Flagler College — Attraction in Saint Augustine

Ultimately what is the measure of a school but its students, and particularly its graduates and their life trajectory after school?

On that count, both based on the numbers I've seen and those I've known Flagler is a sad place. On the second, I want to speak for a moment.

First there's my ex-roommate John H. from sophomore year who graduated in the early 2000's: when I met him he was working as a hotel bellhop after graduating with a business degree. Pictures of his college girlfriend still adorned the house several years after they broke up. His family was in Texas and it didn't appear he had maintained any contacts from college, so he spent most of his time on the computer in the living room, doing I'm not sure what. He had a habit of adopting hobbies (biking and cooking for example) on which he'd spend lots of money on equipment, use them once and twice and then abandon them.

A few years later he developed Crohn's disease and started dividing his time between the computer and preparing specialized food that helped manage the disease. Last I talked to him in 2017 he was still suffering - often quite badly to the point of stays at the hospital - from the disease, and still worked as a bellhop. He may or may not still have pictures of his ex-girlfriend up on his wall.

The second is my college girlfriend, who I met early freshman year, when she was a junior: she was a single mom who lived with her mom, and was a business major. We broke up 2 years later when she graduated (with a near perfect GPA) and I transferred out for a year. I tried to get back together with her when I returned for my senior year, but she was stressed and miserable trying to figure out what to do with her life - as was I - and it just didn't work out. This was 2009 and it was hard to find work, and neither of us did. I just got through the year and graduated and then moved home to New Jersey where the only job I could find was as a grocery store clerk. Rosie just lived off the money her grandfather gave her.

I had on and off contact with her over the years. She started a few blogs, updating them near daily for a few months and then apparently gave up. Then she got pregnant - I was on the phone with her shortly after she found out - and said she felt like she had to marry the guy.

We didn't talk much after that. She had 3 more kids, became a full time mom and in the 2010's started an Etsy business selling flower crowns and bags and knick-knacks. It didn't appear to do any better than the blogs, and after a few years she stopped posting about it. And whereas for a while she was posting pictures of her whole family all over her social media accounts, at some point perhaps mid-2010's all that disappeared. In 2020 she filed a paternity claim with the county, and was involved in what appears to have been a contentious legal battle. She was also subscribing to lots of experts on narcissism and domestic abuse on Medium.

Why do I know all this? Because in August of 2021 she died - a few months after her 36th birthday. The family put up a spare website memorial that I happened to catch on a random late night Google. I talked to the family briefly, but they provided no explanation and I felt it rude to ask. So I searched and searched, to try to wrap my head around it.

I don't have her picture on my wall, but for the number of times she crosses my lips, I may as well have.

Lastly, there is me. I finished Flagler in 2010 with a 3.71 GPA, went on to get a trio of masters degrees, from a large state school and a few obscure private online ones. I jumped from job to job. I still don't have a proper occupation, or place in the world. When I contacted career services once as an alumni they sounded annoyed and did next to nothing. And the only two people I kept in touch with from the place are either dead or close to it.

What does all of this say about Flagler? I'll let you decide. What do we pay small liberal arts colleges for? What outcomes should they help facilitate? What kind of...

19 Acres & a College!

When you first see the majestic structure as you walk through the outside perimeters of the oldest city in America, you really don’t realize, inside the massive set of buildings, sits Flagger College, or any other college for that matter.

Your initial thought would be to think of City Hall, The Mayor’s Mansion, or even a historical library being housed there, after all, why not?

It wasn’t until after I left the area that I discovered, a College occupies the stunning architectural pieces and the nineteen acres in which the buildings are sitting.

So naturally, I went back.

Having studied architecture, I was more curious about the buildings rather than the historical value. And I guess, I must have been absent from school when we learned about Flagger, because the only Flagger, I ever heard of, was the street near Miami Beach.

But Mr. Flagger must have been quite a commanding figure around here. Possibly a Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie or even a Pierpont Morgan type; way too many things bearing his name here, you kind of lose track.

So I finally find a parking spot and I take a very fast walk through the center of the square and from what I was able to gather, it was Flagger who built the main building which was The Ponce de Leon Hotel.

Throughout my escape into the grounds of this timeless historical place, I couldn’t help but to wonder, what would be like to be a student among the many that parade the campus of this wondrous estate.

Lucky & awesome!!

Indeed... that is what, it must be like. Which leaves me to ponder, do they...

Not much respect for the deans and how they handle things. They run a corrupt residence life program. The school has strict, unnecessary rules due to the conservative Christians funding the college. Zero tolerance drug policy, but it's completely ok to get a DUI with a BAC of .27 and get sympathized by the deans. But if you get caught with even minuscule amount of pot OFF CAMPUS you will most likely get suspended (if a police officer reports it to the school) and get shamed by the deans, who also not show total respect for you (being an adult). Pretty twisted right. Besides that, I love the school; the teachers, the students, the campus and location. But if I knew about these dumb rules before I committed I'm not too sure if I would of gone. I've seen countless of people get kicked out and it's a shame, they've all been good students and respectable young adults. I really wish this school would let go of its conservative knots...