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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Realizing Potential: Become Your Best Self
When Vera Mandilovitch began working at Nova Southeastern University nearly 4 years ago, she was quickly inspired by the welcoming and motivating environment that she was looking for as a public relations professional. NSU, she says, “felt like a second family.”
Vera works in the Division of Public Relations and Marketing Communications. She remembers one of her first assignments with an exceptional student, Steph Hammerman, the first woman with cerebral palsy to become a CrossFit Level 1 trainer.
“Promoting our amazing students to the community is one of the best aspects of my job,” she says.
One of Vera’s fondest NSU experiences was working with Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, a now-retired airline captain famously celebrated for the January 15, 2009 water landing of a commercial flight in the Hudson River. Captain Sullenberger was NSU’s commencement speaker in 2014. “It was an amazing experience; his values are linked to what our university represents.”
Growing up in Chicago, Vera was always taught to strive to be the best person she could be in all aspects of her life. Her parents ingrained in her the importance of giving back in any way possible – time, money and appreciation. Aside from giving back to NSU, she is an active volunteer at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, was a mentor for underserved young women in Women of Tomorrow and is a Board Member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Greater Fort Lauderdale Chapter. Vera is also volunteering her time and effort into building a collaboration between NSU and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts by providing NSU’s performing arts students with internship opportunities with Broadway shows at the center.
Vera feels so connected to NSU, that upon learning the ease of leaving a legacy gift to the university, she became a Founding Member of the 1964 Society last year. Vera’s legacy will eventually benefit our Performing Arts students and the Alvin Sherman Library. She feels that NSU’s Performing Arts Center and the Alvin Sherman Library “provide exceptional arts and culture to our community.”
Vera’s story demonstrates how NSU allows students, faculty and staff to discover themselves in new ways. “At NSU, you realize your potential by growing into your best self.”
To learn more about legacy giving and how you can fulfill your philanthropic goals, kindly contact Andrea Darlow, Director of Development for Legacy Gifts, at adarlow@nova.edu or (954-262-2135).