Spark for ARC warms heart of mother, BBA+ group, and community.

Ana Lorenzo and her son, Javier.

Ana Lorenzo, a BBA+ Weekend student in the College of Business Administration, is used to challenges.

As a sixteen-year veteran at Regions Bank, she faces professional challenges in her job as an international trade finance portfolio manager in the international trade finance department.

She also faces academic challenges in the BBA+ Weekend program—an accelerated, value-added offering that enables students with an associate of arts degree to complete a business degree in management or international business in seven twelve-week sessions.

Then, there are the time challenges she addresses with her family: husband, Alberto (BBA ‘94); Juan, fourteen; Natalie, twelve; and Javier, who just turned three.

And with Javier, there’s a special challenge: he was diagnosed with autism a year ago.

While admitting that her family was “devastated to hear the news,” she said they also were determined to do everything they could to help him. That commitment grew to embrace other children and Lorenzo’s entire BBA+ Weekend group.

Each BBA+ Weekend group undertakes a community service project as part of its Business in Society class, selecting from options presented by group members. Lorenzo made the successful pitch for a project for Project Thrive, the Infant & Toddler Stimulation Program of ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens of South Florida). Named “Spark for ARC” by the students, the effort would raise money to buy specialized computer equipment to improve the educational and developmental chances for children with disabilities.

“I would see Javy working at the regular computer, but I noticed that other children in the class weren’t able to,” Lorenzo said. “That’s when I realized that computers with special software, controls, durability, and other features could make a big difference in the kids’ lives.”

She found out from the teachers at the West Kendall center exactly what they would need to get one such computer for each of the seven classrooms. The total came to $19,460.

BBA+Weekend SPARK FOR ARC team.

“I misheard the students when they first told me the amount they wanted to raise,” said Robert Hogner, associate professor of management and international business, and coordinator of the college’s Civic Engagement Initiative, “I thought they said $90,000. Once I realized it was $19,000, I told them I was sure they could do it. What I didn’t tell them was that this was substantially more than any other Business in Society class had ever attempted to raise.”

Through a number of fundraisers—including raffles, lunches, and a flea market—and the generous donations of companies and individuals, the students exceeded their goal, netting more than $26,000. The equipment was installed for a ceremony in mid-December, 2005, at ARC of South Florida. The center will use the surplus funds to purchase additional software and other options—such as adapters for children with physical disabilities—for the systems now in place.

According to Lorenzo, Javier’s “progress has been dramatic in the past year, including his recent ability to combine words into phrases and to interact attentively with our family and friends. As parents, we are encouraged and proud.”

She acknowledges the ARC curriculum as “an integral part of his progress,” and was happy to be able to show her appreciation “in a form that would further enhance the teachers’ capabilities to assist children like my own and those with other disabilities.”

Lorenzo, whose husband recommended that she attend the college, is glad she followed his suggestion for many reasons.

“I like the BBA+ program with its Saturday option, fast time to completion, and the fact that I would stay with the same group throughout the program,” she said. “I have met a number of good quality people whom I value and whom I now have the pleasure to call friends.”

In fact, the group has decided to get together and do a yearly service project, even after they graduate.

As for her first immersion in raising funds for a community program, Lorenzo has only positive things to say.

“We learned that there are many organizations that need help,” she said. “Thanks to our experiences, we have the tools in our hands to do so.”

She credits the following for the project’s success: the Spark for Arc Committee—Melanie Barnik, project co-leader; Melkie Gonzales; Yetsie Loria; Carolina Pineira; Xiomara Alfaro; Maritza Burges; Andrea Delamarque; and Algemiro Calderon; and the many sponsors, including Regions Bank, Ocean Bank, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Dole, and International Bank of Miami, to name a few.

And, like countless others affected by the college’s Civic Engagement Initiative, she expresses her indebtedness.