Ozzie the Osprey was dancing around the Student Union on Sept. 9 because the Florida Lottery and UNF’s Special Events coordinators co-hosted an event to celebrate and promote Bright Futures.

Kelly Gates, Assistant Director for Special Events at UNF said the Florida Lottery approached them about co-hosting the celebration. Gates said she thinks it’s important to the student body to stay informed, as there are currently over 5,000 enrolled students who are part of Bright Futures.

Carlo Fassi, Student Body President, said he believes Bright Futures is incredibly important because it keeps the brightest minds in Florida.

“We want them [Florida students] to apply their skill sets in Florida and then eventually graduate, get a job in Florida and pay Florida taxes so that they can help the next generation of geniuses graduate college.”

Bright Futures was established by the Florida Legislature in 1997 and, since then, has helped over 600,000 UNF students pay for college. The program has been primarily funded by the Florida Lottery.*

Email Lydia Moneir at news@unfspinnaker.com

* 9/11/13 – The Spinnaker made a correction regarding the organization that founded Bright Futures.