{"id":3425,"date":"2015-01-21T19:00:12","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T19:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=3425"},"modified":"2018-05-08T20:14:34","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T20:14:34","slug":"a-jersey-boys-love-letter-to-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2015\/01\/21\/a-jersey-boys-love-letter-to-south-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"A Jersey Boy\u2019s Love Letter To South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear South Florida,<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally from the shadows of NYC on the industrial northeast edge of New Jersey, when I first washed up on the shores of your young region, I was a young teenager. I was an ambitious lad with a chip on my shoulder. You were an ambitious region with a chip of your own.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the late eighties and your only local college football team at the time was dominating, Dan Marino was rewriting the NFL record books, and you were still accepting logo suggestions for your upstart NBA team. South Florida, you seemed like the place to be. I immediately noticed your buzz. Everyone appeared to be excited a lot of the time. I wasn\u2019t sure exactly why, perhaps the yearlong warm weather, or the college national championships, or the 2 Live Crew, or the loud colors, or the beaches, or\u2026whatever the reason, people were moving from one good time to the next.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be upset South Florida, but I recently returned to North Jersey. It was just for a visit, though. Like you, the immigrant stories of struggle-to-success are all over my hometown. I drove down Morris Avenue in Union, NJ, which runs along the perimeter of Kean University<\/span><\/a>, the third largest state school after Rutgers and Montclair State. It\u2019s grown soo much since I used to drive by their campus as a kid. More buildings. Bigger buildings. It\u2019s presence looming large along Morris Avenue. It\u2019s clearly not our father\u2019s Kean anymore. It\u2019s a new day for Kean and North Jersey. Like us here in South Florida, they are going through growing pains. Kean is currently at the table with\u00a0state and local governments as well as big-pharma (the\u00a0pharmaceutical industry is huge in New Jersey and own their fair share of land). <\/i>Kean is\u00a0negotiating for increases in space to expand their physical footprint and the transformative opportunities higher education institutions are suited to provide. As a staunch believer in education as the most powerful tool to uplift society, I\u2019m pulling for Kean.<\/span><\/p>\n

On my way back home to you, South Florida, I could not help but to draw some parallels with your own public institutions of higher learning, anchored by FAU<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the north and FIU<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the South. The public university offerings here in South Florida are impressively and rightfully better today than they were when I arrived to start high school here in the late eighties. I check into your FIU, my alma mater, with regularity. A drive, bike ride or stroll down the west end of Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street) in Miami, reveals this grand, dynamic, sprawling public research university bustling with energy, creativity and intellect standing tall. The people coming and going are speaking every language conceivable. The tapestry of ethnicities is beautifully woven across the university as it is throughout much of your region. In short, it\u2019s clearly not your father\u2019s FIU anymore. It\u2019s a new day for FIU and for you, South Florida.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am grateful to my North Jersey upbringing because it taught me early that everything worthwhile must be earned and education and hard work are keys to a better tomorrow. As for you, South Florida, I\u2019m thankful to you for soo much, including, but not limited to:<\/p>\n