Pictured above: Aaliyah Samuel earned her master’s degree in Special Education and Teaching from USF Tampa in 2003 and is the current deputy assistant secretary of local, state and national engagement for the U.S. Department of Education.
Courtesy of USF
By Molly Ryan
Over the years, USF has made comprehensive efforts in advancing student success across all three campuses. Now, these efforts are being recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
On Nov. 4, USF announced in a news release that its “multi-pronged approach to student success” garnered the attention of the department during a representative’s recent visit to the Tampa campus.
During her visit, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Local, State and National Engagement for the Department of Education and USF graduate Aaliyah Samuel commended USF’s initiatives to ensure achievement and timely graduation for its students as well as attracting more transfers and professionals who wish to continue their education while pursuing a career.
Samuel met with the Office of Student Success for a roundtable discussion where she heard from leaders on a range of issues that impact USF students — such as mental health and financial challenges.
“As I think about USF and examples of institutions that are using federal funding well, USF is definitely an example for how it has addressed smaller class sizes, distance learning and PPE,” Samuel said in the news release.
“I think one of the things that I heard that can serve as a model for other institutions, was the alternative calendar and how USF has utilized federal funding to help support alternative schedules to bring as many students back [as possible] — and not just bring them back, but lead them towards completion.”
In the discussion, Samuel called USF a “model in demonstrating the value of investing in higher education.”
During the roundtable discussion, Samuel shared how the Biden-Harris Administration is collecting data on how the Emergency Relief Fund grants are supporting students.
Funded by the American Rescue Plan, an act signed by President Biden to provide relief to those impacted by COVID-19, these grants are in the process of administering aid to USF students who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Samuel also spoke with students, some who received these grants, to hear their perspective on how they’ve been impacted by the pandemic as well as their experience in applying for federal grants and financial aid. Many students expressed the negative impacts that both had on their mental health.
“I hope this conversation will light the fire under politicians in D.C. and make them aware of the significance of what students are struggling with right now,” said USF Student Government President Julia Cunningham, who participated in the discussion. “Especially coming off the heels of a terrible pandemic and all of the mental health implications of that as well as the financial implications of the pandemic.”
“I hope they’ll really realize that there are people and students who are struggling to try to get their education and I hope hearing these conversations and hearing from real students will inspire them to take action,” said Cunningham.
Samuel, a graduate of USF’s Special Education and Teaching master’s program, was appointed to her position in the Department of Education under the Biden-Harris Administration.
Before earning her master’s degree in 2003, Samuel worked for 10 years as a special education teacher in Hillsborough County. Samuel went on to earn a doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University in 2009, shifting her career toward public policy in education.
In addition to her position at the Department of Education, Samuel is currently a senior fellow at Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child.
“USF takes great pride in its efforts to support student success. We are honored to have Dr. Samuel here today for us to share some of our best practices,” said Allison Crume, dean of Undergraduate Studies, in the news release.
“As a USF alum, we appreciate her excitement and interest in truly understanding our initiatives and how the federal government can further assist in seeing USF and our students live up to their full potential.”
