|
Kiersten Richardson will be brewing coffee for a couple more months, then she’s on to a new life. She’s not sure what that life will entail. But she’ll have a bachelor’s degree in business from Pensacola State College that should open up plenty of new opportunities.
But for now, she’s still a barista at the Drowsy Poet Coffee Break Café on the Pensacola campus, and will earn her PSC degree in May.
“I love working on campus,” said Richardson, whose parents, Scott and Michelle Richardson, own three Drowsy Poet franchises, including the PSC franchise. “It’s cool seeing a lot of people my age and it’s a great atmosphere.”
That “great atmosphere” includes the Coffee Break Café, where a few students sit alone looking over textbooks and computers enjoying a freshly-brewed coffee or a breakfast sandwich. The Drowsy Poet is a Pensacola-based company that offers handcrafted, small-batch coffee roasts.
“We serve the freshest, most aromatic coffee you’ll find,” Scott Richardson said. “We have experienced baristas who know what they’re doing. We feel we provide a great service to the College.”
The Coffee Break Café also serves smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, muffins, Italian sodas and an assortment of lattes, espressos and cappuccinos.
“I was bummed when they were closed,” said customer and PSC student Spencer Lovett, who ordered a bacon, egg and cheese Asiago bagel sandwich. “I usually come once or twice a week. It’s good food and they have great service.”
The Coffee Break Café did close for much of 2020 because of the pandemic but reopened for the current spring semester. The Café has been on the Pensacola campus for six years and is located in the Edward M. Chadbourne Library.
Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
-- Troy Moon
| |
Santa Rosa principals, counselors attend Scholarship Luncheon | |
|
Principals and guidance counselors from eight Santa Rosa County high schools visited Pensacola State College’s Milton campus on Wednesday to learn about scholarship and financial aid information to bring back to their students.
They heard information ranging from various scholarships offered to financial aid and scholarship application procedures and deadlines. The Milton campus hosts the Principals Scholarship Luncheon event annually.
“Scholarship and financial aid opportunities are so important, particularly for our group of students,’’ said Larry Herringer, Santa Rosa High School principal. “We serve a disadvantaged population of students and our kids for the most part need some type of financial help to be able to attend college. Many times, they’re the first in their families to graduate from high school, let alone go to college. So this information is important for our kids.”
Pensacola State presenters at the event included Scott Bemiss, Recruiting Coordinator; Joanne Rozborkski, Financial Aid Director; Andrea Krieger, Executive Director of Institutional Development; and Milton campus Dean Jennifer Hill Faron.
“This is a great opportunity to interact with all of the high school principals and guidance counselors in the area and educate them on the scholarship opportunities we offer,’’ Hill Faron said. “They learn about the College and the various financial aid and scholarships available... Not all of the students know how affordable Pensacola State College can be.”
According to a recently-released and federally-mandated financial aid report, 83 percent of all first-time, full-time Pensacola State students receive some sort of financial aid, grants or scholarships.
The average amount of aid awarded to the College’s 1,023 first-time, full-time students was $6,151 during the 2019-2020 academic year. The cost per 30 hours for in-state PSC students pursuing an Associate of Arts degree is $3,137.
Central High School Principal Sean Twitty said many of his students are already familiar with Pensacola State through dual-enrollment classes.
“PSC is a great fit for us,’’ Twitty said. “They have to learn to use more self-discipline in a college setting, so the classes prepare them for when they make the transition to full-time college student. And since Pensacola State College is so affordable, it makes it very attractive to a lot of our students.”
-- Troy Moon
|  | |
|
Pensacola State College has been named a 2021 Military Friendly® School by Viqtory Media.
This is the 12th consecutive year that the College has received the designation awarded to U.S. colleges, universities and trade schools that dedicate resources to military students to ensure success in the classroom and after graduation.
The College ─ one of 747 schools to be recognized ─ received the Bronze designation for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Institutions earning the Military Friendly® designation were evaluated using public data sources along with responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey.
Pensacola State has more than 2,000 veterans, active duty personnel and their dependents enrolled in classes.
Read more about the 2021 designation by Viqtory Media
| |
More than 80% of PSC first-time, full-time students awarded financial aid | |
|
At a time when college student loans are a concern nationwide, most Pensacola State College students don’t have the same worries.
Eighty-three percent of all PSC first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students received some type of financial aid – grants and scholarships, including federal, state, local and institutional awards. That’s just one of the positive statistics from the recently released Pensacola State College IPEDS Financial Aid Component Overview, a federally mandated report compiled by individual institutions. The report covers the 2019-2020 academic year which ended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other key findings from the report:
• There was a jump in the percentage of PSC first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid – 83.3 percent in 2019-2020 to 75.1 percent in 2018-2019.
• Even among the total PSC population – returning students, part-time, non-traditional – 53 percent of students received financial aid.
• 95 percent of PSC students have never had to take out a student loan.
• The average amount of aid awarded to PSC’s 1,023 first-time, full-time students was $6,151. The cost per 30 hours for in-state PSC students pursuing an Associate of Arts degree is $3,137.
“That’s a lot of money that we give that’s supplemental,” said Michael Johnston, PSC Executive Director of Institutional Research. “We’re helping people who might have lost jobs because of the pandemic or are having other financial struggles. In some cases, we’re actually giving them money to go to school. That’s huge and shows the College’s conviction to serve the community and the students.”
He said that first-time PSC students are in “a precarious population.”
“They’re new to the school and the college environment and it can be intimidating,” Johnston said. “The last thing you want students to worry about is being able to afford to attend college.”
Nearly a third of all financial aid to PSC students came from College scholarships and grants, showcasing the fundraising work by the Pensacola State College Foundation and the generosity of the College’s donors.
“Pensacola State College Foundation works with private donors who understand the importance of education,” said Andrea Krieger, PSC Executive Director of Institutional Development. “Their generosity and commitment to helping PSC students excel enables us to mitigate financial challenges that might prevent students from enrolling or staying in school. Considering challenges were exacerbated by the pandemic, the donor community responded, and we increased scholarship funding to students by 35 percent last year. Students now have access to 280 privately funded scholarships that demonstrate the College and the community’s commitment to helping them succeed.”
For information on financial aid, go https://www.pensacolastate.edu/financial-aid/.
--Troy Moon
| |
PSC instructor and passionate athletics fan Bill Brantley passes away | |
Longtime Pensacola State College instructor and athletics enthusiast Dr. William “Bill” Brantley passed away on Feb. 15.
Dr. Brantley taught at the college for more than 40 years as a full-time and adjunct professor. He was a loyal supporter of PSC Athletics and was an inaugural member of the PSC Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
The Trenton, Mississippi, native moved to Pensacola in 1965, where he taught physical sciences at Pensacola State College from 1965-1995. Even after he retired in 1995, he continued to teach as an adjunct until 2009. He organized the county science fair for many years, judging projects both at the county and school levels. He was involved in intramural sports and was especially fond of basketball. On the weekends, "Doc" would open the PJC gym to allow people from all walks of life to have a place to play pick-up basketball. In 2018, he was part of the inaugural class of inductees to the Pensacola State College Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition of his dedication to both the college and to basketball.
Brantley is survived by his wife Patsy Reynolds Brantley, his sister Eleanor (Chuck) Dauenhauer, and an abundance of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews who will greatly miss his smile, his quirky humor, and his capacity for loving others.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dr. William T. Brantley Endowed Scholarship at Pensacola State College (or the charity of your choice).
| |
|
Pensacola State College provides high-quality, low-cost education to the residents of Northwest Florida through university transfer, workforce certificates, degrees, continuing education, corporate and professional development, and televised programming through the WSRE Public Broadcasting Service.
The PSC Foundation seeks to enhance the College’s ability to provide these services through a five-year campaign, "Your Community - Your Legacy," focused on supporting student scholarships, academic programs, faculty and staff professional development, and facility and technology infrastructure.
Click the button below to learn more about the campaign and to make your donation!
| | | | |
