May 22nd, 2025

My Academic Mentors

Now feels like the perfect time to talk about those who helped develop me at Pasco-Hernando State College. Not because it's been a year since I graduated with my second degree from there, but because the president whom I pride myself on knowing is leaving only after 15 months.

I met Dr Jesse Pisors when he transferred from Vice President at Texas A&M University - San Antonio and became the 5th President at Pasco-Hernando State College. He had candid conversations with students to learn about the culture at PHSC and how he could be the best fit for us and how he could fit into the school itself. He showed up to events hosted not only by our Student Life team, but also by our student leaders. He truly cared about the students. Hearing about him resigning has me heartbroken, because who will take care of these students now?

Because of this, I want to recap on 4 important people who took care of me during my time at PHSC.

The first person I want to start this entry off with is my public speaking professor, whom I had the absolute pleasure of taking during my first semester at PHSC in Fall 2021. On the very first day, Danita Hiles made us all uncomfortable by getting out of our seats and lining up in alphabetical order. We had to talk to each other, and we had to cooperate to figure this out. But truly, this icebreaker that Mrs Hiles has us do was incredibly helpful because I learned, and hopefully the rest of the class learned too, that she was trying to get us to be comfortable with each other and that we're all just people at the end of the day. After that, I felt okay going up in front of the class and giving my introduction speech. These people were all in the same boat as me.

Another thing that Mrs Hiles did for us to get us more comfortable with public speaking was impromptu speeches. On the first day, she had us write 3 things down that we felt like we could just go on and on about. I remember one of mine being the Disney TV show, Gravity Falls. When I was picked that day and she randomly drew my Gravity Falls card, I spoke for the whole 5 minutes I had to, and I could have gone longer.

This exercise is something I want to bring back as I develop my leadership skills at the University of South Florida. From this class, I've spoken at countless events, from awards ceremonies and student life retreats to pageants and vigils. Outside of class, Mrs Hiles has always been so supportive of her students, past and present. I saw her at both of my graduations from PHSC, and she was so excited to see me both times. Outside of that, she was actually one of the advisors for our honor society, Phi Theta Kappa. I've recommended her to multiple friends who needed to take public speaking, and on Rate My Professor, she has a perfect 5 out of 5 score, which is well deserved. Without her, I don't think I would have had the communication skills that made my Student Government Presidency as effective as it was.

The next person I want to highlight as one of my academic mentors is the wonderful Dealaney Allen. Without Dealaney, I would not have been as successful as president. She introduced me to the Florida College System of Student Government Association (FCSSGA), which helped me learn how other institutions were running their SGAs. I met valuable people and made many memories with my friends on these trips, all with Dealaney there to not only drive us to these conferences but also help us further develop our SGA.

Dealaney and I have had many conversations about what I want to do in the future, especially as I got closer to graduation with my second degree. I really found comfort in Dealaney as someone with ADHD, because I could just go to her office and color with her as we discussed plans for the future of SGA and Student Life. I didn't have to put up this mask of being a student leader. I could be myself, and I could stim, and I wasn't afraid to show my true colors. I find it ironic that I say that because for my first Student Life Retreat in 2022, that was the theme.

While I'm mentioning SLR, Dealaney was my first point of contact with the Student Life department. I met her at my first event, Main Event in March 2022, and she told me about the kickball game the following week, SGA, and SLR. Whenever I had questions about SLR, she would always respond to my emails. She never turned me away or turned me down, and she helped me put on the event I'm the most proud of, the Queen of Hearts Ball. Without her, I would not be the person I am today.

I never thought I'd feel as close to an advisor, besides Dealaney, as I do with Joe. Joe also joined us on our FCSSGA trips, and outside of that, he wanted to better us as leaders and community members. He was involved in so many clubs and organizations as a Student Life advisor, including SGA, True Anime and Gaming (TAG), Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), just to name a few. During his time as a student, he was also involved with FBLA, SGA, and Men of Excellence. Because of his experience, he truly cares about the students and wants to make sure they're able to get the full experience out of college.

This photo of us was taken at the 2024 Awards Ceremony, and earlier that night, he made me cry with his speech about me. He has always been so supportive of not just me, but my executive board. He's always made sure we had everything we needed, and was always a space for us to let out our emotions as we progress through our early 20s. He has now switched over to the Career Services department from Student Life, and he has all of our support.

The final person who took care of me is my career coach, Alex. I met Alex when I was visiting another campus an hour away for my school (we had 6 campuses spread across 2 counties). When I met Alex, she asked my boyfriend and me what we wanted to do for our careers. I told her YouTube, and she didn't regard me as crazy.

That was life-changing.

I went on to go to Alex whenever I needed advice and whenever I needed someone. Alex helped me start looking at schools for after PHSC. Then, she had to leave. It was heartbreaking not just to me but to my executive board as well. We went an entire year without her at PHSC, and luckily, we were able to get back in touch with her. She had gone to the University of South Florida, which is where I study now. When I committed to USF in February of 2024, it made me ecstatic that I was going to be working with her again at the same institution. I started as a digital communications major when I joined USF, and then I switched to mass communications with a concentration in video and documentary production. When I saw Alex a year after I committed, she was so excited to see my major.

Alex truly makes me believe in myself. Alex makes me feel like I'm not crazy. YouTube is such a luck-based profession that everyone growing up told me that I needed a backup plan, including my family. But every day, I see people on YouTube following their passions, and I know I have to join that notion. They continue to inspire me.

I will forever be grateful for everything that my academic mentors have done for me. They've shaped me in ways that I never could have imagined, but now that it's happened and I've graduated from Pasco-Hernando State College, I can't thank them enough for who I have grown into since I've met them. They were being themselves, and only now, afterwards, have I realized that they were my mentors throughout my postsecondary education.

Thank you, I am not the same person as I was when I met you, and I'm so grateful for that.

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