¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ

Alumni Spotlight: April Hartwich

Alumni Spotlight: Luis Rivera

If you’ve been to any sporting event in the last few years, there’s a good chance you’ve met Luis Rivera (’19), who now serves as the grassroots marketing coordinator for the Jaguars

Before moving to Jacksonville, Rivera grew up playing baseball in Puerto Rico, and knew that one day he wanted to be in the sports industry. Around his junior year, he realized that he had a passion for sport marketing and was determined to make his dream a reality. Originally enrolled at FSCJ, he earned a scholarship and transferred into COEHS where he majored in sport management with a marketing minor. As a student, he joined the North Florida Ospreys marketing team where he got a hands-on experience with all the behind-the-scenes aspects of running a sporting event. Once he got his foot in the door, he wasn’t about to let it close. He got internships with both the Jumbo Shrimp and the Icemen which got him experience marketing different sports for different crowds, before he ultimately decided to pursue life in the NFL.

Rivera started as a street team member before working his way up the Jaguars organization to his current role. His day to day consists of growing the Jaguars presence in the local community. Following the pandemic, he had to essentially restart the street marketing program, but as of this upcoming season, he’s developed 24 street marketers – most of whom are college students – to be the front line between the fans and the organization. “Our passion is to leave kids with a smile and make sure they come out to a game, whether it’s now or 5-10 years down the road.” Just some recent examples of events they’ve participated in are the Beaches 5K, Riverside Arts Market and Nocatee Farmers’ Market. The most rewarding part for him is seeing fans of all ages come up to their table and share stories of how meaningful the Jaguars are to them.

Rivera sees firsthand what this organization means to the community. “In 2021, when we got Trevor Lawrence. you could see a shift.” he said. There was a sense of revitalization among the fans where there’s optimism going into each season. He’s excited to see what transpires over the next few years as the organization determines their plans for “The Stadium of the Future” construction. Regardless, his team will play an important role in welcoming the fans back for all the festivities.

After 20 years in Duval, he would love to stay and grow within the organization. “You come into work every day and you’re passionate about it,” Rivera said. “The amount of detail that goes into everything, whether it’s an offseason event or the week of a game, just can’t be replicated.” He’s surrounded by friends and family in the area, so whenever he’s not working, he’ll spend some time with them gaming or relaxing at the beach.

If you haven't bought your tickets yet for the Roar and Soar Tailgate, get them while you still can!

For this month’s #InvestInTheNest, we celebrate #ReadABookDay by heading to Tommy G to “check-out” our friend Maria Atilano (’09), who has recently been promoted to University Librarian!

Maria spent three years working as a student assistant at the UNC Greensboro library while earning her bachelor’s degree in English. After graduating, she joined her boyfriend, now husband, who was studying health administration at the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ Brooks College of Health. In October 2006, she landed a job as a staff member in special collections at the Thomas G. Carpenter Library.

Her ultimate goal was to become an academic librarian, which would require getting a Master of Library Science or Master of Library and Information Science degree. But with no rush on her personal timeline – and an unwillingness to commute to Tampa or Tallahassee for their programs – she still wanted to pursue a graduate degree. So, she enrolled at the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ graduate school. Once she was able to settle down in Jacksonville and earn her master’s in English, she joined the FSU online program and completed her MLIS in 2012, which enabled her to become an academic, faculty-line librarian.

Eighteen years after her first job at ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ, Atilano has earned the title of University Librarian, the highest rank within the campus library. Atilano said, “What keeps me going is the need to keep improving.” The library constantly changes adapting to the needs of the new students, faculty/staff and community members. “We’ve got new spaces, new materials, new resources, new databases.”

Atilano has prioritized campus outreach at Market Days and as a liaison to the School of Communication, showing students all the resources available. She also curates special promotions to bring students into the library, such as “Random Acts of Snacks” and Campus Canines Visits during Finals Week to help the students destress while studying. She’s also pioneered “Blind Date with a Book,” proving to Ospreys that you can’t just judge a book by its cover.

The next step for her is offering more library programming aimed toward the local community. For instance, anyone can purchase a borrower card to use their resources and check out materials – available for ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ alumni at a discounted rate. She’s also looking to introduce new events like “Author Talks” in addition to staples like “Tommy G’s Haunted Open House.”

When she’s not working, she’s at home on the couch reading a book with her husband and her Old English Bulldog, whom they rescued from the Florida Bulldog Rescue.

Osprey Shoutout: Sean Thurman ('13)

We’ve seen a lot of Floridians with their Stanley cups this summer, but Sean Thurman (’13) has the most coveted one of all as an NHL Champion!

Ice Ice Baby

Originally from Tampa, she spent her freshman year at Florida Gulf Coast before becoming an Osprey. Thurman said, “Over the summer I took a tour of ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ and fell in love.” Between the size of the school and the concentration in public relations, she found a perfect fit. Due to the smaller class sizes, she felt like her professors provided a hands-on experience, and all the projects she was working on right before graduation helped prepare her for the industry. She landed an internship with a media group during her senior year and was able to turn that into a full-time role after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in communication.

Shortly after, she spent a few months in a communications role for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority before landing a role closer to home as the director of marketing for MSL CPAs & Advisors based out of Orlando. After a few years with the accounting firm, she entered the nonprofit world with United Arts of Central Florida, working her way up to marketing and communications director. As the sole person in the external realm, she had to juggle everything such as media relations, ad buying, printed collateral, e-mail campaigns and social media/website management. While there was a lot on her plate, she loved being able to serve the community and had a lot more opportunity to be creative in her role.

In 2023, Thurman had a baby girl, then returned to her role in a part-time remote capacity after maternity leave. Her husband landed a job in South Florida, so she was looking for opportunities in the area when the Florida Panthers posted an opening. In March, she was officially hired as the marketing manager focusing on the Panthers IceDen and the Baptist Health IcePlex, the official practice facility for the Panthers. These rinks provide programming, including adult leagues, hockey clinics, youth camps, and public skating.

Thurman, Thurmyth, Thurlegend

A month after starting this new role, the Panthers began their playoff push as the top seed in the Atlantic Division. After beating the Lightning, Bruins and Rangers, she watched as her squad faced off against the Edmonton Oilers for the championship. Her goal was always to work in the sports and entertainment industry, and here she was four games away from the highest achievement in hockey. “It’s a little surreal,” Thurman said. “Hard to wrap your head around the best possible outcome happening.” After taking a three-game lead, the Oilers stormed back to tie the series, but Florida was able to pull ahead in Game 7 to clinch the cup! For Thurman, it was incredible to experience the euphoria live at the Amerant Bank Arena. She said, “I still get chills watching replays of those last 10 seconds.”

It's hard to repeat the experience of her first few months with the team, but she’s excited for the future as she lives out her marketing dream. When she’s not at the rinks, she spends as much time as she can with her daughter and husband.

(Written by Alex Achorn, Published 7/5/24)

Donor Spotlight: Tom Hendrick

Earlier this summer, alumnus Tom Hendrick (’74) made a planned gift to the support the future of ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ. “I’m really impressed with the growth that they’ve done here,” he said. “Whether they use the money to give 10 scholarships or build another building, it’s just fun to give back to the program.”

In honor of that, we’d like to share an alumni spotlight and a donor spotlight on Hendrick who had the Original Recipe™ for success, transitioning from fast food real estate to the luxury hotel market.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in marketing and mathematics at Southeast Missouri State, Hendrick joined his older brothers in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at the Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville. After serving his time, he was honorably discharged and started to explore his future options. The ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ had just launched its master’s program, so Hendrick pursued his MBA, funding his tuition by teaching flight lessons, in addition to taking night classes to earn a real estate license. With a busy slate, he spent many days and nights with friends in the Thomas G. Carpenter Library. “It took my brain from thinking about aviation to thinking about business,” Hendrick said.

After graduation, Hendrick joined the real estate realm with his older brother, a commercial broker in Texas representing a handful of fast-food chains. A few years later, KFC offered Tom a role to join the internal team. He became their Director of Image Enhancement, which entailed everything including products, features, uniforms and even the physical structures. He worked with architecture, construction and marketing teams to develop indoor seating and drive-thrus for the restaurants. His test markets included 200 restaurants distributed across 10 cities.

Once his mentor left to join Holiday Inn as the head of strategic investments, Hendrick made the switch from restaurants to hotels. Shortly after, he joined one of the largest Marriott franchise developers before moving to Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As the years passed, so did his expertise. He pivoted to luxury properties with Regent International Hotels, then Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, then Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. To conclude his career, he joined the board of directors for FelCor, one of the largest Real Estate Investment Trusts, where he finished as CIO. Paralleling his work in the chicken business, their goal was to renovate all their old real estate assets to become modern properties. Altogether, he has spent over 40 years in the hospitality industry. Although officially retired, he kept his consulting business, TCH Partners, to continue providing his expertise on luxury hotels.

“It’s very important to give back,” Hendrick said. As a global business owner and military veteran, Hendrick has previously worked with ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ on the creation of two endowments, the Thomas C. Hendrick Endowed Scholarship for Veterans and the Thomas C. Hendrick Study Abroad Endowed Scholarship. He loves seeing the potential of students who can take advantage of the scholarship to pursue their studies, and how often they live successful, balanced lives after graduating. “They’re all really bright students, and just to hear their stories of where they come from and what they’re doing… I really enjoy that.”

Scholarship Spotlight: Mindy Herrick:

A shining example of a scholarships recipient thriving in the Nest is North Florida Ospreys Women’s Golf alumna and ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ Osprey Club Scholarship recipient Mindy Herrick (’21, ’23) who’s here to tee off our scholarship spotlights.

Originally from northeast Ohio, the Herricks converted from snowbirds to residents as they moved down to Gainesville. Mindy, following in her father’s and grandmother’s footsteps who were both golfers, picked up the clubs at age 11 when her coach noticed her natural talent. After continued lessons and competitions, she decided to pursue a collegiate scholarship, when Coach Berglund swooped her over to ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ.

By the time Herrick wrapped up her collegiate career, she finished with a bachelor’s degree from the ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ School of Communication focusing in journalism, a master’s degree from The Graduate School in educational leadership focused on athletic administration, program records for rounds under par, Top 5, Top 10 and Top 25 finishes, and an ASUN Conference Championship ring. While the individual accolades are nice, Herrick said walking off the final green with her teammates showering her with water bottles to celebrate the conference title was “the cherry on top.”

Herrick continues to fill the trophy case as both the operations manager for the Taylor Leadership Institute and the head women’s golf coach for St. Johns Country Day School. The TLI team recently received the Greatness Award for Student Success by Franklin Covey and Herrick was just named St. Johns Athletics Coach of the Month. She may be one of the youngest head coaches, but after being coached by both Coach Joanne Berglund and Dr. Matthew Ohlson, she loves using her experience to influence the next generation of golfers to achieve their goals.

Right now, she’s happy with her current regimen where she can do meaningful work with the Leadership Institute and still have time to coach her high schoolers. While you might think balancing these two roles is overwhelming, Herrick said she actually has more free time than her student-athlete days. She’s still able to spend time with her friends and has started reading more since graduation, often finding herself relaxing beachside with a book.