Emily Abreu

Instructor Mat Wenzel

ENC 2135-12

11 July 2018

Personal Profile

            He walked in and sat down in his office chair, sitting in front of the squeaky clean certifications and degrees that neatly rested on the walls, decorating his office. He welcomed me and showed me to my seat with a welcoming and warm smile. He wore a neatly pressed, garnet button down shirt, representing the very own colors of Florida State University. His computer was opened up with dozens of emails, his desk filled with paperwork and files. His personalized name plate laid on the corner of his desk, reading Mr. Taddarrayl Starke. Mr. Starke, is the director of Florida State University’s Center of Academic Retention and Enhancement or also known as CARE. Working for CARE for close to 8 years, Starke has seen this department grow to the success that it is now and it continues to grow and expand on this campus. Starting out as a program with a small number of students who would meet in available, unlocked classrooms, it eventually turned into a single department with its own building, servicing to more than 400 students. Being a Florida State Alumni, Mr. Starke can say that FSU has numerous of opportunities and resources but there is a risk of being one out of 41,000 students that attend the university. What CARE tries to accomplish is to shrink those odds and focus on each student’s success by providing more individualized opportunities and connections to inside resources that will better mold students into an accomplished graduate despite only being one person in a big campus. CARE students describe CARE as a resource to scaffold you into experiences and sometimes even force you into them which is why, Mr. Starke mentions, a lot of CARE students are big leaders on campus, ranging from student body presidents to club leaders and more. The focus of CARE and its staff is on students who are underrepresented in higher education, those populations who traditionally do not go to college and are first generation students. CARE is a home for these students and that is exactly how Mr. Starke describes this department— an environment in which support and total engagement is guaranteed. Coming from a difficult childhood himself, Mr. Starke is an example to many students under his care, demonstrating that it is possible to persevere and become someone in life.

           Taddarrayl was born in Duval county, they heart of Jacksonville, Florida. Growing up in a high crime and drug community one thing was very clear to Mr. Starke when he was young— he was meant to get out of there even if it meant joining to the military. For the majority of his life, he spent days without food, money, or lights but he knew that he still had to push through and attend college. Graduating early, in the top of his class, he received a scholarship and full ride to Florida State where he soon would earn his degree in psychology and education. However, his journey to college was not an easy one. Coming from a mother who received as high as a 6thgrade education, Mr. Starke was the first of six children that pursued going to college making his experience difficult because he could not receive the guidance that many others did. The reality of the rigor of college soon kicked in and while balancing his full time job to be able to provide for himself, there were many times in which he wanted to simply quit. Whether it was a chance by fate or just luck, he ran into someone who was in the office that would become CARE. In that moment, Mr. Starke was advised by this person that he had a place here at Florida State and he does not have to feel isolated or ostracized and instead expand and take advantage of more opportunities. This made him see himself and it helped him realize that he was a part of Florida State when at first he did not feel that way being a young black man and all, which at many times, he was the only person that looked like himself in his classes. From that moment on, he found the love and passion of working with students who didn’t have means because he saw himself in them which later on lead him to realizing his current job, becoming the youngest director of the Center of Academic and Retention Center. Being a person without any means and what seemed like a bleak future, is now the number one leader of CARE, transforming students with the same life experiences and molding them into leaders in this campus through CARE. 

            Overseeing the different opportunities offered at CARE, Mr. Starke points out that there are many choices that offer students a leadership role, helping them develop their leadership skills and hopefully enhancing their chances at conquering the professional world. CARE has a leadership council, CARE guides and delegates, CARE committee chairs, CARE officers, mentors, volunteer leaders, tutors, supplemental instruction leaders, and ambassadors. Seeing as he was able to give back and help students like him, CARE offers many opportunities for students to later on help incoming college students that have undergone similar experiences as them and help guide them to success just like they were given the opportunity to do so. Each leadership position focuses on transitioning, guiding, and empowering students to become the best version of themselves. Being a part of this community makes it almost impossible for students to not become a successful student let alone become a star model of an accomplished individual. 

            Along with the many goals that CARE expects from their students, Mr. Starke mentions that what defines a successful CARE student is graduation. As simple and obvious as that is, students that are a part of care have every reason in the world not to graduate. They were given every reason in the world to not even go to college. Not only are CARE students already successful for attending college but being able to graduate means that everyone after that graduate follows their footsteps and it has the power to change the legacy of education in their families for years to come. Success is graduation because it means more than just graduating— it is about changing lives.

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