USF Orientation News & Announcements

Ashlee Boyd, a member of the 2010 OTL team, is currently a District Coordinator for A Quantum Leap Tutoring and Educational Consultation. She is a student coordinator for two Leadership and Civic Engagement organizations (BSB and LEAD Week) and very involved in the Tampa Bay community.

She is certified in CPR and First Aid for both children and adults and has also completed 40 hours childcare training with the Department of Children and Families. She has 6 years of experience in a variety of positions within the field of Education. Her abundant experience with children from infancy to age 16 has grown her passion for education throughout the years.

She was an Assistant Director of an After-school program, Pre-school teacher, substitute teacher and a SES tutor. Working with children is a passion of hers. Her love for children and their success, keep her motivated to help each student reach their greatest potential.

Ms. Boyd is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at the University of South Florida. She has an AA degree from Hillsborough Community College of which she obtained in December 2009.

Being an Orientation Team Leader helped build her leadership and people skills. After the summer, she has thrived in her current job because she now realizes that knowledge is power. She strives to know all she can and enjoys making a difference. As an OTL she feels as though she was able to make an impact, and throughout her life making a positive impact in society is her ultimate goal. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology she plans to attend graduate school and work towards a Master’s degree within the field of Education.

Shannon Wilde, a member of the 2010 OTL team, is in the process of making a lot of big plans for her future. Within the next two weeks she will be finalizing her plans to study abroad in Argentina for a semester. She will be living in a homestay where she can practice her Spanish speaking skills and hopefully become fluent by the time she returns to the States. During her Orientation experience, she really started to figure out what her true passions are. The OTL experience helped confirm her desire to major in International Business. She is hopeful that her semester in Argentina will be a helpful addition to her major.

After the summer, she started a job as a student assistant in the Office of the Provost. In this position, she works with the Provost’s administrative assistant to organize his calendar. She coordinates his appointments, plans his travel itinerary, and helps wherever else needed. The Provost works a lot with international affairs, so she has gotten to work alongside that department, providing valid work experience for her future. In October, Shannon had the chance to meet Prince Turki Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia. She says that was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences she has ever had!

Being an OTL greatly helped Shannon find many of the resources that brought her to where she is today. She learned a lot about what is available to her when it was her job to teach incoming students about what USF has to offer. Shannon says that, “it was definitely an invaluable experience.”

Matt Diaz was a 2008 Orientation Team Leader. The experience taught him many useful life skills such as “always being 5 minutes early for a meeting,” time management, and helped him to become more outgoing and charismatic.

Since being an OTL he has held many leadership positions, such as USF Amassador, Senate President Protempore, and was just elected as the USF Student Body President. He is an active member in the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and has served as their Senior Marshall of the Standards Board.

One of his most meaningful experiences at USF was when he acted as a site leader for Alternative Spring Break. He says that it, “made [him] appreciate everything [he has] in his life and how fortunate [he is] to be in college.” Matt will be graduating in the spring of 2012 and plans to go on to law school. He is very appreciative towards his former position as an OTL. Being an OTL, “made me love USF and made me feel more like a USF bull.”

Dan Shelnutt was a member of the 2007 Orientation Team Leader and had these insights to share on how the position helped him succeed in his endeavors during his time at the University of South Florida, as well as at the University of South Carolina, where he currently works as a part of the Master’s program.

Regarding the OTL position, Mr. Shelnutt had this to offer:  “The OTL position was my first leadership position on this campus, and to this day, I still consider it the best leadership experience I had the opportunity of holding….I will remember the position most for the confidence I gained.” Mr. Shelnutt further explained what this confidence meant to him by stating that it gave him the “confidence to speak in front of people, confidence to show my Bull Pride, and confidence to lead.”

After being offered the OTL position, Mr. Shelnutt assured himself of his school spirit and ability to relate to others and was more than excited to share this with incoming students. After his OTL summer Mr. Shelnutt stated that he reached a turning point in his undergraduate experience and used his newfound confidence to serve as a Resident Assistant for 3 years, as well as having the honor of being one of the first Senior RA’S. He also became a 3-term SG Senator and chaired the finance committee for 2 terms.

After graduating in the Spring of 2010, Mr. Shelnutt was accepted to attend the University of South Carolina, where his passion for working with first-year students is now part of his education as a first year Masters’ Student in Higher Education and Student Affairs.