May Graduates; Alumni Updates; Faculty & Staff News

Under blue skies and with a light breeze cooling the air, Class of 2017 graduates and their families gathered early Sunday morning, May 21, in the South Beach area for the Commencement Ceremony. Led by bagpipers, the graduates processed, by collegium, from the robing area in Fox Hall ,past the library and dorms, and into the massive tent to hear speakers mark the occasion and to receive awards and diplomas.

Eckerd College President Donald R. Eastman III presents
PEL graduate Lora Vineberg '17 with the Irving G. Foster Award.

Among the people honored during the ceremony were PEL seniors Lora Vineberg and Gladys Hall, both of whom majored in Business Management. 

Vineberg was awarded the Irving G. Foster Award given to a PEL graduate who has demonstrated overall academic achievement. The award is named in honor of the late Irving G. Foster, Professor Emeritus of Physics, who played a major role in the design and inception of the Program for Experienced Learners.

Eckerd College President Donald R. Eastman III presents
PEL graduate Gladys Hall '17 with the
David and Blanche Colgan Memorial Prize.

Hall received the David and Blanche Colgan Memorial Prize given to a PEL graduate who has demonstrated extraordinary determination and perseverance in achieving a solid academic record and who exemplifies the spirit of life-long learning. The award is provided through the generosity of Trustee Mary Miller (PEL '97) in memory of her parents, David and Blanche Colgan.

PEL graduate Richard Schomp '17 (Organizational Studies)

Scroll below to see a list of the graduates, some of the images from the ceremony, and graduating PEL senior Teresa A. Stewart's Commencement speech.

Or read all the speeches and view all 608 images of the Sunday morning ceremony in the College's online photo album by going to the 2017 Commencement page.

Please note: A number of PEL seniors who plan to graduate in August 2017 also participated in the ceremony. The list below includes only students whose official graduation date falls in August 2016, December 2016, or May 2017.

courtesy of SweetClipArt.com

Congratulations!!!

Warmest congratulations to these PEL students who completed their programs of studies and graduated during the 2016-2017 academic year.

May 2017

Christine M. Aderhold, Media & Film Concentration

Carla Baker, Concentration in American Culture/Minorities Studies

Steven E.Ballinger (D), American Studies

Jonathan Booker, Human Development

Jessica M. Bossen (D), Business Management

Edward J. Bozeman (HH), Business Management

Samantha Browning, Humanities

Dawn R. Bryant, Human Development

Sylvie Cantin (D), Human Development

Angelina R. Capobianco (HH), Business Management

Stacey Clarke, Human Development

Charles D. Claybaker (H), Business Management

Kim C. Cobham, Human Development

Ludy Cole, Business Management

Michell L. Cox, Organizational Studies

Craig A. Cranston (D), Humanities

Christel Dykes (D), Business Management

Lorraine Eastman, Organizational Studies

Teresa R. Flournoy, Human Development

Davie Gill, Sports & American Culture Concentration

Kenneth L. Grimes, Business Management

Gladys Hall, Business Management

Megan L. Halloran, Business Management

Molly C. Henry (HH), Concentration in American Culture & Society

James Hill (D), Business Management

Joshua P. Hunziker (D), Business Management

Kristen L. Inoa (D), Business Management

Quandala Johnson (HH), Management

Christopher J. Kelaher, Organizational Studies Concentration

Michelle J. Kiekenapp Nelson (HH), Creative Writing Concentration

Jamie E. Klempner, Organizational Studies Concentration

Benjamin Labay, Business Management

Joshua T. Lewis (H), Business Management

Bradley Lowe, Business Management Concentration

Rachel A. Luna. Human Development

Catherine M. McBride (HH), American Studies

Dorice M. Michalik (D), Business Management

Timothy J. Mineo, Business Management

Joseph C. Mobilio, Business Management

Yadira L. Montes Rivera (HH), Humanities

Courtney Niedens, Business Management

William Morelli (D), Organizational Studies

Tashauna L. Nobles, Business Management

Kelly L. Pickering (D), American Studies

Katherine C. Quinn, Global Business Concentration

Stephan L. Ralph, Business Management

Jared B. Rishel (D), American Studies

Tanya M. Rotter (H), Humanities

Jeanne A. Salvo (D), American Studies

Richard Schomp, Organizational Studies

Kelly A. Schooley, Humanities

Christopher Shaun, Business Management

Emily P. Strickland, Concentration in American Culture & Communication

Zachary C. Thompson, Visual Arts

Jeanette I. Ventrone (HH), Human Development

Theresa G. Vess (HH), Business Management

Lora D. Vineberg (HH), Business Management

Caitlin Q. Wells (HH), Human Development

Shirley Wells, Business Management

Kimberly Whitford (H), Human Development


December 2016

Yvonne C. Comeau, Humanities

Ricky Counts, Human Development

Priska Green (HH), Business Management

Charissa A. Jackson, Human Development

Jason W. Malpass (HH), Creative Writing 

Peter Marer (HH), Business Management

Bonnie L. Mason, Creative Writing

Daniel McGlone, Business Management

Andrew J. O'Connell (H), Humanities

Daryl L. Osburn (H), Human Development

AKM R. Rahman, Business Management

Natalie Ricketts, Human Development

Stephen Sabella (HH), Business Management

Sandra Singleton (D), Human Development

Teresa A. Stewart (HH), Human Development

Cecilia Walker, Business Management
Lisa Washington, Human Development

August 2016

Richard P. Anglewicz (D), Business Management Major
Sherry Ball (H), Organizational Studies Major
Robert M. DiPalma (D), Humanities
Melanie R. Ducane, Human Development
Aaron Flinn (D), Business Management Major
James C. Fort, Environment & American Culture Concentration
Rashad Lewis, Business Management Major
Regina A. Perkins (HH), Organizational Studies Major
Thomas J. Pyche, Business Management Major
Monica L. Taylor (HH), Business Management Major

 HH - High Honors; H - Honors; D - Distinction

 

Alumni News

Edward G. "Teddy" Baldwin '99 (American Studies) was inducted into the Eckerd College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa this last week as an alumni member. Baldwin earned his Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School in 2003 and currently is a partner in the Baker McKenzie law firm in Washington, D.C., where his practice focuses on international arbitration, transactional litigation, sovereign immunity issues, and enforcement of judgments and awards.

Dean Lloyd Chapin, president of the Zeta Chapter of Florida, noted that Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society.


Renee Hamad '10 (Human Development), a retired concert pianist and philanthropist, was honored in April at the eighth annual Sertoma Sarasota Celebrity Roast. Sertoma is an international service organization whose primary projects help people with speech, hearing, and language disorders. Local chapters develop other projects based on community needs. The event honoring Hamad benefited Sertoma Kids Speech Therapy, which provides speech/language therapy for Sarasota area children in the Sarasota area with communication challenges regardless of their families' abilities to pay. An article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune noted that Eckerd College adjunct professor Tom Honsa was one of the participants roasting Hamad, who was the first woman the Sarasota chapter has so honored.

Remembering . . .

William Sanford Scott III '95 (Business Management Concentration) of Venice, Fla., who died April 1, 2017. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/heraldtribune/obituary.aspx?pid=185003555

Faculty / Staff  News

Professor Sergei Novikov was honored recently for 25 years of service to Eckerd College. Novikov earned his Ph.D. from  Moscow State University – known as “the Russian Harvard” – with a degree in International Political Economy and served for a time as one of a group of economic advisors to Mikhail Gorbachev. Novikov teaches courses in international business and in Russian culture.

Congratulations to January graduate; Alumni news

courtesy of SweetClipArt.com

Congratulations!!!

Warmest congratulations to this PEL student who completed her program of studies and graduated in January 2017:

Jasmine Rothgeb (HH), American Studies

HH - High Honors

Jasmine also won one of Eckerd College's 2016 Writing Excellence Awards.

 

Alumni News 

Clint Day '07 (Business Management Concentration), who subsequently earned an MBA from Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, is an adjunct instructor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at State College of Florida, Sarasota-Manatee. He also is the author of two books, Understanding Lean Startup: Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship (2016, Booklogix) and Set Your Own Salary: A Guide to Entrepreneurship and Financial Independence (2015, Booklogix), and a reference guide, Entrepreneurship (Quick Study Business) (2015, BarCarts, Inc.).

 

Faculty/Staff News

 
(l-r) Anne Anderson, Patti Cooksey, Sergei Novikov, and Amanda Hagood recently attended the Sunshine State Teaching and Learning Conference in St. Pete Beach where they presented "Rethinking and Retooling Teaching in Online Courses: Two Case Studies" to a group of educators and administrators from around the Southeastern United States.

PEL Staff Members Moving On

Three of our PEL staff left us at the end of October. We are grateful to each of them for their service to PEL, and we rejoice with them as new chapters in their lives begin.

by Anne W. Anderson

photos courtesy of EC Marketing & Communication

 Julee Breehne has been with PEL for almost nine years and has worked in several admissions capacities, most recently as PEL's Assistant Director of Admissions. She has accepted a position as the K-12 Coordinator with the University of Florida's Innovation Station in Sarasota County.

Breehne, who began working at PEL's Sarasota campus in 2007 with center director Linda Johnson, moved to Florida after graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a degree in mass communication and broadcast journalism. She worked as a morning co-host for an Arcadia radio station and volunteered with the Sarasota Film Festival, which led to a position with the Sarasota Arts Council. She also worked as a tour coordinator and cast member for Florida Studio Theatre's Write-a-Play program, which performs plays for and teaches play-writing skills to elementary and secondary school students, and spent five years as development manager for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.

Breehne, who began a master's program ten years after completing her undergraduate degree, said she remembered "how weird it felt to go back" and could empathize with adults who were returning to college. But, she said, she quickly grew to appreciate the multiple challenges faced by many of the people she met who were returning to school. At the same time, Breehne said, what many people needed was just confidence.

"I have seen so many highly accomplished people -- heavy hitters in their fields -- who were intimidated and overwhelmed by the idea of going back to school," said Breehne."They saw academia as a foreign world. They just needed to see it in the terms they were used to. I might say, 'Remember when you ran for office or started that business?'"

Breehne said she often had potential students bring their families to admissions meeting.

"I loved it when they'd bring their kids and their husbands or wives," Breehne said. "All those people will be affected and have their own questions. It's important to gain their support, too."

Breehne also represented PEL at various education fairs and other events, and she has maintained connections with PEL graduates who have moved into various fields. This past May she wrote an article for The PEL Connector about Sarasota PEL graduate Trevor Harvey and his work with the Newtown Conservation Historic Project.

Breehne looks forward to bringing these multiple skill sets and all of this knowledge to her new work with the UF's Innovation Station engineering program. Breehne explained that UF and State College of Florida have an agreement allowing students to complete the first two years of their degree at SCF, then finish at UF. the goal is to encourage those students to bring their engineering skills back to the Sarasota County area in industry and entrepreneurial ventures.

"I will be working first with high school students and then younger students to interest them in engineering and to move them into that stream," Breehne said. "They have a vision and funding. We just have to make it happen."

Breehne said she is grateful for the "really, really great mentor" she had in Linda Johnson, who trained her to "see the person," and for the "endless possibilities" she sees in bringing her knowledge of a liberal arts education to a STEM-oriented program that includes digital arts as one of the possible majors.

But the biggest adjustment, Breehne said, will be working with a population that is at least half the age of most PEL students.

"I don't know if it will be easier or harder," Breehne said with a laugh, adding that she is looking forward to the challenge.

Breehne and her husband, Miguel, who is a test pilot and contractor with the Naval Research Laboratory, have a daughter, Eleenor, who is in kindergarten this year.

***************

Janice Writt, who has been PEL's Reception Coordinator for the past two years, has accepted a position as Accounts Payable Clerk in the Eckerd College Business Office.

Writt, who is from Virginia, earned a degree in Recreation, Health, and Tourism from George Mason University and worked at a community college while she was attending school. After moving to Florida, Writt worked as an administrative assistant at Alpha House of Pinellas County and did some event planning before coming to Eckerd PEL.

In addition to being the friendly face and sympathetic ear greeting people as they have come into the PEL office, Writt also has proctored the CLEP, DANTES, timed writing, and other tests; has managed the PEL Facebook account; has helped edit and develop the PEL websites, and has helped process admission records.

"Whatever pops up and needs to get done," is how Writt described her work.

"I have gotten to know people across campus," Writt said, "especially people in Foundations, because of the work I have done with the writing exhibits, and people in Marketing and Communication, because of the website and social media work."

Writt also has served as the PEL representative to the College's Staff Council.

Writt said she has enjoyed working in PEL. "It's been a good team of people who really care about the students," she said, adding that one of her favorite times is just before classes start. "That's when students bring in their stories to share," she said.

Writt understands what it means to go back to school, too, and to juggle a job and a family. She has been taking Business Administration courses, which she hopes will help her in her new position. Plus, she and her husband, Jeremy Writt, who is a multimedia and video technician at St. Petersburg College, are new parents to Jaxson, born October 25. They also have a 7-year-old Dalmatian named Dallas.

***************

Kathy McDonald, PEL's Director of Admission and Recruitment, has accepted a position as Network Partnerships Manager with the Florida College Access Network (FCAN), which is housed at USF Tampa.

McDonald, who is from Evanston, Ill., earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University and a master's degree in Management from Northwestern University. She worked for major corporations in the Chicago area, including Oracle, Kraft Foods, and AmeriTech, before opening her own coffee house and, later, a corporate gift business.

At the same time, McDonald was providing marketing consulting services and exploring questions of career-life balance in her book, Creating Your Life Collage: Strategies for Solving the Work/Life Dilemma. In the process, McDonald discovered an affinity for adult education.

"I liked leading workshops," McDonald said. "And I just loved adult education. I believe in the transformative power of adult learning."

Tiring of cold winters, the McDonald family moved to Florida in 2004. " That was the year of the hurricanes," McDonald said with a laugh, "but we stayed." McDonald worked for several years with Bisk, a company that works with colleges and universities to develop online education programs.

But it was writer Ann Patchett's appearance as keynote speaker at the 2013 Writers in Paradise conference that introduced McDonald to Eckerd College.

"I drove over to hear Ann Patchett," McDonald said. "And I thought, 'Wow, I want to work here!'"

McDonald joined PEL a year ago as the program's Director of Admission and Recruitment. She currently serves as second vice-president for the Tampa Bay Higher Education Alliance and, as a co-chair of the Senior HR special interest group of the Association for Talent Development, offered career-development workshops to businesses interested in offering education benefits to their employees. She also partnered with Mary Anderson, in the College's Career Services offices, to present lunch-and learn events to attract potential students.

"I continue to be amazed and inspired by our students," McDonald said. "They are juggling so much. The fact that they persevere and stick with it to graduation is pretty amazing."

In her new position with FCAN, McDonald will work with the regional cooperative networks that have formed across the state to help increase the number of working adults with post-secondary certificates or degrees. Comprised of business leaders, K-12 educators, higher education leaders, and community organizations, the local cooperatives work together to create stronger higher education pathways for under-served populations.

"Right now, the focus is on the K-12 pipeline and on creating a culture that values post-secondary education," McDonald explained. "But adult education programs also need to be part of this initiative, and I am excited to be able to advocate for adult learners in this new role."

McDonald and her husband, John, who is in real estate, have a daughter, Samantha, a freshman studying chemistry at the University of Florida, and a son, Liam, graduating this year from Middleton High School in Tampa. They also have three dogs, Sadie, the Javanese "elder stateswoman," Lucy, a Golden Retriever, and Ripley, a Border Collie puppy.

Anne W. Anderson is PEL's director of blended and online learning 

and is co-editor of The PEL Connector.

Ten August PEL Graduates; Alumni News; Student News; Faculty/Staff News

courtesy of SweetClipArt.com

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Warmest congratulations to these PEL students who completed their programs of studies and graduated in August, 2016 :

Richard P. Anglewicz (D), Business Management Major

Sherry Ball (H), Organizational Studies Major

Robert M. DiPalma (D), Humanities

Melanie R. Ducane, Human Development

Aaron Flinn (D), Business Management Major

James C. Fort, Environment & American Culture Concentration

Rashad Lewis, Business Management Major

Regina A. Perkins (HH), Organizational Studies Major

Thomas J. Pyche, Business Management Major

Monica L. Taylor (HH), Business Management Major

H - Honors; HH - High Honors; D - Distinction

Note: An academic class includes all graduates from June of one year through May of the following year. For instance, students who graduated in August or December 2016 and in January or May 2017 are all considered part of the Class of 2017.

Alumni News

Claudia Smith '13 promoting PEL

Kudos to Claudia Smith '13 (Business Management) who represented PEL at the Pasco County Employee Benefits Fair in New Port Richey in August. While many of the people she spoke with had heard of Eckerd and its reputation for excellence, many people were surprised and pleased to learn PEL has a Tampa campus. 

Thank you, Claudia, for helping us spread the word about PEL!

Dovév Weaver '16 with his new book.

Congratulations to Dovév Weaver '16 (Humanities) whose book, Chasing Your Dreams: Bound for Success was released recently. Weaver also was awarded a $1500 Passion Grant from his employer, Johnson & Johnson, Inc., an insurance company based in Charleston, SC. The grant will help Weaver, who calls himself Coach D, provide fifty copies of his books to a youth organization, develop a marketing plan, and build a website.

Weaver says Chasing Your Dreams: Bound for Success, which he began writing in 2011, is a story of how hate and unforgiveness kept him from accomplishing his goals.

"Once I was able to forgive [my biological father], I was able to move on and start chasing my ultimate dream of becoming a published author," Weaver said. Look for more information about Weaver's travels, his upcoming YouTube channel, and appearances on all social media platforms with the tag @coachdtalks.

Student News

Congratulations to PEL student Debra Butler who brought in the largest lady fish (2 lbs.) of 197 women anglers in the Nauti Girls Tournament, held in Steinhatchee this past July.

PEL student Pam Butler studied abroad in Italy this past summer on writing about Italian food. Check out the blog she created at http://www.mymediterraneanjourney.com/#home

***PEL students contributed 2000+ hours of community service during the 2015-2016 academic year.***

Faculty/Staff News

 

Congratulations to PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood whose co-authored article "Classroom Ecotones: Connecting Place-Based Pedagogy and Blended Learning" will be published in a forthcoming issue of ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. Hagood, who was teaching an environmental literature course at Hendrix College in Arkansas, and a colleague who was teaching an environmental demography (sociology) course at Furman College in South Carolina, crossed disciplines and distances to help students "see both the commonalities shared between the social sciences and the humanities, as well as the value of our differing methods and perspectives on environmental issues" (p. 4). The article is available online to Eckerd people at http://isle.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/08/12/isle.isw043.full.pdf+html

Out and About; Alumni News; Faculty/Staff News

Left: Julee Breehne, PEL admission counselor, attended a Transfer Fair for students who have earned their A.A. and are considering their next-step options. Pictured with Julee is Steve Ford, St. Petersburg College's Workforce Internship Program coordinator who also was working the fair, which was held on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College. Julee and Kathy McDonald, PEL's director of admission and recruitment, attend similar education and career events on an almost weekly basis.

Right: Eckerd PEL's display at the GROW Financial Federal Credit Union Education Fair sponsored by the Tampa Bay Higher Education Alliance, of which Eckerd College PEL is a member.

Kathy McDonald, PEL's director of admission and recruitment, attended the fair, which was held in Tampa on May 4.

Alumni News

 

Forest Balderson '13 (Creative Writing) was honored recently when his poem "Dancing to Death" was selected for inclusion in plain china, the national literary review of undergraduate creative expression. The poem was first published in the 2015 Eckerd Review. Balderson currently is pursuing a master's degree in non-profit management and philanthropy at Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. 

Ed Mahon '86 (Business Management), who subsequently earned a doctorate in management (DM) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and an MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has written a new book, Transitioning the Enterprise to the Cloud: A Business Approach. More formally, Dr. Edward G. Mahon is the Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer for Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

Teresa Mast '15 (Business Management) has filed for the District 2 seat on the Sarasota County School Board. Mast was the 2015 PEL Commencement speaker.

Note: An alumni class includes all students who graduated between June of one year and May of the next year. For example, students who graduated in August 2015 are considered part of the Class of 2016.

What's new with you? Share your good news two ways:

• Share your personal and professional updates by emailing us at pelsuccess@eckerd.edu. We reserve the right to format announcements to fit style and other considerations. 
• Share Instagram Photos via live update on the Eckerd Alumni Engagement page by including the #EckerdNotes hashtag. 

Faculty/Staff News

Professor James Welch earned, this past month, a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction through the College of Education at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Welch's dissertation was titled "Developing Ethical Leadership in the Post-Enron World: An Analysis of Business Ethics Education in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States" Welch holds advanced degrees in business management, business administration, theology and law. Welch, a Command Chaplain with the Army Reserve, also recently was promoted to the rank of colonel.

Eleven December Graduates, Seven Inductees, Alumni News, and a New PEL Baby!

courtesy of SweetClipArt.com

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Warmest congratulations to these PEL students who completed their programs of studies and graduated in December 2015. :

Nancy Bebout (H), Organizational Studies

April D. Griffin (HH), Organizational Studies

Tonya Y. Holden, American Studies

Matthew Knight, International Business

Joy A. Langone (D), Human Development

Kelly A. McCann, Humanities

Kathleen A. Nix (HH), Creative Writing

Annie M. Sergeant (HH), Human Development

Tami L. Toms (D), Humanities

Rachael Wolff (HH), Human Development

Kristen M. Wright (HH), American Studies

H - Honors; HH - High Honors; D - Distinction

 l-r: Professor Catherine Griggs, Tami Toms, Jasmine Rothgeb, Noel Lake, Professor Gregory Padgett, JoAnn Miller, and Kristen Wright attended the induction ceremony for Phi Alpha Theta. Not shown are Kelly McCann and Valerie Martin.
BRAVO to the following PEL students who, along with several residential students, were inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, a history honor society, in November 2015:

Noel Lake     Valerie Martin

Kelly McCann     JoAnn Miller

Jasmine Rothgeb     Tami Toms
Kristen Wright

Alumni News

•  Rev. Roy Allison '03 (Business Management), who subsequently earned a Master in Divinity from Nashota House and who serves at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Tampa, was one of several area spiritual leaders featured in a recent Tampa Tribune article about Advent.
• Anne Anderson '07 (Creative Writing), who subsequently earned an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Alabama, has been appointed director of blended and online learning at Eckerd College's Program for Experienced Learners.
• Michele Bredal '15 (Visual Arts) has been appointed events and volunteer coordinator at Dunedin Fine Art Center.
• Claudia Smith '13 (Management) recently earned her M.B.A. in Business Administration and Management through St. Leo University.
• Thomas J. (T.J.) Stoll '15 (Management) has begun pursuing an M.S. in Finance through Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Scott Warfel '10 (American Studies), who subsequently earned an M.S.A. in film and media studies from Arizona State University, has been appointed director of performing arts at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, Florida.

Remembering . . . Karen Figg Salmon '89 and Edward Rubertas '02, PEL alumni, and Maurice Harris, PEL student, whose recent deaths we mourn and whose lives we celebrate.

Share your news with us by emailing pel@eckerd.edu. Please include the year you graduated from Eckerd and your major.

 

PEL Professor Helen Wallace is St. Petersburg's newest Poet Laureate / PEL Professor Peter Meinke named Florida Poet Laureate

The St. Petersburg City Council proclaimed Eckerd College Professor Helen Pruitt Wallace Poet Laureate of St. Petersburg, beginning in January 2016.

Helen succeeds Emeritus Professor Peter Meinke, who earlier this year was selected by a committee with the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs to be appointed Poet Laureate of Florida by Governor Scott.

Watch and listen to their WTSP Studio 10 interview here!

PEL Staff & Creative Writing Alums attend Helen Wallace's induction as St. Petersburg's Poet Laureate (l-r: Margret Skaftadottir, Patti Cooksey '97, Shantell Smithson '09, Anne Ney '07, Sonia Quinones '07, Angie Jones '12, and poet Wendy Buffington). Faculty & Staff News   Amanda Hagood's sestina, "Wood Parade," won second place in the Final Draft: St Pete Stories contest sponsored by Keep St. Pete Lit.  Wecome, Kathy McDonald, PEL Director of Admission and Recruitment!  With offices at both PEL campuses, Kathy will help us identify new potential PEL students across the Tampa Bay area. To learn more about Kathy, read Craig Anderson's article here, then stop by and say 'hello'!

New PEL Baby!

We rejoice with PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood and her husband, Daniel Spoth, assistant professor of literature at Eckerd, in the birth of their son, James Claybrooke Spoth, who was born December 21, 2015.

This happy little guy arrived a bit earlier than expected, but both mother and son are doing well.

Welcome, Kathy McDonald!

Kathy McDonald, PEL's new Director of Admission and Recruitment

by Craig Anderson

In November, the PEL Program welcomed its new Director of Admission and Recruitment, Kathy McDonald. Kathy moved to the Tampa Bay area from Chicago eleven years ago with her husband, John, and children, Samantha and Liam. 

The family arrived in the Sunshine State in 2004, a year also marked by multiple hurricanes. “I wondered if the hurricanes were some sort of sign,” Kathy admits, “but we persevered.”

Prior to coming to Eckerd, Kathy served as the Associate Vice President of Marketing for Bisk Education, a role that helped prepare her for the PEL program. 

 “I have always wanted to work for an institution of higher learning,” Kathy says. “At Bisk, I came to appreciate adult learners and the unique needs that they have.” 

This appreciation for experienced learners made the PEL program seem like a perfect fit. 

“When I am out in the community and meet PEL alumni, there is always a tremendous amount of pride in the program,” Kathy says. She also recognizes that “a lot of people still don’t know that we are here, and that is an exciting opportunity.” 

Kathy points to the opportunities to learn and to grow as the element that keeps works fun. She also views her new position as the chance to help develop the next generation of leaders. 

One of the aspects of working in the PEL program that is exciting for her is the chance to help adult learners revisit their life goals, something she understands personally.

"In 2000, I fulfilled a dream I had had since I was in second grade when I co-authored a book, Creating Your Life Collage: Strategies for Solving the Work/Life Dilemma," Kathy said. The book was published by Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House. 

“For many [adults], there is a goal or a dream that may have been put on hold,” she says, “and now they have the opportunity to achieve it. Their dream may have been delayed, but they didn’t give up.”