Apollo Award finalists
Four outstanding St. Petersburg College students have been selected as finalists for the annual Apollo Award, the highest honor a lower division graduate can achieve. Nhi Do was named the recipient at the college’s commencement ceremony May 7.
The Apollo Award is presented by the SPC Alumni Association. Winners are chosen for their outstanding leadership abilities, scholastic standing, community service, honors and awards. It has been presented each year since 1966.
Nhi Do, St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, is a May 2011 graduate who is the first St. Petersburg Collegiate High School student selected as a finalist. She served her classmates as Junior Class President as well as a tutor for the St. Petersburg Collegiate High School (SPCHS) National Honor Society (NHS) and the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Learning Support Commons.
Do also has been an Interact Club member and Environmental Committee leader, Student Ambassador, Yearbook Committee member, and a participant in the Pinellas County Schools Florida Regional Science Bowl. In recognition of her hard work, Do has received several awards, including the William Ketchum Memorial Mathematics Award in 2010; the Top GPA Award and SPCHS Student of the Year Award for both her sophomore and junior years; the Leadership and Academic Excellence Principal’s Award in 2010 and the NHS Character Award of Excellence in 2010. She also has proven her leadership skills within the community, volunteering with the SPC Annual Relay for Life Celebrations for three consecutive years; with St. Petersburg General Hospital as a Junior Volunteer; and with the Children of the World Preschool as a teacher’s assistant and English-Vietnamese translator for parents.
Do plans to pursue an advanced medical degree that will allow her to utilize her interests in math and science.
“As an optimistic and hardworking student, I am also an ambassador of our college; I willingly share my experience with many people. SPC has equipped me for life after college by opening many doors of opportunity. Moving on from SPC and SPCHS, I will carry the honor with me and keep pressing on!”
Alec Konstantin, Tarpon Springs Campus, is a May 2011 graduate who held leadership positions at the college by serving as the Tarpon Springs ambassador for the Honors College Consortium, assistant research coordinator for SPC’s Honors College Conference, and a computer and writing tutor at the Tarpon Springs Learning Support Commons.
He also was involved in Phi Theta Kappa, Hellenic Club, Psychology Club and Service Learning. Konstantin was named Top Volunteer for the Honors College, named to the Dean’s List four times, and awarded the Honors College Scholarship. He participated in community service projects with Clearwater Parks and Services, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Asian Festival and World Festival, and peer mediation training.
Konstantin’s goals include graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Humanities/Human Geography and pursuing a law degree from University of California, Berkeley to practice international law.
“While my encounters at St. Petersburg College are ordinary, my experiences as a student and volunteer have made me confident, prepared and willing, without limitations, to engage my future as a scholar and contributor, wherever possible, to humanity.”
Wenfei (Karen) Lu, Seminole Campus, is a May 2011 graduate. She is active in the Seminole Student Government Association and has served as Vice President and Historian. Lu also is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and was the Founder and Vice President of the Student Pre-Health Association, an organization focused on helping students achieve academic success in science.
She has participated in several community service projects, including Welcome Back events, African-American History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month activities, Relay for Life, and parades for the City of Seminole. She also has volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Suncoast Hospital and Edward Drug Store. She has been rewarded academically by receiving the Seminole Campus Outstanding Leadership Certificate and the campus’ Eagle Award, the Phi Theta Kappa All USA-Florida Scholarship, as well as the John Nydegger Science Foundation Scholarship from the SPC Foundation.
Lu plans to attend pharmacy school.
“I am very thankful for the opportunities St. Petersburg College has given me, and in three years at this college I have grown up from a girl to a respectful young adult. St. Petersburg College offered me financial, academic, and detailed assistance, which allowed me to be able to achieve high performance and made me realize that the SPC spirit is to give back.”
Spenser Reed, Clearwater Campus, is a May 2011 graduate. He was named the 2011 All-USA Community College Academic & Coca-Cola New Century Scholar by USA Today, an honor given to only 20 students nationwide, and was a finalist for the National Collegiate Honors Council Student of the Year.
He also was awarded the Zalupski Achieving the Dream Scholarship Award and the Vivian T. Greve Scholarship from the SPC Foundation in recognition of his academic achievements. Reed has been an active member of Phi Theta Kappa and the Honors College, where he was President of the Honors College Consortium and Undergraduate Research Coordinator for the Honors College office. He also has served as Research Coordinator for the Undergraduate Research Society, Garden Coordinator of the Environmental Club, and Student Representative for the Board of Directors of the South Regional Honors Council. He is a student member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, American College for the Advancement in Medicine, as well as the American Holistic Medical Association.
His community service work includes Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, St. Petersburg International Folk Fair, High Point Elementary School, Safety Harbor Presbyterian Church, and Clearwater Beach and Moccasin Lake Park clean-ups. Reed hopes to attend Johns Hopkins, Columbia, or New York University as an undergraduate molecular biology/biophysics student.
He intends to establish himself as a physician and research scientist, concentrating on biomedical research applications of phytochemicals in autoimmune diseases.
“My accomplishments at SPC could not have been realized without the dedication and talent of the Honors faculty and administrators. My professors have worked vigorously to prepare me for university life, and it is because of them that my interests have blossomed into concrete passions!”
Alumni Achievement Award finalists
Two outstanding St. Petersburg College students have been selected as finalists for the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor a upper division graduate can achieve. Linaea Floden was named the recipient at the college’s commencement ceremony May 7.
The Alumni Achievement Award was created by the SPC Alumni Association, Inc. Board of Directors in recognition of the talented students now graduating SPC at the baccalaureate level. Winners are chosen for their outstanding leadership abilities, scholastic standing, community service, honors and awards.
Linaea Floden, Clearwater Campus, is a May 2011 graduate receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Sustainability Management. Floden has been active throughout her career at SPC, both academically and in her community.
She has served as President of the SPC U.S. Green Building Council Student Group (USGBC), the SPC American Institute of Architecture Students, and the SPC Gargoyle Architecture Society. She also has held leadership positions within Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society, SPC Club Green, as well as the Student Government Association. Floden has been honored as the John Toppe Scholarship Award Recipient of the USGBC’s Gulf Coast Chapter two years in a row, and named Who’s Who Among American College Students in 2010.
Outside the classroom, she has participated in community service activities with Youth Ministries at Northside Baptist Church, Bear Creek Elementary’s School Advisory Council and Great American Teach In, Manatee County’s Earthship Construction Project, and Keswick Christian School’s Junior Varsity Soccer team. Floden plans to earn a Master of Arts degree in Architecture and Community Design from the University of South Florida.
“I look forward to the future now made possible to me through my education at SPC. This well-respected institution has provided me opportunities to demonstrate my abilities to the community and advance my career unto my dreams.”
Jessica Tomlinson, St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, is a December 2010 graduate who received a bachelor’s degree in Education Studies. Tomlinson is acquiring experience to become an early childhood music specialist through volunteer opportunities in her community.
She has played the piano for residents at several nursing homes, including Bayside Rehabilitation and Westminster Palms, for the past four years and recently began playing at All Children’s Hospital every other week. She also volunteers at Great Explorations Children’s Museum and First Presbyterian Day School teaching early childhood music. Tomlinson has been a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society and the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honors Society. She was on the President’s Honors List in 2008 and 2009, and has received the Oscar and Yeotle Setzer Scholarship from the SPC Foundation twice. Tomlinson’s plans include earning a master’s degree in Education to conduct research in Music Education.
“I believe that education is not simply a ticket to secure a job. Its purpose is to enrich one’s life by changing the manner in which one perceives the world. This changed perception causes one to think critically, solve problems more appropriately, and approach differences with a degree of sensitivity and professionalism. I learned this early on, which is why I approached my studies at SPC with not only due prudence, but with great interest.”
Return to Apollo Award page.
