You can now call St. Petersburg College graduate Matt Blasi “Dr. Blasi,” as he just finished his Ph.D. program at Louisiana State University and accepted a tenure-track position teaching English at Centenary College of Louisiana.
Blasi, who graduated from SPC in the summer of 2006, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Florida before attending Rutgers University Camden for a Master of Fine Arts degree, then on to LSU for doctoral studies. His short fiction and essays have appeared in several publications, he was nominated twice for the esteemed Pushcart Prize and is shopping his first novel. He said the biggest reason he started his college career at SPC was because of the faculty, among other things.
“I was familiar with some of the SPC faculty members from their published work,” Blasi said. “I knew of Greg Byrd from his poems and essays, and I wanted the opportunity to learn from him and others in small, teaching-focused classes. SPC provided a sense of belonging and community. I made many life-long friends among both peers and faculty, and constantly felt motivated and encouraged to achieve academic success.”
Blasi also credits SPC faculty for launching his transfer to his bachelor’s and MFA programs.
“Faculty wrote letters of recommendation, advised me on how to navigate applications and deadlines, and helped me understand how expectations and demands would shift as I advanced into higher degrees,” he said. “That kind of professional support – even ten years after I graduated SPC – is priceless.”
SPC Professor Dr. Greg Byrd was one of Blasi’s professors who wrote a letter of recommendation to Blasi’s Ph.D. program. He said Blasi is a testament to what is possible at St. Petersburg College.
“Coming from a rough part of Pasco County, Matt did not have a preordained trajectory, but when he began classes, he soon crafted a vision of what he wanted to achieve: to be a writer and to teach at the college level,” Byrd said. “Students like Matt know that the road is not always easy, but hard work leads us forward.”
Blasi offered some advice for current SPC students: build strong professional relationships with faculty; keep course loads reasonable, limit outside working hours, and begin long-term planning towards the end of the first year of school. But there was one more bit he offered.
“Study what you love,” he said. “You’re much more likely to find personal and professional success if you’re actively studying something about which you’re passionate.”
