Four Palm Beach State College students have been named to the 2013 All-Florida Academic Team, an honor that also helped two of them garner a scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.
Stephanie Kupiec of Jupiter, Kim Stingo of Wellington, Johanna Poblano of Lake Worth and Laura Stevens of West Palm Beach were among 122 students from the Florida College System and three from institutions affiliated with the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida named to the team.
Kupiec and Stingo made the first team; Poblano and Stevens, Palm Beach State’s student trustee for 2012-13, made the second team. They are all members of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College.
The All-Florida Academic Team is composed of students who were nominated by their respective colleges to the All-USA Academic Team competition sponsored by USA Today and the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society. Students are selected based on their academic achievement, leadership and service to the community.
In conjunction with PTK, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation each year also sponsors the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team. Ten-students from the All-Florida Academic Team received scholarships from Coca-Cola of $1,500 for Coca-Cola Gold Scholars, $1,250 for Coca-Cola Silver Scholars or $1,000 for Coca-Cola Bronze Scholars. Kupiec and Stingo were among the scholarship recipients, each winning a $1,500 Coca-Cola Gold Scholarship. Kupiec also has received a scholarship to Smith College and will begin her studies there in the fall.
Serving 49,000 students annually, Palm Beach State College is the largest institution of higher education in Palm Beach County, providing bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, professional certificates, career training and lifelong learning. Established in 1933 as Florida’s first public community college, it offers more than 100 programs of study at locations in Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Belle Glade.
