FSU College of Medicine 2017 annual report 2017 Annual Report - FSU College of Medicine | Page 52

T H A N K S
T O
O U R
S U P P O R T E R S
50
THE BARANCIK GIFT TO SSTRIDE
The College of Medicine’s pipeline program called
“We went to visit the program in Immokalee and we
SSTRIDE has received countless compliments, but maybe were incredibly impressed,” said Stephen Cantees, executive
none better than a recent one from the Charles & Margery director of high school education for Sarasota County.
Barancik Foundation. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a model as thorough and as
The private family foundation in Sarasota awards grants
comprehensive as the SSTRIDE program ... for these students
in education, humanitarian causes, arts and culture, the who are typically going to be first-generation college students
environment and medicine. Like most foundations, it in their families.”
takes great pains to ensure its investments are sound. So its
Sarasota is the eighth Florida county to invest in SSTRIDE,
summer 2017 gift of a five-year, $500,000 grant to establish joining Collier, Gadsden, Leon, Madison, Okaloosa, Orange
a SSTRIDE chapter in Sarasota County was high praise and Walton.
in itself. So was this assessment from Teri A. Hansen, the
foundation’s president and CEO:
Sarasota’s SSTRIDE targets students at McIntosh Middle
School and Sarasota High School who have a genuine interest
“SSTRIDE is a proven program. We were able to look at in pursuing science, engineering, mathematics, health or
data from around the state and see that it is a program that medicine. The program works to give those students the
has success in attracting students to study and pursue careers support services important for them to develop the sense of
in STEM.” responsibility, focus and motivation necessary for success in
SSTRIDE (Science Students Together Reaching
Instructional Diversity & Excellence) began in 1994 as an
their chosen fields.
“We work with these students from eighth grade through
outreach effort of the Program in Medical Sciences, the 12th grade every day,” said Thesla Berne-Anderson, the
precursor to the FSU College of Medicine. It has prepared medical school’s director of college and pre-college outreach.
numerous students for entry to medical school at Florida “We bring a whole wealth of training, experiences and
State and elsewhere, helping the College of Medicine fulfill its opportunities to these students not just in academics but also
mission to produce more physicians who will care for Florida’s leadership and professional development. When they finish,
underserved, including those in rural communities. they are successful in college.”