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Commencement marks a milestone
By DEBORAH O'NEIL, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- Colleen Kelley-Rogers wanted to be sure her family, especially her 17-year-old grandson, would be able to spot her in the crowd of University of South Florida St. Petersburg graduates. So Kelley-Rogers, who received a bachelor's degree in education, festooned her mortarboard with a paper apple topped with a multicolored pinwheel. Family members -- and everyone else at Sunday's graduation ceremony at the Mahaffey Theater -- could not miss her among the university's 320 graduates. Smiling and laughing after the ceremony, the future elementary teacher said she was "in my mid 50s." It took her seven years to finish her degree. "My grandson is here," Kelley-Rogers said. "He graduates next year from high school, so I said I have to get out of college before you graduate from high school." Sunday's ceremony marked a milestone for the St. Petersburg institution as members of the first freshman class graduated. Four years ago, the school began admitting students for lower-level course work. Among the graduates were Tina Kerti, who did all of her course work in St. Petersburg, and Bethany Cravin, who did all but one of her classes there. "This is a most significant event in the history of our campus," said Bill Heller, USF St. Petersburg vice president. USF President Judy Genshaft also highlighted what she described as the campus' "extraordinary development." Enrollment, she said, has grown 55 percent in five years. Forty-two new faculty members have been added, and the first student housing is expected to open in fall 2003. Pinellas County's Teacher of the Year, Jane Charland of Ozona Elementary, was recognized during the ceremony. To graduates such as Kelley-Rogers heading into the classroom, she said, "You have your work cut out for you."
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