Almost 200 UF scholarship recipients to graduate this spring
April 22, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thanks to the Florida Opportunity Scholars Program, Jessica Amato will become a teacher, and she’s graduating without student loans.
Amato, 21, will receive a degree in elementary education from the University of Florida on May 1. She is among the first class of 189 Florida Opportunity Scholars to graduate. Commencement ceremonies at UF will be held the weekend of April 30 to May 2 with several others later in May.
“Without the scholarship program, I don’t think that I would have been able to go to a university like this one because huge loans on a teacher’s salary are not a good combination,” she said.
The UF program provides full tuition, room and board to qualified students whose families earn $40,000 or less and who are the first in their families to attend college. Thirty-one recipients graduated before this spring.
“I believe we have been successful in meeting the goal of the FOS,” said Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF vice president of student affairs. “We have provided very talented first-generation students from low-income homes the opportunity to attend UF and reach their dreams. These students are bright, resilient and have a great appreciation for education.”
Amato said she chose education as her major because she had influential teachers in her life that helped her get to where she is today.
“If I could have that kind of impact on one student in my entire career, I know it will be my best. I want to work with low-income populations and give them the fair chance that they deserve at success,” she said.
Amato, whose hometown is Largo, said being a Gator and graduating with a degree from UF means a lot to her.
“It means being part of a global community of educated people who are changing the world day by day,” she said.
She credits her strong spiritual foundation and gratitude for the scholarship program for her success at UF.
After graduation, Amato will go on a mission trip to Paris for six weeks with the Campus Crusade for Christ. Afterwards, she will return to Gainesville to pursue her master’s degree in education at UF.
Amato is one of 7,631 students who are expected to walk in the commencement ceremonies, based on the number of caps and gowns ordered through the UF Bookstore as of Wednesday. This semester, 5,874 undergraduate and 2,437 graduate students applied for degrees. The latter number doesn’t include professional degrees.
Commencement ceremonies for undergraduates in 12 colleges will occur April 30, May 1 and May 2 at the University Auditorium, O’Connell Center and Phillips Center for Performing Arts.
Gina Delores Lewis, Kamali-Ann Burke, Anthony B. Fowler Jr., Bryan D. Griffin, Jason H. Atterman and Jeremy Alexis Magrudar will be recognized as Outstanding Student Leaders during the commencement ceremonies.
A universitywide ceremony for all advanced degrees, including master’s and doctoral, will be held May 1 in the O’Connell Center. Five individuals will receive honorary doctorates during this ceremony: Lourdes Arizpe, Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Howard Lance, Arnold Mesches and Stanley Drucker. Also doctoral mentoring awards will go to these UF professors: Mary Brownell, education; Fan Ren, engineering; James Sheppard, liberal arts and sciences; Debbie Treise, journalism and communications; and Carolyn Tucker, liberal arts and sciences.
Professional degree ceremonies will be held April 30 for the College of Pharmacy, May 14 for the Levin College of Law, May 21 for the College of Dentistry, May 22 for the College of Medicine and May 29 for the College of Veterinary Medicine.
For more information visit http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement, or contact Donna Stricker at 352-392-1311 or donnas@ufl.edu.