Family Of Christ Student Wins $2,000 Writing Award!

Bree Cleveland.
Bree Cleveland

By Christen Caporali

Bree Cleveland, a seventh grade student at Family of Christ Christian School in Tampa Palms, has been named the First Place scholarship winner in the “Why I Want to Go to College” writing contest. She was one of 1,133 entries from across the country, and won $2,000 in scholarship money to go toward any college or university in the U.S.

The “Why I Want to Go to College” essay-writing contest is sponsored by the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office and the Omaha Storm Chasers baseball team, which is the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The contest is open to 7th and 8th graders across the U.S., and judged by the students and faculty in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, as well as by Nebraska State Treasurer Don Stenberg.

Applicants were tasked with writing a 750-word essay about their educational goals and dreams for the future, and had the opportunity to win up to $2,000 in scholarship money toward the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), a state-sponsored college savings program. Three winners were chosen from each of Nebraska’s three U.S. Congressional districts; the other three winners, including Bree, were all from outside of Nebraska.

Bree learned about the contest from her language arts teacher, who has her students enter it every year, telling them that, “they never know, they might actually win!”

Bree’s educational goals and dreams for the future involve children with special needs. She has been a volunteer at St. James United Methodist Church in Tampa Palms since she was 8 years old, and has had the opportunity to work closely with special needs children during a program called FriendZone, which was the inspiration for her essay.

She wrote, “Most people look down on those with special needs as if they can’t do anything, or that they were a mistake, but I see them as a gift that is full of potential and love. That’s why I want to be a sign language teacher. If I can help special needs kids express their full potential, then I believe the world could see them the way I do!”

In addition to working with special needs children, Bree also has dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She has been taking dance classes at the Jansen Dance Project in Tampa Palms since she was 4 years old, and plans to potentially attend Howard W. Blake High in Tampa for its performing arts program. She says her ultimate goal is to dance for the New York City Ballet.

“Dance is a way for me to take my emotions or whatever may be bothering me and leave it at the door,” she wrote. “Once I step in the dance studio, I feel like I can be an all new me.”

As a victim of bullying herself, Bree has been able to take the negative emotions she felt when she was bullied and throw them into her dancing, turning them into something positive. Because of this drive, she has been able to excel in her dance classes.

“College is about growing and perfecting what I love so that one day I can share it with the world,” she wrote in her $2,000 scholarship-winning essay.

With Bree’s heart and positive spirit, she is sure to have a bright future ahead of her.

For more information about the Why I Want to Go to College scholarship, please visit: treasurer.nebraska.gov/csp/scholarships/essay/college/2016/contest-announcement.

 

Students Go For The Win Saturday In Cooking Challenge at One Buc Place

Dairy Council of Florida’s third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge.
New River Elementary students and members of the school’s nutrition team (l.-r.) Cameron Keehn, Payton Furman, Payton Leidy & Charyn Maldonado will make their recipe, cheesy chicken and bacon quesadillas with Greek yogurt veggie dip, for the Dairy Council of Florida’s third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge.

A team of students from New River Elementary was chosen as a finalist to compete in the Dairy Council of Florida’s third annual Gridiron Cooking Challenge this Saturday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the event, which is part of Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League to help encourage today’s youth across the U.S. to lead healthier lives.

New River Elementary is a recipient of a Fuel Up to Play 60 grant and has participated in the event for the past three years, since the competition’s inception. The school’s team won the first year it competed, and this year’s team members want to put their school back on top.

New River fourth grade students Cameron Keehn, Payton Furman, Payton Leidy and Charyn Maldonado will make their recipe — cheesy chicken and bacon quesadilla with Greek yogurt veggie dip, for the event’s judges.

Bucfood“The kids got together to create this recipe,” says Kathy Gillooly, one of the team’s coaches, along with Holly Mitchell and Ryan Ketterer (all three are physical education teachers at New River). “They wanted it to be fun and creative, and kid-friendly.” She says the students made their quesadillas in the shape of footballs, and that they were surprised at how much they liked the veggie dip, which includes spinach, peppers and onions.

Gillooly explains that the students are part of New River Elementary’s nutrition team, which goes on the school’s morning show to give tips on healthy eating and sets up a table at school events to hand out free samples of nutritious snacks and smoothies. There are nine kids on the nutrition team, so Gillooly explains that they drew names out of a hat to choose which four students would be able to participate in the cooking challenge.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Gillooly says of the competition. “They go all out to make it a big deal for the kids.”

The competition will be held at One Buc Place on Saturday, May 14. For more information about the Gridiron Cooking Challenge, please visit FloridaMilk.com/FuelUpToPlay60.

PHSC Conference Teaches Students What Businesses Are Looking To Find

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(Above, l.-r.) Wesley Chapel Chamber CEO Hope Allen, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel marketing director Tracy Clouser, The Shops at Wiregrass mall general manager Greg Lenners and new Pasco Hernando State College-Porter Campus Provost Dr. Bonnie Clark were among the panelists during a PHSC conference on April 5 which addressed what businesses in the area are looking for in a good employee. The program was part of the pre-inauguration festivities for when Dr. Timothy Beard (below) is officially inaugurated as PHSC’s fourth president on May 6.

If students planning to graduate from Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) want to find their way to success, then immersing themselves in the community, developing leadership skills and gaining experience while in school might be the most important ways to move forward.

What businesses are looking for was the main theme on April 5 at the “Defeating the Odds…Achieving The Dream” panel discussion held at the PHSC Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.

The event, which focused on leadership development and community engagement, was part of a series of events leading up to this month’s inauguration of Timothy L. Beard, Ph.D., as PHSC’s fourth president.

The panel featured local business leaders, such as Shops at Wiregrass mall general manager Greg Lenners, Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen, and Tracy Clouser, the director of marketing for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

The panel, moderated by new PHSC- Porter Campus Provost Bonnie Clark, Ph.D., also included educators Carin Hetzler-Nettles, the principal at Wesley Chapel High, and assistant humanities professor Dennis Feltwell, Ph.D., as well as current PHSC student Denise Saviolis.

Dr. Beard was the keynote speaker, and he talked about PHSC’s vision of student success and innovative teaching, which he says go hand in hand if the school is to achieve its mission of, “Imagine, Believe and Achieve.”

“We want students who are globally astute and are able to think outside the box,’’ Dr. Beard said.

Those students will be the ones most desirable to future employers, the panel agreed. By increasing college completion rates, joining forces with K-12 educators to make sure students are college-ready and collaborating with private institutions in the hopes of developing strong advocates in the community, Beard hopes to have students more prepared for their futures.

The discussion centered around PHSC itself and its plans to always meet the needs of employer expectations, and what those employers are looking for, especially in any management-level hire.

“We look a lot at culture,’’ Clouser said, when it comes to hiring well-rounded employees. “There are a lot of studies that show that highly-engaged employees deliver better results. In healthcare, that means better outcomes for our patients.”

PHSC Beard WEB
Dr. Timothy Beard

Others on the panel suggested developing passion, a capacity to connect to others, as well as resilience, while debating whether such things can be taught.

“Grit and perseverance, which in my mind can get you through anything,’’ said Hetzler-Nettles. “I think it can be taught to both adults and children.”

Those in hiring positions, though, are not only looking for engaging personalities and leadership, they most often require experience. By engaging the community and developing relationships in the private sector, PHSC leaders hope to help create those bridge opportunities for students.

“We are really trying to connect those students from Day One with employers,’’ Dr. Beard said.

Those who have completed internships, mentorship programs and worked full- or part-time with companies in their field of study will have a leg up on the competition, the panelists agreed.

“A key is getting students out to experiences,’’ Hetzler-Nettles said, which she said will result in referrals and references. “It’s all about making connections. We all need cheerleaders and champions.”

Those new to the workforce also need to “manage expectations,’’ Allen said, adding that sometimes, that high-paying job isn’t there right away. But, it should not dissuade employees from working their way through a company. “It’s okay to start at the bottom.”

The panel also discussed how social media can both assist and be a detriment to students and graduates looking to enter the workforce. On the one hand, Facebook, Twitter, et al., can sharpen a person’s “brand,” but executed poorly, can depreciate it as well.

“It’s a double-edged sword,’’ Lenners said. “(Social media) can be your friend and/or your enemy.”

Clouser also noted that social media is an extension of one’s brand, but if that consists of photos of prospective employees, “wearing low-cut clothing or drinking and smoking at a party,” it can sink many employment opportunities. “We will look (at social media),’’ Clouser said.

Dr. Feltwell offered some of the best, and simplest advice — stressing caution.

“Make sure it (your social media) says what you want it to say,’’ he said.

Dr. Beard’s inauguration ceremony will be held on Friday, May 6 at the PHSC West Campus in New Port Richey.

For additional information about Pasco Hernando State College, visit PHSC.edu.

Hunter’s Green Kids Plant Flowers & Memories For Nick Wolf

Nick Wolf
Nick Wolf passed away last year at the age of 11, but his memory will live on in many forms, including through a butterfly garden planted at Hunter’s Green Elementary.

Nick Wolf loved butterflies. His parents, Christina and Jim, raised them in the family’s patio garden. He and his younger brother Scott learned almost everything about them, and loved to share little tidbits of information about butterflies whenever they had the chance.

Last year, as a brain tumor ravaged the fifth-grader’s body, but never his spirit, and the end was near, Christina told Nick that when his time came, to remember to send messages from heaven via butterflies.

Thanks to almost 70 former and current students, teachers, friends and family, some of those message-carrying butterflies may actually land in a perfectly manicured garden behind Hunter’s Green Elementary, where Nick attended school.

Teacher Cheryl Pahl led a contingent of earnest gardeners on April 9 in building and planting the Nick Wolf Memorial, a butterfly garden behind the school near its athletics track just off Cross Creek Blvd.

Christina planted the ceremonial first plant, a pentas, as Jim and Scott looked on.

“I know this is how he would want to be remembered,’’ she said.

Pahl has not only spent the past 15 years helping children to grow in her role as one of the gifted class teachers at HGE, she has done a pretty good job in school’s garden as well. Tomatoes, beans, and kale — lots of kale — have sprung forth from a dozen or so raised beds she and her students monitor (and steal a healthy treat or two from on occasion).

Pahl said she was honored to help plant some memories for those who knew Nick. Built with money left over from last year’s fifth-grade fund raiser, the garden was tilled and ready to go when friends and family showed up at HGE on Saturday morning.

butterfly nick wolf sign“He just knew how to light up a room,’’ said Alexa Trafficante, a former math and science teacher at HGE who taught Nick in the fourth grade. “He always came in with a joke to tell you. He even had a smile if it was the day after a chemo treatment. That’s why I think a butterfly garden is the best way to show our love for him.”

Nick was experiencing headaches and nausea in May of 2011 when Christina took him to the doctor. In just a week after that first visit, as Nick continued suffering from unbearable pain, he was diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) on the right side of his brain and headed into surgery, followed by months of radiation and chemotherapy. He spent 89 straight days in the hospital.

“All he wanted to do was get back to school,’’ Christina recalled.

Although he suffered permanent hair loss after six rounds of chemotherapy and 31 radiation treatments, Nick appeared to be winning his battle. “Yes, he got some stares, but that didn’t bother him at all,” Christina said.

In September of 2014, an MRI showed no indication of cancer. However, a few months later, Christina said, the tumor had returned. Nick also was fighting hemolytic anemia, an abnormal breakdown of red blood cells in which they are destroyed and removed from the bloodstream, a condition likely caused by the amount of chemotherapy he received.

butterfly wolf family copyMaxed out on radiation treatments, there was sadly little left for Nick to do.

“Nick was a fighter,’’ Christina said. “After he found out it came back, he cried for a bit but he said, ‘I’m not giving up.’”

Nick continued to talk about the future. He wanted to buy his own laptop when he got older. He wanted to know what kind of car he was going to get. The fact that he continued to press on with such a devastating tumor amazed doctors.

Christina took him to school to exchange valentines at HGE in 2015. She says Nick was able to complete many of the items on his bucket list — he swam with dolphins, rode on a motorcycle, served as an honorary team captain for the USF baseball team and got to go on a Disney Cruise with his family.

He was still fighting and defying the odds, until on April 12 of last year, following a seven-hour seizure, he slipped into an unconscious state. He survived another month before finally passing away at age 11 on Mother’s Day.

“Aside from that last month, even knowing what his condition was, he always had a smile on his face,’’ Christina says. “He just had an amazing attitude.”

butterfly alexa and claire shoemakerThat is what many who helped plant the butterfly garden will remember about Nick, and why so many showed up to help.

To attract monarch butterflies, the gaggle of gardeners planted plenty of milkweed, which is the only thing monarch butterflies eat, Paul said.

The group also planted plumbago and cassia, a flowering tree that attracts caterpillars. “If the caterpillars eat the tree, and it has yellow flowers, the caterpillars will be yellow,’’ Pahl said.

Parsley, dill and penstemon were also planted, all of which are feeding plants for caterpillars, as well as butterfly weed.

Pahl hopes to add a citrus tree, since butterflies like to lay eggs on citrus trees.

A brief ceremony followed the planting. A plaque with Nick’s name on it was placed in the garden, and butterflies were released by Christina into the sky. Most of them headed right for the fresh plants. Others landed on giggling children who had helped plant the garden.

Some, Christina likes to think, may have even been carrying messages.

 

Stories & Laughs A Perfect Mix For The First PHSC History Fair

History_Fair4
Author Madonna Wise (seated, right) signs copies of her book, Images of America: Wesley Chapel, at the first PHSC History Fair on March 31.

Quinn Porter Miller and Stephanie Black shared amusing and poignant stories about their families, steeped in Wesley Chapel ranching history. James Touchton showed off a few of the jewels of his massive collection of Florida maps. And, on a night devoted to local history, librarian Angelo Liranzo showed how to find out even more about it by searching the internet.

If that wasn’t enough to satisfy the taste buds of the 50 or so history buffs in attendance in the conference center on Mar. 31, local author Madonna Wise brought homemade cookies for those who attended.

Wise was the inspiration for the first annual Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) History Fair, a successful event at the school’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch on Mansfield Blvd.

Wise, the first speaker of the night and author or Images of America: Wesley Chapel, originally approached new PHSC Porter Campus Provost Bonnie Clark about launching her new book on campus. From that idea sprouted an even bigger one.

“When we saw what was in the book and the amount of history she had dug up…we thought we should wrap it around something bigger,’’ said Clark, who is already looking forward to the second History Fair next year.

Wise began the night by sharing some of the history she uncovered in writing her book, a 128-page collection featuring hundreds of photos and stories shared by longtime local residents whose grandparents and great grandparents helped settle the area.

She told the audience, “When my publisher (Arcadia Publishing/History Press) first asked me to write a book on Wesley Chapel, I said, ‘I don’t think there’s any history to write about.”

But, Wise found there actually was a lot of history to write about, and the families of Miller and Black lived through much of it. Miller, whose brother and founder of the Wiregrass Foundation J.D. Porter was in attendance, shared a handful of anecdotes about her grandfather, James H. “Wiregrass” Porter, and talked lovingly of his generosity and care of Wiregrass Ranch. (Wise notes in her book that James H. Porter got the nickname “Wiregrass” from Dade City Buick dealer Ed Madill, who would send him a box of matches every Christmas to burn the wiregrass on his ranch.)

Miller choked up when telling the story about her father Don attending the University of Mississippi on a baseball scholarship, where he was an All-American, and how after he graduated, “Wiregrass” Porter paid the university back for Don’s scholarship.

She said the quickly growing developments on her family’s land, where she grew up, is sometimes a bittersweet thing to observe, both “wonderful and sad at the same time.”

Miller also said that she wishes her grandfather, who passed away in 2003, could have seen what his land, and the surrounding Wesley Chapel area, has become.

“I don’t know that anyone could have known how the area would grow,’’ she said.

Black’s grandfather, Lonnie Tucker, was a close friend and hunting buddy of “Wiregrass” Porter. For those who called Tucker, “the meanest man in Pasco County,” Black quipped, “they should have seen my grandmother.”

Tucker apparently did have a soft side, however. Black said when she was in the fourth grade, she volunteered to bring food to a school function, and she asked her hardscrabble farer of a grandfather if he could give her two large watermelons. He asked what time she needed them, and showed up to her school with two large watermelons…and a truck loaded with smaller ones for anyone who wanted one.

Considering the theme of the night was mostly frontier-era Wesley Chapel, the internet connection failing during Liranzo’s presentation was cause for a few chuckles. But, once connected, Liranzo showed the crowd how to access, as an example, digitized versions of Dade City going back to 1912.

Summing up the night perfectly for many of the older members of the crowd, Liranzo said, “It’s history for me, but these are all memories for those who grew up in Pasco County.”