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SPC braces for influx of veteransAs the country prepares to celebrate Veterans Day Wednesday, St. Petersburg College is readying to meet the needs of hundreds of veterans expected to enroll when they return from active duty in the Middle East, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
America remembers No Blue & White Nov. 13 |
SPC braces for large influx of veterans
As the country celebrates Veterans Day Wednesday, St. Petersburg College is readying to meet the needs of hundreds of veterans expected to enroll when they return from active duty in the Middle East, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The influx is the largest since the end of World War II and may turn out to be the biggest in U.S. history.
SPC already has 885 students enrolled under veterans benefits, and many more are expected to take advantage of new veterans’ educational benefits in the coming months and years.
These students are drawing a variety of VA benefits. They include:
- Montgomery GI Bill, 259 students
- Vocational rehab, 133 students
- Post 9/11 GI Bill, 322 students
- Surviving spouse / dependents, 117 students
- Reservist, 42 students
- Reservist called to active duty in Iraqi / Afghanistan, 12 students
Almost 200,000 Florida residents have served in the U.S. military since 9/11. Only Texas has sent more of its sons and daughters to serve.
Almost half of the veterans enrolled at SPC are drawing benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, passed by Congress to address the special needs of service members who have served since the terrorist attacks of 2001. Those numbers are expected to increase significantly in the coming months.
The college has taken a number of steps to meet the demand.
 Jeff Cavanagh, Coordinator of Veterans Affairs |
One important step was the recent hiring of Jeff Cavanagh, who joined the college at the end of October as Coordinator of Veterans Affairs. Cavanagh is based at the EpiCenter but will travel regularly to all college sites.
Cavanagh said the circumstances for veterans are similar to the end of World War II.
“At that time, we had all these veterans who, once the war was over, came home looking for education, housing and jobs,” he said. “We are seeing something very similar now. Veterans are coming home and looking for jobs, and education will play a major role in that."
Besides tuition benefits, the new GI Bill provides books, a monthly stipend and up to five years of paid medical care as well as housing benefits.
“My job is to find out what vets need and want,” Cavanagh said
Cavanagh has deep ties to SPC and the military.
His father, Tom Cavanagh, was a career Air Force officer who taught Geography and Western Civilization at St. Petersburg Junior College in the 1970s. Jeff Cavanagh spent his freshman year at SPJC in the 70s before going on to Jacksonville University on an ROTC scholarship. After college, he spent 22 years in the Navy and reserves before retiring in 1994.
College gathering veterans' stories for archive
St. Petersburg College is embarking on an ambitious project to collect the memories and memorabilia of veterans for the Veterans Legacies at the Bilirakis Archive. The endeavor is being led by U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, former congressman Mike Bilirakis, Tarpon Springs Provost Conferlete Carney and others. The archive will be housed at the Tarpon Springs Campus Library.
 Joseph Smiley, Dean, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
“There is a major concern about World War II veterans because of their age,” said Joseph Smiley, Dean of SPC’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department. “We want to reach out to them in a loving and caring way – and encourage them to share their stories and experiences.”
Smiley already has recruited several veterans to speak in the college’s American History classes. By videotaping their stories, the experiences can be digitized for preservation in the archive, while enriching current SPC students.
“It’s a moment of teaching and learning,” Smiley said. “Their involvement in history can be quite revealing. History comes alive for our students.”
The group will work with local veterans organizations to seek veterans and their family members to share their military memories and mementos.
To contribute, send written stories and experiences or photos, ribbons or any other small-scale memorabilia to :
Jorge Perez, Head Librarian
Tarpon Springs Campus
St. Petersburg College
P.O. Box 13489
St. Petersburg FL 33733
Contributions also can be dropped off at the library on the Tarpon Springs Campus, 600 Klosterman Road. For more information, contact Perez at 727-712-5728 or 888-400-1963 (toll-free).
New registration guide helps students navigate MySPC
A new Registration Guide (pdf), which replaces the old Course Schedule Book, was delivered to campus MAP Centers for the beginning of Spring Term registration this week.
Since all students must use MySPC to register for classes, the new guide offers tutorials to help them with common problems, such as how to search for available classes, add a class or drop a class.
Students can register online 24/7 on MySPC from Nov. 4 - Jan. 11. Additional registration information is available to students online.
Plan to join or renew your 2010 flex spending account (FSA)
Want to give yourself a raise? Want to save tax money every paycheck?
Now is the time to set aside money in a Flexible Spending Account for 2010. The account can be used to bank pre-tax money to pay up to $5,000 in medical expenses (including many over-the-counter items) and/or up to $5,000 in dependent child-care expenses for children and for adults who spend at least eight hours a day in your home.
All budgeted employees qualify to establish the accounts. You may want to begin calculating how much money you want deducted from your paycheck during 2010 for qualified medical expenses and dependant care expenses.
For more information, including what over-the-counter medications can be reimbursed and what qualifies as a dependent care expense, please visit the Web site of Custom Benefit Services, the third-party administrator that processes the refunds, at www.ezflexplan.com/cbs/home.asp. (A link to this Web site is also located on HR’s site under “Benefits.”)
The Nov. 20 Blue & White will have details on the sign-up for 2010.
New process for travel requests
Financial & Business Services is introducing an improved electronic Travel Authorization Request process, featuring a checklist for users and approvers. For further information about this checklist or questions regarding travel, call Ext. 3225.
O&P relay provides a firsthand learning experience
 Christine Patel, Dental Hygiene instructor, navigates an obstacle course via wheelchair during the Team Relay Challenge for Handicapped Awareness Month held Oct. 28 at the Health Education Center. |
Three team members stand at the ready, each primed to bring their team to victory using walkers and wheelchairs.
Welcome to the Team Relay Challenge for Handicapped Awareness Month, sponsored by the college’s Orthotics and Prosthetics department.
In this relay, one able-bodied team member uses a wheelchair to navigate an obstacle course (marked with black tape and wet floor caution tents). The second uses a walker and hops on one foot to the handoff point. The third member, who is seated, tosses bean bags into a portable toilet with their non-dominant hand.
The idea for the relay came from Thomas Chmielewski, an adjunct instructor for the O&P program, who put on similar events while working at Tampa General Hospital.
“Students can learn not just in theory but in a practical, fun way how to deal with a disability,” Chmielewski said.
It wasn’t just students participating. A last-minute entry was The Molars, a team consisting of Dental Hygiene instructors Claudia Beard, Christine Patel and Katie Woods.
It was a chance for Patel to gain insight for her job: she teaches students how to modify dental treatment when working with disabled patients.
“Whenever I see a learning opportunity, I grab it,” she said.
The winner: The Super Awesome Team.
After receiving his gold medal, Moises Fennel gave the event a thumbs up – and not just because he was part of the winning group.
“It was a good team builder,” Fennel said. “We had mid-terms last week, so it’s a good stress reliever.”
Scholarship house ground breaking Nov. 20
SPC and its Foundation, in conjunction with the Educational Foundation of the Florida Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. (BPW), and Business and Professional Women St. Petersburg/Pinellas, will celebrate the ground breaking for the Helen K. Leslie BPW Scholarship House at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at 7001 Burlington Ave. N. (near the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus’ Wellness Center).
Named for an SPC Foundation board member who is a BPW past national president and local businesswoman, this two-story, 5,000-square-foot facility will house 17 female students who have demonstrated a financial need and a history of academic and community leadership.
The furnished house will include bedrooms, a bathroom for every four women, a communal kitchen and living area and a laundry room.
Susan Reiter, Vice President of Facilities Planning & Institutional Services, said the house would offer the first on-campus student housing at SPC.
“We are completing phase one development and expect construction to begin after the first of the year,” Reiter said. “Our goal is to have the house completed by August of 2010.”
The facility will be the fourth BPW scholarship house in the state. Other such facilities are at Florida State University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida.
For more information about the scholarship house or to donate to BPW scholarship houses in Florida, visit www.educationfoundationbpwfl.org.
UPC sponsors information session
The University Partnership Center will host an information session on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 7 p.m., to describe the more than 100 degree programs it offers together with 16 accredited colleges and universities.
The session will be in the lobby of the University Partnership Center building on the Seminole Campus. Program advisors will be on hand to answer questions.
SPC offers mentoring opportunity
SPC received a grant to provide a mentoring program for youth in foster care who are aging out of the system.
The college is seeking students and staff who will volunteer as mentors for this program, which provides opportunities for one-on-one contact between mentors and youths, as well as group activities.
If you are interested, please complete this brief survey. Details will be e-mailed to those completing the survey.
SPC partners with Eckerd College and USF for Ethics Bowl
SPC, Eckerd College and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg are co-sponsoring the Sixth Annual Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 14 in the Steidinger Building on the USF St. Petersburg campus, 140 Seventh Ave. S.
At least 16 teams from colleges around the Southeast, including SPC, will compete in ethical debates. Winners from this event will go on to compete at the national level.
There is no charge for spectators. For more information, call Ext. 4335.
Subway spokesman Jared Fogle to speak at Clearwater Campus
Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who lost 245 pounds within a year by eating two Subway sandwiches a day (and exercising), will speak about wellness at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Teaching Auditorium on the Clearwater Campus. Fogle, who is on his “Tour de Pants,” will be in the area for the American Heart Walk. The event is free and open to all students, faculty and staff.
Lifelong Learning updates
Lifelong Learning will host the following new classes:
- Digital photography - starts Nov. 6 (Seminole) and Nov. 10 (Clearwater)
Welcome to Digital Photography II – Getting Creative, is a five-week course teaching how to compose and take pictures with your camera, create special effects with different lenses, make pictures more dynamic and enhance holiday photos. The cost is $85.
- Voice-over course - Nov. 16, 7 to 9 p.m.
If you have a voice for commercials, recorded books or telephone messages through “You’re On the Air,” a voice-over techniques course on the Clearwater Campus is for you. This course teaches how to become employed doing professional voice-over work, the structure of advertising, how to make a demo tape, the kinds of voices in demand, and how to find work. Students will record a simulated voice-over during class, complete with background music. The cost is $25.
For information or to register, call SPC’s Lifelong Learning department at 727-341-3184.
Celebrate International Education Week, Nov. 15-19
Mark your calendar now for the great events on your campus during International Education Week. Join in the fun now by testing your knowledge with a Geographic Economy Quiz .
International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, is designed to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the U.S.
Keep up with the college’s growing list of international programs by reading SPC International, our new e-newsletter.
Meeting notice
The St. Petersburg College Foundation Inc. will have a Planned Giving Committee Meeting at noon on Nov. 17 at the District Office, 6021 142nd Ave. N, Largo. This meeting also will consider routine business.
EAP program offers information about adoption
Corporate Care Works, the college’s employee assistance program, provides information for those interested in adopting a child. Through its Web site (registration and log-in is required), CCW offers articles on adoption, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about the process.
Florida’s Department of Children and Families provides monetary benefits to employees of state agencies and colleges (such as SPC) who adopt children. To obtain this benefit, you must complete and submit this form with a certified copy of the Final Order of Adoption naming the employee as the adoptive parent.
Get the Wellness Challenge Team totals and more health information is available on our Wellness blog.
November is American Diabetes MonthDiabetes is a disease that affects more than 23-million Americans. The American Diabetes Association has made it their priority to dedicate November to the campaign for awareness. Join the fight! What is diabetes? It’s a chronic disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The actual causes of diabetes continue to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors - such as obesity and lack of exercise - appear to play roles. The many complications from this disease can cause severe problems, including kidney failure, heart disease and stroke. The effects of having this disease are different for everyone. Learning how to identify and prevent this disease is your first step toward protecting yourself. There are four major types of diabetes:
Are you at risk of developing diabetes? Test yourself:
It may seem unlikely that you could be a statistic, but diabetes is common in our society. Take a proactive step toward a healthy future by consulting with your physician. Try these “YouTube” links for additional interactive information on diabetes: |
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Wellness Coordinator Explore the SPC Wellness blog for additional wellness articles. |