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Highlights

Recently, volunteers from Argosy University, Tampa helped to build bikes for the Diversity Action Coalition’s (DAC) second annual Bike Build for veterans and military families. Jeff Day, campus president, Argosy University, Tampa offered up space on campus for storage, support, and bike building.
Diversity Action Coalition focuses on inspiring, empowering and engaging the community to assist military families and veterans in the Tampa Bay area. This year’s bike build was funded by a grant from Forester Financial.
In total, 19 new bikes were built at this event.
Also during the festivities, Carson Bassett was commissioned as a second lieutenant United States Air Force.
“There is nothing like coming together as a community to create a remarkable experience for veterans and active military families in need,” said Jeff Day.
Other event contributors included: Jammal Engineering, Inc, MHCV, Knights of Columbus - Tampa Chapter, Society of St Joseph - Christ the King, and the Stargardt Family.
[Photos:
Close up of bike building
Group Photo of volunteers in front of the historical cigar building that Argosy University, Tampa is housed in
Sharon Gordwz of Foresters Financial, Nick Jammal of Jammal Engineering, Judge Gregory Holder of13th Judicial Circuit Veterans Treatment Court Mentor Program, and Jeff Day, Campus President.
Newly commissioned Second Lieutenant United States Air Force Carson Bassett, wife Christie Bassette (2015 Florida Teacher of the Year - Christie Bassett), and children: Ellie and Crawford at Diversity Action Coalition, Inc. Non Profit andForesters Financial 2nd Annual Build A Bike for Veterans event at Argosy University, Tampa ]

Sheila Yarbrough, PhD, associate faculty and department chair, the Graduate School of Business and Management at Argosy University, Chicago and Argosy University, Schaumburg was appointed to the National Board of the National Association of African American Studies and Affiliates (NAAAS).
The organization serves as a resource for scholars in the field who desire information and support for research related to the African and African American, Hispanic, Latino(a) and Chicano(a), Native American and Asian experiences.
Yarbrough also recently attended the 24th Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic awards. The event was held at the American Writers Museum in downtown Chicago and was attended by individuals with a passion for reading and writing.

Brian A. Sharpless, Ph.D., associate professor at the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University | Northern Virginia was recently interviewed for an article in the Boston Globe. Sharpless, an expert in sleep paralysis, discussed sleep terrors and causes. He mentions that eight percent of the general population and 32 percent of psychiatric patients had experienced sleep paralysis.
The article describes Sharpless’ first personal experience with sleep paralysis. “Sharpless, a clinical psychologist, had been studying the phenomenon for eight years. He knew what people in more than 100 different cultures call sleep paralysis, this sudden waking with an inability to move, the feeling that something is suffocating you, and visions of terrible things coming to get you.”

Dr. Melanie Bevan
2010, Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership
Argosy University, Sarasota
Chief of Police for Bradenton, Florida Police Department
“My degree really redefined me as a person and contributed to the leader I am today.”
Bradenton Chief of Police, Appointed to Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking
Dr. Melanie Bevan, chief of police in Bradenton, Florida,
was recently appointed to the Florida Statewide Council on Human Trafficking. Chief
Bevan, who has been with the police department for nearly two years, was appointed
to the council by Governor Rick Scott. “I’ve been
in policing for 31 years,” she said. “I started as a cadet in 1986 at St.
Petersburg Police Department and worked my way up to assistant chief of police
before retiring to become the chief of police of the Bradenton Police
Department in 2016.”
Today, she manages a department
of 120 police officers and another 40 civilians—serving a population of nearly 54,000
residents. She added that she decided to pursue a Doctor of Education in
Organizational Leadership because she was interested in growing herself as a
leader and police training courses were limited at that time. “My initial goal
was not to achieve a Doctor of Education,” she stated. “I was just going to
take a couple of classes to better myself personally and professionally. This
was before full online classes and Argosy University, Sarasota offered me what
I was looking for with flexibility, including nighttime and weekend classes that
accommodated my work schedule.”
While acknowledging that a
degree alone cannot make someone an effective leader, the knowledge she gained
in school helped her to better identify and nurture future leaders. “In my
profession, it’s important to identify young leaders within my agency to
prepare them to someday take my place,” she said. “I still rely on many of my
Argosy University textbooks when preparing interview scenarios, promotional
exams and leadership training sessions. My degree really redefined me as a
person and contributed to the leader I am today.”
She noted that two instructors had a large impact on her—during school and to
this day. “Dr. Celia Edmundson and Dr. Jerry Strand [mentored me],” she stated.
“Dr. Strand came to my chief of police swearing-in ceremony in Bradenton, five
years after my graduation. He remains a role model and friend all these years
later. My success at Argosy is due largely to his influence.”
Bevan also cites Dr. Edmundson’s profound influence in her career. After Dr. Edmundson passed away, Bevan took the time to write a letter to Edmundson’s family, explaining the positive impact she had on students. “Dr. Edmundson was very sick but still attempted to attend my swearing in,” Bevan said. “I was so honored that she had considered attending the ceremony with her friend, Dr. Strand. While her illness got the best of her, the fact that she thought enough of me to attempt the trip in the first place meant a great deal to me.”
Now that Bevan herself is
an instructor, she takes the knowledge gained from her mentors and imparts it
upon her own students. “Dr. Edmundson taught me about leadership and about
life, with such class and with great ease,” Bevan added. “I recall about four
years into the program, I had decided to give up. I hadn’t told anyone, I just
didn’t register for classes. Dr. Edmundson became wise to what I was doing and
pushed me to press on in spite of having two young children and working
full-time. When I faced similar hurdles during my dissertation phase, she
simply kept reminding me not to give up on myself. To this day, students in my
classroom learn how to write like a college-level student with great emphasis
placed on properly crediting sources—something very important to Dr.
Edmundson.”
Bevan participated in the 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) executive steering committee and represented the City of St. Petersburg as the lead planner and coordinator. She also co-authored an article published in a 2012 issue of the Police Chief Magazine entitled “Shave Seconds, Increase Safety: Innovative Deployment Practices for Critical Equipment Increase Officer Safety,” that summarized the details surrounding the line-of-duty deaths of three St. Petersburg police officers in 2011—and the innovative protective measures taken by the police department following these deaths. Bevan will fill the vacant seat on the Council of Human Trafficking with a term running through June 30, 2018.
Bevan earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Argosy University, Sarasota in 2010. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from Troy State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo University. She recommends that current students see the program through. “After taking 10 years to complete my undergraduate and graduate degrees due to shift work and raising kids, I made the final commitment to obtain my Doctor of Education, which took seven years,” she said. “It opened doors for me I that never imagined were possible, including where I am today. My education is a testament that success doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey that has its rewards and challenges along the way.”
Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. Not all online programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. Argosy University, Sarasota, 5250 17th Street, Sarasota, FL 34235. ©2018 Argosy University. All rights reserved. Our email address is materialsreview@argosy.edu.
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