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Winter 2000 • A Newsletter for Families of Stetson University Students ♦ Volume VIII ♦ No. 2
AIDS quilt display draws crowd
Though the display in the Edmunds Center was only a few
pieces of the whole, the AIDS quilt attracted a lot of attention
in the DeLand community. More than 300 people came to see
the display sponsored by Stetson's chapter of Circle K International and Common Ground. One hundred-twelve volunteers
randomly read names of those who have tragically lost their
battles with AIDS. The volunteets were accompanied by a flute
quartet of Stetson students including Elizabeth Maresca, New
Port Richey; Maria Hottle, Eustis; Sarah Soisson, Oviedo; and
Katherina Flattich, Freiburg, Germany. Other key student volunteers were Karen Khan,
Jensen Beach; Jenn Czuprynski, Osprey; Jason Croxtin, Palm City; Luis Maldonado,
LaBelle; Katie Dukes, Lake Helen; Sarah Reed, Dade City; Amy Charpentier, Palm City;
faculty volunteer Dr. John Pearson; and Dr. Laura Walters Baskett, univetsity chaplain.
U.S. Sugar Scholar named
Lisa Kay Tifft, DeLand, a senior psychology major, was named this academic year's U.S.
Sugar Corporation Scholar at Stetson University.
Tifft, who will soon start an internship at DeLand's The House Next Door assisting
family counselors, plans to pursue a master's degree in marriage and'family counseling at
Stetson.
The U.S. Sugar Corporation Scholarship Progtam is administered by the Florida
Independent College Fund, a not-for-profit foundation for program and resource
development for the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. The U.S. Sugar
Corporation, based in Clewiston, awarded a $2,800 scholarship to a graduating senior at
each of 26 member schools in the foundation.
Tifft and the other U.S. Sugar Scholars were selected on the basis of academic
standing, grade point average and community involvement.
While at Stetson, Tifft has been active in the "America Reads" program, in which she
tutors Woodward Avenue Elementary School students who are experiencing reading
difficulties.
In nominating Tifft for the scholarship, Stetson officials cited her perseverance in
pursuing her education as a single mother of three whose daughter was ill, requiring
frequent trips to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Each surgery required a two-week stay
in Gainesville and a six-month recuperation period.
"I could not begin to describe the emotional turmoil my children and I endured," Tifft
said. "I was able to continue with my education because of friends and professors. My
professors gave me encouragement and refused to allow me to quit. "
Career Services:
What do we do?
If you ask some people what the role
of the Career Services office is, they
might answer by saying, "That's
where you go to get a job." This
may have been true in the '80s, but
the Career Services Office at Stetson,
located at 609 Bert Fish Drive, has evolved
into a service that assists students in every
stage of the career development process.
Career Services offers students a variety of
programs to assist with a number of career-
related issues, from self-discovery activities
and occupational exploration, to preparation for the job search or graduate study.
The Career Services Office and the
Counseling Center assist students with the
beginning stages of their career development
process. In September 1998, the Peer Career
Center was opened. Its program, a free,
walk-in service operated by professional staff
and trained student volunteers, provides a
variety of self-assessment tools and two state-
of-the- art computerized guidance information systems: SIGI Plus (System of Interactive Guidance Information) and Discover.
These instruments are used to help students
look at how their skills, interests, and values
match up with various occupations. The
objective is not to pigeonhole students into
one particular career, but to help them to
discover careers that best complement their
personal attributes. Students can visit the
center to get more information about the
world of work or graduate or professional
schools by reviewing the library resources
available.
In addition to helping students with the
beginning stages of the career development
process, the Career Services Office assists
students in developing the competencies
necessary to seek internships, summer jobs,
and full- and part-time work opportunities.
The office provides numerous programs
throughout the year to help students
develop their job search skills, such as
resume and cover-letter preparation,
networking, mock interviews, and dining
and business etiquette.
(Continued p. 2)
