St. Petersburg College 2021 Presidential Scholars Honored At Seminole

SEMINOLE, FL — St. Petersburg College leadership and supporters came together on Aug. 18 at the Seminole campus to celebrate the latest group of Presidential Scholars joining the college.

This year there were 35 students honored with the prestigious award which recognizes outstanding achievement among Pinellas County high school students. They are graduating seniors from public, private, parochial and home school environments who have a weighted GPA of 3.5 or higher. These students are also automatically accepted into the SPC Honors Program and are provided a full tuition scholarship for 60 credit hours of study at the college.

“Being named a Presidential Scholar is a testament to your choices, your dreams and your persistence,” said Dr. Matthew Liao-Troth, vice president of academic affairs.

Earl Fratus, director of the SPC Honors Program, said, collectively, the average weighted GPA of the group is 4.3, the average SAT score is 1229 and the average ACT score is 26.

Past SPC Presidential Scholar Cierra Reynolds sang a moving rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” to begin the ceremony. She has previously sung the National Anthem at Tampa Bay Rays baseball games and auditioned for national competition shows like "America’s Got Talent."

The student speaker for the evening, Presidential Scholar Amy Bhatt, was unable to attend, but Dr. Mark Strickland, provost of the Seminole campus, noted that she is the only student in the history of the college to have won both the Apollo Award, the highest honor an associate degree graduate can achieve, and the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor a bachelor’s graduate can achieve.

Bhatt is now a senior staff attorney for Judge Daniel Sleet at the Florida Second District Court of Appeal.

After each Presidential Scholar was recognized on stage, Dr. Liao-Troth gave the official closing remarks before SPC President Dr. Tonjua Williams approached the podium to impart some final wisdom for the students. She spoke candidly about how higher education is meant to challenge and shape students, but also encouraged them to participate in the social aspects of being an SPC Titan.

“College is about way more than higher education,” said Williams. “It’s about discovering who you are and what you’re made of, and finding out what kind of grit you have.”

This year's Presidential Scholars are:

This press release was produced by the St. Petersburg College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.