Florida Studies Alumni

Jennifer Aldrich

Jennifer Aldrich grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and moved to the Tampa Bay area in 2002. She graduated from Eckerd College in 2005 with a BA in Visual Arts in the PEL program. As a professional photographer she has taught photography to children at several local institutions such as the Arts Center and Melrose Elementary.

Jennifer lives in the Old Southeast neighborhood of St. Petersburg and enjoys the cultural diversity and history it has to offer. When she is not hitting the books for the Florida Studies program she can be found biking or kayaking on the waterfront. Jennifer is involved with the arts community and an environmental activist. Her appreciation for Florida led her to pursue her graduate degree in Florida Studies with the intention of creating a photo documentary and creating a career in the arts.

Hope Black

Hope Black (ne Levy) graduated as an Interior Design major with an Associate in Applied Science from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1955. Throughout the next four decades she raised four children, worked as a market research analyst, and pursued a B.A. in History at Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, taking one course a semester. Upon establishing residency in Florida in 2001, she enrolled in USF-Sarasota to complete the degree in History in 2004. An abiding interest in her adopted state, its history, political issues and environmental concerns led her to the Florida Studies Program. Hope graduated in 2007 and worked as an Archivist for the History Center of Sarasota County.

Now that she is retired, Hope continues to lecture occasionally on aspects Florida history. She is currently auditing literature courses at the University of South Florida. She and her husband, Robert, enjoy watching old movies, listening to music and walking in quiet undiscovered places in Florida. They treasure visits with their growing family and caring for three pets, two cats and a dog, all rescued and in need of loving care.

Adam Carozza

"It's never too late to learn."

Adam Carozza retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2001 and graduated “Magna Cum Laude" from the University of South Florida in 2003. Always interested in social history and the preservation of local heritage, Adam decided the Florida Studies Program was the next logical step and completed his master’s degree in 2009.

Currently, Adam teaches Global Perspective, American History, and Florida History at Saint Leo University, as well as high school world history online with the Florida Virtual School. When Adam is not at work or grading papers, you can find him at the local art gallery or playing his trumpet with the community concert band.

Originally from Astoria, New York, Adam now calls New Port Richey home. He is active in his adopted community through the Richey Concert Band (member since 1997); West Pasco African-American Club after school program; West Pasco Historical Society (Vice President); Florida Historical Society (member); and Historic Preservation Board, City of New Port Richey. Adam also shared his passion for the history of his adopted city with a published pictorial work, Images of America: New Port Richey (Arcadia Publishing, 2004).

Michelle Hoffman

Being married to a Tampa native means one will eventually return to the Bay area. So in the summer of 1999, Michelle and husband left Atlanta to a make significant career changes. For her, the change meant going from corporate director to high school teacher. While working toward her state certification, she realized that graduate school needed to be a part of her development as a teacher.

So in 2003, she was awarded a James Madison Memorial Foundation Senior Fellowship that opened doors never imagined. As part of her Madison requirement, Michelle studied last summer at Georgetown University focusing on constitutional theory and development. Next to the academic rigor, the highlight of the experience was the afternoon she spent with retiring US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Monica Rowland Kile

I’m a native Floridian, born in Fernandina Beach and raised in Jacksonville. After receiving my BS in Communication degree from Florida State, I moved to Europe where I worked in a youth hostel in Switzerland and for a tour guide company in Germany.

Upon my return to the States I worked as a Tour Director, taking groups on tours around the U.S., and as a tour guide in St. Augustine, Fl. I entered the Florida Studies Program to explore avenues for heritage tourism in Florida. I now work full time for the Florida Humanities Council.

Nevin Sitler

"Support your community: Volunteer"

GI Bill in hand and adventure in his blood, Nevin Sitler - kayaker, student, and former Air Force firefighter - became a Floridian in 1995. The Sunshine State's complex and colorful history has captivated and educated him since.

Nevin received his B.A in Political Science from USF St. Petersburg in early 2004. Since enrolling in the Florida Studies Program later the same year, Nevin has provided historical review and consultation for several Florida-themed books. He recently had an article, "Passages From Ft. Brooke," published in Cigar City Magazine.

Graduating among the top 10% of his class in December 2006, Nevin provides historical writings, review and editing, both in print and electronically. In addition to webmastering for the St. Petersburg Museum of History, Nevin is currently working with several authors on a forthcoming Florida historical guidebook. Nevin can be reached at NSitler@gmail.com.

Terry Tomalin

“Enrolling in the Florida Studies Program was the best professional move I ever made. It made me a better journalist and writer.”

Terry Tomalin is the Outdoors & Fitness editor for the St. Petersburg Times. He began his journalism career in 1983 as an investigative reporter for several small Florida newspapers where he covered everything from law enforcement to the Ku Klux Klan.

Terry received his Master’s degree in Florida Studies in 2010. One class project led to an investigative series that won a national journalism award and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting by the St. Petersburg Times.

A dedicated waterman, Terry became interested in primitive open ocean travel during a year long trip to New Zealand and Australia. He has since paddled an outrigger canoe from Florida to the Bahamas to prove that Florida's first inhabitants could have crossed the Gulf Stream in human powered watercraft. His interest in the Pre-Columbian maritime tradition also prompted him to explore 100 miles of the Gulf Coast in a handmade dugout sailing canoe. Tomalin hopes to someday paddle from Florida to Cuba.

When Tomalin isn't pursuing Florida history, he can usually be found camping with his boy scout troop. An avid open-water swimmer, Tomalin started the Annual Frogman Swim across Tampa Bay held each January to raise money for the families of wounded Navy SEALs.

Jon Wilson

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A Scottsbluff, Neb., native, Jon Wilson has lived in St. Petersburg since 1956. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and has worked for Times Publishing Co. newspapers for 35 years.

Jon graduated in December 2009.

Edward Woodward

Edward Woodward is a former reporter for several daily and weekly newspapers, ranging from the Gadsden County Times to The Tampa Tribune. He also worked for the Florida Park Service as a member of AmeriCorps.

A native of Quincy, Florida, he now lives in Tampa with his family, which includes a cat that comes calling to the theme song of Sanford and Son.