SPRING HILL/ST. LEO – Laela Ouellette, a 2018 graduate of Springstead High School in Spring Hill, Hernando County, has been named the first ACES (Awarding Career Educators in STEM) Scholar at Saint Leo University. Ouellette, now 20, is a junior at Saint Leo, majoring in biology with a minor in secondary education.
The award carries with it a scholarship of more than $18,000 per year for each of the final two years of college for qualified students willing to teach a STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) topic in a public secondary school. Saint Leo was able to offer Ouellette the scholarship after obtaining a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation for the purpose of developing more teachers in STEM areas.
Ouellette said the mid-college award an important boost. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she said, noting that she worked as a teacher’s assistant for several subjects during her own public school years. And, as a strong student in high school science subjects, she had been advised that schools typically need science educators, and she chose her college major accordingly.
Ouellette was already in her sophomore year at Saint Leo, working her way to becoming a secondary-level science teacher, when she learned the university was starting its ACES Scholar program in time for her junior year. At Saint Leo, biology or mathematics majors interested in education may apply.
Saint Leo Associate Professor Laura Altfeld, a biology faculty member, got to know Ouellette and suggested to the Springstead graduate that she apply for the new award program. The resulting aid helps Ouellette cover her tuition and has allowed her to reduce her working hours at a part-time job off-campus and increase her study hours.
Saint Leo will be recruiting more ACES Scholar applicants with the intention of awarding additional scholarships for the last two years of college to qualified students. When the students graduate, they must agree to teach for a designated time in a school district that needs math or science teachers, or the award must be repaid.
In addition to the financial award, ACES Scholar recipients will have access to special mentoring, conferences, networking, and peer development that will last beyond college graduation. For more information, visit this page: www.saintleo.edu/stem-teaching.
Hernando County Education Foundation to Name 3
Suncoast Credit Union Scholars in 2021
The Suncoast Credit Union Foundation is partnering with the Hernando County Education Foundation to offer (3) $2,000 scholarship awards to high school graduates in the Class of 2021. Class of 2021 high school graduates in Suncoast Credit Union’s 21-county service territory have the opportunity to apply for financial support to continue their education, thanks to a $116,000 investment in scholarships by the Tampa-based credit union’s Foundation.
Applications are open November 16, 2020- March 31, 2021 and are available at www.hernandoeducationfoundation.org.
This year’s Suncoast Credit Union Scholars program represents a continued philosophy of the foundation to support education initiatives and the well-being and potential of children. Since its inception in 1990, the Foundation has contributed more than $30 million including more than $2.2 million in scholarships.
“We believe the best way we can build better communities is by investing in education and health-related initiatives for children,” said Cindy Helton, Executive Director of the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. “Through the Suncoast Credit Union Scholars program, we have the opportunity to invest in individual human potential, which is particularly rewarding.”
PHSC Trustees To Review Proposed Course-Related Fee Adjustments
Pasco-Hernando State College’s District Board of Trustees (DBOT) will consider approving proposed adjusted course-related fees at its January 19 board meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. at the North Campus in Brooksville. If the meeting will be held virtually, details will be available on the PHSC website at phsc.edu.
Fee adjustment proposals are reviewed and approved for DBOT consideration by PHSC’s Council of Academic Affairs, a committee that includes representation by administrators, deans, academic department chairs, program directors, faculty, and staff.
For details regarding proposed fees adjustments, justification for the fees and fee implementation details, visit https://policies.phsc.edu/policies-and-procedures/public-disclosure. Questions or concerns about the proposed fees should be directed to the appropriate dean listed on the web page.
Many fee adjustments relate to vendor increases for workforce courses, laboratories, and program testing. Some fees may be covered by financial aid, scholarships, and grants. All fees charged by vendors are negotiated by the college, with additional fee increases and decreases expected in the coming academic year.
PHSC has not raised tuition since the 2012-13 academic year.
