Welcome Back at SP/G hits new heights

Participants at the Welcome Back event at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus this month got a bird’s eye view of the campus, thanks to the St. Petersburg College Student Veterans Association.

The group hosted a rock climbing wall at the May 16 event with about 25 students taking advantage of the practice climb.

Eight members of the SVA attend along with their faculty advisor, Dr. Mike Earle, attended. Dr. Carol Rasor-Cordero, the SVA faculty advisor from the Allstate Center, also participated.

See more photos on the college’s Facebook page.

New career exploration series kicks off at SPC

SPC hosted the first in its new series of Career Exploration fairs on Tuesday, May 14, at the Seminole Campus.

More than 120 participants attended the event to learn about the occupations and opportunities in the field of Public Utilities.

During the general assembly, Lisa Rhea, the City of Oldsmar Director of Public Works, gave the keynote speech focusing on her career journey into public utilities. A panel of public utility directors from Pinellas County was facilitated by Dr. Jason Krupp, Director of Workforce Services. The panel detailed the process of certification, the importance of internships, and the availability and salaries of occupations in the industry.

Following the panel discussion, guests mingled one on one with representatives from local cities, municipalities and training providers. Participating vendors included:

• American Water Works Association
• Florida Water Environment Association
• Pinellas County Department of Environment and Infrastructure
• City of Clearwater
• City of Dunedin
• City of Largo
• City of St. Petersburg
• City of Safety Harbor
• City of Tarpon Springs
• City of Oldsmar
• City of Pinellas Park
• Town of Bellair
• PTEC Public Works Academy
• University of Florida
• Barry University
• St. Petersburg College

See more photos from the event on Facebook.

New course in Health Services Administration for Respiratory Care

St. Petersburg College now offers a regionally accredited bachelor’s degree in Health Services Administration with coursework in Respiratory Care. This program is completely online, accredited, transferable and specifically designed for practicing registered respiratory therapists. This degree is affordable, and financial aid is available.

There are many reasons for RRTs to consider obtaining a bachelor’s degree:

• Helps you work your way up the ladder in respiratory care
• Increases discipline-specific knowledge
• Opens up additional opportunities in the field of respiratory care such as education and management

Learn more at www.spcollege.edu/RC-HSA/ or call 727-341-3477.

National tennis award honors former SPC student

Milan Vasic, Abby Martinez and SPC Head Tennis Coach Phil Girardi

An award, first offered this year at the Women’s Tennis National Championship, pays tribute to a former St. Petersburg College student killed two years ago in a traffic accident.

Coaches at the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament voted on the Jovana Vasic Spirit of Competition Award, naming Abby Martinez of State College of Florida as its first ever recipient.

A former SPC tennis player, Vasic was killed in a car accident two years ago while en route to begin her junior year at the University of Northern Arizona. Those who knew the student said she exemplified what student athletes strive to be noted for. She was team captain her sophomore year. She had over a 3.0 cumulative GPA. She excelled on the court. She had a full-ride scholarship waiting for her in Arizona, and she was loved by her teammates and those whom she competed against.

A standout tennis player for two years, Martinez has similar attributes.

Jovana’s father Milan Vasic attended the award presentation. Wanda McPhail, the Women’s National Tennis Coaches Association President, presented him with the same plaque given to Martinez. SPC’s Head Tennis Coach Phil Girardi spoke for a few minutes, detailing what it was like to coach Jovana Vasic and what she meant to her team and SPC.

SPC finished 14th at the championship, held in Tucson, Ariz. Tyler Junior College won the title.

SPC grad’s project impacts future of community dog park project

The work of Christine Jarrett, a St. Petersburg College Veterinary Technology graduate, is in the news in Central Illinois.

Jarrett conducted a survey for her senior “capstone” project gauging community awareness and support for an off-leash dog park in Meadow Valley Park in the state’s Washington Park District, Courier Newspapers reported. Her research revealed that the area was a “dog friendly” town but few people were aware of plans for the park.

SPC seeking part-time faculty

Learn how you can become a part-time professor at St. Petersburg College at the SPC Adjunct Faculty Job Fair, Thursday, May 30,  4 – 7 p.m. at the SPC EpiCenter.

Job openings include day, evening and online part-time positions in most academic and technical educational disciplines and will be filled as early as the fall 2013 semester.

Apply online today or at the event. If you plan on applying for positions at the event, please bring electronic versions of your resume, several hard copies of your resume and transcripts and your driver’s license.

Visit www.spcollege.edu/adjunct to learn how to:

• Register to attend the job fair
• Check out current openings
• View SPC’s Faculty Credential Guidelines
• Apply online today

SoftChalk Challenge honorable mention winner at SPC

Judy Macdonald, an adjunct instructor in St. Petersburg College’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program and Clearwater faculty tutor, was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2013 SoftChalk Lesson Challenge.

Macdonald entered the contest after creating SoftChalk lessons to provide a more enriching experience for her students. The challenge began with a student who was struggling in her class. Finding that the student learned best auditorily, she thought she could help him by adding video and audio to her lessons. To learn more about those tools, she attended SPC Web & Instructional Technology Services (WITS) learning events, first on audio and video and then on other tools that would help her support this student. She soon found that these strategies were a beneficial resource for all of her students. She ultimately chose to use SoftChalk since it incorporated not only audio and video but other interactive elements that reinforced the students’ learning and gave them immediate feedback.

Macdonald then approached the Center of Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CETL) at SPC and was awarded a mini-grant to create more lessons to share with other faculty and students. As a result of both the training and support of the WITS Instructional Design Technologists and the grant from CETL, Macdonald has created a collection of self-paced English language lessons.

Learn more about the SoftChalk Challenge and to view Macdonald’s entry.