Wings Up! FGCU Graduation Re-Cap & Fort Myers, Florida Travel

Seeing all the pictures of students moving into dorms and the start of the academic year has made me nostalgic for my trip to Florida Gulf Coast University's graduation. 

For the past two years, I have had the privilege of teaching future school counselors as an adjunct faculty member in the School Counseling Master’s program at FGCU.💚💙🦅


At the beginning of May I took a trip to Fort Myers, Florida to attend Florida Gulf Coast University Graduation. 

In this post I will share about attending FGCU graduation and my trip to Fort Meyers. 


I was so excited to be able to participate in the FGCU graduation ceremonies as an adjunct professor. I wore my doctoral regalia from my Duquesne University Counselor Education and Supervision PhD Graduation. 


The first graduation of the weekend was the first cohort of students to go through the ASCA Recognized School Counselor Preparation Program at FGCU. It was great to see students that I had for a semester of internship.


Graduation #2 was the CACREP Cohort. I had the privilege working with this cohort throughout their practicum and internship experience. I am so proud of them! 💚💙🦅 It was such an honor to be part of their journey and then attend their graduation ceremony. 


It was so much fun to spend time with Dr. Russell Sabella, Program Director at FGCU and Dr. Ann Tilman, Associate Professor at FGCU. Even as an adjunct, they make me feel part of the team. I deeply admire and respect them as professionals. 



Below I share more about what I did in my down time in Fort Myers. 



I stayed at The Crowne Plaza in Fort Myers. I felt like I arrived in Paradise! I rented a car so I could explore the area. On the night of my arrival, I had dinner with my students in the CACREP Cohort. It was so amazing to meet them in person and get to spend some time with them!


I gave each of my students a card, a school counselor sticker I made, a You Matter sticker from the Positive Painting Project, and a graduation Eat'n Park Cookie. (I had to bring a little Pittsburgh with me).

The next day, before the graduation ceremony, I set out for a beach! I used ChatGPT to give me some suggestions of where to go. I wanted to find a low-key beach where I could hang out and read a book. The recommendation was Lover's Key Beach and it was absolutely perfect!


On my way to Lover's Key Beach, I stopped at Mom's Restaurant on Fort Myers Beach. Mom's Restaurant was destroyed in a hurricane and is operating out of a food truck. Seeing the hurricane devastation in the area was heartbreaking and truly unbelievable. I was glad to be able to support a few businesses on Fort Myers Beach while I was there. 

The food at Mom's Restaurant was amazing. I had the best cinnamon roll of my life there!




(Proof of Cinnamon Roll!)

I of course needed to stop and get an iced coffee, so I was excited to find MoJoe's Coffee Cafe! 


MoJoe's Coffee Cafe also was operating out of a food truck due to hurricane devastation. Their coffee was excellent!

Lover's Key State Park opens at 8:00am. You pay a fee to enter the beach.



There is a tram that takes you over a bridge to the beach. It was so beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice.




The beach was very low-key which was exactly what I was hoping for. I wished I would have bought a chair, but only being there for two days, I opted for just hanging out on a beach towel.


I highly, highly recommend a solo beach trip if it is something you can ever do in life. It was so weird to just bring my bag filled with my towel, sunscreen, and a kindle. Don't get me wrong... I love spending time with my kids, but there is something to be said for a beach trip where you are not juggling three children and all their things!


One thing I was not expecting was how many shells I found. There were shells everywhere. I found some really cool shells without trying at all. They were just there on the beach. 

With all that said... Lover's Key State Park gets a million out of 10 from me.

Something I want to explore if I ever go to Lover's Key State Park again is the Discovery Center. It was not open when I was there, but it definitely looked worth exploring. I'd also love to see a manatee! (I'd bring the fam for that!)

On my way back to the hotel from Lover's Key State Park, I stopped at The Warehouse Cafe in Bonita Springs, FL. 



The cold brew was awesome and I loved the vibe there!

Another place I went to while in Fort Myers that is definitely worth mentioning is Backyard Social. It was soo cool. It had games, live music, a bar, and a variety of food trucks. I ordered from Not Yo Mama's Tacos and the food was excellent!




The next morning I went back to the FGCU campus to take a few pictures before my flight. The FGCU campus is beautiful! 



I made a stop at Urban Buzz near FGCU's campus for a cold brew. Loved the vibe and the coffee was great.


I also made sure to get some FGCU swag for my kids while in Fort Myers.


It was hard to say "good-bye" to Fort Myers and head back to reality...


I am so glad I decided to travel to Fort Myers for FGCU graduation. Being part of the graduation ceremony and celebration for students I taught was so rewarding. This is a trip I will never forget.

Connect with Danielle!

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