PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month.
CTE Month celebrates the value of workforce education programs and how they change lives, fill much-needed jobs and boost our local economy. At St. Petersburg College, we are proud of our programs and our graduates, and in celebration, we’d like to share some of their stories with you.
See how these grads are living their dreams, thanks to CTE programs at SPC.
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Dylan Fay, 27, graduated from St. Petersburg College in December 2021 with an Associate in Science degree in Environmental Science Technology, with a Water Resource Management subplan. Fay said he had no idea what he wanted to study when he arrived at SPC, but after taking classes in different programs, he found a passion in an Environmental Science class.
“It was the first time anything really clicked that I could see myself studying,” Fay said. “I had a great professor, Dr. Scanlon, who took us out to do hands-on work, and it piqued my interest. I started looking and found that SPC had much more to offer as far as field classes. I took one after another, and they made my educational experience so enjoyable.”
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Read Fay’s story on our Science and Mathematics blog.
Skyler Golden, 26, has been a hard-working musician since he was very young, and a string of successes led him to St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program, where he earned his associate degree in 2020, with a production subplan.
Golden says his time at SPC not only earned him a degree and a ProTools certificate, but also paved the way to many job opportunities in the music industry. As a working musician, he has gigged and toured with bands, playing Neo soul, funk, jazz and trip hop.
Read Golden’s story on our Arts blog.
St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program proved to be a career-maker for Dakota “Cody” Haynes, 22. Haynes started the MIRA program three years ago, about the same time he landed a job with Cox Media WHPT station 102.5 as part of their event crew. Haynes will graduate in May with his Associate in Science degree from SPC’s MIRA program, with a sub plan in production.
“I was doing events as a street team member for 102.5 while I was taking classes,” Haynes said. “I really wanted to be on air or in the studio, so I signed up for MIRA’s Audio for Broadcast class.”
In that class, Haynes was able to earn his Radio Operator Certification, which was included in the course. He also earned levels one and two Dante (Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet) certifications in his coursework, which he says helped him land the job of his dreams.
Read more about Haynes on our Arts blog.
When Terry Ellison, 25, was five years old, he played Super Mario Brothers for the first time. His young mind was blown, and the trajectory of his life altered.
“I became passionate about gaming,” Ellison said. “And sometime around middle school, I realized that I could actually make a career out of video gaming and create something that would bring to others the same joy it brought to me.”
When he started taking classes at St. Petersburg College in 2016, it was in an introductory Python class taught by professor Adrian Tillman that Ellison realized that dream could be a reality for him.
Read more about Ellison on our Technology blog.
Evan Huff started taking classes at St. Petersburg College as a Dual Enrollment student at the young age of 14. Now 18, he has an Associate in Arts degree in his pocket, along with some industry certifications and a clear vision for his career future.
Along with his degree, Huff took two cybersecurity courses, which prepared him to take the exam for the CompTIA Security+ certification. Huff is proud to have earned that certification at such a young age.
