MADISON, FL – For the 11th consecutive year, North Florida College has been named a Great College
to Work For®, continuing a remarkable tradition of national workplace recognition.
But at NFC, 11 years of recognition tells a story that goes far beyond awards, rankings
or workplace benefits. It tells the story of a family.
At NFC, family is found in the people who step in when a colleague is going through
a difficult season. It is in the celebrations of weddings, babies, graduations, promotions
and retirements. It is coworkers checking on one another after a storm, bringing food
when someone is hurting, cheering from the sidelines and quietly taking on a little
more when someone else needs a little less. It is knowing the person behind the job
title.
That sense of connection has become part of the culture of North Florida College and
one of the reasons employees have consistently identified NFC as an exceptional place
to work.
For 11 consecutive years, employee feedback has helped earn NFC recognition through
the Great Colleges to Work For® program, one of the nation's most respected workplace-recognition
programs in higher education. The recognition is particularly meaningful because it
is based primarily on what employees themselves say about their workplace.
"Eleven consecutive years of recognition is extraordinary, but what means the most
to me is what those 11 years represent," said NFC President Dr. Jennifer Page. "They
represent people choosing, year after year, to care about this College, our students
and one another. We work hard together, we celebrate together and, when life gets
difficult, we show up for each other. That is what family does, and that is what makes
North Florida College such a special place."
More Than Coworkers
North Florida College is a small college serving a close-knit, rural region of North
Florida, and the relationships built on campus often reflect the communities surrounding
it. Employees know one another. They know each other's families. They see one another
at community events, ballgames, school functions and local celebrations. Those relationships
carry into the workplace.
A faculty member may walk across campus to personally help a student find the right
office. An employee may recognize that a coworker is having a difficult day and stop
to check in. Departments work across traditional boundaries because helping a student
often matters more than whose responsibility something technically is.
And when someone within the NFC family faces a serious illness, loss or personal crisis,
titles and departments tend to disappear. People simply show up.
That culture cannot be created through a policy or written into a strategic plan.
It is built through thousands of small moments of kindness, trust, humor, encouragement
and shared purpose over time.
A Family Built Around Students
At the center of that family is a common purpose: students.
NFC employees serve students from different backgrounds, at different stages of life
and with different goals. Some arrive directly from high school. Others return to
college after years away. Some are the first in their families to pursue higher education.
Many balance classes with jobs, children and responsibilities at home.
Employees understand that sometimes helping a student succeed requires more than providing
a service or teaching a course. It requires knowing their name, noticing when they
are struggling and reminding them that someone is invested in what happens next.
That personal approach is possible because NFC's culture of care extends in both directions.
Employees who feel supported by one another can extend that same support to students.
It is one reason the word "family" is heard so often across campus.
Eleven Years Tell a Story
One year of workplace recognition is an accomplishment. Eleven consecutive years represents
a culture.
Over more than a decade, NFC has experienced leadership transitions, changing technology,
hurricanes, a pandemic, enrollment challenges and countless changes within higher
education. Employees have welcomed new colleagues and said goodbye to longtime Sentinels.
Through it all, the College's sense of community has remained.
The Great Colleges to Work For® program evaluates institutions on characteristics
associated with strong and healthy workplaces. Recognition is based primarily on employee
feedback through the ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey© and supplemented
by institutional information about workplace policies and practices.
North Florida College was also named one of the 2026 Best Companies to Work For in
Florida, earning the No. 31 ranking among midsized employers statewide in Florida Trend magazine's annual rankings.
For NFC, however, the most meaningful measure may be much simpler. It is whether people
feel that they belong.
"Being a family doesn't mean that every day is easy or that we always agree," said
NFC Vice President of Employee Services Tyler Coody. "It means we know we are working
toward something that matters, and we know we don't have to do it alone. For 11 years,
our employees have continued to affirm that there is something special about working
at NFC. I believe that something is our people."
Eleven years after earning its first Great Colleges to Work For® recognition, North
Florida College continues to demonstrate that a great workplace isn't built by an
award.
It is built by people. People who believe in the mission. People who believe in their
students. And, perhaps most importantly, people who believe in one another. That's
the NFC family.
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Campus Wide Photo