COMMUNITY NEWS

From left, Mak Koontz and Audrey McGuinness, both HUGS Charities board members; Sagi Asokan, longtime friend of Mary Alice Adkison; Traci Mason, CF Foundation director of development; Chris Knife, CF Foundation CEO; and Cindy Alyea, daughter of Mary Alice Adkison, for whom a new CF scholarship is named. [Photo courtesy College of Central Florida]

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Posted September 23, 2025 | By Susan Smiley-Height, [email protected]

CF nursing program news

The HUGS Mary Alice Adkison Oncology Nursing Endowed Scholarship has been established for nursing students at the College of Central.

The endowment will support an annual scholarship through the CF Foundation for students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, with a special emphasis on those interested in working with oncology patients, the news release stated.

Adkinson was a founding member of the nonprofit HUGS Charities, which provides temporary assistance to local individuals in treatment for a cancer diagnosis and experiencing financial hardship.

“There is a growing need for nurses who are not only clinically skilled but also deeply compassionate, especially in the field of oncology,” said Dr. Stephanie Cortes, CF associate vice president of Health Sciences, in the release. “This endowed scholarship will empower our nursing students to follow their passion while easing the financial burden of their education.”

CF’s BSN program has been ranked one of the best in the country on the “U.S. News & World Report” 2026 Best Colleges list, according to a separate news release. The rankings evaluated more than 1,700 colleges and universities on a number of metrics to measure academic quality and graduate success. CF ranked higher than any other Florida state college, in a tie with Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University and University of North Florida.

To learn more, visit cf.edu/nursing

 

Local author releases sixth novel

Jennifer Odom of Ocala, a fifth generation Floridian and former Teacher of the Year in Marion County Public Schools, has released her sixth novel, “Down by the Riverbank,” which is the third volume in her Coral Series.

Falling under the category of Contemporary Young Adult Christian Fiction, the series is a coming of age story that began in “Under the Mango Trees” when Coral was a frightened, lonely young girl, follows her adventures growing into a confident young woman in “Along the Forgotten Coast” and comes to a conclusion in “Down by the Riverbank,” noted the WordCrafts Press news release.

Odom’s love of the land and its history reach back to the 1860s when her great-great-grandfather migrated to his new homestead in Central Florida near the railroad. Orange groves and farming busied the family while one child and her spouse established the general store and served as station master for the depot. Reflecting this love of Florida and its people, Odom has written human interest stories for the “Ocala Star-Banner” and gardening articles for the “Ocala Gazette.” Her fiction is published in “Splickety” and “Clubhouse Jr.” magazines, as well as “Maine Review’s Juxtaposition,” according to her website.

To learn more, go to jenniferodom.com