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Record 852 participate in 112th SPC commencement
More than 850 graduates crossed the stage at Tropicana Field on Saturday morning during the historic 112th SPC Commencement ceremony. The count was up from last May, when there were 765. Before that, the spring 2008 record was 653. This graduation was host to many firsts:
» The first ceremony over which President Tom Furlong presided » The ceremony was broadcast live for the first time on C-SPAN » The commencement address was the first delivered by Nicole Stott, an SPC alumnus who is an astronaut.
“I stand here before you today as an example of what can happen if you follow a dream,” Stott said to a sea of blue robes and mortarboards. The astronaut’s aeronautical beginnings stemmed from her childhood experiences with her father at the Clearwater Airpark. She stayed true to her goal of becoming a pilot by enrolling in the SPC aviation program. “I think there’s a reason why each of us enjoys certain things and that very different things can bring each of us joy,” Stott said. “It’s important to be true to yourself and let the things you enjoy help guide you. “It’s having a real passion for something,” she said. “And it’s great when what you have a passion for can be part of your life – to feel its influence over all kinds of choices you make, like career and family.” |
Apollo and Alumni Achievement award winners selected
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2010 Apollo Award winner Samantha Mitchell addresses her fellow graduates at commencement. |
Apollo Award
Samantha Mitchell, 20, was selected as the Alumni Association’s 2010 Apollo Award winner. Mitchell was one of four finalists for the prestigious recognition and was awarded a $1,000 check to recognize her achievements both in and outside the college. In all, 45 students have been Apollo award recipients since the award began in 1966.
Mitchell will enter the Nuclear Engineering program at the University of Florida in August and plans to earn her doctorate in nuclear engineering.
“Many professors and students have contributed to my enriching experience at SPC,” Mitchell said during her acceptance speech. “I am confident the skills learned at SPC will greatly benefit my continued pursuit of higher education as I begin this new phase in my life.
“This award does not result from my own individual doing, but from the culmination of many individuals’ support and encouragement,” she said. “My parents have always been committed to providing me with the best possible education from a very early age, and they are truly the reason I am able to stand here today.
“It is my wish then that this award be dedicated to my parents, Tom and Lori Mitchell, for their hard work, commitment and support, and for ultimately making this moment a dream come true,” she said. “Mom and Dad, would you please stand to be recognized as the winners of the St. Petersburg College Apollo Award 2010?”
Alumni Achievement Award
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Julie Barnes was named the first SPC Alumni Achievement Award winner. |
Julie Barnes was selected as the first Alumni Achievement Award winner during the Saturday ceremony. Barnes was awarded a $1,500 scholarship by the SPC Alumni Association Inc. Board of Directors in recognition of her outstanding leadership skills, scholastic standing, community services, honors and awards.
Barnes received her Bachelor of Science in Exceptional Student Education/Reading Endorsed/ESOL Endorsed and has been active in her community, volunteering her time to many charitable events and organizations.
She attributes her success to the support and guidance of her fellow students and professors.
“I have every professor’s number in my cell phone,” Barnes said. “I could call them day or night, or in the evening, and they were always available. I can honestly say that my professors are both my mentor and my friend.”
As a teacher, she aspires to make her future students feel successful.
“As a teacher, my job is to teach children how to read, how to write, how to add and how to subtract. But it’s so much more than that,” she said. “I teach kids to be kind to each other; I teach them to respect each other and respect their teachers. I teach them to believe in themselves.”
Driving Nicole Stott to her first commencement speech
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Nicole Stott and Bill Frederick |
Bill Frederick interviewed Nicole Stott for an SPC Today story last year, just before she went to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. After that interview, the college invited Stott to the May graduation. Frederick and Scott exchanged many e-mails, working out all of the logistics of her attendance. They finally met in person Saturday morning.
By BILL FREDERICK
Nicole Stott didn’t really look like a daring astronaut when I picked her up early on May 8 to take her to Tropicana Field, where she was to deliver the commencement address to the biggest group ever to graduate from St. Petersburg College.
She looked a little nervous. Stott rode on the Space Shuttle and lived for three months on the International Space Station last year, and she’s scheduled to go again later this year. But she had never delivered a commencement speech.
Stott lives in Houston, not far from the NASA facility where she works and trains. But she is a Clearwater native, and her mother, Joan Passanno, still lives in North Pinellas County. May 8 was the day before Mother’s Day, and Stott wanted her mother to come along and be in the audience when she spoke. So the three of us headed down U.S. 19, hoping to get to Tropicana Field in advance of the heavy traffic that was anticipated.
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Nicole Stott addresses graduates. |
It was a trip that almost didn’t happen. About a week before the speech, Stott started to feel some sharp pain and ended up in the emergency room of a Houston hospital. On Wednesday, just three days before her speech, she underwent surgery. She sounded strong and confident on the phone the morning of her surgery, but considerably less chipper that afternoon.
“I’m having some doubts that I’ll be able to fly,” she said an hour or two after getting out of surgery. We agreed to talk again the next morning, but we started making some backup plans for a substitute speaker just in case.
By the next morning, though, she seemed much more like her old self.
“I’ll see you Saturday,” she said in an early morning e-mail.
We made some standby plans to have a wheelchair and golf cart ready at Tropicana Field, but we needn’t have bothered. She looked great in a conservative black pantsuit, and she strode across the parking lot and into the stadium at a pace that left her mother and me trying to keep up.
Once inside, she stood for about an hour smiling and posing for pictures with scores of SPC staff members and officials before finally looking around for a chair.
She delivered an upbeat speech in a strong and confident voice before submitting to our requests for videotaped interviews and a telephone press interview.
After lunch, we headed back to North Pinellas County. As we passed the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport, she pointed out where the building had stood where she learned about aeronautics as an SPJC student about 30 years earlier.
Since the commencement speech had been Stott’s first, I wanted to know what she saw when she stood at the podium and looked out over the sea of blue caps and gowns.
“I saw my mommy, sitting way in the back waving at me,” she said. “That was very nice.”
College for Kids summer session prepares to launch
The 2010 College for Kids will blast off on June 14 with new and exciting programs geared for kids of all ages. The program consists of up to eight week-long sessions with themed classes in art, computers, languages, science, math and sports at more than nine sites.
College for Kids also features specialty programs such as Admiral Farragut Academy Camp (grades 4-9), Musical Theater Camp (grades 6-12), Captain Mack’s Space and Rocketry Camp (grades 2-8), and a Spanish Immersion Camp (grades 2-8).
All camps are taught by certified teachers. Extended care is also available for parents who cannot pick up their children at the end of the regular session. The program provides for three more hours of care, running from 2:30-5:30 p.m. unless otherwise specified.
Registration is available until July 29 and requires a $50 application fee. The expense covers the cost of processing, a t-shirt and supplies for the child. The registration deadline is Thursday before the week for which the child will be registered.
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An opportunity to thank President Tom Furlong for a job well done
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Tom Furlong |
Mark your calendars and plan to attend a cake and punch reception on May 27 to honor Interim President Tom Furlong for his leadership during our time of presidential transition.
The party is in the board room at the EpiCenter from 4:30-6 p.m. The entire SPC family is invited
Furlong came to SPC in 2001 to oversee the formation and development of the college’s four-year degrees, and has served as Senior Vice President for Baccalaureate Programs and University Partnerships until his retirement last year. He has been interim president since Jan. 1.
He will continue to work with incoming President Bill Law throughout the month of June. Law is expected to begin his presidency on June 7.
Doug Duncan now Senior Vice President
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Doug Duncan |
Doug Duncan’s title has changed to Senior Vice President for Administration/Business and Information Services. He will continue to oversee Business Services, Human Resources, Institutional Research, Budget and Planning.
President Tom Furlong made the announcement last week.
“I was very pleased the board agreed to recognize Doug's strong efforts as they promoted him to senior vice president,” Furlong said. “This allows the college's structure to be more consistent as all the vice presidents now report to one of our two senior vice presidents. As part of this shift, the Vice President for Human Resources and Public Affairs now reports to Dr. Duncan.”
Duncan joins Anne Cooper as one of the college’s two senior vice presidents.
All vice presidents now will report to either Duncan or Cooper.
Duncan joined the college in 1998 as the director of Human Resources.
Up-Close summer concert series at Palladium
From Elvis to Air Supply, the Palladium Theater’s Up-Close summer concert series has a little something for everyone. The series runs June 26-August 28. All shows will be held at 8 p.m. with a pre-dinner available at 6 p.m.
Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, Davy Jones of The Monkees, and Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply will perform their hits as well as some new numbers.
Tribute artists and groups such as Elvis performer Chris MacDonald, the Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute to the Beatles, and Let’s Hang On! A Tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, will be bringing back the memories and magic of the original artists during their evening performances.
Surplus items available for reuse collegewide
Is your office or classroom in need of a piece of furniture or equipment? Perhaps there is something in the surplus warehouse that will fit your needs. Faculty and staff days are scheduled for the week of Monday, May 17 through Friday, May 21 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Visits are made by appointment; contact Bob Morey at 727-243-8804. Examples of available items are desks, chairs, file cabinets, tables, etc. The surplus warehouse is located in the Olympia Building on the Tarpon Springs Campus.
Two visitors from Brazil get SPC tour
Two Brazilians, college professor Michel Mazzoni and businessman Jose Gava Neto, will tour several SPC locations on May 20 as part of a visit to Pinellas County sponsored by Rotary International.
Besides teaching, Mazzoni also consults in the areas of business, engineering and management; Gava is a program manager with Sebrae, an organization that improves competitiveness of small businesses and promotes entrepreneurship.
The two are expected to tour the Seminole Campus with Provost Jim Olliver; take part in a technology tour at Seminole with Vicki Westergard; then visit Corporate Training and Business Technology Management at the EpiCenter.
Business Services deadlines
May 14 is the last day to submit the following:
- Requisitions for Outlay Items (700000 accounts) for 2010.
- Requisitions in excess of $25,000 requiring bids for 2010.
May 17 Summer Term begins.
May 17 Purchasing begins reviewing PO rollover requests with Budget Supervisors, Grant Accountants, and a Facilities Planning and Institutional Services account representative.
May 28 is the deadline to submit all other 2010 purchase orders; requisitions submitted after this date will bne funded from 2011 budgets.
Meeting notices
The St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc. will have a Planned Giving Committee Meeting on May 18 at noon at the District Office, Room 102 of St. Petersburg College. This meeting will be to consider routine business of the Foundation.
The SPC Alumni Association, Inc. will have a brief meeting on Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the District Office, Consular Corps College conference room 102.
Board of Trustees Notices
The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees will meet on the following dates at the EpiCenter, 13805 58th St. N, Largo, Florida:
May 18, 8:30 a.m. - View notice of meeting
Routine business, EpiCenter,
Room 1-453