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mentary school, preferably kindergarten through fifth grade, she notes. “The scholarship I received played a significant role in my choosing USFSM. However, I also loved the idea of going to a university and not having to uproot myself. Staying in my hometown has been wonderful, as I’ve been able to save money as well as spend a lot of time with my family.” She explains that the average 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio at USFSM is wonderful. “It allows relationships to grow between professors and students. It creates a comfort level where you feel ok with asking a professor for help. I also loved that I could walk down the hallway and have professors, the dean, and even the regional chancellor walk past me and address me by name. You just don’t get that at big universities.” Osborn wants more local students to enjoy similar experiences. “We want to provide access to higher education to our entire area and are excited to see how large that number becomes,” he said. “We would like to have quality growth over time while we ensure that each of our students will be successful. We hope that everyone considers USFSM as an option.” Student demand has already created a good problem for the school — it’s in need of additional space. Osborn explains, “We have plans to add a new academic building, specifically for our STEM programs, but in order to meet the current demands we will need the support of everyone in the community. We hope their desire to keep students in this area will translate to the type of support we need to build that facility.” That support might be easier to find than one might expect. Why? Walk into any business or organization in this community and ask how many employees graduated from a USF campus. The response might surprise you: 17,000 USF alumni live or work in our area, and that number is growing each year. As USFSM’s first freshman class graduates and enters the workforce, those alumni will put down roots in this area. “That’s what we hope for,” Osborn admits. “We want to keep our most talented students here, so they can become the next wave of business and community leaders. Our transition allows them to do that.” He adds, “I’d like everyone to encourage young people to consider USFSM for their higher education. Come visit us at an open house. Give us a call. Come walk around our beautiful campus by the bay, or visit our Culinary Innovation Lab in Lakewood Ranch or our laboratory facilities at Mote Marine. Once people hear about our terrific programs and world-class faculty, we know that they will realize how much money they can save by staying local as they fall in love with their university. Our campus is the best place for your long-term success, and we welcome the opportunity to tell you why.” For more information about the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, please visit www.usfsm.edu or call 941.359.4200. MAY 2017 | SCENE 59


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