be with the faculty. I've had students come in and say, oh, I want the class in person. Don't worry, we got it. We got it here at Kendall, So come to Kendall. We got those in person classes for you.
[00:33:16] Speaker A: Well, I think our audience can tell the two marketing masters we have here, as well as what academic leaders we have. So, again, I want to thank Dr. Patterson, Dr. Vieira for being here today. Thank you for your dedication to Miami Dade College Kendall Campus, and we're going to continue to make this place great. I want to thank all those that helped make this podcast work. I want to thank Christina Signs, our head writer, Paul Klein, our executive producer, and Alex Bellows, our producer, for helping make these podcasts. So thank you all for joining us today, and goodbye for now.
