News Article

Edison State College Graduate Honored to Speak at Historic Commencement Ceremony

May 2, 2014

May 2, 2014 – FORT MYERS, FLA. – It’s a night of beginnings and endings for Edison State College and the more than 3,000 graduates. It’s the start of the next steps in the graduates’ lives, and they are the last to finish their college experience as students of Edison State College.

The 2014 Edison State College graduation will be a historic event for the institution. Starting July 1, the institution will be Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW).

Fabiola Esposito will not only graduate with a Middle Grades Mathematics degree during the Edison State College Commencement Ceremony, but she will be speaking as well. Esposito was born in Sicily, Italy, and she and her family moved to New York when she was three years old. After high school graduation, her family moved to Cape Coral, where she started her journey in college at Edison Community College in 1993. She transferred to St. John’s University, but missed her family and returned to Cape Coral where she decided to take a break from school.

Esposito found a job in the construction industry, got married and had two children. School was furthest from her mind until the economy collapsed, along with the area’s construction industry. Her employer downsized, and she was able to stay on staff.

“In the meantime, my co-worker was attending Edison State College pursuing her degree in Business Management,” said Esposito. “To keep busy at the office, I would help her with her homework, including Calculus, Economics, and Oceanography. I really enjoyed helping her, and she told me that I would make a great teacher. Helping her made me realize that my purpose in life is to teach.”

After discussing it with her family, Esposito went back to school, balancing a full-time job, a full school workload, and participating in activities with her children.   She volunteered 100+ hours annually with her son and daughter’s schools and served on the PTO, in addition to serving as the Team Manager for her son’s soccer team.

While at Edison State College, Esposito assisted with the planning and execution of four consecutive Family Math Night events as part of her service learning requirement. She is also a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon (KDE), which is an honorary educational fraternity, which supports the cause of education by fostering a spirit of fellowship, high standards of scholastic attainment and professional ideals among its members, and prepares its members for the teaching profession.

“Needless to say, I was quite busy. My family was a huge help with carting the kids around, but still, the only time that I found to do homework and write papers was late at night, or on the weekends,” said Esposito. “I pretty much gave up my social life for this... but it is worth it!”

“I just wish my dad was here to witness this... after beating cancer, he passed away almost seven years ago of a massive heart attack,” she said. “It would have made him so proud to watch me walk to receive my degree... and even prouder to watch me speak at the commencement ceremony. I'm sure he'll be watching me from above....”

Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, Edison State College is Southwest Florida’s largest, most accessible and ranked nationally as one of the most affordable institutions of higher education. Serving more than 22,000 students per year regionally, nationally, and internationally, students are also active in a wide variety of clubs and programs that cater to their interests. Nationally, Edison State is ranked 45th among associate degree producers and 26th for its prestigious associate producing Nursing program. For more information please visit www.edison.edu.

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Last Updated: May 2, 2014