Bulls Notebook: USFSM welcomes educators to workshop

The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and the Florida Center for Partnerships for Arts-Integrated Teaching (PAInT), based at USF Sarasota-Manatee, coordinated the half-day session. Culminating in Ramsey’s talk, the workshop offered attendees – mostly educators from Manatee, Sarasota and Desoto counties – a mix of networking and interactive exercises designed to encourage expression through the arts and written word.

“Part of our mandate is to keep the light of learning alive for children and adults in our community, and one of the most effective ways of doing that is to inspire people through the arts,” said Beth Duda, director of the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading at The Patterson Foundation.

Dr. Denise Davis-Cotton, coordinator of PAInT, said that in addition to educators, many social workers, business leaders and directors of non-profits attended the session at USFSM’s Selby Auditorium. Given the similar aims of PAInT and the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, it made sense for the two to collaborate at some point, the organizers said.

The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading encourages all children, especially from low-income families, to succeed in school by ensuring them to read at grade level by the end of the third grade. The Center for PAInT trains educators in techniques to integrate the arts and academics so that children may better understand the presented material.

“This event provided professional development for educators and community stakeholders while at the same time encouraging an interest in education and arts-integrated teaching,” Dr. Davis-Cotton said.

Ramsey rounded out the session with her talk, “From Stressed to Joyful.”

“You are not what happens to you,” she told the crowd at one point. “You are how you respond to what happens to you.”

Girls explore computer science careers thanks to grant

Local teen girls learned computer coding and programming thanks to a free workshop Saturday organized by Dr. Giti Javidi, Dr. Ehsan Sheybani and Dr. Lila Rajabion.

The three USF Sarasota-Manatee professors used a $10,000 grant from Microsoft and the non-profit National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) to hold the workshop, “Raising Techie Girls,” at the USFSM campus.

“Our hope is that by doing these activities we can help girls build confidence in their abilities so they’ll be inspired, motivated and prepared to pursue careers in computer science or information technology,” Dr. Javidi said.

The workshop, the first of several, invited 8th, 9th and 10th grade girls, along with their mothers, to learn about computer sciences. Dr. Javidi, an assistant professor of information technology at USFSM, said social and cultural attitudes often dissuade girls from careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

In 2016, women earned 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in the U.S., but earned only 20 percent of bachelor’s degrees in computing and engineering (www.ncwit.org/bythenumbers).

She said she hopes the workshops embolden more girls to pursue STEM jobs. Along with the girls, moms and teachers were invited to create a supportive network.

“We cannot truly raise awareness about the importance of STEM, if we, as educators and parents, do not all work together,” Dr. Javidi said.

Grant provider NCWIT is a community of more than 1,100 universities, companies, non-profits and government organizations nationwide that work to increase girls’ and women’s participation in computing.

Araboghli receives prestigious internship

USF Sarasota-Manatee congratulates Sami Araboghli on his recent selection to an internship program at Security Management International, a global security consulting and intelligence advisory firm based in metropolitan Washington, D.C.

Araboghli, a junior, has also interned for Congressman Vern Buchanan and will return to that internship upon completion of his work at SMI. He expects to engage in foreign policy and security research during his time there.

Araboghli, also a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, will be the first USF intern at SMI, which regularly accepts interns from prestigious campuses such as Georgetown and George Washington University. He received a scholarship from the Stoneybrook Country Club (Sarasota) Internship Fund.

“This is huge. This internship will help guide me and prepare me for a career in public service, which is the avenue I want to take upon graduation from USF,” Araboghli said.

His internship starts July 2.

Dr. Moreo participates in Hong Kong conference

Kudos to Dr. Pat Moreo, dean of the College of Hospitality & Tourism Leadership, who recently attended the World Summit for Deans of Independent Schools in Hospitality and Tourism, in Hong Kong.

The summit, held May 27-29, attracted hospitality educators worldwide. Dr. Moreo attended the third meeting session entitled “Industry Partnerships and Student Development.”

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