Here to Serve

On Call to Serve

By Yvette C. Hammett August 2023

Giving back is a ‘heart thing’ for physician and alumna Kamille Garness ’11.

When Kamille Garness was just 4 years old and living on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, she was taking in stray animals off the streets to feed and house them.

Giving her time and talents to those who need her help — human or otherwise — is just a “heart thing” for her, said Garness, who graduated from Saint Leo University in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry.

Today, in addition to her thousands of hours of community service, Garness is working toward completing her residency to become a specialized medical doctor, having graduated from medical school at the Spartan Health Sciences University in St. Lucia, and completing medical internships in Miami and Chicago, as well as earning a Master of Public Health degree from The George Washington University.

While she works toward the goal of completing a medical residency, the 34-year-old, who lives near Orlando, FL, continues to devote much of her time to others. That work is earning her recognition and numerous awards.

“I have been involved with the Red Cross since as far back as high school in St. Lucia,” she said. “I visited the homes of the elderly and the sick, and I also volunteered at different sporting events.

“When I came to the U.S. in 2007, I decided I wanted to undertake a number of volunteer opportunities, and the Red Cross was one of them.”

Garness was honored with the American Red Cross Rising Star Award for her contributions in improving the quality of life of South Floridians and for demonstrating the humanitarian principles of the Red Cross. She received the award at the Sarah Hopkins Woodruff Spectrum Awards for Women in Miami.

She has volunteered with the Red Cross in Orlando and Miami since 2016, assisting families affected by natural disasters. Her efforts also have earned her the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Service Award, the highest honor for a volunteer. To be eligible, an individual must volunteer more than 5,000 hours in his or her lifetime.

Her time at Saint Leo also included “serving humanity from her heart.”

“While at Saint Leo, I volunteered for the Good Samaritans Club and homeless shelters, including the Love One Another Homeless Shelter, and I also took part in the Haitian education project to raise funds for earthquake victims. And I volunteered for the Hernando-Pasco Hospice. I was a caregiver for the hospice, preparing meals for the patients and speaking with them so they had someone to speak with, since they sometimes get lonely.”

Garness recently received her medical license and hopes to specialize in internal medicine, family medicine, or pediatrics.

“Just as I was about to apply for my residency in 2020, the pandemic started so I started working as a disease investigator,” to track COVID-19 cases, she said. Following the setback of the pandemic, she is now working to obtain a residency placement.

“I always knew it was my calling in life to help other people,” Garness said. “I always wanted to be a part of alleviating human suffering.”

The university emphasized giving back to the community through service. “That just reinforced that this was the field I wanted to go into,” she added.

Majoring in biology, “improved my fascination for the human body, and how systems interact to produce the miracle of life,” Garness said.

Giving back is simply a part of her — an internal requirement for her life, fulfilling her life mission by doing God’s work, she said. “I always wanted to help the world.”

Chronicles

By University Brand Marketing & Communications October 2020

Tapia College of Business Hosts Webinar Series to Help Struggling Businesses

Realizing there was a need to assist the Tampa Bay-area business community, Saint Leo University’s Tapia College of Business offered a free, four-part webinar series, Business Re-Imagined: Insights for Small Businesses in the COVID-19 Landscape in June and July.

Saint Leo University faculty and members of the Tampa Turnaround Management Association organized the sessions, engaging with other regional industry experts to provide operational, financial, human capital, and strategic guidance for small businesses.

“We recognize that this is a challenging time and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some really unique challenges for small businesses,” said Dr. Robyn Parker, dean of the Tapia College of Business. “We thought we would gather together a set of experts and resources to help you as you think about what some call ‘re-ing business:’” Reopening, going remote, restructuring, refinancing, rethinking, replanning, and redeploying.”

The four parts in the webinar sessions were:

The COVID-19 Factor: An Overview of How COVID-19 is Impacting Businesses;
Addressing the Pandemic Recession: HR, Business Operations, and Supply Chain Impact;
Your Business Model: Strategic Direction for Pandemic Recession Recovery; and,
Financial Frenzy: Financial Options and Resources Related to COVID-19.

Phase 2 of the series was Workplace Re-Imagined on October 8, which featured experts from three of the university’s colleges presenting a multidisciplinary look at helping employees in the “new normal.” The webinar focused on “human capital and the return to the workforce.”

Business Re-Imagined webinars may be viewed at saintleo.edu/business-events.

“Saint Leo and the Tapia College of Business wanted to do something to give back to the community,” Parker said. “’Community’ is one of Saint Leo’s core values, and we thoroughly embrace the idea of helping others. We hope to hold more webinars in the future to assist not only the community, but also as a learning experience for our students.”

Saint Leo University Students Volunteer at Food Distribution to Help In COVID-19 Pandemic

Saint Leo University students joined in the Farm Share food distribution on May 20 with Florida Representative Randy Maggard and Pasco County Board of County Commissioners Chair Mike Moore at the Shops at Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel, FL.

Cars lined up near the distribution point as Saint Leo students joined others to distribute much-needed food as Pasco County, FL, residents deal with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are out of work and need assistance. True to the university’s core values, Saint Leo students stepped up to help.

More than 50 volunteers, including the Saint Leo students, handed out 33,000 pounds of food to about 700 people. The volunteers wore masks and followed Centers for Disease Control protocols as they loaded the food into recipients’ vehicles at the drive-thru event.

“I greatly appreciate the hard work the Saint Leo students put in volunteering with the Farm Share food distribution,” Moore said. “They worked in roles from bagging food to directing traffic to placing food in vehicles. Pasco County is a community that cares and volunteering to help others shows that.”

MBA Students Help Ybor Businesses

Students in the Master of Business Administration program at the Tampa Education Center present their analysis to Lee Bell, president of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce.

In the spring, the Tampa (FL) Education Center’s MBA-599 class, taught by Dr. Helen MacLennan, assistant professor of management, worked in small teams to conduct their capstone project, a business strategy analysis they created free of charge for local businesses. The students assisted Tampa-area businesses, including the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce; the Ybor City Visitors Information Center; Centro Asturiano de Tampa; and the Ybor City Saturday Market.

The analyses included an internal and external assessment, competitor and marketing analysis, and financial projections. It offered possible alternative strategies for these businesses, along with suggestions for implementation.

Lee Bell, president of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, indicated that the information contained in these analyses was valuable and that the chamber had started the process of implementing some of the suggestions.

Health Education and Health Promotion

The university announced the start of a new four-year degree—a Bachelor of Science in health education and health promotion—that will prepare graduates for a growing number of health education positions at community organizations, healthcare agencies, and workplaces.

Health education specialists help the public understand how to cope with health challenges they face, whether as individuals or as concerned family members. “Health education specialists are bridging an important gap between what individuals, families, and communities know and understand, and the increasing amount of knowledge available,” said Dr. Kathleen Van Eerden, associate dean of Saint Leo’s College of Health Professions.

For instance, the specialists develop and adapt group education programs, offer instruction in healthy habits and preventative measures, and provide information on what kinds of health care services are available to the public. The coronavirus is a vivid example of a situation where health education specialists have played a positive role, Van Eerden noted, by providing reliable instruction on correct handwashing techniques and social distancing. Diabetes and heart disease are two other examples of conditions where health education specialists can make a difference in individuals’ lives, she added.

Psi Chi International Honor Society

Psi Chi members early in the Spring 2020 Semester, during an induction ceremony for new members.

Over the summer, the Saint Leo University chapter of the Psi Chi International Honor Society in psychology learned it had been named a model chapter for the 2019-2020 academic year. Only 23 chapters of the 1,180 in the society were selected for the honor. A model chapter is distinguished by the high level of interest and activity of members, as well as sound organizational practices. The chapter had 33 members in the most recent academic year, led by chapter president Caitlin Walsh ’20. Psi Chi offers lifetime memberships.

Dr. Tammy Zacchilli, an associate professor of psychology, has been the chapter advisor for 10 years. She said she was both excited about the recognition and proud of the Saint Leo chapter members. “They worked so hard last year and continued to hold meetings in Zoom after classes moved online [because of the virus]. We had a creative group of officers who led interesting activities all year.”

Here to Serve

Serving During the Storm

By Marie Cirelli Thornsberry October 2020

Alumna volunteers to help schoolchildren in Guam at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a time when it seemed like much of the world went into hiding due to COVID-19, alumna Dominique Cruz ’17 was preparing to launch an outreach event in her community.

Cruz said the idea for her service project came after reading an article about how a business in Las Vegas served schoolchildren meals during the pandemic. In the first few days after many schools announced closures, children missed receiving their free- or reduced-price school lunches, which in some situations may have been their only meal of the day.

“That sparked an interest for me,” Cruz said. “I thought, ‘so what happens to our kids here.’”

Today, the 2017 criminal justice graduate lives with her husband, Christopher, and daughter, Draya, in Guam, a U.S. territory located in the northern Pacific Ocean. The island is 35-miles long and home to more than 16,700 people. Just as in the mainland, the schools in Guam had closed during the pandemic, leaving children without their school lunches.

Cruz, who has worked as a victim rights advocate for the Office of the Attorney General of Guam for the past three years, said she has always had a desire to help others, which is what led her to pursue the career she enjoys today and come up with the idea for an outreach event.

So instead of letting go of her concern for the children in Guam, Cruz connected with work colleague Mariana Crisostomo and decided to take action. Crisostomo’s mother, Leann, owned the restaurant Fizz & Co., known for serving gourmet hot dogs with a variety of toppings, and so the pair approached her about organizing an event to feed children and families in need. They posted information about the event on social media and soon had growing interest from others who wanted to help. Even The Guam Daily Post covered the event in advance.

Cruz and Crisostomo distribute free lunches.

On March 19, Cruz, Crisostomo, and her mother organized the lunch event, giving away free 50 bagged lunches that day, which included a hot dog, bag of chips, bottled water, and fruit.

“We had people driving from the end of the island all the way up to get the lunch,” Cruz said.

After the event, the pair gave away an additional 50 to 60 lunches by curbside delivery and then partnered with nonprofit Mañelu, which provides mentoring programs for youth and families, to deliver an additional 150 meals to children in need across Guam.

Cruz said that the experience was incredibly rewarding. “The people who came out were really appreciative and thoughtful,” Cruz said. “They asked if they could bring some meals back to other members of their families.”

While the event was a one-time endeavor, Cruz said it served as an inspiration to others in the community. Shortly after, she noticed that other restaurants and businesses started to do similar events to help the community. It also was not too long after that the Guam Department of Education opened its own grab-and-go lunch program for students.

Cruz said that her desire to help others has always been a part of who she is a person. During her time at Saint Leo University, she interned at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office to learn more about the work of being a victim advocate and even volunteered as a teacher’s assistant for the child development center at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Land O’ Lakes, FL.

Today, she is pursuing her master’s degree in criminal justice through the university’s Center for Online Learning. Her goal is to advance into a career that will allow her to work in forensics and criminal investigations.

While work, family, and studies occupy much of Cruz’s time today, her spirit of service is still present. Cruz shared that she and her husband have recently started a new outreach effort: Every Sunday at noon they go around to different areas of the island and hand out lunches to the homeless.

“My husband and I recognized that there is a need for the homeless on the island,” Cruz said. “It is a difficult time for everyone right now, but by giving out free lunch to those in need, it lifts a small burden off of their shoulders.”

Spring 2017

Giving with Gratitude: LaVita Rodriguez ’15, ’17

By Mary McCoy March 2017

In 2008, at age 23, LaVita Rodriguez ’15, ’17 was paralyzed in a car accident. That transformative moment led her to change her outlook on life.

Today, Saint Leo University’s core values are an integral part of her. “I am a true believer,” she said of the core values such as community and responsible stewardship. “We studied that constantly. The core values guide me in life: I use them to stay on the right path and help others as a part of fulfilling both my personal and professional goals.”

After she graduated from high school, she worked for a law firm. “Something in me told me to go back to school,” she said. “That led to Saint Leo; you just get so much out of higher education because it provides you with the ability to make positive changes in the world around you.”

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in business with a concentration in management in 2015 through the Center for Online Learning. She completed her MBA in December 2016 and officially will receive her degree on April 29.

The accident and her experience at Saint Leo fostered a desire to give back to her community. Rodriguez now volunteers at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) in pediatrics. It is the hospital where she was treated following her life-changing accident. “I want to give back to the hospital that saved my life that night in March [2008],” she said.

“Volunteering is my way of showing appreciation and gratitude for life and the doctors and nurses who continue to keep me healthy so that I may continue to pursue my dreams and spend time with my supportive family and close friends.”

Rodriguez is at TGH with the pediatric patients weekly. “I’m there to alleviate stress and loneliness that have the potential to generate anxiety and depression,” she said. “When the kids are there by themselves, giving them positive stimulation helps them cope with the unfortunate situation they are experiencing.”

She also takes care of the physicians and nursing staff who took care of her. “I bring them cake pops as a small gesture of my unending gratitude,” she said, laughing. “And who doesn’t love cake?”

Her love of children extends beyond the hospital setting. She has several nieces and nephews who want her undivided attention when she is not volunteering or studying. She is prepping for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and plans to attend law school so that she may “give children a voice” as a human rights, family, and health care attorney. “I believe it will be incredibly gratifying to help our future generations live a happier and healthier life by bridging gaps that have the potential to deteriorate one’s quality of life,” she said.

Rodriguez hopes to take her quest for children’s rights to Washington, DC.

The desire to help children and trips to India resulted in a visit to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Orphanage. “I love India,” she said. ”It makes me more appreciative for ancient wisdom that deepened my spiritual views. I also like to give back wherever I go. It shows humility and develops unity in diversity that fosters an abundance of love, happiness, compassion, and peace.”

In the United States, “We are blessed,” Rodriguez said. “You can drive around and not see kids on the streets. [In India], you see kids begging. But many still are smiling ear to ear. Why? Because it is not a materialistic culture, but a spiritual one that focuses on values. This is not only inspiring, but also truly beautiful.”

Wherever her travels take her, Rodriguez always stops by a cathedral to pray. And she tries to do some volunteering while vacationing.

“You leave a little piece of you there whenever you do something like that,” she said. “You are supposed to help others. I will never forget these experiences.”

Almost losing her life had a tremendous impact. “It pushed me. I just have a different view of life,” she said. “[My] having a lower-level spinal cord injury is minor. I could have died. I feel like I got a second chance, and I need to use it. To waste it would be such a mistake. God has placed these dreams in my heart and is clearing my path to fulfill them while driving me to act in a way that serves others.” •