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Pathfinder Award goes to Orlando Magic

Friday, Sep 28, 2012
Loraine O'Connell

From left: Trustee Alex Setzer, Board of Trustees Vice-Chair Cynthia L. Drago, Orlando Magic Vice President of Community Relations/Government Affairs Linda Landman-Gonzalez, and Foundation Board Chairman Benjamin W. Newman.

Seminole State College of Florida President Dr. E. Ann McGee presented this year’s Community Pathfinder Award to the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF) in recognition of its contributions to education in Central Florida.

In January the OMYF awarded the Foundation for Seminole State a $75,000 grant to create the OMYF Molding Another Generation in College (MAGIC) Fund. The grant is being used to provide support programs designed to help first-generation students graduate.

The grant was part of $1 million donated to 19 nonprofit organizations throughout Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties by the OMYF. It's the second consecutive year that the fund has given away $1 million, raising the total to approximately $17 million in grants to local nonprofits during the past 22 years.

"The Magic are such a powerful organization in this community,” McGee said, “and we're all intertwined. We're all working to lift everybody because we have a community that works together." About 25 percent of Seminole State students are first-generation students, she said.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Orlando Magic was Linda Landman-Gonzalez, vice president of Community Relations/Government Affairs for the Orlando Magic.

This year’s Convocation, an annual gathering of faculty and staff, comes amid continued growth and student success at the college. For 2011-12, Seminole State awarded a record 4,688 degrees and certificates.

The Pathfinder Award recognizes those who continuously strive to make a difference for Seminole State College.

About Seminole State College of Florida: Seminole State operates six sites in Central Florida, including campuses in Altamonte Springs, Heathrow, Oviedo and Sanford/Lake Mary. Seminole State has nearly 32,000 students.