Welcome back to Your University: The FGCU Podcast. In this episode, our host Katie Cribbs talks with Mark Bole, an instructor with the Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship at FGCU and a faculty fellow for FGCU's Ain Technology & Design Hub.

Katie asks Mark about his past, finding out about his path from multinational corporate roles to the challenges of launching an investment firm in Luxembourg during the 2008 financial crisis. Mark explains his NIL concept (name, image, and likeness) and how he created an NIL class to help FGCU student-athletes build authentic personal brands, including social media sensation Brandon Dwyer.

Mark describes FGCU’s Technology and Design Hub, launched with a $2M donor gift, as a student-run agency delivering websites, digital marketing, and AI integration for local clients. For example, “Sanibel Solutions,” where students built an AI-enabled hurricane recovery dashboard and led island-wide AI workshops to help businesses and nonprofits survive and market their return. Mark outlines plans to expand this work across more of Lee County so that students can become “agents of change” for AI adoption.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

Episode Guide:

• 01:06 Welcome and Background
• 02:45 Launching in Luxembourg
• 05:22 From CEO to Teaching
• 06:32 NIL and Athlete Branding
• 08:38 Brandon Dwyer Success
• 11:28 Tech and Design Hub
• 13:25 AI Ethics and Business
• 15:05 Sanibel Solutions Dashboard
• 17:12 Workshops and Expansion
• 20:43 Vision for Student Interns
• 22:29 Making AI Practical
• 24:48 Closing Advice and Involvement

Episode Quotes:

Going beyond what students get from textbook
18:36: That became a really personal thing for me. It's like we have to help them. Once you start meeting the people and talking to it, and students get to meet them, relationships develop, and you're all on the same mission. And you feel really connected to the island, and that's something that students don't get from a textbook or a classroom. And so, I think everybody wins in this situation.

On AI giving more opportunities for human connection

23:29: AI doesn't just take the current tasks that we're working on and make it automated. It gives you more opportunities to do things you never thought of, like build a dashboard for Sanibel recovery. I never would've been able to do that before. So, once you realize that, I think the students are starting to figure out that they can do anything with this, and that's the key.

On service learning and community impact

25:50: Our students become part of the solution. And that's what I want Southwest Florida to understand, is that we are not doing this just to do consulting and get some revenue. We're doing this to help Southwest Florida adapt to AI, and our students are going to be the answer.

Show Links:

• Mark Bole | LinkedIn
• Students Harness AI to Help Sanibel Businesses | FGCU360 Article
• Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship | FGCU
• Ain Technology & Design Hub
• Brandon Dwyer featured on Good Morning America
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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Today, on Your University: The FGCU Podcast, host Katie Cribbs takes an audience with Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki, Director of the Bower School of Music & the Arts at FGCU.

Krzysztof shares his path from childhood singing in Poland to an international opera and recital career, immigration to Canada, university training and teaching, and leadership roles at UNF and FGCU. He describes Bower’s scale and momentum—planning 150–178 annual events across music, art, theater and the Wasmer Art Gallery—alongside strong community support and sold-out performances.

Katie asks about the 2026–27 addition of Digital Media Design (about 350–370 students and eight faculty), and Krzysztof highlights some recent student competition successes and details some exciting partnerships including the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation and Opera Naples International Voice Competition hosted partly on campus. He also spotlights outreach favorites like Joyful and Triumphant, the Naples Botanical Garden jazz series Rhythm and Blooms, growth in the accredited music therapy program, summer camps, America 250 programming, and Bower’s upcoming 20th anniversary season with alumni and guest artists.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

Episode Guide:

• 01:05 Early Singing Roots
• 02:21 Poland to Canada Training
• 03:07 Performing Career and UNF
• 06:16 Bower School Growth
• 07:19 Digital Media Design Expansion
• 09:53 Pavarotti Competition Partnership
• 15:13 Community Concert Series
• 18:09 Music Therapy Spotlight
• 19:44 Summer Camps and Outreach
• 20:32 America 250 Season Planning
• 23:06 AI and the Arts Future
• 24:35 Final Invitation and Wrap Up

Episode Quotes:

Southwest Florida is an arts destination
27:20: That's what's so special about Southwest Florida. This is the arts destination. And, you know, when I moved here in 2019, I couldn't believe that we're selling out events. You know, other universities across the nation do not have that problem.

The human touch will always matter

23:47: What we do as artists, as the creative types, will become that much more valuable, right? It will become the human touch. It will be the paint on the brush. It will be the student at the piano. It will be a dance movement. It will be human-generated content as opposed to machine-generated content.

Changing lives through the power of the arts

27:20: Attend as many events as you possibly can. There's so much to experience here, so much to learn and grow. We are changing lives through the power of the arts. We truly are. We are still a little bit of a well-kept secret in Southwest Florida.

Show Links:

• Krzysztof Biernacki | FGCU Profile
• Krzysztof Biernacki | LinkedIn
• Bower School of Music & the Arts | FGCU
• FGCU360: Music Therapy
• FGCU360 | America 250
• FGCU360| Pianist
• Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition
• Rhythm & Blooms | Naples Botanical Garden
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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Today on Your University: The FGCU Podcast, our host Katie Cribbs talks with Shawn Felton, Dean for the Marieb College of Health and Human Services at Florida Gulf Coast University.

They talk about Marieb College’s growth, community impacts, and emerging technology during Shawn’s tenure. Dr. Felton explains how textbook author Dr. Elaine Nicpon Marieb connected with FGCU, gave $5 million for scholarships in 2012 that led to Marieb Hall, and later a $10 million endowment in 2017 that renamed the college. Her legacy is honored annually through Marieb Day, featuring over 130 student pieces of medical illustration art and tied to a new medical illustration minor.

He discusses FGCU’s largest gift, $22 million from the Marieb Foundation, supporting emerging technology and naming the future AB 10 Marieb Hall South which will include a 22,000-square-foot interprofessional simulation center. Shawn also tells Katie about FGCU’s Disaster Day simulation, where they employed ‘moulage,’ and his athletic training and sports science research background.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

Episode Guide:

• 02:21 How Marieb College Got Its Name
• 06:04 Record Gift and AB10
• 08:43 New Building Expansion
• 11:01 Community Clinical Partnerships
• 14:39 Labs and Simulation Growth
• 16:51 Holograms and New Immersive Tech
• 18:59 Disaster Day Simulation
• 23:09 Shawn’s Background in Sports Science
• 24:26 Final Takeaways and Visit

Episode Quotes:

Training the workforce Southwest Florida needs

12:11: We have built that relationship, but I think we've also listened. If you look at all of our programs that we offer, it is in what is needed in Southwest Florida to fulfill the workforce needs. You know, nursing is an obvious one, but physical therapy, occupational therapy…We have built the programs that is needed by the workforce here.

On FGCU’s growing regional and national impact

13:02: As a regional comprehensive institution, we serve our region, our five-county region. We're doing great things here, and now we're becoming more statewide known and nationally known for what we're doing. And, it's just a beautiful opportunity.

On growing together with the community

13:18: The relationship that this university has with its local community is one that, I don't think is paralleled anywhere. And, to your point, individuals knew we needed a higher education institution here, and we've grown together with our community, and it's been exciting to see that connection.

Show Links:

• Shawn Felton | FGCU Profile
• Shawn Felton | LinkedIn Profile
• Marieb College of Health & Human Services | FGCU
• ‘Road of Excellence’ | FGCU360 Article
• Marieb Hall South Groundbreaking | FGCU360 Article
• Disaster Day 2025 | FGCU Event Profile
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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Today on Your University: The FGCU Podcast, our host Katie Cribbs meets with Diane Kratt, Assistant Dean for the College of Education at Florida Gulf Coast University, with a special interest in advancing the expansion of school-based mental health.

Diane, a Fort Myers native and first-generation college graduate who worked full-time while earning her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees, reflects on Southwest Florida’s growth from the dirt road days of Daniels Parkway to the rise of FGCU as an environmentally conscious university. Diane shares how supportive teachers and mentors were instrumental in shaping her path from K–12 educator to FGCU’s College of Education, her home for nearly 18 years now, and joined the Ed.D. program once it became feasible as a working mom.

Katie and Diane cover the need for regional access to higher education, and College of Ed initiatives addressing teacher shortages, including paid internships through the STAR Program and the Flyers Program and the School Support Personnel Pathway for school employees completing degrees. Diane also discusses exploring AI while still emphasizing teaching’s human element.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

• 02:11 FGCU Arrives in SW Florida
• 03:01 Working Through School
• 05:51 Why Teaching Chose Diane
• 07:09 Mentors Who Changed Everything
• 08:51 From K-12 to Higher Ed
• 11:46 Community Connections and Environment
• 17:14 Teacher Shortage Solutions
• 18:13 Paid Internship Options
• 21:55 Getting Students Hired Quickly
• 22:50 Classroom Tech and AI
• 25:04 Traditional Teacher Prep vs Alternative Pathways
• 27:22 Why Teachers Matter
• 28:03 Support and Get Involved
• 29:44 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Educators matters

07:49: I've never found anybody who can't name their favorite teacher. It may not be all of them, I wish it were, but everyone has somebody that they really enjoyed being around and felt valued by and cared for by, and it's usually one of their teachers.

Connecting everybody together through the university

12:59: The community is all pieced together, and the university is now going to be something that could possibly be a hub one day. And all of us are connected. There's so many different people that, over this time period, that I have connected with, from the time I was in K-12 myself to the time I taught in K-12 to the time I became an employee here at the university. There's just so many people that all connect together that it's incredible.

Effective happy teachers are the backbone of the society

30:29: Effective, happy teachers, I believe, are the backbone of society. Just as in my story, I was shaped by educators, and education has shaped me into being able to be an administrator for the College of Ed and help all these other students.

• Diane Kratt | FGCU Profile
• Diane Kratt | Google Scholar Research
• Diane Kratt | LinkedIn
• Student Teachers and Mental Health | Qualitative Study
• WINK News: Flyers Program
• Gulf Coast News: School Support Personnel Pathway program combats teacher shortages
• FGCU360: STAR program
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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Time for a new episode of Your University: The FGCU Podcast. This time, our host Katie Cribbs talks with Macy Noll, a fifth-year dual degree Art and Biology student at FGCU dedicated to uniting scientific inquiry with artistic expression to advocate for a revitalization of ecological identity.

Macy describes how she dove into campus life as a campus naturalist, public artist, research assistant, master diver and dive instructor, and volunteer. She also explains the interesting path that led her from an FGCU ceramics class to a Vester Marine Field Station project creating 62 biomimetic clay sculptures (earthenware and stoneware) to install on Kimberly’s Reef, an artificial reef about eight nautical miles off Bonita Beach, to allow marine biologists to study benthic settlement and encourage reef growth.

That experience sparked her path into scientific diving and two years of reef research, including documenting early coral colony growth. Macy discusses how art and science overlap in observing and interpreting nature, using creativity as environmental education, and shares her “Knowledge in Motion” mural in the FGCU library, which was inspired by her fieldwork, and actionable advice to students about seeking opportunities through relationships and campus resources.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

• 01:42 Campus Roles and Diving Life
• 02:37 Vester and Kimberly’s Reef
• 04:28 Benthic Art Project Origins
• 06:07 Ceramics as Reef Material
• 08:08 Installing Sculptures Underwater
• 09:14 First Dives and Coral Discovery
• 12:10 Art First Then Science
• 14:23 Art Class Turning Point
• 17:02 Science in Every Piece of Art
• 18:26 Library Mural Story
• 22:08 Why Choose FGCU
• 23:36 Campus Naturalist Life
• 25:53 Advice And Community Access
• 26:55 Closing Thoughts

Art isn't based on talent alone
12:41: The reason you draw like a five-year-old, is because you stopped drawing when you were five. Everyone has the ability to develop that skill. I think people sometimes have this idea that art is based on talent alone, and it's just something that you're, kind of, born with.

Why diving makes Macy more creative

19:39: You are just completely weightless and suspended in the water column and surrounded. It's a totally immersive experience, literally and figuratively. And you see the most amazing things. And you can have, at least my experience has been a much closer interaction with wildlife than you can on land. The fish will swim all around you, and you can get really close up to the corals and everything. And so, it's such just an up-close and personal experience. But even besides the amazing wildlife, for me, like, as an artist, it's the colors and, like, the light filtering through the water. And it almost feels like to me swimming in a painting, so.

Experiencing the natural Florida in FGCU
24:29: You don't have to leave campus to experience natural Florida…[27:23] Even in the middle of Estero, on campus, you can experience beautifully pristine nature and be surrounded by cypress trees.

• Macy Noll | LinkedIn
• Macy Noll | Instagram
• Library Mural Project | FGCU 2026
• Macy Noll’s Underwater World | FGCU Library Mural
• The Depths of Creativity |FGCU360 Article
• What is a Cypress Dome? | FGCU Video
• FGCU | Vester Field Station
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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Welcome back to Your University: The FGCU Podcast. Today our host Katie Cribbs sits down with Gina Tran, Associate Professor of Marketing at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she specializes in consumer behavior, digital marketing and celebrity endorsements.

Gina shares her fascinating career path, as she details how she transitioned from a background in chemical and bioengineering to a deep expertise in marketing and consumer behavior. They talk about the scientific foundations of marketing, Gina’s work with multiple industries including oil and gas, and corporate merchandising with companies like Neiman Marcus and Michaels.

Gina shares her best insights on consumer behavior, the current overlay of engineering skills in business academia, and the rising trend of 'de-influencing' on social media. Katie also digs into Gina’s teaching methodologies, the importance of real-world experience in academia, and Gina shares valuable advice on becoming a smarter consumer.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

• 01:09 Journey from Engineering to Business
• 02:58 The Science Behind Marketing
• 03:25 Early Career and Industry Experience
• 06:56 Transition to Academia
• 10:12 Consumer Behavior and Influencer Trends
• 16:37 Research and Student Engagement
• 19:04 Community Involvement and Social Media Insights
• 26:19 The Role of AI in Marketing
• 27:39 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

On the de-influencer movement

11:53: You're not an influencer. Is this really in your budget? Maybe you should save your money. And then there's some de-influencers that tell you, like, ″Stop and think about things before you purchase it." Do you have enough shirts? Do you have enough shoes? Do you have enough Stanley Cups already? And if you do, then maybe you don't need to purchase this, save your money.

Social media can be used for good

13:00: Social media gets a lot of flak for encouraging bullying, negative behaviors, and over-materialism. And so, I think that social media can be used for good things as well.

What are the top questions consumers should be asking before they make purchases?

​​13:43: Okay, so there's a couple things that you can ask yourself. First, you can start with "Do you really need this? Do you have things at home that you can already use instead of buying a new thing? And if you decide that you do need this because it's replacing something that has worn out, then consider this, like the company that you're purchasing it from, are they sustainably producing their goods? Are they doing the repair, replace, and do they stand by their products?” Because if they do, then likely, they're going to be higher quality items. And so, you can keep it for a longer time and use it for many seasons.

• Gina Tran | FGCU Profile
• Gina Tran | Google Scholar Research
• Gina Tran | LinkedIn
• Too Many Streaming Services? | Gulf Coast News
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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In this episode of Your University: The FGCU Podcast, host Katie Cribbs welcomes Raina Harmon to the show. Raina is the head coach for FGCU’s Women’s Basketball team, beginning her association with the school last April.

Raina recounts her journey from her Midwest roots in Detroit to her current coaching position. With a strong background in sports from her childhood and gaining experience through various roles, including coaching for players who would go on to great professional success, like Caitlin Clark, Harmon discusses her aspirations for the team and community and the principles guiding her career.

Raina drills down on the importance of her relationships with her players, the significance of academic excellence combined with athletic excellence, and the Midwestern work ethic that drives her.

Harmon emphasizes how FGCU's unique community engagement and its reputation for athletic excellence, results in amazing support from local fans. Above all it’s clear that Raina Harmon has a commitment to making a positive impact on FGCU players' lives both on and beyond the court.

Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM.

• 00:00 Introduction and Midwest Roots
• 02:04 Journey to Coaching at FGCU
• 03:43 Finding Passion in Coaching
• 05:35 Manifesting Success and Building Relationships
• 07:19 Coaching Philosophy and Team Dynamics
• 14:46 Academic Focus and Student Support
• 16:49 Building a Winning Culture at FGCU
• 19:19 FGCU's Championship Pedigree
• 20:24 Community Engagement and Support
• 24:45 Service Learning Hours
• 27:11 Memorable Moments and Fan Support

More than championships

12:06: Oh, you may not leave with, like, rings or championships. I can’t promise you all that. I can’t promise you that. But you’re going to leave with your degree, that's number one, and you’re going to leave having a good time, and I’ll be in your life for the rest of your life.

Basketball can be fleeting, education matters

15:46: “Hey, what are you here for?” “Oh, I’m playing basketball.” “But yeah, but what are you here for?” Because basketball’s fleeting. At some point, the ball’s going to stop bouncing.

And your degree and your experience here, as you network throughout your major, is going to matter.

FGCU is your hometown team

22:21: So, I’ll just tell anybody that’s down here, we are your hometown team. No matter what sport you want to support, we’re probably pretty good at it.

• Raina Harmon | FGCU Profile
• FGCU ‘Feels Like Family’ | FGCU360 Article
• The IX Basketball | Article
• Raina Harmon Era Begins at FGCU | GulfCoastNewsNow
• Introduction Conference | WGCU News
• FGCU | Website
• FGCU | Your University

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