PEL Students win Enactus USA award; Alumni News; Faculty/Staff news

A team of PEL students is moving on from a regional competition to the national level; we share how two PEL alumnae have impacted their communities since they graduated more than 30 years ago; and we congratulate a PEL staff member -- who also is a PEL alumna -- on a major accomplishment!

(l-r) Tonya Zalick, Yolanda Carter, Stephanie Krebs, and Stacy Sansoucie
work on their Enactus project earlier this Spring.

PEL students Yolanda Carter, Stephanie Krebs, Stacy Sansoucie, and Tonya Zalick, this year's Eckerd Enactus chapter president, teamed up to enter the 2017 Enactus USA competition and are now eligible to enter the national competition being held in Kansas City in late May. PEL teams under the guidance of Professor Naveen Malhotra have represented Eckerd College in regional competitions and at some national conferences since 1995.

Students begin the projects in Malhotra's Students in a Free Enterprise (SIFE) course, then take on the Enactus challenge as an extra-curricular project after the course has ended.

The outside (back on the left, front on the right) of the portfolio created by the 2017 Eckerd PEL Enactus team

Enactus--Entrepreneurial Action Us--is an international organization involving more than 48,000 undergraduate and graduate students; the Enactus USA group "connects student, academic and business leaders through entrepreneurial-based projects that empower people to transform opportunities into real, sustainable progress for themselves and their communities" according to the organization's website.

Last year, Enactus USA offered a virtual competition where teams submitted video presentations, along with the portfolio. This year,the virtual competition included a live Q&A session after the video presentation. Teams are judged on their effectiveness in conducting a needs assessment and in seeing opportunity, in taking entrepreneurial action, and in enabling progress by measuring direct and indirect outcomes that empower people and improve livelihoods in a sustainable way. Teams also receive feedback on their ability to communicate their projects and the results.

This year, the Eckerd PEL team's projects included teaching preschoolers about recycling and taking them on a visit to the local recycling center, helping Boys & Girls Club members and Girl Scouts create marketable hydroponic gardening kits to improve people's access to fresh vegetables, helping college students and recent graduates connect with employers offering paid internships in the IT field, and helping senior citizens market their artwork within the local community.

The inside of the 2017 Eckerd PEL Enactus team's portfolio

Alumni News

Kathie Tanner Erwin '82

Kathie Tanner Erwin '82 (Concentration in Society, the Media, and Politics), who subsequently earned an M.A. in Counseling from Liberty University, and an Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Sarasota (now Argosy University), is an Associate Professor and Associate Coordinator of MA Counseling Programs for Regent University. Erwin also is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor and National Certified Gerontological Counselor. Recently she was awarded a Diplomate in Clinical Mental Health for Geriatric Counseling.

She has contributed to a number of journals and has written seven books, including Group Techniques for Aging Adults: Putting Geriatric Skills Enhancement into Practice, 2nd Edition (Routledge, 2013) and an ethical thriller, Taylor Kendall: Evil Inc.( Par Press, 2010).

Erwin has volunteered as a Field Traumatologist with Green Cross Academy of Traumatology serving in India, Trinidad and Ukraine. She returns this fall for third season as guest lecturer in the Nord Mag Gerontology Institute at University of Iceland.

Recently, Erwin was named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a three year tenure. As a Fulbright Specialist, Erwin will serve with an international university on the project she designed for training geriatric group therapists, developing community based group programs and education in trauma related issues for older adults.

 Erwin is the mother of twin daughters (one currently an Eckerd College student) and four grandchildren. She has previously served as President of the Eckerd Alumni Association and as Alumni Trustee.

Note: [04/25/17] This section was edited to include the information just released about Erwin's being named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster.

Virginia J. Scott '85 at the PEL Alumni
Reception in March

Virginia J. Scott ’85 (Human Resources) is retired after a long and fruitful career in the social services fields. Scott began teaching in the early 1960s, earned an A.A. in 1964 in Early Childhood Development from Gibbs Jr. College, which later became part of St. Petersburg Jr. College, taught in the 1965 pilot program for Head Start in St. Petersburg, and became a program manager for Pinellas County Head Start. By 1974 she was training others in her work with the Pinellas County License Board for Children's Centers and Family Day Care Homes.

Eventually she became a program consultant responsible for staff development and training with the Juvenile Welfare Board -- JWB minutes from the mid-1980s show the Board recognizing Scott several times for her work -- all while she was serving on various boards and committees, while she and her husband were raising two children, and while she was taking courses at the University of South Florida. Scott transferred those credits to Eckerd College and finished her degree in the PEL program.

"I had taken courses at USF in psychology, criminology, and education. PEL allowed me to combine those interests and earn a degree in Human Resources," Scott explained when she visited the office recently. "That degree opened doors I never expected, and I ended up working in all three fields."

In 1994, the Florida Bar recognized Scott's service
on the Grievance Committee of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

Scott worked for several years as a training specialist at the USF/Florida Mental Health Institute's Professional Development Center in the Department of Mental Law and Policy. In 1990, Scott was invited to testify before the Racial and Ethnic Bias Commission of the Florida Supreme Court as to the importance of sensitivity training for state workers. From 1991-1994, Scott was appointed to the Florida Bar's Sixth Judicial Circuit "D" Grievance Committee, which investigated complaints against lawyers and reported findings to the Florida Supreme Court. Scott also served as a lay member on Bayfront Medical Center's Institution Review Board.

Over the years, Scott also has been actively involved in various community and national organizations including Hospice, Congregations United for Community Action, the National Black Child Development Institute , and the National Council of Negro Women. In 1991, Scott was invited by the director/manager of Tyrone Square Mall to lead mall managers and security officers in cultural sensitivity training sessions to help serve mall patrons more effectively and to prevent confrontations from escalating. Eventually, Scott traveled throughout the state, training employees at other malls owned by the DeBartolo Corporation.

Scott became a family life and community educator with Family Service Centers, Inc., and, later, a guidance counselor at Academy Prep Education Center before retiring in 2011.

Scott quoted former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's statement (2013):

"The essence of America ... is an idea: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn't matter where you came from but where you are going."

Note: 04/24/17 This section was edited to correct the name of the college from which Scott received her A.A., to clarify Scott's work at Tyrone Square Mall, and to add an image of the award Scott received from the Florida Bar.

 

Faculty/Staff News

Congratulations to Alaina Tackitt '08 (Humanities), who successfully defended her dissertation titled "(Age)ncy in Composition Studies" this past month. Tackitt has earned her Ph.D. in English, Rhetoric and Composition at the University of South Florida, Tampa, and will graduate in May. Tackitt had previously earned an MLA (Master of Liberal Arts). Tackitt is the academic advisor at the Tampa campus and is PEL director of writing services.

PEL people recognized for academic excellence and service

Left: (l-r) Jasmine Rothgeb and Kristine McAdams were two of the three senior Honors Scholars recognized at the PEL Celebration by Professor Catherine Griggs, Honors Program Director, and retired Dean of Eckerd College, Lloyd Chapin. Not pictured is senior Noel Lake.

Several PEL people were recognized for academic excellence and for community service at a reception in Cobb Gallery on Saturday, May 21. Family and friends joined PEL seniors, faculty, and staff members in celebrating the many accomplishments of graduating seniors and those who supported them along their journey.

Because an academic class includes all graduates from June of one year through May of the following year, the Class of 2016 award winners includes students who graduated in August or December 2015 and in January or May 2016. Academic awards presented at the PEL Celebration included the following:

Kristen Marie Wright, who graduated in December 2015, was awarded the Excellence in American Studies Award.

Matt Stonehouse

Matthew Jacob Stonehouse, who graduated in August 2015, was awarded the Excellence in Business Management Award. Professor Tom Krzesinski spoke on behalf of himself and Professor Naveen Malhotra in announcing the award. Although unable to attend the reception, Matthew expressed his appreciation in an email:

Shortly after graduating in August, I approached my VP and I told him I was ready for a new challenge. His response was, “I knew once you graduated this conversation would take place.” After waiting a few months for corporate approval, I was appointed as MMSEA Business Analyst. In my new role, I am working as Project Manager for a new reporting platform that was launched in 2015. And I have the luxury of telecommuting in this new role.

Obtaining my degree from Eckerd has already provided great benefits. I live on the beach, I surf when there are waves, I work from my new home office, and I received a promotion as well. Life is pretty good. Tom, the knowledge I picked up in your business and finance courses, as well as other business related Eckerd curriculum, has already been a huge help in my career advancement. I am truly honored that you and Naveen nominated me for an award.

Professor Catherine Griggs with Tami Toms and Academic Advisor Alaina Tackitt.

Kathleen Ann Nix, who graduated in December 2015, was awarded the Excellence in Creative Writing Award. 

Rachel Ruth Wolff, who graduated in December 2015, was awarded the Excellence in Human Development Award.

Tami Lee Toms, who graduated in December 2015, was awarded the Excellence in Humanities Award. Tami also was selected to be one of the PEL readers at the Baccalaureate Service, which  followed the PEL Reception on May 21.

Christine Jackson with Dr. Margret Skaftadottir.

Christine A. Jackson, graduating in May 2016, was awarded the Excellence in Organizational Studies Award. Chrissy also was selected to be one of the PEL readers at the Baccalaureate Service, which followed the PEL Reception on May 21.


Noel Duane Lake, Kristine Lynn McAdams, and Jasmine R. Rothgeb were recognized as PEL Honors Scholars by Professor Catherine Griggs and retired Dean Lloyd Chapin.

Noel Duane Lake also was awarded the Clifford E. Griggs Award for Excellence in Pre-Law Studies.


Read about the Writing Excellence Awards presented in a separate article.


Receiving the 2016 Dana Cozad Community Service Award was Director of Writing Services and Academic Advisor Alaina Tackitt '08. In presenting the award, which was named after the second Director of the Program for Experienced Learners, current PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood commented:

Alaina Tackitt and Amanda Hagood.

This year's Dana Cozad Award goes to a PEL staff member who has shown great wisdom, humor, resourcefulness, and dedication in advocating for our students. Alaina Tackitt has counseled countless students through their courses of study, writing exhibits, and life's many "teaching  moments." She has a near encyclopedic knowledge of the program, having experienced it as a student, a writing tutor, an admission counselor, and an academic advisor, contributing much in every stage along the way.

Perhaps even more impressive, Alaina has channeled this experience, and particularly her love of writing, into doctoral-level research. She has the grit, patience, and acuity needed in a successful educator, but she also has the warmth, humor, and empathy needed in an advisor who can truly make a positive impact in student's lives -- provided she has been fueled with enough chocolate and/or sweet tea!

Professor Tom Krzesinski congratulates Alaina Tackitt.

Why does she do it? I think it's because she believes that education can be a transformative experience, a thing that makes not only individual lives better but builds better citizens, better opportunities, and fundamentally a better world. This passion and conviction shows in every conversation she has and in every service she provides, and that's why it gives me great pleasure to present this year's Dana Cozad Community Service Award to Alaina Tackitt.

Article and photos by Anne W. Anderson, PEL's director of blended and online learning and co-editor of The PEL Connector.

Writing services for all PEL students

by Anne W. Anderson

Left: Kathleen Winterberg (r) at the Phi Alpha Theta induction ceremony. Photo by Catherine Griggs

Kathleen Winterberg, an American Studies senior who plans to graduate in May, had plenty of college experience when she started taking courses at Eckerd College. She already had earned a bachelor's degree in organizational management from a college in New York. But then she moved to Florida, began working at Eckerd, and discovered that a couple of her co-workers were taking PEL classes.

When she started taking some of Professor Catherine Griggs' American Studies courses, she found the history she had hated before came alive.

"Dr. Griggs is phenomenal," she said in a phone interview. "The way she presents the material is incredible. My goal now is to tutor homeless children and to help them like history -- not to resent it, like I did."

But Winterberg found the writing a challenge. It wasn't that she didn't know how to write. For her previous degree, she had even written a 35-40 page thesis paper.


"But none of it prepared me for what I found at Eckerd," Winterberg said in a phone interview. She explained that her previous major required a different kind of writing that included lots of charts and graphs and other visuals. She felt lost when it came to integrating multiple academic articles into a research paper.

"I didn't know how to write about reading," Winterberg said.

Above: Alaina Tackitt, PEL academic advisor and director of writing services, and Craig Anderson, Tampa campus office manager and PEL academic writing coach, meet at the Tampa campus office. Photo by Kathy McDonald.

Tracy Bohannon, who also plans to graduate later this month, said she also thought she was a good writer when she came to Eckerd.

"I had written grants, had done technical writing such as writing policies and procedures manuals, and had done some creative writing," Bohannon said in a telephone interview. But, she said, the thought of submitting a writing exhibit "paralyzed me. I was really nervous."

Like Winterberg, Bohannon said she had never encountered this kind of analytic writing before. "I had never outlined anything before," Bohannon said. 

That's not unusual, according to Margret Skaftadottir, Associate Dean of Faculty for PEL, explaining that Eckerd College's approach to teaching college-level writing has always been different from most other colleges and universities.

A selection of books on writing pulled from Patti Cooksey's and Anne Anderson's office shelves.

"Instead of having students take one or maybe two freshman composition courses and then never having any more writing instruction, Eckerd has always intended that writing be an important part of every major," Skaftadottir said. "By the end of their college experience, students are expected to be proficient in several different types of writing."

Because Winterberg and Bohannon were being asked to write in ways different from what they were used to, it was not easy.

Winterberg said she had been embarrassed to ask for help. "But you can't be," she emphasized. "You have to reach out and ask." 

At Professor Griggs' suggestion, Winterberg contacted Alaina Tackitt, PEL's director of writing services, and Tackitt, whose in-process dissertation focuses on adult composition, showed her a step-by-step method that Winterberg said, "took the fear out of writing an essay."

Writing services for PEL students at every stage of writing

PEL students use Diana Hacker's style manual.

Tackitt said she and Craig Anderson, Tampa campus office manager and PEL academic writing coach, help students at all stages of writing.

"Writing support for students isn't just about helping them fix their papers after they've gotten a bad grade," Tackitt explained. "We also help students get started and think about how to organize their information."

Anderson '15, who earned his Human Development degree through PEL and who minored in Creative Writing, said many students wait until the last minute to ask for writing help, whether it is a paper for a class or a paper for the Writing Competency Exhibit.

"I usually can respond within 24 hours to a student who emails me a paper or who shares one on Google Docs," Anderson said. But, he noted, that doesn't allow the time the student needs to reflect on the comments he makes, to decide on what action to take, and to revise the paper accordingly.

"It also helps if they send us the instructions so we can be sure what they have written fulfills the assignment," Anderson added.

Bohannon said she was concerned because she didn't feel she had written an argumentative paper, one of the four required genres. But when she met with Anderson, he looked through all the papers she had written and helped her see how they could be tweaked to meet the requirements.

Bohannon attended the workshop Tackitt and Anderson offer each term, and she also met with Anderson three or four times. "He helped me develop the papers more fully, made suggestions about references and mechanics, and helped me understand the purpose of the annotations," she said.

The Tampa campus is located at 1300 Westshore Blvd.

While writing support can be provided via email, Winterberg found she needed to sit down with Tackitt and work more extensively. So she drove to the Tampa campus on Westshore Blvd. and found not just writing help but also a quiet place in which to work.

There, Tackitt showed Winterberg how to start by writing out the citations for each article she was using then writing one sentence about each article.

"It didn't even have to be a whole sentence," Winterberg explained. "But I also wrote down the page number of where I found the information so I could go back and find it again later."

After repeating this process a few times, Winterberg said Tackitt showed her how to frame the sentences and then to organize and combine them into the basis of a paper.

"I had been ready to give up," Winterberg said. "But Alaina gave me the tools I needed to go forward with my writing."

Next Writing Workshop and Writing Exhibit Due Dates

 The next writing exhibit workshop will be held Thursday, May 26, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. on the main campus in FT210. Writing exhibit submissions are due June 20. 

Tackitt and Anderson can be contacted at 813-282-0002 or by emailing tackitad@eckerd.edu. Anne W. Anderson is PEL's director of blended and online learning.