The first $1,000 funds raised for this project will be doubled thanks to Stephanie Gannett (B.S. '18), a recent FSU grad from Bradenton (Manatee High grad), who has graciously committed a $1,000 matching gift towards the Manatee Seminole Club Endowment Fund. Follow Stephanie's leadership by donating today!
The Manatee Seminole Club is one of more than 90 local Seminole Clubs and Chapters throughout the nation. The Club was founded in 1984 and serves to create and maintain a network of alumni, fans, and friends of Florida State University in Manatee County and surrounding areas, by supporting the academic and athletic achievements of the school, its students, and student athletes. We are an extension of the Florida State University Alumni Association and the Seminole Boosters.
We currently have more than 2,500 Florida State alumni in Manatee County and have previously been recognized as Seminole Club of the Year by the FSU Alumni Association.
The Manatee Seminole Club’s endowed scholarship provides FSU with a permanent asset from which students receive support. Since 2010, our club has awarded almost $75,000 in scholarships to Manatee County grads attending Florida State. Thanks to your support of our programs, events, and sales we are able to fill this need. If you would like to make a donation directly to our scholarship, then please do so above. No donation is too small or big.
The Manatee Seminole Club Board has generously offered to match up to $2,500 of funds raised for this project.
Thank you letters from past recipients
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
I would like this opportunity to thank you for your generosity in funding my scholarship. I am extremely honored to be a recipient of this reward, yet again. This scholarship will help me continue my studies at The Florida State University. I am writing to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for making this possible.
I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in Elementary Education with hopes ofbecoming an Elementary School teacher. I have always had an interest in education and becoming a teacher. I participated in numerous tutoring, summer school, after-school programs, and camps throughout middle and high school. While in high school, I was very active in after school activities. I was in Key Club (Community Service Organization) and Future Business Leaders of American for three years. I was also in Drama club and was co-editor and photographer for the school yearbook. My passion for helping others and being involved has notstopped, at FSU I am a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity, and part of Delta Nu Zeta, FSU’s first local sorority. But that is not all; I was also a Hall Ambassador, a Homecoming volunteer, a mentor with Youth Mentor Programs, part of the Student Alumni Association, the Seminole Student Boosters, and the Freshman Leadership Council.
This past semester was my first semester in the Elementary Education program in the College of Education, and it was definitely one for the books. I expected to enjoy my field placement, but I did not imagine that I would get attached to the students as fast as I did. I even cried during my last day there. The most rewarding aspect of this semester was being able to see students who were struggling at the beginning, now being able to work by themselves and understand the material. One of the students who had always gotten below average grades in reading and math, recently received a B on one of their math assignments and had gained the confidence to raise their hand more during class. Those are the moments for which I want to be a teacher. I want to be able to make a difference in the lives of children and let them know that they are worth more than they can imagine. With your help, I know I will be able to make this possible one day. With students, a single word of encouragement can make the difference as well as patience.
Thank you once again for your generous contribution. The financial assistance you are providing will be of great help to me in paying my educational expenses and allow me to concentrate more on making this difference, one child at a time. I promise you I will work extremely hard and give something back to others, both as a teacher and as a person. With this, I want to thank you, the members of the Manatee Seminole Club for making my dreams come true.
Sincerely,
Maria Laura Ramirez
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
Thank you so much for the scholarship. This is my third year receiving the scholarship. It goes towards buying books for my major. In Fall 2018, I got into the Elementary Education Combined Bachelors and Master program. The first semester in the program is known to be the hardest which I quickly found out is true. However, I transitioned well, and I excelled in the courses. In the Fall semester, I was placed in Greensboro Elementary school, and observed a 1st grade class. I learned a lot during my time there. I was there every Wednesday for the whole day. I observed, taught, tutored, and played with the students. My time there made me even more excited to have my own classroom one day. I just started the Spring 2019 semester. I will find out my placement soon, and I hope I will get to be in a 4th or 5th grade class. I want to say thank you again for the scholarship, and I am looking forward to this new semester.
Sincerely,
Danielle Gray
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
Hello, this is Ashton Johnson, and I just wanted to say thank you again for your support of my journey at FSU! I finished my first semester with a 4.0 GPA as part of the University Honors program. I rushed Gamma Phi Beta, and through that I have gotten involved in their Public Relations committee, our Girls on the Run philanthropy, and our Dance Marathon team. I became part of the Relay Tribe of FSU, which is a group of freshmen who encourage participation in Relay for Life and work as a team to raise awareness for the cause. I applied for and received a position as a University Ambassador, and I am currently going through training for that. Through this job, I will be giving campus tours and working in the visitor’s center and telecommunications office to help incoming students through the application process. All in all, I absolutely love it here at FSU and am so thankful for organizations like Manatee Noles to help me through these four years.
Sincerely,
Ashton Johnson
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
Hello, My first semester at FSU has been great and I've had some of the best experiences here in Tallahassee. I am in the honors program and I started with so many credit hours that I've been able to dive right into my majors (I am double-majoring in psychology and criminology) so I'm really enjoying my classes. I've had the opportunity to get involved in a few extracurricular activities, such as the psychology-based club National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and a new tutoring program that's starting up this semester. The most exciting news is that I will be beginning a teaching position in the fall for one of the honors classes and I can't wait to get started with that. One of the best parts of being in college is the people you get to meet. My
roommate and I became best friends almost instantly and I have several other close friends who I spend a lot of time with exploring Tallahassee. I love the city! There's so much to do!
Sincerely,
Devon Kramer
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
I am writing to thank you for your very generous $1000 Manatee County Seminole Club scholarship. I was in disbelief when I received the call notifying me that I had been chosen as a recipient of your scholarship; after all, this was the first time I had actually been awarded a scholarship.
I am a starting freshman majoring in Biomedical Engineering (BME) with plans of dual majoring in Japanese during my junior and senior years. I plan on initially focusing on the prosthetics aspect of BME, then moving on to the more micro aspect of BME at the cellular level and see what can get done there. I plan on finishing a five year major in four years with AP credits and summer classes my first year. If all goes well, the summer term will put me on track to finish in four years, freeing up two summers for internships that relate to my major. Following my time at FSU, I plan on attending graduate school to earn my PhD and go on to conducting research for either a university or a private institution.
By awarding me the Manatee County Seminole Club scholarship, you have aided greatly in making my financial burden almost nothing, which is not only a good thing for me, but my parents as well as neither of us will have to shoulder a great financial burden for my first year at college. This will allow me to focus on my studies without having to worry too much about my financials, which is a large amount of stress off my mind. Once again, thank you. I appreciate this scholarship too much for words to describeand the ease it puts me at is priceless.
With much gratitude,
MinaMichael Barsoum
Dear Manatee Seminole Club,
My name is Gianna Traylor and I just graduated Braden River High School. I was involved in a multitude of activities at school including Senior Advisory Board, which I was the Secretary of, National Honor Society, Varsity Cheerleading, Pirate Serteens, which I was a Co-Chairman of, Future Business Leaders of America, Student Government, Manatee County Youth Commission, and Junior Varsity Cheerleading. In addition to all my extra-curricular activities I have acquired about 684 community service hours through many different events in the community such as food drives, special needs prom, Entre Nous Tour of Homes, and many more, too many to name. I also take honors and AP classes with a weighted GPA of 4.0. My favorite subjects in school would be social studies and math. I really enjoy learning about the world, how people interact, how the government and law work, and how people think. I also really enjoy figuring out problems and for some reason numbers really make sense to me, the reason I like math. I enjoy helping people in any way I can and I want to be able to do this in the future.
In the fall, I am attending Florida State University. Although I was also accepted into University of Central Florida and University of South Florida, this school was the best school for me. I plan on double majoring in Criminology and Psychology to eventually attend graduate school, law school, or medical school. After this, I hope to become a lawyer, FBI agent, or psychiatrist. Florida State is the seventh in the nation for school of criminology and I absolutely fell in love with the majors when I visited. The school itself is in Tallahassee, the state Capitol, where I have plenty of opportunity for internships and to garnish experience in government. I really want to work with government and criminals to learn how people think.
I really appreciate the scholarship that you have given me. It has help make it possible for me to accomplish my dreams. I will be using the scholarship to pay for books, club fees, supplies, internship expenses, and anything else that will better my college experience. Without scholarships, attending college would be a struggle because I would not be able to afford it financially. I am so grateful and have tried to make the best of it so far and plan to do so in college to attain the best education I can to fulfill my dreams. Thank you for helping make everything possible for me in my education. This generous scholarship is tremendous help and I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Gianna Traylor