by Elizabeth Miller & Alexa Heinrich

On Monday, May 12, St. Petersburg STEM Collegiate High School (SPSCHS) celebrated its first graduating class at SPC’s commencement ceremony.

SPSCHS opened in 2022 at SPC’s Downtown Center. As one of SPC’s three collegiate high schools, SPSCHS offers high school students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and simultaneously earn an associate’s degree.

When Dominick dos Santos discovered the school, he was working on his GED and living in a homeless shelter in Clearwater. He learned that SPC offers free bus passes for students and decided to enroll.

“I would leave at 5 a.m. to take the bus to school every day,” said dos Santos.

During his time at SPC, he got connected to the RISE program, which helped him and his family find stable housing. He also joined the Student Government Association and got the opportunity to attend an educational trip to Tallahassee.

“I really got plugged in, which was a massive help,” he said.

Dos Santos graduated with his high school diploma, an A.S. in Computer Information Technology and an A.A. degree. He will be participating in a cultural exchange program through the U.S. Department of State for the next year and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree and a career in educational technology.

Living close to the BayCare Sound, he often visited the adjacent park and hoped to some day attend a show at the venue.

“Being able to be here for this is really cool,” he said at Monday’s commencement.

All 21 graduates earned both their high school diploma and A.S. degree, and 17 earned their high school diploma, A.S. degree and A.A. degree.

Every graduate maintained a GPA above 3.0 in both high school and college coursework.

SPSCHS graduates have been accepted to top-tier universities, including University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida and University of Central Florida.

Pictured above: Dominick dos Santos.