Walking into Florida Polytechnic University's Innovation, Science, and Technology Building feels like walking onto the set of a futuristic sci-fi movie. Decked out in stark white architecture and filled with students huddled around laptops, it could double as a backdrop in the next "Star Wars" installment. But when you enter new school president Dr. Devin Stephenson's office, it becomes a warm, inviting place to chat — and grab one of his signature president's pins.

Florida Poly specializes in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and it's recently been rated the No. 1 public college in the Southeast for the fourth year in a row. Dr. Stephenson himself is beginning to rack up the accolades since becoming president this summer, including a spot on the Florida 500 list of top state executives.

If you ask him, though, it's the students' accomplishments that are top of mind. In our conversation, he rattled off an impressive list of the student body's GPA averages (4.17), SAT scores (1313), and post-college plans (around 20% of seniors already have job offers or grad school plans), and you can see the pride in his eyes as he talks about them.

Goals for the school

Even after being president for just a few months, Dr. Stephenson already has lofty goals for the institution, saying, "If you get stuck in tradition, you're history." We asked him to describe his vision as the new president in 20 words or less: "I envision a vibrant campus of uncommon innovation, technological advancements, research, and bright students making a difference in the world." That's exactly 20 words, a fact that might make the applied mathematics majors proud.

The school's enrollment is currently at 1,800 — the university's highest number in its 10 years of operation — but his sights are set on increasing it to 3,000-5,000. It's a chicken-and-egg situation on whether to build new dorms or the recently state-funded Student Achievement Center first, but Stephenson says fundraising is his forte. "I believe I'm here at the right time. I really do."

New degree programs could be on the horizon as well, with a focus on science programs like pharmaceutical + biomedical engineering. "Programming is important," said Stephenson, adding that the school could offer an online graduate degree soon. Once those graduate programs are robust, a research park could be in the cards.

Lakeland life

Stephenson is not just the university's president — he's also a new Lakelander. The most surprising part of local life? "Traffic. I'm getting accustomed to the traffic patterns now," he told us, but added on a positive note, "People have been extremely friendly, and they've welcomed me here, and that really means a lot."

He's also finding his new favorite local spots, several of which he said he learned about while reading LALtoday each morning. You might see him shopping at the farmers market, grabbing dinner at Peking House or Palace Pizza, or buying his latest bike accessory at the Trek store just south of Dixieland.

What you should know

Many Lakelanders may only know Florida Poly from driving by the campus on I-4, but what does Stephenson want you know about the school?

"I want them to look at us as their institution of higher ed," he said. "We're the only public university that operates here with a home campus. Our people live here, and we're trying to make a difference in this area."

The latest stats show Florida Poly making over a $300 million annual economic impact in the region, but he expects an upcoming study to find that number is even higher.

"The first week I was here, someone said Florida Poly is the best kept secret around, and we're going to change that narrative. We can't let that narrative live in infamy. You know, we've got to change it. When you look at our rankings, this is a gem. It's a prize. It's not just diamond, it's platinum."