Situated on the sunny waterfront and steps from downtown, creating connections and community comes naturally at USF St. Petersburg. For students in the Judy Genshaft Honors College, the campus offers even more opportunities to build relationships and achieve academic success.
Honors students have access to the same interdisciplinary coursework, dedicated Honors faculty, and advising available to students in Tampa, while also taking advantage of opportunities unique to the St. Petersburg campus.
From the interdisciplinary Gulf Scholars Program to community-focused Honors Student Council programing and the hundred-year-old mansion that serves as the Honors home base, St. Petersburg Honors students are building connections with each other and the unique campus they call home.
With a student population of around 4,000, USF St. Petersburg offers a smaller campus environment where students can see the same classmates across courses and activities, creating more opportunities to get to know peers with shared interests.
“The community is really special because it's like the perfect size,” said former St. Petersburg Honors Student Council President Hollie Quackenbush. “It's nice to see the same people and make connections with each other.”
“I really love the Honors community, like everyone,” said Honors student Morgan Rolfs. “There's not a single person that I have met that I haven't had a connection with, whether it's one conversation or having a whole class together.”
It's not only the smaller student population that fosters community, but also the spaces that bring students together. Snell House, a historic 1904 mansion on 2nd Street South, connects Honors students and faculty mentors in an environment that stands apart from a typical classroom or university building.
“We have a great connection with all of the professors that teach the Honors classes, and it's kind of the way that Snell House is set up,” said Honors student Siddarth Bahl. “It's a very cozy kind of house where you can come in, you can do work if you want to or just chat with the staff of the Honors College.”
Making St. Petersburg Home
Outside of Snell House, some Honors students opt to live in the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC) in USF St. Petersburg’s Osprey Hall. There, students have access to unique programming, peer support, and activities with Honors College faculty and staff. Bahl, a resident assistant in the Honors LLC, has seen firsthand how the program helps students adjust to college life.
"It's just a nice, supportive environment to transition these students,” he said. “A lot of them are freshmen, [so we] make sure that they have friends by bringing them to events or even having one-on-one chats.”
Because of the size of both the college and the campus, students have opportunities to forge new paths. A few members of the Honors College, including Quackenbush and Rolfs, have started their own pre-health club on campus, with Bahl taking over a leadership role after their graduation.
“We started a pre-health club together with a couple other amazing students, and I think that’s been a big thing for me: starting it, leading it, and building another community within the St. Pete campus,” Quackenbush said.
Bahl views the interconnectedness of the campus and its students as a major benefit and a key reason he has been able to participate in and take advantage of so many opportunities during college.
“There's just so many other things going on. I work with ResEd in the RA position, and I also work at the USC. ... [I’m] always meeting new people, and I think it's a little bit easier in the same campus because it’s smaller. You'll see the same people every day when you walk to class. So, you'll have the class with the same group of people. And it's nice.”