FGCU

Patrick Mork has spent more than two decades working in the tech world, building and leading marketing teams at tech startups and helping to launch numerous products and brands across 3 different continents. In 2011, he joined Google and led the team there that created the Google Play brand. But, in 2017, he had a major life crisis that led him to pivot toward coaching and developing leaders in startups across Latin America. He moved to Chile and launched LEAP, it’s a leadership development company. All of that inspired his first book, “Step Back and Leap: 9 Keys to Unlock Your Life and Make Change Happen.” He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give the final talk for the university's Provost's Seminar Series. The title of his talk was “Becoming Unstoppable: 5 Pillars to Build Resilience in the Age of AI.”

A young, male black bear which had been getting into garbage on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus was trapped Thursday morning and will be relocated. The around 200-pound animal was caught in a Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission trap behind the WGCU Public Media station offices on campus.

Research into the science of kindness in recent decades has moved the conversation from kindness being a "feel-good" sentiment into a rigorous field of study that shows significant physiological and psychological benefits for people who practice it. At the same time, there is a growing global kindness movement comprised of a network of organizations dedicated to highlighting these kinds of benefits, and encouraging ways to embed the practice of kindness into our everyday lives. FGCU's Roots of Compassion & Kindness Center is hosting the first K20 Kindness Summit to kick off the "Kindness Without Borders" initiative.

Since the dawn of human civilization, men were assigned the role of hunting, and women were assigned the role of gathering. More and more, women are challenging those traditional gender roles. Hard hats, steel-toe boots and leadership positions are no longer reserved for men, as women increasingly take their claim in male-dominated fields.

As Southwest Florida’s population has grown in recent decades, there have been efforts to find ways to diversify our regional economy beyond the staples of tourism & hospitality, healthcare and financial services, construction, and agriculture. The volunteer-driven nonprofit SWFL Tech recently released their first Tech Pulse report that breaks down the data and it shows that between 2019 and 2024 the tech industry here grew faster than other parts of our economy. The tech sector grew almost 39% over those five years. We break down the report and talk about the challenges this region faces in growing a tech sector.

FGCU’s Wings of Hope program is expanding its reach beyond elementary school students to involve middle schoolers and high schoolers in the use of wildlife cameras.

Every year hundreds of thousands of students in dozens of countries act as delegates in a simulation of the United Nations. The 33rd annual Southwest Florida Model UN was held on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University last week. This year’s keynote speaker was Andrea Bedoya. She’s a 2020 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, and since leaving FGCU with her Political Science degree her career has already spanned four continents and a wide range of global service experiences. She stopped by the studio while she was back on campus to chat.

With the recently completed Cohen Student Union expansion plan, Cohen’s lawn project is in full effect, undergoing enhancements. The Cohen Student Union opened its newly remodeled doors to students Monday, Feb. 2. The updates to the facility include conference-style rooms, multiple seating areas, an information booth, and a bright cobalt-blue staircase. But while this may seem like sufficient improvements, the ever-present cranes and hard hats remain steady at work.

During the month of March, three exhibitions open, four close and 29 others continue their runs at Southwest Florida museums, highlighted by 'Discovering Ansel Adams' at the Baker Museum.