Welcome to Bulls by the Bay, your weekly update from USF St. Petersburg. Today is Monday, June 16, 2025. I’m Caryn Nesmith, Director of Community Relations, giving you the latest news from our vibrant waterfront campus. You may think that in higher education, we take the summer off, but our campus is buzzing with summer activity. Whether it’s summer courses, groundbreaking research, strategic planning retreats or the laughter of campers echoing across campus, there’s never a dull moment. With regards to summer campus, last week saw the start of the “She Draws” organized by STEMXposure and sponsored by Turner Construction; USF Recreation’s Camp Rocky, or the USF Office of Youth Experience’s SAT Summer Institute. We also have the Florida Fantasy Fishing Camp, which we have on campus every year. Additionally, many of our newest Bulls were on campus for Orientation sessions last week. Lots of youth create a special kind of energy in the air. You can learn more about our campus by searching for USF summer camps.

https://www.usf.edu/innovative-education/yxp/summer-camps/usf-stpete-summer-camps.aspx

Last week, we also held our quarterly Campus Advisory Board meeting which highlighted the great work happening across our university. Among the highlights was hearing from student Oliver Laczko, an Environmental Science and Policy in his senior year who also served last year as the chair of the campus’ Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF). The Student Green Energy Fund chooses sustainability projects to implement on campus and is funded by student fees. Oliver shared the innovative sustainability projects he and his team have championed in the last year, including an industrial composter to divert food waste, a beach restoration project, a food forest and more. Sustainability is a core value at USF St. Petersburg, and our students are leading the way in building a greener future.

https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/about/sustainability/green-energy-fund/

Another program highlighted was the Innovation Scholars program, which pairs first-year students with job shadowing opportunities throughout the community. The program, now in its sixth year, and program coordinator Rita Zweifel described how the program helps with student retention and graduation rates. Through the Innovation Scholars, first year students hit the ground running in testing out new career experiences and meeting professional mentors who can inform their academic and future career decisions. We are always looking for mentors in the community. You can search for USF Innovation Scholars to find out how to sign up.

https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/student-life/career-center/students/innovation-scholars.aspx

Professor Zafer Unal from the College of Education wowed us with a passionate and high-energy presentation at the campus advisory board on how he’s using artificial intelligence to empower faculty in new and innovative ways. Dr. Unal launched an online website last fall that is a platform featuring more than 2000 tools that help educators use artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance learning. His website, TeacherServer.com provides free AI tools to assist planning, assessment, preparation, research and more. There are currently more than two million users of the site, who are primarily K-12 teachers and college faculty members. Zafer was recently named Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies within the College, and his data-driven approach will no doubt help elevate student success. We’re lucky to have his expertise and vision! .

https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/news/2024/professor-creates-popular-online-ai-platform.aspx

And that’s all for this week’s Bulls By the Bay Weekly News Update. I’m Caryn Nesmith, signing off till next week. Have a great week folks.