Leaders Meet Future Leaders
Collegiate high school hosts intergenerational conversation
Avoid Monday meetings, said Megan Harrison, CEO at the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce, in comments about time management. Refuse the snooze button, advised Jennifer Conoley, the president and CEO of Florida’s Great Northwest, in speaking to productivity.
Rhea Goff, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at The St. Joe Company, told audience members to live their mission statement. And Uriah Matthews, the executive director of the Walton County Economic Development Alliance, encouraged the group to become stakeholders in their community.
The four community leaders made up a panel that addressed students at Seacoast Collegiate High School (SCHS) in Walton County on Friday, Jan. 26.
The charter school is dedicated to developing future community and business leaders. SCHS students earn associate degrees along with high school diplomas through a partnership with Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC).
Currently, Seacoast students in grades 9 and 10 attend classes at NWFSC’s South Walton Center. Juniors and seniors go to Niceville’s NWFSC campus.
Expansion at the South Walton location will allow SCHS to increase enrollment numbers and extend dual enrollment opportunities to more Walton County students. The project will serve to establish the NWFSC South Walton Center into a functioning satellite campus for both high school dual enrollment and adult students.
To answer a growing demand for workforce-ready graduates in Walton and surrounding counties, the expansions will align with key employment areas identified in the 2021 Florida Workforce Needs Study: healthcare, business/finance, information technology/math, and architecture/engineering.
A new Accelerator building will serve as a workforce incubation center where training, mentoring and collaboration will take place among students and community and business leaders. The panel discussion offered insights into how the Accelerator will benefit SCHS students.
Students asked about steps in discovering a career path, the importance of mission statements, and the rise in population and tourism.
In both 2022 and 2023, SCHS students earned over 3,000 college credits, and all graduates gained acceptance into post-secondary programs.
The school has received $9 million in expansion project funding from the state, enough to cover a third of Phase 1 costs. Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Tom Glavine and his wife, Chris, have contributed $1 million to the project. Plans are in place to secure the remaining funds needed. The Accelerator is projected to be operational by 2025.
