Four new directors named at Seminole State

Seminole State College has named four new directors dedicated to promoting an environment where individuals learn, grow, and succeed. The directors for grants, academic success, and student conduct and development bring years of experience to the College.  

Jeri Beel, CRA

Director, Grants Development 

Jeri Beel is a seasoned grants development and award management professional with more than 20 years of experience in higher education. Beel developed a passion for seeking external funding that would not only increase an institution’s capacity to serve its students, but to change and improve the lives of those students. Most recently, Beel served as assistant director for contract services in the Office of Sponsored Programs at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). She was drawn to Seminole State out of a desire to return to the state college environment and more directly impact faculty and students through increased grant support of programs and services.

 Beel has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Michigan State University and holds a Certified Research Administrator designation through the Research Administrators Certification Council. As Director of Grants Development within the Office of Resource and Economic Development, Beel will provide leadership for planning, pursuing, writing, securing, and managing external awards from public and private sources and serve as the primary contact with grant funding agencies. 

Garret Gaudens

Director, Academic Success/STAR Center 

With more than a decade of tutoring and learning center expertise at private and public colleges, Gaudens recently joined the Seminole State team in the fall of 2021. He most recent role was as the instructional lab supervisor at Valencia College.

 As director, he is accountable for the operations and growth of the Academic Success Center (ASC) to provide academic support to all currently enrolled Seminole State students. The ASC supplements classroom instruction by providing real versus virtual tutoring in the sciences, mathematics, writing, accounting and Spanish. The ASC also provides students access to online handouts and practice tests, science models and computers to write papers or complete online coursework in several disciplines. 

In addition, he oversees the Student Transition and Achievement Resources (STAR) Center which helps certificate- and Associate in Science (A.S.) degree-seeking students develop the academic skills they need to succeed in college and in their careers. Access, availability and continuity are key to connect students to a variety of on-campus and online resources, notes Gaudens.   

He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in fine arts, creative writing from Rosemont College. 

Briyanna N. Jenkins, M.Ed.

Director of Student Conduct 

Briyanna Jenkins has been named as the director of student conduct at Seminole State. Jenkins is a student affairs professional who is committed to practicing restorative justice, community accountability, and student support. She has been working in student affairs and higher education for eight years at public colleges and universities in Florida, Texas, and Alabama. Most recently, Jenkins served as the assistant director for housing and residence life at the University of Central Florida.

 Additionally, she is currently a student in the public affairs Ph.D. program at the University of Central Florida, holds a master’s degree of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Florida, and a bachelor’s degree of arts in English-editing, writing, and media from Florida State University. As the director of the Office of Student Conduct and member of the student development team, Jenkins is responsible for managing the direction of the student conduct process, with a focus on educating college community members about Seminole State College’s code of conduct and facilitating accountability processes. She strives to restructure the student conduct processes to be more in alignment with restorative justice principles and an educational process. 

Randy Pawlowski 

Director, Student Development 

Pawlowski is a successful higher education professional with decades of experience as a college administrator and a proven ability to lead strong work teams and create collaborative partnerships with faculty, administrators, staff, students, and members of the community. He joined Seminole State in 1996 and most recently served as the Interim Director of Student Life. Now as the Director, Student Development he oversees the areas of Student Life, Career Development, and Veterans  Student Services

 The alignment of the three departments increases opportunities for specialized training, internships, and career experiences; offers engaging and relevant courses, programs, and extracurricular activities, enhances student guided pathway practices, and help veteran students interpret and exercise their  VA education benefits.  Pawlowski strives to create and maintain effective programs and services to help students succeed, promote student success, and better meet the needs of a diverse college population and community.

Pawlowski holds a bachelor’s degree in Personnel and Industrial Relations from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in College and University Administration, College Student Affairs from Michigan State University.