Apart from being an Adjunct Instructor for the College of Computer & Information Technology Department, Gary Abernethy is also a member of the CCIT Advisory Committee. Prior to serving on the committee, Abernethy was a high school teacher for 7 years and a full-time employee for SPC for over 7 years. He is currently the Director of Education and Training Technology at SRI International. Describing his hopes for the advisory committee in the upcoming year, Abernethy said that his goal is to use the skills he has acquired through SRI to contribute to the mission of St. Petersburg College.

“I want to offer insight from the real world and incorporate aspects of what I learned from the industry,” he said. To expand his involvement with SPC, he sought ways to volunteer and contribute to the Computer Science department. During his quest, he was told about the CCIT Advisory Committee by Amy Brush, Career Pathways/Workforce Specialist for Student Affairs in EpiServices. He then contacted Dr. Sharon Setterlind, Dean of the CCIT department, and she invited him to join the advisory committee.

Throughout his first year on the committee, Abernethy hopes to “offer his real world experience from SRI and instill awareness of current technological advances and try to fashion the curriculum and course offerings to it.” He said that at this point since no goals or initiatives are defined, the committee is focused on implementing its structure and assigning tasks to members, defining roles and honing in on what needs to be of focus.

In the future, Abernethy hopes to continue to offer insight into the needs of the business community and keep things relevant and current.