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Up close and personal
Charles Smith knows flexibility.
Like many high school seniors, Charles Smith was busy visiting and applying to colleges, as well as participating in school musicals and plays. However, life changed for Smith the day after his prom when his father passed away.
Smith knew he wanted to stay near his mother, so going away to college was not an option for him any more. Then he remembered St. Petersburg College.
In high school, he had been active in Bridging Education and Careers, a program offered through St. Petersburg College to help students get on track for college. So he signed up for another SPC program,Summer of Success, in which new high school graduates can earn SPC credits while improving math and English skills and learning how to navigate college life.
“It was like a godsend,” Smith says. “I knew that I had a second option, a good option, for college.”
Once he began attending classes at SPC, Smith found a “hometown environment” where teachers knew students by name and where he could get services such as tutoring to help him with his classes.
Smith says attending SPC gave him flexibility that his peers who went away to college don’t have; many of them are working hard to stay afloat financially while they attend college.
He also says that because he lived at home while attending SPC, he was able to work, save money and build his theatrical resume for the next step on his educational journey: Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“It’s good to be able to go to class and to be able to work part-time and to be able to do other things outside of school,” Smith says.
 Watch a recent video spot featuring Charles Smith.
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