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AVON PARK, Fla. – April 23, 2025 – South Florida State College (SFSC) is offering Panther Prep, a six-week program to help high school students learn about their world, fulfill their potential, and discover that a college degree is within reach. Panther Prep is funded by a $20,000 grant from the Roberts Community Foundation through the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
This summer bridge program prepares students for college by helping them improve their academic performance and life skills through classes in mathematics, English, 5G leadership training, financial literacy, and Foundations for College Success/Master Student.
“College can feel like an impossible goal for many who graduate from high school and don’t know how to get started with higher education,” said Asena Mott, SFSC dean of off-campus instructional sites. “Our goal with Panther Prep is to prepare our newest adult students for college success by providing a six-week summer session at no cost to them. Thank you to the Community Foundation of Sarasota and the Edward K. Roberts Foundation for making this scholarship opportunity possible. It is only through their generosity that SFSC is able to empower our newest high school graduates and fulfill their next steps of moving from impossible to ‘It’s Possible!’”
Panther Prep meets Monday through Thursday, June 23 through July 31, on the SFSC DeSoto Campus in Arcadia. Classes are held Monday through Wednesday, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and on Thursdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The program is open to 12 DeSoto County residents who graduate from high school this spring, whether they graduate from public or private schools, have been homeschooled, or have earned a diploma through a GED program. In addition, these are students who have not taken dual enrollment courses.
For qualified applicants, tuition and books are free and lunch is provided. Students will receive a Panther Prep kit that includes a backpack, lanyard, USB drive, notebook, calculator, and a Panther Prep t-shirt. Students who complete Panther Prep receive $450 toward the purchase of a laptop from the SFSC Bookstore when they enroll in fall classes at SFSC.
For more about the Panther Prep program, contact the SFSC DeSoto Campus at 863-993-1757 and ask for Irene Cerna, Gerri Lewis, or Cynthia Barrera.
About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $488 million in more than 1,580 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $40 million last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare, and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $435.8 million to area nonprofit organizations in our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit CFSarasota.org or call 941-955-3000.
