The Honors Compass: UF, SF, and Community Events & Opportunities
Get involved, make an impact, and earn points
Wow, this edition of The Compass is filled the brim with fantastic opportunities, thanks to our Navigator editorial team. We’re heading into a busy stretch of the semester—in the best possible sense—with opportunities across academics, culture, service, and career prep. From lectures and seminars that dig deep into research, to cultural events and performances that bring our community together, to volunteer and internship experiences that strengthen your résumé and impact, there’s something here for everyone. Take a look at the news and updates first, then dive into this week’s edition of the Compass to see where you can connect, learn, and earn your Honors points this fall.
In this edition:
Graduating this Semester? Deadline to apply extended to SEPTEMBER 28
Meet with a UF Transfer Advisor This Fall
UF Gulf Scholars: Learn About Student-Led Gulf Impact Projects
UF Center for European Studies Colloquium
Archaeological Lecture Sponsored By Gainesville AIA
Populism and the Durability of the Liberal Order in Eastern Europe: EU and NATO Enlargement Reconsidered
Biology Seminar
Observe The Moon Event
Public Observing Nights
Museum Studies Club Officer Positions Available
Calculator And Math Skills Workshop
D.O.O.R.S. Scholarship & Mentorship Program – Apply by September 30!
Chalk The Campus
Winds and Classics
Land of LaChua
“Fascination of Science” Photo Exhibit at the Cade Museum
UF Harn Museum of Art Internship & Volunteer Opportunity
Volunteer with PEAK Literacy
ECS 4 Kids Volunteer Opportunity
Medi-Gators Shadowing Program
Careers and Community Meet Up UF
Connect with Your Future at the Career Fair
On Campus Employment
Honors News and Updates
Graduating this Semester? Deadline to apply extended to SEPTEMBER 28
Honors Graduation Applications Due September 28
Are you planning to wrap up your time at SF this semester? Lock in your Honors credential and apply for Honors Graduation now. You should apply for Honors Graduation if:
You are planning to graduate this semester or have previously completed your degree at SF.
You expect this to be your final semester at SF.
You expect to earn at least 150 Honors Points before finishing this semester.
If you don’t yet have all your points in or haven’t yet met your requirements, don’t worry! This lets us know that you are planning to finish, but you have through the end of the term to earn your Honors points.
Meet with a UF Transfer Advisor This Fall
Throughout the Fall semester, UF transfer advisors will be available to meet with SF students to discuss prerequisites, academic planning, and applying for transfer. Meetings are drop-in only, and some advisors are planning to come on multiple dates. If you’re thinking about applying to UF, look below for the schedule of meetings and plan ahead so you can be there!
Academic Opportunities
UF Gulf Scholars: Learn About Student-Led Gulf Impact Projects
Interested in how students are making a difference in Gulf Coast communities? Thinking about studying environmental science, sustainability studies, or a related major and want to learn about UF’s Gulf Scholars Program? On Friday, October 3 at 12:00 PM, the Gulf Scholars Program will host a cohort meeting featuring three student presentations on their Gulf Impact Projects. Lunch will be provided.
This session will highlight how students have turned their academic work into hands-on projects that address critical issues like climate change, water sustainability, and public health. Presenters will share how they developed their projects, the organizations they partnered with, and the impact they are making in Gulf communities.
Featured Projects:
Storytelling with Maps: Empowering Climate Action in the Gulf — Using mapping tools to help high school students understand and address water pollution and sea level rise.
Estimating Water Use for Sustainable Planning — Creating a methodology to improve water demand projections and support ecosystem protection.
Public Health and Waterborne Disease in a Changing Climate — Studying the spread of waterborne diseases after hurricanes and exploring community strategies to stay safe.
This event is open to all students, regardless of major. It’s a chance to learn from real-world examples, get inspired, and see how you might engage in similar work in the future.
When: Friday, October 3 | 12:00 PM
Where: Event details/registration link
UF Center for European Studies Colloquium
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Event
Police Informants and Artificial Intelligence in Stalinist Investigation Files
Featuring Dr. Seth Bernstein
What would it mean for a historian to become Big Brother?
Soviet secret police gathered massive amounts of surveillance data that are now declassified, fulfilling the dreams of many historians. But police only left a terse catalog apparatus that has limited what scholars can find in this sea of documents. This presentation will provide insight on how Dr. Bernstein uses machine learning models to process over a thousand investigation files from the former KGB archives.
2:00pm EDT
Turlington 3310
Archaeological Lecture Sponsored By Gainesville AIA
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Event
The Missing Link: A Wari-Related Burial in Huanchaco, North Coast of Peru
Lecturer: Dr. Gabriel Prieto
Despite more than 100 years of archaeological research on the North Coast of Peru, very little is known about the transition from the so-called Moche society into the Chimu empire.
This timeframe, CIRCA A.D. 850-1000/1050, is poorly understood not only in the North Coast of Peru, but more broadly all over the Central Andean Region. Current models explain this period of time as a moment of political, economic, and militaristic control of the Wari Society.
This southern highland group has expanded as a well-organized state-like formation. Indeed, some scholars suggest that it may be the first Andean empire, and current models also suggest alternative scenarios. The recent burial in Huanchaco provides insight into the behavior of lower elites following the collapse of the Moche society and its transition into the Chimu Empire, highlighting the persistence of religious and artistic traditions from earlier times, as well as the innovations introduced from the highlands to the coast.
Free and open to the public.
Doors open at 5 PM, with light refreshments served / Lecture begins at 5:30 PM.
Populism and the Durability of the Liberal Order in Eastern Europe: EU and NATO Enlargement Reconsidered
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Even
Featuring Dr. Hillary Appel, Podlich Family Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College
Eastern Europe provided some of the most encouraging, early cases of political and economic liberalization. However, their illiberal backtracking and rise of populist leaders in the last decade raise the question of whether after the Cold War their specific paths to joining the liberal order—which included strict membership conditionality in key institutions, the loss of policymaking autonomy in the 1990s, and the creation of dependent market economies—may later have contributed to the subsequent rise of Euroskepticism and illiberalism. In this talk, Hilary Appel will discuss whether these illiberal trends reflect a broader global phenomenon of populist resurgence and democratic decline or was there something distinctive about their paths from communism and into multilateral institutions that accounts for their trajectory.
Biology Seminar
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Event
Speaker: Kaoru Kitajima - Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Date: September 30th, 2025
Zoom Meeting ID: 953 7651 9603
Observe The Moon Event
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Event
Join the UF Department of Astronomy and Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center for a second year as we come together to learn about and observe the Moon! This event features many high end telescopes pointed at the moon, along with a guest lecture by a UF Geologist, food trucks, and other educational activities. The event itself is free, with a 5$ parking fee per car (attendees are encouraged to carpool.)
This event will be hosted from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM on the evening of Saturday the 4th of October. The event is open to both the public, and UF faculty and students. Attendees of all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Additional Cuscowilla Nature and Retreat Center information can be found at their page here
This event is under the nasa program for international observe the moon night and is registered as such.
Public Observing Nights
Earn 5 Honors Points For Attending This Event
The Department of Astronomy operates an on-campus Teaching Observatory for educational and public programs. These events are all free to the public. The observatory is open 8:30PM — 10:00PM on Friday evenings when UF classes are in session in the fall and spring semesters (closed during the summer) and for special events. As their visitor, you get the chance to observe the Moon, planets, double stars, star clusters, nebulae and other astronomical objects through our 8-inch, 12-inch, and 14-inch Cassegrain telescopes, and our historic 8-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope. Get updated with the latest astronomical news and ask your own questions!
8:30pm - 10:00pm EDT
UF Campus Teaching Observatory
Museum Studies Club Officer Positions Available
Earn 10 Honors points for holding an officer position for 12 weeks or more
Are you fascinated by museums, exhibits, and cultural history? A new Museum Studies Club is forming at Santa Fe, and Honors students are invited to get involved! The club plans to host museum trips, share presentations on past exhibits, and build a community of curious learners.
Officer positions are open, including Community Outreach Officer and Senator.
If you’re interested, contact Theo Dora Hamilton (Anthropology major, aspiring Museum Studies graduate student) at 34015542@sfcollege.edu to learn more.
Calculator And Math Skills Workshop
Attend a workshop, earn 5 Honors points each; complete all three, earn 15 points!
Join Dr. Mike Weaver for the Calculator and Math Skills Workshop to learn how to use calculators efficiently and master key math concepts like y = mx + b. Attend any workshop to earn 5 Honors points, or complete all three sessions for 20 points. Don’t miss this chance to sharpen your skills and get a free TI-30XIIS calculator if you’re one of the first 10 to sign up!
When & Where:
Sep 11, 2–3 PM – The RISE Center (W-233)
Sep 16, 3–4 PM – The Math Studio (P-220)
Sep 30, 3–4 PM – Learning Commons (Y-240)
D.O.O.R.S. Scholarship & Mentorship Program – Apply by September 30!
Earn 10 Honors points for submitting a national scholarship application (cap of 3)
The BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTCI), in collaboration with Promega, is offering D.O.O.R.S. (Development Of Our Research Scientists) Scholarships to 10 outstanding undergraduate students pursuing life sciences. Selection is based on academic excellence, professional promise, and commitment to research or industry engagement.
Scholarship Benefits:
$5,000 scholarship paid directly to the student’s educational institution
Mentorship Program with a professional from the biotech industry, including one-on-one and group sessions
Participation in D.O.O.R.S. Scholar’s Day at BTCI / Promega campus in Madison, WI (2026), with in-person networking opportunities
Application Steps:
Secure an Academic Sponsor and a Letter of Recommendation
Prepare your application answers
Submit by September 30, 2025
Recipients notified by October 28, 2025
Application Components:
Personal statement
Short summary of your contribution to a biomedical research project
Recommendation from a professor, instructor, or lab administrator
Cultural and Community Events
Chalk The Campus
Earn 5 Honors Points for becoming an active member of a club
The League of Women Voters will be hosting a Chalk the Campus event - bringing color, positivity, and inspiring messages to our sidewalks.
Date/Time: October 9th, at 12:00 P.M.
Location: Meet in room S-221
Winds and Classics
5 Honors Points For Attendance
The Santa Fe College Concert Band presents Winds & Classics, an evening showcasing classical works from some of the most prolific composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The performance will also feature modern selections from composers of the present. Join us for an incredible showcase of musical talent!
Date: Thursday, October 2, 2025
Show time: 7:30 PM
Location: Lyceum Concert Hall, 3000 NW 83rd St, Gainesville, FL
Ticket Pricing:
This is a FREE event!
Land of LaChua
5 Honors Points For Attendance
Experience a journey through time with Dance Alive National Ballet’s Land of LaChua, a celebration of 200 years of Alachua County. The performance begins with Alachua’s historic roots and culminates in the exciting ROCK ON! A Tom Petty Tribute Ballet. See local stories and songs come to life in this family-friendly event featuring collaborations with composer Stella Sung, artist Margaret Tolbert, poet Lola Haskins, and many more.
Date: Friday, October 10, 2025
Show time: 7:30 PM
Location: Phillips Center, 3201 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611
Ticket Pricing:
General Admission: $40 - $60
Seniors & Students: $40
“Fascination of Science” Photo Exhibit at the Cade Museum
5 Honors Points For Attendance
Explore the intersection of art and science at the “Fascination of Science” exhibit, as seen through the lens of German artist Herlinde Koelbl. This photo exhibition features captivating portraits of Nobel laureates and leading scientists from around the globe. First shown in Germany in 2020, this world-traveling exhibit has now arrived in Gainesville.
Date: Now through January 11, 2026
Exhibit Hours: Thursday - Sunday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, 811 S Main St, Gainesville, FL 32601
Ticket Pricing:
College Students (with ID): $12.50
Adult (18-64): $15.00
Youth (5-17): $10.00
Volunteer and Service Opportunities
UF Harn Museum of Art Internship & Volunteer Opportunity
30 Honors Points per semester of employment
Looking for a way to grow your résumé, earn Honors Points, and gain real-world skills? The Harn Museum of Art is offering two opportunities for students this semester:
Paid Internship – Work on a focused project alongside museum staff in areas such as education, curatorial, marketing, and more. This internship is a great way to gain professional experience while contributing to meaningful work in the arts. Application deadline: October 17.
MUSE Volunteer Program – Take on a semester-long leadership role by creating and leading interactive programs, building skills in communication and teamwork, and engaging directly with museum visitors.
These opportunities are excellent for students interested in careers in the arts, education, marketing, or public engagement—and they stand out on transfer applications and job searches.
For details on how to apply, contact Ana Gamboa (agamboa@harn.ufl.edu) or Errol Nelson (enelson@harn.ufl.edu).
Volunteer with PEAK Literacy
30 Honors Points for Program Participation
Are you looking to make an impact in our community? Do you want to support learning for students of all ages? Do you need a way to earn your Honors Points for Fall? If so, reach out to Leah Galione to learn about a one-of-a-kind opportunity from PEAK Literacy. Students who volunteer with PEAK literacy will receive training ahead of time and work with students on building literacy skills. Honors students who serve as volunteer tutors will earn 30 Honors Points per semester. Virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities are available.
Please get in touch with Leah Galione for more info at leah@peakliteracy.org
ECS 4 Kids Volunteer Opportunity
30 Honors Points for Program Participation
ECS offers Head Start and Early Head Start programs for pregnant mothers and children from birth to age five. We deeply value our volunteers and interns, recognizing their important role in supporting children's development. By working closely with our dedicated staff, they help enrich the quality of life for families in our programs.
Pre-Professional Opportunities
Medi-Gators Shadowing Program
30 points for completion of Program
Registration for the 16th semester of the Medi-Gators Virtual Shadowing Program closes today at 11:59 PM!
The Fall 2025 Virtual Shadowing Program is a 7-week program where students have the opportunity to meet and hear from over 40 healthcare professionals. You can participate remotely through live video presentations and at your own time through recorded online presentations All presentations are held in a Canvas course for easy access to all students. Even if you have participated in our program before, you are encouraged to join again, as every semester, there are new speakers from diverse specialties!
This program allows students to find their own path within healthcare and learn more about the different opportunities healthcare has to offer! By reaching out to healthcare professionals at the end of their presentation, Virtual Shadowing can lead students to other opportunities including in-person shadowing, mentorship, research, etc.
Registration will close Friday, September 26th at 11:59 pm.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to medifutures@outlook.com or medigators@health.ufl.edu!
Careers and Community Meet Up UF
5 Honors Points For Attendance
This is a new University of Florida event designed to bring students and employers together for meaningful conversations and professional connections. With a focus on fostering community and creating opportunities for all students, this event creates a space where students can lay the foundation for their career and professional development. Career and Community Meet-Up encourages industry connections through intentional conversation starters and discussion that make networking natural and impactful. During the event, employers and students will have the opportunity to participate in conversational table talks and open networking activities.
Date: 9/30/2025, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Location: Reitz Union Grand Ballroom
Connect with Your Future at the Career Fair
5 Honors Points For Attendance
On Wednesday, October 8, 2025, from 9 a.m.to 2 p.m. Santa Fe College will host a regional career fair at Blount Hall in downtown Gainesville. More than 40 regional employers are going to be present. A wide range of fields will be represented from healthcare to various business fields as well as hospitality and non-profit organizations. This is a great opportunity to network and explore the job market.
The career fair is free, and free parking is available.
Location: 530 W University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32601
Date: October 8, 2025, from 9 a.m.to 2 p.m.
On Campus Employment Opportunities
Educational Aide, Student Engagement Center
30 points per semester (minimum 15 hours per week)
Job Description
The Student Engagement Center promotes involvement and development of individual students and student-run organizations. Hours for educational aides will be selected primarily from the hours of 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Monday – Friday with occasional evening or weekend hours potentially made available as needed
QUALIFICATIONS
Required: Must be a currently enrolled Santa Fe College student, in good academic standing, taking six (6) or more credit hours.
Additional Requirements: A criminal background check will be conducted. Must maintain a 2.5 GPA.
Location: Northwest Campus, Building S - Gainesville, FL
Nursing Programs
30 points per semester (minimum 15 hours per week)
Educational Aide, Student Lab Assistant
Job Description
Responsibilities and Duties Include:
Provides support in the Nursing laboratories to include preparing and deconstructing labs and maintaining a clean and safe lab experience.
Provides a professional, helpful, and welcoming atmosphere by greeting, responding to, and directing students and staff in-person and over the phone.
Strictly honors the privacy and security of student records and other sensitive information according to appropriate state, federal and college regulations, policies, and procedures.
Complies with all published College Rules, procedures, guidelines, and laws/regulations governing public employees, including but not limited to those related to document retention and destruction, FERPA, and confidentiality.
Provides service excellence through courteous, informed, accessible, and professional engagement.
Performs other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required: Must be a currently enrolled Santa Fe College student, in good academic standing with professor recommendation, taking six (6) or more credit hours.
Additional Requirements: A criminal background check will be conducted. The successful applicant must maintain and demonstrate mastery of the subject matter designated to tutor. Must maintain a 2.5 GPA.
Preferred: Tutoring experience is preferred.
Location: Northwest Campus, Building W - Gainesville, FL