USF St. Petersburg is an urban university that aims to integrate seamlessly into the fabric of the city and region, enhancing opportunities for students, businesses and the public. This community roundup series highlights the ways that USF faculty, staff, students and administration are active in the community. If you’d like to engage with USF St. Petersburg, or are a campus staff, faculty or student interested in engaging with the community, please contact Caryn Nesmith, Community Relations Director.
Bulls and baseball! USF coaches throw first pitches
A sea of USF hats and smiling Bull faces was visible across Tropicana Stadium at the annual USF Day with the Tampa Bay Rays on August 10. Organized by the USF Alumni Association in collaboration with the Tampa Bay Rays, this year’s USF Day saw men’s baseball coach Mitch Hannahs throw the first pitch, while Duke Energy hosted a group of current staff, faculty, and enthusiasts in its suite. Meanwhile on July 17, the Rays hosted Olympians at the Rays Day in which USF Sailing Coach Allison Jolly, an Olympic sailing gold medalist, threw the first pitch. The USF sailing team competes nationally, benefitting from year-round training at the St. Petersburg campus. Read more about the USF Sailing Team here.
Education Professor serves as Lead Spelling Bee Judge
Dr. LaSonya Moore, an assistant professor in the College of Education, served as the Keynote Speaker and Lead Judge at the "2024 Annual Summer Bees" event, held at the Friends of the James Weldon Johnson Community Library on July 17. This community-driven initiative in Pinellas County engages youth in grades 1 through 8 in math, spelling, and geography competitions. The family-focused event provides a platform for local children to showcase their knowledge and skills while fostering community support. The event is annually sponsored by the City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Sigmas (Delta Omicron Sigma Chapter), St. Pete Parks and Recreation, D.O.S. Crescent Foundations, and the St. Petersburg Library System. Lynette Buchanan, Vice President of the Friends of James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center, praised Dr. Moore's contribution, stating, "Dr. Moore, Your message to the audience and your book left a lasting impression on everyone present. The Friends look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you and the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg."
Biology majors reflect on summer internships
Biology majors conducted summer internships at various wildlife and marine biology organizations, and highlighted both the challenges and growth they experienced during these opportunities. Lexia Whalen spent her summer at the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, where she gained hands-on experience with bird rescue and rehabilitation, learning the intricacies of animal care and the emotional rewards of releasing rehabilitated birds back into the wild. Meanwhile, Samantha Skwira, who interned at Pine Grove Zoo in Little Falls, MN, overcame personal fears and discomforts, such as handling alpacas and dealing with raw meat, while learning valuable lessons about animal behavior and care. Her internship also highlighted the physical demands of zookeeping and the importance of understanding animal behavior for successful training. Another student, Giordanne Eanniello, worked as a camp counselor at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where she developed skills in public speaking, classroom management, and effectively engaging with children, especially those with behavioral challenges. Finally, Alyssa Crettol's internship at Mote Marine Laboratory involved hands-on fieldwork with manatees, using various scientific tools and software. She learned the importance of organization and prioritization in handling overwhelming tasks. These students were all supervised by Biology Associate Professor Deby Cassill, who required each student to keep a journal. Each student expressed gratitude for the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge in real-world settings, gaining confidence and practical skills for their future careers.
STEM Lab hosts “She Draws” Summer Camp
The STEM Lab in the College of Education hosted STEM Xposure’s She Draws Summer Camp, in partnership with Turner Construction and the James B Sanderlin Family Center. The week-long camp kicked off on July 22 and offered 25 middle school aged girls the chance to explore architecture and construction. The campers designed floorplans in response to the City of St. Petersburg's Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Program, an initiative that allows owner-occupants to create separate rental units within their home as an addition, or in a separate building on their property.
The College of Education recently completed a near million-dollar renovation of its STEM Lab, which is used in training teachers how to integrate STEM across all degrees and disciplines. The lab features 3D printing, Virtual and Augmented reality, maker spaces, coding stations and many different types of robotics programs.
Campus hosts Arts Business Academy
USF St. Petersburg played host to the St. Pete Arts Alliance’s first ever Arts Business Academy Summit, held on campus July 22 and 23. With the support of Duke Energy, Bank of America, and USF St. Petersburg, the Arts Business Academy Summit brought together arts professionals, community leaders, and talented educators for an impactful two-day professional development experience. Panel discussions explored topics like art and technology, art and social justice, and wholesaling your art in order to help local area artists take their career to the next level. Pictured here, local artist Fred “Rootman” Woods leads a group in a meditation session in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. Learn more about the arts academy here.
Students become a “Big for a Day”
On July 20, Big Brothers Big Sisters teamed up with a university course, giving youth on its waitlist the chance to spend time with a USF Bull ‘Big For a Day’ at The Dalí Museum. Fifteen students in a course called Foundations for University Success spent an afternoon with youth from the local area nonprofit. The course, which assists students with acclimating to the demands of university life, has required service hours, and the faculty teaching it, Arleyna Loss, wanted to be more intentional about incorporating High Impact Practices into the course. The youth had a meaningful service experience exploring art at the Dali and connecting with USF students. USF hopes to have more meaningful collaborations in the future, matching students with youth. For more on opportunities with Big Brothers Big Sisters, see here.
Students pitch business ideas at Bulls Pitch
On July 13, the Kate Tiedemann School of Business and Finance hosted Bull's Pitch, an event organized by USF’s Nault Center for Entrepreneurship, in which high school students and their parents watch aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their innovative ideas and businesses. This in-person event is a great opportunity to see what it would be like to be a student entrepreneur at USF, network with like-minded individuals and gain valuable feedback on your business pitch. Bull's Pitch is the perfect place to see students hone their pitching skills and get mentored by real entrepreneurs as judges. As for highlights from July’s Bulls Pitch 2024 at USF St. Petersburg, student entrepreneurs wowed the judges with their innovative ideas and creativity, and three students were awarded: Huy Winston Nyugen (Fast Rewards) won the Most Investable Idea Award; Mira Stimac (Lope) won the Most Scalable Idea Award and Jazlyn Gonzalez & Elena Deokie (iChow) won the Most Customer Centric Idea Award. Congrats to these talented students, and special thanks to our incredible judges: Gary Hensley, Frank Nunez, and Tim Ernest.
“Storm Squad” hosts South St. Pete Town Hall
The USF Initiative on Coastal Adaptation and Resilience (iCAR) hosted a town hall on July 13 at the New Faith Free Methodist Church in South St. Petersburg. It was the latest community outreach of the so-called “Storm Squad,” a group of trusted neighborhood leaders who distribute critical information leading up to approaching storms. Members of the squad serve as community liaisons to government officials in the event of an emergency. “The overall goal of the storm squad team and CRIS is to empower the community, and overtime we hope to reduce marginalization,” said Barnali Dixon, geosciences professor and executive director of iCAR.
The event last month provided a safe space for individuals who wanted to share personal experiences and major community concerns. At this event, leaders of the storm squad, in collaboration with iCAR, role played a situation where a Category 5 Hurricane made landfall in the Tampa Bay area to show how the resources provided by the Storm Squad could help with preparedness and recovery. Attendees had the opportunity to speak in smaller groups about their disaster concerns, and they also learned about the available FEMA resources. The Storm Squad is possible thanks to grants and collaborations with the National Science Foundation, Duke Energy, Volunteer Florida and the Florida Food Policy Council. Read more about Dr. Dixon’s work and other storm preparedness initiatives here.
Somos St. Pete: Hispanic Word with Welch
Career Counselor and Internship Coordinator for the Muma College of Business, Andrés Cintrón, joined other community leaders for a "Word with Welch" roundtable session focused on the Hispanic community with St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch. The meeting on July 24 brought together local Hispanic business owners, community leaders, local government representatives and City leaders. During the event, Welch focused the discussion on understanding the concerns of the Hispanic community such as visibility, community engagement, business ownership opportunities, language barriers, building trust, and representation among city officials that represent the community. The conversation was full of hope and left all the attendees feeling energized and motivated to continue to highlight the Hispanic community as integral members to the city of Saint Petersburg. Mayor Welch is committed to continuing the conversation and decided to institute a quarterly meeting of Hispanic leaders.
Honors faculty engages youth with Power of Sound
The Judy Genshaft Honors College partnered with Pinellas Access to Higher Education to provide a unique classroom experience as part of the "Discover Your PATHe" summer camp. The camp welcomed students from middle and high school to USF St. Petersburg's campus for an immersive experience designed to help students envision career goals and plan for their educational future. Honors faculty Dr. Ulluminair Salim led an interactive session on "Music that Moves Us: The Power of Sound," bringing in ideas from the realms of psychology, political science, and of course music. Students created sonic mashups to express their own emotions and thoughts on the life experiences and social issues most important to them. This little taste of what an Honors class is like helped middle and high school students envision themselves at USF St. Petersburg in the future.