On Oct. 16, Florida State University Panama City announced the 2023 Notable ‘Noles as part of a more than 20-year campus homecoming tradition. The 2023 Notable ’Noles honorees include retired educator Carrie Baker, Bay County Planning manager Wayne Porter, and elementary school teacher Adrianna Swearingen.
The award is given to FSU Panama City alumni who demonstrated excellence as students and have made outstanding contributions to the community and within their careers. Since the award’s inception in 1996, FSU Panama City has recognized 88 Notable ’Noles, accounting for less than 1 percent of the campus’s alumni.

CARRIE BAKER

Carrie Baker, Ed.D. ’96, hails from Marianna, where she taught at Marianna Middle School early in her career. Now a resident of Lynn Haven, she has called Bay County her home since the mid-1980s, when she was recruited by Gulf Coast State College, leaving a position as legislative assistant to former Congressman Don Fuqua.

As the director of Retention and Diversity at GCSC until her retirement in 2016, she was a distinguished educator who assisted hundreds of young people in their pursuit of higher education. Her dissertation was based on that effort, which included tutoring, financial aid, career counseling and more.

“Dr. Carrie Baker cares deeply for her communities in Bay and Jackson counties,” said Janice Lucas (’89), who was named a Notable ’Nole in 2020. “She embodies the adage that ‘service is the rent we pay for the space that we occupy,’ as she gives of her time, talent and tithes to worthy causes to uplift others.”

In a 2013 interview with The News Herald, Baker described her childhood experiences with lingering segregation and racism that included being kept out of the National Honor Society because teachers “would take turns giving us C’s” and never learning to swim because “we weren’t allowed to go the pool.” She also discussed dealing with inferior facilities and outdated textbooks in a 2016 interview. These experiences made her an advocate for providing educational opportunity and access to minority students.

“A young man called me about a month ago from Atlanta to say, ‘Thank you for everything you poured into me. I see.’ And I said, ‘Finally!’” Baker said. “I always wanted them to have that ‘a-ha’ experience where they got it. I could see where they could go, but to get them to see, ‘I can do this.’ To have one call me after all these years and say, ‘I’m in a good place.’ Working with young people was always very important to me.”

Baker, a past board member of the Girl Scout Council of the Apalachee Bend, received the Pearl Lifetime Achievement Award from the Girl Scouts of the Florida Panhandle eight years ago. The Pearl Award is bestowed upon an adult Girl Scout for her significant contributions to the Girl Scout movement, building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

“FSU became our home,” said Baker, one of the first FSU PC graduate students to pursue the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership and Administration. “We would leave work, come here, take a couple of classes, then try to do group study. … That program gave us the ability to keep working and pursue our goals while getting a doctorate degree. It was a pilot program then, but now it’s just a part of everything. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without that program being offered.”

A second-generation educator, Baker also has served on several local community boards, including the United Way of Northwest Florida, the Bay County Council on Aging, Girls Inc. of Bay County, and the Bay County Branch of the NAACP. She is an advisor to the LEAD Coalition of Bay County Inc., and is a Golden Life Member of the Xi Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

In 2022, she was an individual sponsor for the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection at FSU Panama City. 

WAYNE PORTER

Wayne Porter (’06) is the Certified Flood Plain Manager for Bay County and manages the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System. This program helps ensure safe property development and provides for reduction in flood insurance premiums for Bay County residents.

“He and his expertise have been vital to the Planning Division and the County,” according to information provided by Valerie Sale, the chief communications officer for Bay County.

Porter served six years in the U.S. Air Force. After his service, he returned home to Panama City and attended FSU Panama City, earning a bachelor’s degree in Criminology. During this time, he was a counselor for at-risk youth.

“I have always been, since I was a child, a fan of FSU athletics,” he said, noting his office décor features artwork of a Seminole warrior and photos of Doak Campbell Stadium. “When I came home from the service, I jumped at the chance to opportunity to attend a prestigious university right in my hometown.”

In 2004, he went to work for Bay County as the Building Trades Investigator. In 2007, he was promoted to Planner with the Planning and Zoning Division. He received a master’s degree in Public Administration from Troy University, and in 2021, he earned his American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification and was promoted to the position of Planning Official for Bay County. 

Porter weathered Hurricane Michael in the Sand Hills area where, fortunately, his property sustained minimal damage. His parents, however, lost their home of 30 years to the storm. Porter worked to help his parents salvage any personal belongings they could while coordinating efforts to replace his childhood home, which his parents were able to move into only four months after the storm. He also assisted other family, friends and neighbors with their storm damage, and then went to the Emergency Operations Center to offer help in any way possible.

“The massive devastation of Hurricane Michael has obviously caused the complete rebuilding of hundreds of homes in Bay County,” Sale said. “Wayne has tirelessly worked with citizens and surveyors on explaining flood plain management and land development regulations to ensure safe and proper redevelopment.”

Besides keeping up with FSU athletics and attending ball games in Tallahassee, Porter loves the outdoors. He and his wife, Wendy, spend as much free time on the water as possible—kayaking local creeks and springs, boating and enjoying the beaches.

“If the weather is nice, that’s where I’ll be,” he said in early October. “And of course, this time of year I love FSU football.”

ADRIANNA SWEARINGEN

Even as she was being lauded for her exceptional commitment to students, Florida’s state Teacher of the Year Adrianna Swearingen (’15) praised her professors and the Elementary Education program at FSU Panama City. 

“I think they do a fabulous job to prepare you a little at a time so as not to overwhelm you, because at the end of the day, being a teacher is a lot of work,” she said.

That’s an understatement. In addition to her job duties as the media specialist at Northside Elementary School, Swearingen spearheaded Northside’s first LEGO club, securing robotics resources and grant funding. She taught children to write computer code, engage in teamwork and organization. She organized student talent showcases and presented a school improvement plan to the Parent-Teacher Organization. She put on a Book Fair twice a year, oversaw the Yearbook, lead the Learning Enrichment Activities Program, mentored students as part of a Professional Development Certification program and was part of the School Leadership Team. She also coordinated the Viking Bucks program, whereby students earn credits for good behaviors and spend them on prizes. 

“Swearingen hosts school pep rallies, a monthly activity that focuses on the Core Values—she is also Core Value Coordinator,” said Tiffany Forrester, the parent of two Northside Elementary students. “She leads the ITV Pep Tech Squad, which allows fifth graders to produce morning announcements and commercials. My oldest daughter participated in the first quarter this school year and loved her experience. She learned much and is disappointed the quarter is finished.”

It’s little surprise that Swearingen was credited as a key factor in Northside’s overall school grade increasing by 12 percentage points in the past year.

“From the beginning of her studies at FSU, Adrianna distinguished herself as ambitious, creative, thoughtful and committed to the career of teaching,” said Elizabeth Crowe, Ph.D., assistant dean of Academic Affairs at FSU PC. “She is a leader of teachers for teachers with the passion and drive to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for students in Florida. I'm thrilled that Adrianna has been recognized for her efforts, and I applaud her gracious representation of educators.”

Swearingen said her message for teachers across the state was simple, though it bears repeating in a time when the profession is embroiled in political issues and experiencing a workforce shortage: “Know that you are enough, and you matter,” she said. “We are doing amazing things in education. We are game changers. Ignite that passion and the fire within.”