Horizons Fall 2016

20 NSU HORIZONS Continued from page 18 The NSU Jacksonville Campus reaches out and helps numerous groups, including the Women’s Center of Jacksonville, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Relay for Life, and The Bridge. “NSU has been a great asset to The Bridge,” said Shariffa Spicer, an NSU alumna and former CEO of the nonprofit agency, which works with at-risk youth in Jacksonville. When she was at the agency, the Jacksonville Campus hosted a Bridge board retreat and involvement “grew from there,” she said. “NSU has donated to teen programs, held drives to collect toys and food, and donated computers,” added Spicer, who received her master’s degree at the university’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus. “Students came, tutored, and volunteered. They were involved.” NSU alumni often give back to the Jacksonville Campus, too. “We want to encourage students,” said Charles Moreland, Ph.D., who participated in an alumni panel in June at the Jacksonville Campus for students pursuing doctorate degrees. Moreland, director of community affairs for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the battalion chief of Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, earned both a master’s degree in public administration and a doctorate of education at the Jacksonville Campus. He worked on his degrees while being employed full time in the fire department. “The experience I had getting my master’s made me want to go on and get my doctorate,” said Moreland, who joined Jacksonville Fire and Rescue in 1990 at age 18, and has held every civil service rank within the department since then. “Studying online fit my needs completely,” said Moreland, who took online classes at night, when he could focus on his studies. For more than 40 years, the NSU Jacksonville Campus has been providing residents of Northeast Florida with opportunities to continue their education. Degree pro- grams are available in business, counseling, and physician assistant, as well as online offerings that include education and health science. In addition to the online format, classes are offered during the day, evenings, and on weekends. “We offer students flexible class times,” Goehring said. “There’s a lot of academic support.” Like many of the 600 students pursuing an advanced degree from NSU’s Jacksonville Campus, Laura Steigelman wanted to keep her full-time job while going to school. The M.B.A. program offered classes every other weekend, which enabled her to do just what she wanted. “I was able to work during the week and attend classes on Friday night and Saturday,” said Steigelman, who now runs her own business as a career coach and facilitator. Among the degree programs offered at NSU Jacksonville are Physician Assistant courses on campus and health science courses available online.