Graduate Spotlights
Read about three of the more than 2,500 graduates for Spring 2007

Sometimes a person needs a fresh start in life.  For this reason, Winifred "Win" Clark moved to Florida more than 30 years ago.  On Friday, May 4, the 76-year old will graduate with an English degree from Florida Atlantic University that signifies so much for her. 

"My degree means everything," said Clark.  "It's the culmination of my life goal and turns my life into a successful one." One might disagree with her, considering she raised six children as a single parent.  Five of her children will be in attendance at FAU's commencement ceremony to celebrate with her. 

Raising six children on her own wasn't the only hurdle she crossed in her life.  Clark worked at Winn-Dixie for almost 28 years full-time and was recently promoted to Assistant Grocery Manager.  To obtain her degree, she worked nights, usually not getting home until well after midnight.

Clark, who is hearing impaired, was having trouble in her language classes.  She went to FAU's Office for Students with Disabilities for assistance.  The office was able to assist her in scheduling changes so that she could take the history of languages. 

"They gave me what I needed to succeed," said Clark.  "I certainly wasn't going to stop attending classes after all the hard work I put in to attaining my degree."  Clark has since flourished in those classes and will be graduating with a 3.5 GPA. 

Now that she has her degree, Clark isn't planning to slow down.  "One of my daughters and I just bought a small apartment complex in Lake Placid, Florida.  I plan on running that place for many years."  At 76, Clark will embark on another fresh start in life, this time with a college degree in hand.

Rocky Hosie
Dual Master's Degree, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and Barry Kate College of Business

When Rocky Hosie was a teenager, he worked as a dishwasher in a long-term health facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. He would spend hours listening to the veterans who lived at the facility tell anecdotes about their lives and their military service.

"They made me see that there's a bigger picture out there," Hosie recalls. "I knew that I wanted to be part of that picture."    

Throughout his distinguished, 13-year nursing career, Hosie never forgot those veterans. Years later, he joined the United States Air Force (USAF) Nurse Corps. As a member of the Critical Care Air Transport Team  (CCAT), he helped to transport critically wounded soldiers serving in Afghanistan and other locations to better equipped health care facilities, earning the Air Force Aerial Achievement Medal for helping to save the lives of 13 men.      

Hosie, 34, recently took an educational leave of absence from the Air Force to pursue a dual master's degree in nursing administration  and in business administration at FAU.    

"I decided to earn the advanced nursing degree because I want to make a difference in the world," said Hosie. "I enjoy leading people and teaching them new things. And I want to be being part of the decision making process that helps nursing to be a better profession."     

Hosie always knew that he wanted to be a nurse. He earned an LPN degree in 1993 and began working as a first-time emergency responder helping injured inmates and prison guards at the Utah State Penitentiary. Hosie went back to school for an associates degree in 1994, moved to Wyoming and became a charge nurse in the forensics unit in Wyoming State Hospital.       After earning a BSN degree in 1998, Hosie worked as a charge nurse in the Burn Trauma Unit at the University of Utah.     

After he graduates, Hosie will be returning to active duty in the Air Force. Although he doesn't know yet where he will be stationed, he is planning to serve in the Air Force Nurse Corps until he retires.

Tywannia Moorer
Bachelor of Arts, College of Education 

"I never abandoned my dream to become a teacher," said Tywannia Moorer, who is graduating from Florida Atlantic University on May 4, 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education.

Moorer, 39, majored in exceptional student education and will earn her degree with Magna Cum Laude honors. She realized her dreams of becoming a teacher could be attained when she moved to St. Lucie County from Detroit, Michigan more than 20 years ago. "In Detroit, you did not see any minority teachers in the schools, which was discouraging," said Moorer. "When I moved to St. Lucie County, my first teacher was a minority, as well as many of her colleagues. She inspired me to move forward with my goals."

Moorer has worked for St. Lucie County Public Schools for 14 years as a school aide and behavior technician. Her experience aligned with her degree in one of the schools' critical teacher shortage areas, exceptional student education, and has given her an abundance of career options.

"The doors are wide open for me now," she said. "My ultimate goal is to one day open a special needs daycare." Moorer, who is now expecting her first child in June, looks forward to continuing her work with the students she affectionately refers to as her children. "Everyday with my children shapes my life. They give me the strength and energy to move forward," she said. "I love what I do. You cannot have success in this field unless you love what you do." 

FAU was the natural choice for Moorer because of its convenience and accessibility at the Treasure Coast Campus. She also took advantage of the FAU-St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce scholarship geared towards students pursing state teacher certification.

Moorer was one of the first to receive the scholarship in Fall 2005. "I enjoyed my experience at FAU," she said. "Dr. Mary Lou Duffy, one of my professors, challenged us in the correct ways. She reinforced my beliefs that this is it— this is the career for me."