February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month! CTE Month celebrates the value of workforce education programs and how they change lives, fill much-needed jobs and boost our local economy. At St. Petersburg College, we are proud of our programs and our graduates, and in celebration, we’d like to share some of their stories with you.
See how this graduate is living his dream with an Environmental Science degree from SPC.
Dylan Fay
Dylan Fay, 27, graduated from St. Petersburg College in December 2021 with an Associate in Science degree in Environmental Science Technology, with a Water Resource Management subplan. Fay said he had no idea what he wanted to study when he arrived at SPC, but after taking classes in different programs, he found a passion in an Environmental Science class.
“It was the first time anything really clicked that I could see myself studying,” Fay said. “I had a great professor, Dr. Scanlon, who took us out to do hands-on work, and it piqued my interest. I started looking and found that SPC had much more to offer as far as field classes. I took one after another, and they made my educational experience so enjoyable.”
Even though he arrived unsure about his major, SPC was always part of his roadmap to a degree.
“My brother and sister both went to SPC before me,” Fay said. “That was always our plan – to start there and go off to a university.”
What Fay didn’t plan for was a series of hurdles that might have stopped anyone else in their tracks. First, he was working full time and taking a full load of courses at SPC. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic began, which brought its own hardships. Then, Fay had to have surgery that required his jaw to be wired shut for months – just when he was supposed to interview for internships.
“My jaw made it difficult to interview for any internship positions, but I was able to get in contact with SPC’s STEM Center Director, Erica Moulton, and she hired me for an internship as a tortoise researcher. On the very first day, we got a new tortoise, and I got to help release him. It was a very fun experience for the first day.”
Fay earned Stormwater Management Inspector and Water Quality Technician certifications at SPC, which were built into his degree. He said he also worked with photography, documented data and learned how to use all the tools needed to conduct field research. Now at the University of Florida, Fay expects to graduate in the Spring of 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Forest Resource Conservation and Restoration.
“I picked up so many hands-on field research skills and knowledge that have helped me get where I am here in Gainesville,” he said. “Everything I did at SPC translates to what I want to do here.”