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Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement

Tara Newsom

When Tara Newsom talks about civic engagement, her passion and excitement are infectious.

“It’s not just about voting or volunteering…we tend to be at our best when we’re lifting others up,” said Tara. “Whether it’s volunteering at a food bank or as a coach for a recreation center, there are so many places where we can serve others. Everyone can lift other people up in a unique way.”

An SPC American Government and sometimes Ethics professor, Tara is also the founding director for SPC’s Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement (CCLCE), and she established the College’s annual MLK Day of Service and 9/11 Day of Remembrance event.

Established to create opportunities for students to make a difference in their community while learning new skills and achieving academic excellence, the Center helps faculty integrate community engagement into their curriculum, and also provides service opportunities, civic education and campus student engagement.

“Tying academic work with real-life projects that serve the community is one of the most powerful high-impact teaching strategies,” said Tara. “When we can connect students’ strengths with their areas of interest in the community, their coursework comes alive.”

While the Center was established in 2015, Tara says it’s something that the College has been doing since its inception nearly 100 years ago.

"SPC has a rich history of being a catalyst for community change and advancement. We’ve been a state leader in creating access to civic literacy, and we have reciprocal relationships with our community partners,” said Tara. “I’m proud to be a part of that.”

She believes the importance of community engagement for students goes far beyond academic success.

“When you give people an opportunity to serve others, they find that special gift inside of themselves,” she says. “When you have high expectations of people, they don’t just meet your expectations, they blow the roof off and exceed them!”

Having been with SPC for more than 20 years, Tara says her work is more than a job, it’s a vocation. Inspired every day by her students, fellow faculty and SPC leaders, she lives SPC on and off the clock. Her four kids have all attended SPC, including her youngest who currently attends St. Petersburg Collegiate High School.

In addition to teaching and serving as the CCLCE Director, she serves as a First Time Titans mentor, on the CETL Board of Directors, and on the Pinellas County Schools’ Journeys in Journalism Advisory Board. She can also be seen as a regular contributor to PBS’s “Florida This Week” and serves as a non-partisan political analyst for Tampa Bay’s NBC affiliate WFLA Channel 8.

“I love SPC. I feel really lucky every day to have a new chance to connect academic excellence with community change. I am excited about SPC’s next chapter directed at community advancement.”