Tampa Palms resident Craig DiCecco is the New Tampa Family YMCA’s Volunteer of the Year.
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers like Tampa Palms resident Craig DiCecco, the New Tampa Family YMCA continues to help people in need in and around our community.
DiCecco was named the facility’s “Volunteer of the Year” at the annual Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s annual Community Impact Awards dinner on Feb. 25.
DiCecco, whose three kids have all participated in sports at the New Tampa YMCA over the past 10 years or so, is a real estate appraiser who is also a member of the New Tampa Rotary Club. He first became involved with the YMCA through the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot, which is an event put on jointly each year by both organizations.
“Craig has really stepped up in many ways, especially with the Turkey Trot, ” says Tony Kimbrough, New Tampa Family YMCA executive director. “The event helps us raise funds to provide programs that impact our members and the community.”
Some of these programs include drowning prevention, teen leadership, the YMCA’s partnership with LIVESTRONG, adaptive programs for people with special needs, and providing financial assistance to kids who need it to attend summer camp.
“There are a lot of families in need,” says Kimbrough, “and we serve them. Summer camp can really help kids close the achievement gap. We see that there’s a lot less of a ‘summer learning loss’ for kids who come to our summer camps, versus those who don’t get that opportunity.”
Honored To Be Recognized
DiCecco says he is honored to have received the award. “The Y is a great organization with a lot of fantastic volunteers,” he says. “It’s tough for me to understand why I deserve this more than others whose faces I see at the Y every day.”
But, Kimbrough says DiCecco absolutely deserves to be recognized for his efforts.
“Craig also serves as vice chair of the New Tampa Family YMCA advisory board, and he’s been instrumental in helping us to raise both money and awareness,” says Kimbrough. “He’s always the first to raise his hand to volunteer when something needs to be done.”
Matt, Lori and Kaia (aka JeeMin) Brown have turned their love of martial arts into a children’s book series to help prevent bullying and help young children be aware of ‘stranger danger.’
Lori Brown and her husband Matt were shocked when kids as young as five years old joined their martial arts program because they had experienced bullying.
“I couldn’t believe that kids this young were being bullied,” says Lori.
So, the couple decided to do something about it. They co-authored a book series for elementary-aged children starting in 2012, shortly after adopting their daughter from Korea.
They named their daughter Kaia, and the series of books stars a character with Kaia’s given Korean name, which is JeeMin.
The series, called What Would JeeMin Do, includes four books modeling how kids can deal with bullying, and four additional books to help kids learn about “stranger danger.” They are written for kids ages five to nine.
“We felt that if bullying was happening at these young ages,” Lori says, “Kids need to be educated younger, too.”
Matt and Lori completed all eight books in the series and self-published them in November 2015.
“Teaching martial arts is our passion,” explains Matt.
But, a few years ago, they realized there were many kids who would benefit from the lessons being taught in their classes who weren’t walking through their doors. “What we teach in our program, we wanted to also teach outside of our studio in a fun, different way.”
Lori adds, “Martial arts is not for everyone, but bullying is a big issue that everyone needs to learn about.”
They describe the books as tools for both kids and their parents, whether it’s a kid who needs a model of how to deal with a bully, or a parent who’s not sure how to talk with their kids about issues that can be scary for small children.
“The most important message of the books is that kids should feel empowered to stand up for themselves and say, ‘Stop! Leave me alone!,’ if they are bullied,” explains Matt. “Bullies don’t have a right to do what they are doing. The person who is being bullied has a voice they can use to stand up for themselves.”
He says the books urge kids to stand up for others when they see bullying, too, and wants to let kids know they can seek out help if they are bullied, see bullying, or feel uncomfortable when they encounter someone they don’t know.
“We want to give kids encouragement, and also help them to find the courage to get help in these situations,” says Matt.
Martial Arts As A Learning Tool
For 10 years in Billings, MT, Matt and Lori ran a successful martial arts studio full time, teaching 130 students self defense.
They teach a blend of Korean Karate (called Tang Soo Do), Jiu-Jitsu, and Aikido.
The pair moved to Zephyrhills in 2014 to be near family. Both are martial arts Masters (a designation certified through the Eastern USA International Martial Arts Association, Inc.), and both have been inducted into the Eastern USA International Black Belt Hall of Fame.
Matt has earned the rank of 5th Dan (aka “degree”) Black Belt, while Lori has earned the rank of 6th Dan Black Belt.
Matt currently works as the branch administrator at Berkshire Hathaway Florida Properties on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of S.R. 56, in the Shoppes at New Tampa shopping center. He and Lori offer their classes at the Lake Bernadette Community Center off S.R. 54 in Zephyrhills on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
The Browns are looking for a publisher to pick up their books, but Matt concedes publishing is a competitive business and it’s hard work to get published.
“Regardless of if this series is picked up by a major publisher or not,” he says, “we’re just happy to get one of our books into the hands of someone who needs it.”
Matt and Lori are currently working with the Pasco County Library Cooperative to present a community event that would share the books and their authors’ expertise in martial arts to kids through its reading program.
To learn more about the What Would JeeMin Do series of books, visit the Browns’ website at PowerMartialArts.com. The entire series also can be purchased on Amazon.com.
A group of Boy Scouts from across the nation — including New Tampa’s N’Jhari Jackson from Boy Scout Troop 142 in Tampa Palms — spoke Tuesday to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (pictured here) and President Obama, as part of the organization’s annual Report to the Nation.
N’Jhari Jackson, an Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 142 in New Tampa, was selected as one of 10 Boy Scouts from across the nation and delivered the “BSA 2015 Report to the Nation” to U.S. Congressional and governmental leaders Tuesday, March 1 in Washington, DC.
“JUST GAVE MY SPEECH TO OBAMAAAAAA,” Jackson texted to friends. “(It went) Great, I didn’t stutter either. OMG. I’m awesome ohhh I feel gosh!”
N’Jhari is still just 13 years old, but has already earned an incredible 121 Merit Badges and has set a personal goal to earn all 136. He has been recognized extensively (including in this publication in March 2015) for his outstanding volunteer service, with projects he has created and implemented, such as collecting 1,200 pair of socks for children’s group homes in the Tampa Bay area, delivering more than 4,000 Pajama Buddies and Pajama Grab Bags to hospitalized children, raising money to donate an AED (automated external defibrillator) to his school, and delivering blankets and other items to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.
“I am excited and nervous about my trip to Washington, DC,” N’Jhari told the Neighborhood News prior to his trip. “I know it will be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
At Infinite Edge Learning Center in Tampa Palms, Ozra Jabbari (above) helps connect local students with top-notch tutors as they prepare for the SAT, ACT and other tests.
At Infinite Edge Learning Center, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off Commerce Park Blvd., helping New Tampa students reach their highest potential is a family affair.
Sobi Jabbari owns the tutoring center, where his wife, Ozra, is the office manager, and son, Korosh, is one of the 15 staff members who work one-on-one with students. Sobi and Ozra also have a daughter, Farush, who is a freshman at nearby Freedom High, less than a mile from the office. The family has lived in Tampa Palms for more than 20 years.
Every member of the staff at Infinite Edge Learning Center works individually with students who are looking to get ahead — or need help catching up — in all subjects for grades kindergarten through 12, and even for college.
They also help students prepare for a variety of standardized tests, everything from the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Testing) to get into college, to the GRE (Graduate Record Examination)/GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test), tests students need to get into good post-graduate schools and programs.
“We don’t prescribe to a one-size-fits-all curriculum,” says Sobi. “Here, we design a program that fits each individual student’s needs. We continually assess each child and help them improve in order to reach a higher level.”
Before he opened Infinite Edge Learning Center in 2007, Sobi says he had 30 years of teaching experience at the high school and university levels. He earned a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) degree in Mathematics & Engineering Physics from the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1986 and an M.S. (Master of Science) degree in Experimental Physics, which he earned from the University of South Florida in 1987.
Students can get assistance in a variety of subjects at Infinite Edge Learning Center, including mathematics, language development and enrichment, general science, chemistry, reading, foreign languages, AP Calculus (AB and BC), AP Chemistry and AP Physics, along with International Baccalaureate (IB) and other college-level courses. The center also offers help with language improvement for students whose first language is something other than English. The staff also can help students who are serious athletes or musicians and can’t be in school full time, because of their busy travel schedules.
“Every student has the capability to do well, but you have to find the way to help each one reach their potential,” says Sobi. “It’s very individual. We don’t have the same formula for everyone. We learn the weaknesses of each student and then work to eradicate them.”
He adds that the staff at Infinite Edge teaches students at all levels, from remedial to the highest achievers.
A Truly Expert Staff
Korosh Jabbari is the only tutor at the center who does not hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Although he is just now a freshman at USF himself, his education in math is well beyond that level.
As a high school freshman, Korosh took AP calculus BC, considered an advanced class even for high school seniors, and has continued taking subsequently more challenging classes. He is currently in the USF Honors College seven-year B.S./M.D. medical program, where he will earn both a Bachelor’s and M.D. degree in seven years, all at USF.
All of the other tutors at Infinite Edge are teachers in local schools and professors at the college level.
“Since our tutors are working with kids,” says Ozra, “we make sure they are correctly certified for a teaching job.”
She feels it’s important that the center’s tutors are currently working in the education system, so they are very much in tune with what students are learning in the classroom.
“Many parents are professionals and have a lot of knowledge, but they don’t know how to teach,” Ozra explains, saying that’s why they bring their children to the center. “You have to be a teacher to know what’s going on in the education system today.”
New SAT Starts in March
Beginning this March, the SAT has a new format. While the old SAT offered a total of 2,400 points (800 each in math, reading and writing), the new SAT is only 1,600 points (as it was before the writing portion was given its own 800 points), still with 800 points available in the math portion but only 800 points available for reading and writing combined.
“The new test is more difficult,” says Korosh. “It relies less on test-taking strategies, such as elimination. Students need to deeply understand concepts from classrooms and how they apply these concepts to real-life situations.”
But, students who attend Infinite Edge Learning Center continue to be well prepared. Using a curriculum developed by Sobi, Infinite Edge students have already been practicing the new SAT format for months.
Ozra says that Infinite Edge lives up to its billing as the self-proclaimed “Home of the Perfect SAT Score.”
“Every time we have students take the SAT, we have at least one perfect score,” says Ozra. “We give students the material to prepare, and they work hard.”
She adds that the biggest problem she sees is that many parents wait too long to think about the SAT or ACT.
“Your children should begin preparing for the SAT by ninth grade, at least.”
If students haven’t begun preparing for the SAT before their junior year — which is when they need to take the test to apply for college — they’re often too busy with academics and extracurricular activities to spend a lot of time preparing, and they simply run out of time.
“We recommend one-on-one, customized test preparation,” says Ozra, “but we also offer group preparation courses.”
Infinite Edge Learning Center has also offered free, four-hour SAT prep classes on a Saturday morning at Freedom, which is available to any student at the school.
No Contracts/Great Results
One thing that sets Infinite Edge Learning Center apart from its competition is that there are no contracts.
“You come as long as you need us,” explains Ozra, “and you always get personal attention.”
That’s one reason why Adam Chronister, a West Meadows resident who attends Tampa Catholic, first came to Infinite Edge for his SAT and ACT preparation.
“We shopped around before choosing Infinite Edge,” says Adam’s mom, Trish. “They are very affordable. While their rates are in line with others, some other centers required a long-term contract, and I didn’t want to get into that.”
She says her son wanted to do well on both his ACT and SAT, so he started working with Infinite Edge the summer before his junior year. Although he did well on the first SAT test he took, he was driven to improve.
“He would take an SAT or ACT, see his scores, and want to do better, so he’d go back to Infinite Edge,” Trish says, adding that Adam was able to raise his SAT score 180 points over a total of three tests.
“They really helped him,” she says. “We’ve been incredibly pleased and highly recommend them.”
Trish says the support her son received at Infinite Edge helped him achieve the test scores he needed to get into the college of his choice. So far, he’s been accepted and received academic scholarships to Florida State University in Tallahassee, the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Stetson University in DeLand, and – most important to him – his first choice, the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Infinite Edge Learning Center (17419 Bridge Hill Ct.) is open Mon.-Fri., 2 p.m.–8 p.m., and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sat. Weekday morning hours are available by appointment only for students who homeschool or do online courses. For more info, visit InfiniteEdgeLearningCenter.com, call 971-6500 or
A 17-year veteran of Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC), Bonnie Clark, Ed.D., M.S., has been named vice president of distance education/provost, Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.
The campus, located adjacent to Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) on Mansfield Blvd., opened just two years ago and is experiencing rapid growth.
Before replacing the Porter Campus’ original Provost, Dr. Stanley Giannet, Ph.D. last month, Dr. Clark was VP of Instruction and Provost of PHSC’s West campus, located in New Port Richey. Her many years at the school have included roles in both the student services side of PHSC’s operations (such as registration, advising and financial aid), as well as the academic side.
Dr. Clark earned her Doctor of Education degree in College Leadership in 2013 from the University of South Florida in Tampa. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology, which she received in 1992 from Gannon University in Erie, PA, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Mercyhurst College, also in Erie, which she earned in 1984.
She says she enjoyed her undergraduate experience so much that she wanted to work for Mercyhurst College after she graduated.
“I love this atmosphere,” she recalls thinking, as she began her lifelong career in higher education.
“Every job I’ve done has prepared me for the next one, and I’ve loved all my jobs,” Dr. Clark says. “But, my favorite role was opening the Spring Hill campus of PHSC. Like Dr. Giannet did here at the Porter campus, I got the phenomenal opportunity to hire staff and really create a culture. Because the entire staff was starting something new, we really had the feeling of being tight-knit and ‘all in this together,’” she recalls.
Clark says because the Porter Campus is so new, she senses a similar culture here.
“I’ve only been here a week,” she said at our press time, “but everyone has been so welcoming, and the people I’m meeting with seem very dedicated, and I’m pleased with their work.”
As far as working at the Porter campus is concerned, she says, “It’s larger than the one I came from, and we’re growing by leaps and bounds. So, the challenges here are things like being sure we have enough classroom space and enough courses for our students.”
She adds, “The student has to be the most important person here at PHSC,” explaining that without the students, there’s no need for the school to exist. After the students, the faculty members are the ones who see the students every day and need to be supported, so Dr. Clark must be sure that all faculty members have what they need to do their jobs.
Clark says PHSC has a high percentage of 18-20 year olds, with many students coming from Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’Lakes, and North Tampa (including New Tampa). She says because the campus is so easy to get to from I-75 and S.R. 54, it may draw students away from other campuses that aren’t as accessible.
She notes that about half the students at the campus are working toward an Associate of Arts degree, while others are working toward certificate programs such as nursing. PHSC’s Porter Campus offers both Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programs.
The campus also currently offers two bachelors degrees, a Bachelor of Applied Sciences (BAS) and Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nursing. PHSC meets the high demand for skilled nurses in the community by offering a fully online program where RNs can complete their BS degree.
Dr. Clark says it was through meeting with community leaders that the school realized an online-only program would best suit the needs of the community.
“I’m looking forward to meeting more people in the community,” she says, “and getting involved with the Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and making connections.”
She says that even though PHSC went from being a “community college” to a “state college” at about the time the Porter Campus opened, the school’s leadership has been careful to make sure that serving the local community remains a primary focus of activities at the Porter Campus.
“Community is in our mission, even though it’s no longer in our name,” Dr. Clark says.
The Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch of PHSC is located at 2727 Mansfield Blvd. For more information about all of the degree programs at the school, visit PHSC.edu.
Lori adds, “Martial arts is not for everyone, but bullying is a big issue that everyone needs to learn about.”
The pair moved to Zephyrhills in 2014 to be near family. Both are martial arts Masters (a designation certified through the Eastern USA International Martial Arts Association, Inc.), and both have been inducted into the Eastern USA International Black Belt Hall of Fame.
