SPCHS 2017 Valedictorian and Salutatorian
Based on their outstanding academic achievement, St. Petersburg Collegiate High School (SPCHS), is proud to recognize Stephen Lee Delong as Salutatorian and Ganna Yoytseshko as Valedictorian for the Class of 2017.
Stephen Lee Delong, class salutatorian, will be graduating with a weighted GPA of 4.9167. He will be attending Webber International University in Babson Park, Florida and plans to major in sports business management.
Stephen Lee is a member of the St. Petersburg Collegiate High School National Honor Society and a member of Phi Theta Kappa the St. Petersburg College Honor Society. He has volunteered with Special Olympics giving over 225 hours of service and held the leadership position of youth representative of the Bombers Competitive Youth Bowling Club.
When asked the best thing he learned at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School Stephen Lee indicated, “During Economics class with Mr. Hesting, he said 'Find something you love and find a way to make money doing it.' Ever since he gave that advice, it has been my primary focus.”
Ganna Yoytseshko will be graduating with a weighted GPA of 4.9219. She will be attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and plans to major in computer science.
Ganna serves as the vice president of the SPCHS National Honor Society, is a member Phi Theta Kappa, the St. Petersburg College honor society, and will soon be a graduate of the SPC Honors College. She is also a member of the SPC Science and Engineering Club and serves as a senator for the St. Petersburg College St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus Student Government Association. This summer, Ganna will participate in the Tech Data Exploratory Boot Camp where she will learn valuable skills to bridge the gap between education and the workplace from industry experts.
When asked how she has changed since her freshman year, Ganna stated: "I’ve grown up, and I have realized that the world is what you make of it. As Aristotle said, 'Happiness depends upon ourselves.' No matter the situation, it is important to keep going and work harder to make a better future.”
To read more about Ganna and Stephen Lee, look for the Valedictorian and Salutatorian section in the Tampa Bay Times at the end of May or early June.
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT’S “CAREER SUCCESS”
SPCHS students recently participated in Junior Achievement’s Career Success program during the SPCHS Junior Seminar.
This two-day workshop strives to equip students with the tools and skills required to earn and keep a job in high-growth career industries. The program was facilitated by Wells Fargo.
Zhane’ Grant, a junior at SPCHS, volunteers for Junior Achievement and had this to say about the experience of attending the workshop: “It was helpful. We interviewed each other and discussed job skills needed for specific jobs.”
When asked what she gained from the experience, Zhane’ shared that it was helpful to go through the interview process: “The Wells Fargo program hosts explained to participants that it is normal to be nervous during a job interview—and it is normal for interviewers to be nervous, too. This commonality makes the thought of going into an interview less threatening.”
Desmond Douglas, another SPCHS junior who participated in the program, applauded the event for its team building exercises: “The workshop provided suggestions and multiple ways to achieve goals.” Desmond shared: “I learned what it means to be professional in an interview and how to convey why I would be an asset to [the] company.”
High-growth career industries dominate the global market. Junior Achievement’s Career Success workshop is a new hands-on program that aims to help prepare today’s students by sharing skills needed to compete and succeed.
Students who participated in the JA Career Success program learned to apply the 4C’s of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
• Demonstrate strong “soft” skills
• Rank work priorities.
• Recognize STEM and other high-growth industries.
• Identify personal-brand and job-hunting tools—resumes, cover letters, interviews, and digital profiles.
SPCHS is thankful to Junior Achievement and Wells Fargo for providing this valuable training for our students.
SPCHS Seniors Named to the 2017 All-Florida Academic Team
Congratulations to Stephen Lee Delong and Natalie Moyer, SPCHS seniors, who were recently named to The Florida College System 2017 All-Florida Academic Team representing St. Petersburg College. Natalie and Stephen Lee were nominated by St. Petersburg College to the All-USA Academic Team competition sponsored by USA Today and the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, according to The Florida College System announcement. Selection for this prestigious honor is based on the students’ academic achievement, leadership and service to their communities. Natalie Moyer (pictured below on the left) and Stephen Lee Delong (pictured below on the right) were two of 127 students in the state who were recognized at an awards ceremony in Tallahassee, Florida on April 7, 2017.
SPCHS RECIPIENT OF JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT HALL OF FAME “OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD”
By Connie Langhorst and Starla Metz
SPCHS students and staff were on hand to accept the prestigious Junior Achievement “2017 Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award” that was presented to SPCHS at the recent Junior Achievement Hall of Fame event. The celebration took place at Busch Garden’s Tampa Bay, Dragon Fire Grill on Thursday, March 2. See the video played at the event honoring SPCHS students.
At SPCHS, we are proud of our ten-year partnership with Junior Achievement (JA). The “Outstanding Achievement Award” presented to SPCHS honors our students for their volunteer contributions in support of financial literacy education.
During the 2015-16 school year, JA participating SPCHS students volunteered at 15 Pinellas County Schools, taught 96 classes and assisted 1,799 students with Financial Literacy Education. In total, our students contributed a total of 480 hours of community service to Pinellas County Schools.
At SPCHS, JA has changed from being an adult-led to a student-led program. As an example of a student project, SPCHS students created and implemented a recycling program two years ago that saves Junior Achievement money each year. The good work initiated by this SPCHS project, and others, has been replicated, as a “how to succeed”model, at other Junior Achievement-affiliated high schools.
We are proud of our four seniors who serve as JA Co-Presidents
: Meg Fister and Rebekah Wyant, shown in the photo on the left, and Aaliyah Miller and Desiree Stefanik featured in the photo below.
One of the co-presidents, Aaliyah Miller, accepted the award on behalf of SPCHS, and shared these comments:
I look forward to passing the baton on to the next group of students who are coming into the program. I have done my part, so it should be much easier for them. It was a nice experience in recognition of our hard work and for our high school to be recognized by major businesses, such as Bank of America and HSN. It was an honor to have our work recognized by these businesses and to be rewarded for our work in this way.
Bailey Willis, an SPCHS junior and JA member, attended the event and had this to say about the experience:
“It was an honor to be invited to be a part of this event and to see how the seniors do things.”
Baily Willis and Desmond Douglas
Julie Brecher, Vice President of Development for Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, Inc., acknowledged our students in a follow up letter to SPCHS Principal Starla Metz:
Congratulations again. I hope you all enjoyed your evening, it was such an honor to award you and the students with the 2017 Outstanding Achievement of the Year Award last night at the Hall of Fame, I hope you enjoyed the evening. It has been a pleasure working with you and thank you for all you do!
JA's Legacy Award recipients and presenting sponsors for the Hall of Fame Awards included: HSN, PWC, SKYES, BUSCH GARDENS, OUTBACK, and TAMPA BAY TIMES.
Pictures and video are compliments of Junior Achievement.
SPCHS Students Experience Vietnamese Culture
By John Hesting
Trang Tran, Sithian Thach, and Jakob Le share their culture and heritage with their classmates with their presentation on Vietnam, wearing customary Áo dai holiday clothing and serving Banh tét, G?i cu?n, and Th?t núóng, and Chè accompanied by traditional Vietnamese music.
SPCHS Multicultural Club Mission Statement:
It is the goal of SPCHS Multicultural Club to educate our learning community regarding the multiple cultures at SPCHS as well as to encourage involvement of the school body in the celebration of a diverse community. We seek to promote positive attitudes and relationships at school and in the community and to help students and staff recognize and appreciate the cultural diversity within the school, local and world communities in order to foster understanding and eliminate discrimination and prejudice.