Completing the circle: how one USF alum stays connected to help others succeed.

When Angie Brewer graduated from USF Sarasota-Manatee in 1982, her degree in Business Administration symbolized the fulfillment of a life-long dream. The fifth child of seven children, Angie was the first among her siblings to complete college, a process that took almost 20 years.

"The secret," Brewer says, "is that you never give up."

Since entering USF in 1963, Angie faced many obstacles. During her sophomore year, family responsibilities forced her to take a break from full time study. For several years, she was dual enrolled at Hillsborough Community College, taking courses on an irregular basis in an attempt to meet the university's changing requirements. It wasn't until she moved to Bradenton in 1978 that Angie resumed full time study at the Sarasota-Manatee campus. These last four years proved most challenging as by then she was not only a wife, and mother of two, but also had a demanding career as the section head of grants management at the Manatee County Clerks office.

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Just four months after completing her bachelor's she enrolled in an intense graduate program at the USF Tampa campus, where she took classes over the weekend for two years to receive her masters of science in management.

After working for local governments for 17 years, Brewer decided it was time to make her ultimate career goal a reality. In July of 1988, she opened Angie Brewer and Associates, LC, a capital projects funding company based in Bradenton.

"It's because of the education I received at USF that today I am one hundred times more successful than I ever would have had a chance to be," she says. "Those degrees secured my future."

When the university announced the formation of a football team, Brewer saw an opportunity to make up for what she had missed. From the Bulls inaugural football season, She and her husband Jim have been season ticket holders and have attended almost every game. The Brewers are sponsors of USF's Athletic Training program and hold Gold Bull Status. Brewer is such an enthusiastic Bulls fan that she chose green and gold as her official company colors.

Now she and her husband are involved in many other ways. Brewer's philosophy of a giving back is her primary motivation for supporting USF.

"We're building our tradition," she explains. "It has to be a tradition of providing a quality education to everyone who is interested. It's my responsibility and the responsibility of my generation to do that for the next and that generation has to pass it on."

The Manatee-Sarasota Chapter of the USF Alumni Association provides academic scholarships and book grants for students attending the regional campus during the fall and spring semesters. For more information, visit www.usfalumni.net or call 1-800-299-BULL or Manatee-Sarasota Chapter President Derek Williams at [phone].

RELATED ARTICLE: Public provides ideas for North Tamiami Trail project

Ideas ranging from landscaped medians and wide sidewalks to affordable housing and night spots highlighted the public involvement portion of the master planning process for the "Innovation 41." project focusing on the education and cultural corridor known as the North Tamiami Trail.

Safety was a major issue as citizens met in focus groups and participated in a public charette February 8-11. They were helping local government officials and consultants garner ideas for a community vision of the area.

Eight local government and education entities have merged together in an unprecedented show of local cooperation. They hired The Renaissance Planning Group to develop a detailed plan that will help transform the North Trail--specifically, the area from 10th Street along U.S. 41 to Whitfield Estates just north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. What is now an untied string of hotels, shopping centers, four educational institutions and the Ringling Museum will be blended and mixed with nearby neighborhoods to form an attractive destination that is more appropriate and fitting for a cultural and educational district. A draft of the plan will be completed in April and a final plan by June.

"We will look at the corridor through an economic, cultural, educational, community development, transportation, and place-making lens," said Clarence Eng, planning/design principal and project manager for Renaissance Planning Group. "The corridor has many strengths going for it with the colleges, cultural institutions, and overall area vitality. The challenge is to coordinate and build upon their individual efforts to create a sum greater than the parts.

The eight governmental and educational entities include the City of Sarasota, Sarasota County. Manatee County, the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority and the four institutions of higher education along the corridor. The educational institutions are the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. New College of Florida, the Ringling School of Art and Design and the Florida State University Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts, which includes the museum and its amenities.

By DEENA KEMP, USF Sarasota-Manatee Staff