Published: Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 7:42 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 7:42 p.m.

Students at Jewett School of the Arts held a three-week-long pet food drive and delivered a donation to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Lakeland on Feb. 20. They collected the food in partnership with the SPCA and Volunteers In Service To the Elderly, with the goal of helping the elderly keep their pets. Students created commercials and posters and were ambassadors for the project, collecting more than 700 pounds of pet food.

SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Southeastern University has named Frank Kendrick the new president of the university's alumni association.

Kendrick is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Building Construction and graduated with a master of arts in ministerial leadership in 2009 from Southeastern. He is chief executive officer and founder of NuJak Companies Inc., and his company has been a part of various construction projects at Southeastern, including the Chick-fil-A Express and the Fire Football Stadium.

Kendrick is also highly involved in the Lakeland community, serving on the board of directors of Lakeland Regional Medical Center and on the advisory board of VISTE (Volunteers in Service to the Elderly).

In the past, he has been on the board of United Way, the Lakeland Chamber and AMI Kids.

KOHL'S SCHOLARSHIPS

Kohl's Department Stores' Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program will award nearly $400,000 in scholarships and prizes to more than 2,500 students who have made a positive impact on their communities. Nominations for those ages six to 18 will be accepted through March 13 at kohlskids.com.

Parents, teachers, neighbors and friends can nominate the outstanding youth in their lives, who volunteer their time, innovation and passion for helping others and making a difference.

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Polk County School Notes & Student News

Approximately 20 alumni recentlyvisited Archbishop High School in Marreroto encourage students who are still deciding their career paths.

Students heard presentations from graduates of 1985 to 2009 representing more than 15 careers. Careers included medicine; (medical doctors, nursing and dentistry), government; (attorneys and law enforcement officers), hospitality; (restaurant and tourism), engineering; and business/ finance.

Representing the class of '85 was Dr. Hector Cabrera; class of '86, DEA Special Agent Brian Mariana, nurse Troy Chesterman, engineer Henry I. DiFranco Jr. and attorney Keith Bergeron; class of '88, physical therapist Scott Sculthorp, attorney Ron Austin and DEA Special Agent Lonnie Taix; class of '90, dentist Darryl Bourg; class of '91, chief financial officer Wayne Templet; class of '95.Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts and Kevin Guidroz; class of 2001, district manager Derrick Dunne; class of 2003, inside sales representative Dave Noble; class of 2004, adviser/entrepreneur Kyle R. Beerbohn; class of 2006, engineer Jeremy Walker; and class of 2009, entrepreneurs of 3-D Printing Ricky Twiggs and businessman Joe Stieffel.

Although students were attentive and displayed interested in all of the presentations, they were particularly intrigued with the two youngest graduates, Twiggs and Stieffel, both age 23 and who own their own businesses.

Twiggs, a psychology major graduate from Holy Cross College, is founder and sole proprietor of "Unchained Thought Enterprises" (UTE). He uses three-dimensional print to design and construct/create robotic hands, legs and feet for patients who have lost limbs. He says that so far, he has designed three adult legs and 15 hands and feet for adults and children.

Twiggs said, "We are a research and development company that implement emerging technologies into various industries such as robotics, healthcare, three- and four-dimensional printing and other areas.

He said, "I am a consultant. I help generate more business for other companies and develop detailed logistic reports for targeted markets."

During the presentation, Twiggs displayed one of the robotic hands that his company designed and constructed. He said, "I hire engineers and organize logistics to provide limbs for those in need.

"Prosthetics can run from $1,500 to $15,000; they can be very expensive. For those who meet certain criteria, we work with them to help provide the limb."

Stieffel, his longtime friend and colleague, is a business graduate from University of South Mississippi and markets UTE business and other businesses. He is also the owner of R&D Specialties, which designs and prints logos on a variety of items and was engaged to embroider logos onto the tee-shirts for UTE.

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Archbishop Shaw alumni return to Marrero campus to inspire students

Monday, February 16, 11:24 AM EST

By Kathy Para, The JBA Pro Bono Committee Chair

Florida Coastal alumni attorneys, faculty and law students gathered Feb. 7 to assist senior patients at the MCCI Dunn Avenue Clinic.

The Florida Coastal pro bono team committed to staffing the event and serving patients after the event, as well.

Matching the need for advance directives with a group of willing volunteers means that more area senior citizens will have the support of people they trust as they manage their health, housing and financial matters.

The advance directives for seniors project is presented in three segments. In the first segment, alumna Debbie Lee-Clark spoke at the MCCI Clinic on Dunn Avenue.

Senior citizens gathered to hear her describe the purposes of each of these advance directive documents: durable power of attorney, designation of health care surrogate, designation of pre-need guardian and living will.

Seniors who wanted to sign up to have the documents created worked with Shondria Jennings, the activities coordinator at the clinic, to schedule a time to meet with an attorney Feb. 7.

Document creation at a single event is the second segment of the project. On that day, nine senior citizens completed their advance directives documents.

The third segment of the project provides assistance for seniors who were not able to attend the Saturday event but indicated they would like to have the service.

More here:
Pro bono spotlight: Florida Coastal School of Law alumni assist seniors

The University of Minnesota is seeking less funding from the state. The Board of Regents lowered the schools 2016-17 biennial budget request by $9 million on Friday.

The amendment follows Gov. Mark Daytons budget proposal, which he announced last month. It sets aside enough state dollars for only half of the tuition freeze the school is hoping for, but provides $30 million for the Universitys Medical School.

The school also hopes to receive state funding for research on the effects of mining and an initiative to address Minnesota healthcare workforce shortages. Those plans, however, werent included in Daytons budget proposal.

The regents agreed to modify the schools $127.2 million request to better match his proposal, which only covers about one-quarter of the Universitys total request.

By amending the request, we are buying into a focus on our Medical School in partnership with the state, Regent Laura Brod said at Fridays Board of Regents meeting.

Dayton formed a Blue Ribbon Committee last year to boost the Medical Schools prestige and address the states health care workforce needs.

Medical School Dean Brooks Jackson and University Chief Financial Officer Richard Pfutzenreuter presented the committees recommendations to the board on Friday, which includes a plan to hire 100 new faculty members.

Daytons $30 million plan for the Medical School includes employing 50 new faculty members over eight years to help secure additional National Institutes of Health grants.

Regent John Frobenius said receiving state funding is an important step in improving the Medical Schools standing, but even more assistance will be needed in the future to address medical education.

I just want to make sure that we dont [accept this funding] and its done, he said. Medical education is going through an enormous transition in this state.

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Regents reconfigure Us budget request

In this May 29 photo, graduates of Harvard Law School wave gavels and cheer during Harvard University commencement ceremonies in Cambridge. The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs in 2014. AP FILE PHOTO

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

NEW YORK -- Harvard is top of the IPO class for 2014.

The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs last year. That's more than twice the amount of the next highest schools in the rankings, according to figures from Equilar, an executive compensation data firm.

Harvard's performance wasn't a fluke. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school has led the rankings for at least the last three years, according to Equilar.

Tied for second place last year were Columbia University, Stanford University, Texas Tech University and University of North Carolina. Each school produced three CEOs who took their companies public.

The seven newly publicly traded companies led by Harvard alumni range from online bank Ally Financial to pharmaceutical company Kite Pharma. The group notched an average gain of 74 percent from the date of their market debut to the end of the year. By comparison, the FTSE Renaissance US IPO index, which tracks the performance of U.S. initial public offerings, gained 9.6 percent last year.

The average gain of the companies led by Harvard-schooled CEOs was also better than that of other schools. The IPOs led by former University of North Carolina students rose an average of 39 percent. Stanford graduates posted an average gain of 37 percent. Texas Tech University graduates saw an average increase of nearly 7 percent, while IPOs led by Columbia alumni had an average loss of almost 3 percent.

The Harvard executives are following one of the school's most famous students. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, studied computer science at the school from September 2002 to May 2004 before leaving to focus on the social networking company. Facebook raised about $16 billion in its market debut in 2012.

Among the Harvard graduates who oversaw IPOs in 2014, two earned undergraduate degrees, one completed a residency at Harvard Medical School, while four earned graduate degrees, including two who studied at Harvard Business School.

Read the rest here:
Harvard is head of the IPO class

When FBI Special Agent Jaime Barajas looked out onto the nearly 200 faces gathered for an assembly Friday at McKenzie Junior High School, he saw himself.

Barajas, whose fledgling foundation donates money to the Guadalupe Union School District, grew up in the fields of the Santa Maria Valley, one of nine children picking broccoli and strawberries with his parents. He went on to college -- playing tennis at Hancock College and Cal State Northridge -- and a successful career in law enforcement, first with the Los Angeles Police Department and now with the FBI.

Now, as founder of the Barajas Foundation, he stops by the school every year trying to inspire them to work hard in school and their community, while honoring them for their effort in the classroom.

This year, Barajas was joined by Jose Nichols, former principal at Mary Buren Elementary who is now director of the Barajas Foundation, McKenzie alumnus Anthony Santana, an executive in the medical industry, and Joe Ayala, an attorney with the Legislative Counsel Bureau in Sacramento.

Together, they told the students the effort they expend in school will eventually bear fruit.

"I was sitting exactly where you're sitting," he told the 200 eighth-graders stuffed into the school's tiny cafeteria. "We want you to believe anything is possible."

Santana is another local kid -- a second-generation Guadalupean -- who made good. He wasn't the first of his generation in Guadalupe. His father also attended the school.

Santana went from McKenzie to Righetti High School to Hancock College and to Cal Poly before launching a successful 27-year career in the medical industry. He works for Covidien, a global company that manufactures and sells surgical equipment.

Santana said his path wasn't always straight and smooth -- he essentially failed his first quarter at Cal Poly -- but it paid off.

"My dad used to tell me, 'If you take the easy road, life will be hard. If you take the hard road, life will be easy," he said. "You'll fail along the way. We all fail. Failure is part of success. You have to keep pushing."

Original post:
McKenzie alumni inspire, honor students

NEW YORK (AP) Harvard is top of the IPO class for 2014.

The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs last year. That's more than twice the amount of the next highest schools in the rankings, according to figures from Equilar, an executive compensation data firm.

Harvard's performance wasn't a fluke. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school has led the rankings for at least the last three years, according to Equilar.

Tied for second place last year were Columbia University, Stanford University, Texas Tech University and University of North Carolina. Each school produced three CEOs who took their companies public.

The seven newly publicly traded companies led by Harvard alumni range from online bank Ally Financial to pharmaceutical company Kite Pharma. The group notched an average gain of 74 percent from the date of their market debut to the end of the year. By comparison, the FTSE Renaissance US IPO index, which tracks the performance of U.S. initial public offerings, gained 9.6 percent last year.

The average gain of the companies led by Harvard-schooled CEOs was also better than that of other schools. The IPOs led by former University of North Carolina students rose an average of 39 percent. Stanford graduates posted an average gain of 37 percent. Texas Tech University graduates saw an average increase of nearly 7 percent, while IPOs led by Columbia alumni had an average loss of almost 3 percent.

The Harvard executives are following one of the school's most famous students. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, studied computer science at the school from September 2002 to May 2004 before leaving to focus on the social networking company. Facebook raised about $16 billion in its market debut in 2012.

Among the Harvard graduates who oversaw IPOs in 2014, two earned undergraduate degrees, one completed a residency at Harvard Medical School, while four earned graduate degrees, including two who studied at Harvard Business School.

Thomas Eisenmann, a professor at the business school, says that the program has been placing an emphasis on entrepreneurship for at least a decade. "It's a very strong focus for us," he said, noting that almost half of the school's alumni have started at least one company.

Kent Bennett, a partner at venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, started at Harvard Business School in 2006 and says the school had not yet launched a lot of the formal entrepreneurship programs that now exist.

Read more from the original source:
Harvard grads lead IPO class of 2014

By STEVE ROTHWELL AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Harvard is top of the IPO class for 2014.

The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs last year. That's more than twice the amount of the next highest schools in the rankings, according to figures from Equilar, an executive compensation data firm.

Harvard's performance wasn't a fluke. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school has led the rankings for at least the last three years, according to Equilar.

Tied for second place last year were Columbia University, Stanford University, Texas Tech University and University of North Carolina. Each school produced three CEOs who took their companies public.

The seven newly publicly traded companies led by Harvard alumni range from online bank Ally Financial to pharmaceutical company Kite Pharma. The group notched an average gain of 74 percent from the date of their market debut to the end of the year. By comparison, the FTSE Renaissance US IPO index, which tracks the performance of U.S. initial public offerings, gained 9.6 percent last year.

The average gain of the companies led by Harvard-schooled CEOs was also better than that of other schools. The IPOs led by former University of North Carolina students rose an average of 39 percent. Stanford graduates posted an average gain of 37 percent. Texas Tech University graduates saw an average increase of nearly 7 percent, while IPOs led by Columbia alumni had an average loss of almost 3 percent.

The Harvard executives are following one of the school's most famous students. Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, studied computer science at the school from September 2002 to May 2004 before leaving to focus on the social networking company. Facebook raised about $16 billion in its market debut in 2012.

Among the Harvard graduates who oversaw IPOs in 2014, two earned undergraduate degrees, one completed a residency at Harvard Medical School, while four earned graduate degrees, including two who studied at Harvard Business School.

Thomas Eisenmann, a professor at the business school, says that the program has been placing an emphasis on entrepreneurship for at least a decade. "It's a very strong focus for us," he said, noting that almost half of the school's alumni have started at least one company.

Continued here:
Harvard grads lead IPO class of 2014 - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

In US initial stock sales Harvard grads lead the way (02-13 16:11) The US university Harvard is top of the initial public offering class for 2014. The Ivy League school is the alma mater for seven chief executives who led their companies' IPOs last year. That is more than twice the amount of the next highest schools in the rankings, according to figures from Equilar, an executive compensation data firm. (Pictured, Ally Financial chief Michael Carpenter). The Cambridge, Massachusetts, school has led the rankings for at least the last three years, according to Equilar. Tied for second place last year were Columbia University, Stanford University, Texas Tech University and University of North Carolina. Each school produced three chief executives who took their companies public. The seven newly publicly traded companies led by Harvard alumni range from online bank Ally Financial to pharmaceutical company Kite Pharma. The group notched an average gain of 74 percent from the date of their market debut to the end of the year. By comparison, the FTSE Renaissance US IPO index, which tracks the performance of US initial public offerings, gained 9.6 percent last year. The average gain of the companies led by Harvard-schooled CEOs was also better than that of other schools. The IPOs led by former University of North Carolina students gained an average of 39 percent. Stanford graduates posted an average gain of 37 percent. Texas Tech University graduates saw an average increase of nearly 7 percent, while IPOs led by Columbia alumni had an average loss of almost 3 percent. Among the Harvard graduates who oversaw IPOs in 2014, two earned undergraduate degrees, one completed a residency at Harvard Medical School, while four earned graduate degrees, including two who studied at Harvard Business School. Last year's US IPO market was strong. A total of 293 companies raised US$96 billion from initial stock sales, according to data provider Dealogic. That was the most cash raised from IPOs since 2000. Michael Carpenter, CEO of Ally Financial, led the biggest IPO of any Harvard graduate last year, when he oversaw the financial service company's US$12 billion sale of stock in April. Carpenter holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He stepped down as Ally's CEO February 2 of this year. Graduating from Harvard does not guarantee that your stock sale will be a success. Daniel Yates, the founder and CEO of Opower, which uses data to help utilities reduce energy consumption, has seen the value of the company's stock slump more than 30 percent since its IPO in April. Yates graduated with a degree in computer science from the school. Equilar's research was based on IPOs that raised US$100 million or more in 2014. A total of 84 different schools were represented in the survey. The rankings include both graduate and undergraduate institutions. Harvard didn't claim every honor. The biggest IPO of 2014, and largest ever, was Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, which went public in September and raised US$25 billion. Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman, earned his undergraduate degree from China's Hangzhou Normal University.AP

Continued here:
In US initial stock sales Harvard grads lead the way

Monday, February 9, 10:46 AM EST

Special to the Daily Record

The Advance Directives for Seniors pro bono project met with 15 lower-income, elderly clients. All were helped by trained law students, pro bono attorneys and a paralegal. The group generously donated its time and talents to the cause.

The program was designed to address the legal needs of seniors who wish to have the necessary documentation needed to describe preferences for end-of-life care, but cannot afford the legal fees.

The event was a terrific opportunity for the law students to see how what they are learning in the classroom is applied in the practice of law while helping the underserved in our community, said Karen Millard, professor of lawyering process and director of the pro bono program.

During an hourlong consult, clients were asked to fill out a questionnaire with information regarding their designees for each of the documents.

At sessions end, students and attorneys provided their clients with notarized documents. Documents prepared for clients were: durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, living will and designation of pre-need guardian.

Preston Oughton, principal at the Law Office of Preston H. Oughton and a Florida Coastal graduate, said, I am proud of Coastal Laws efforts in the community involvement. Our alumni are doing an outstanding job on meeting people where they are at and assisting with their legal needs.

The schools alumni board and faculty have adopted the Dunn Avenue MCCI Clinic for the Advance Directives for Seniors. The law school needs local attorneys to volunteer as it expands the program.

While this was the first event for the program, more directives for seniors are being planned on a quarterly basis at MCCI.

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Florida Coastal School of Law students, alumni help area senior citizens