Pasco-Hernando State College Volume XII, Issue II - Fall 2018 | Page 5

ATTENDING COLLEGE
What a Concept!
P
HSC’s Concept College continues to influence
local middle and high school students who are
encouraged to engage in the pre-collegiate dropout
prevention program. Many of these students believe college
is unreachable for them, but find a place to belong throug h
Concept College.
Rao Musunuru, M.D., PHSC District Board of Trustees Chair; Elinor
Paladine, CFTB Nature Coast Council; Seton Hengesbach, Nature
Coast Council of CFTB; Denyve Boyle, CFTB; and Greg Lenners,
PHSC Foundation Chair.
“I grew up with a learning disability, and I know firsthand
how hard school is. Thanks to some very good teachers who
identified and helped me persist through difficulties, I did
well in school. Because of the Concept College program
and scholarship, I believed in myself enough to enroll
at PHSC,” Julia E., PHSC Foundation Concept College
Scholarship recipient.
FOUNDATION
NEWS
Student ambassadors
and peer mentors
guide Concept College
participants through
their tour of campus,
giving them a vision
of campus life and
what it is like to be a
college student.
Concept College assists students who are typically
economically disadvantaged, may have disabilities, teen
parents, disciplinary cases, or otherwise non-traditional
students who have little or no expectation of entering or
graduating college. The program helps students transition
their mindset into believing higher education is a realistic
option. Concept College has been successful in encouraging
38 percent of participants to enroll at PHSC. All Pasco
and Hernando high schools are invited to participate in the
program, which reached over 600 students in 2017-18 alone.
This program would not be possible without our partners and
supporters, including the Community Foundation of Tampa
Bay (CFTB), Hernando County Sheriff’s Charities, and the
Wells Fargo Foundation. These organizations, through grant
funding, provide for the program materials and scholarships.
Concept College participants learn about the pharmacy
technician program.
FALL 2018
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