For one day, alumni from 1970 to 2013 returned to their alma mater, USF St. Petersburg.
On April 8, USFSP’s Alumni Association hosted its inaugural Alumni College, “There’s Still Class in St. Pete!”
The event, which raised money for the campus’ Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund, was a day of excitement and recollection for the former students.
USFSP alumnae participate in hands-on activities such as creating their own tessellation patterns lead by USFSP math instructor Kathleen Gibson-Dee.
As they filed into the USC Ballrooms, the graduates were presented with a slideshow that featured photos of former professors, news articles and photos of the university’s evolution throughout the years.
Alumni participated in a half-day of classes to show how the learning environment and teaching styles have changed.
To kick off the day, professor Dr. Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan spoke about her recent trip to New Hampshire as part of her Road to the White House class. Using pictures and videos, McLauchlan explained the structure and planning process of the course.
The next lecture was presented by Dr. Karin Braunsberger, who discussed her MBA course, Social Enterprises in Guatemala. The students, she explained, travel to San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala, over spring break to learn about a local business and help the owners improve operations.
To the audience’s surprise, Braunsberger announced that the 2017 trip would be open to alumni.
You can’t go back to school without taking a math class, and alumni got to explore the subject with USFSP math instructor, Kathleen Gibson-Dee, who gave an interactive presentation about mathematical patterns in nature.
On April 8, the USFSP Alumni Association hosted its inaugural Alumni College event, where graduates from 1970 through 2013 returned to the campus for a day of recollection and networking.
To get everyone involved, Gibson-Dee had guests create their own tessellation patterns, among other activities, to help them connect with the interactive and hands-on community of the university today.
The final speaker was Dr. Gary Mormino, who discussed his research on the social history of modern Florida. His book “Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida” was published in 2005 and adapted into a documentary.
After a day of recaps and recollections, the former students were taken on personal campus tours by USFSP Ambassadors.
