SCF students have a bash while registering for class

Nothing like a DJ, free food, a manatee mascot and excited student government leaders to perk up the drab process of registering for classes and getting student ID cards.

The State College of Florida in Bradenton welcomed new students to the campus on Tuesday with all of the above, as new students took care of administrative tasks during the “Back to School Bash” Tuesday evening.

Asia Sterlin, 18, is vice president of the student government at the school. She mingled with the newcomers waiting in line for a student ID, helping shepherd the lost and cracking jokes. She said she ran unopposed for her current role, and that a classmate of hers lost in an SCF election to Harambe, the gorilla who became an internet sensation after being shot at an Ohio zoo.

Despite not taking the electoral process very seriously, Sterlin and her fellow student government leaders were serious about welcoming new students.

Many of the students mingling on the campus Tuesday are recent School District of Manatee County graduates.

Cynd’ll Jean graduated from Southeast High School in June, and she will be taking nursing classes at SCF. She said she was scared of the teachers and the amount of classwork. Her fellow freshman Ami Bensaid, a recent Lakewood Ranch graduate, said he wasn’t too worried about the workload — he just didn’t want his summer to end.

“It sucks to go back,” he said while waiting in line for an ID card. “It’s rough.”

Grecia Quevedo, 17, is a high school senior at Booker High School, but she is dual enrolled at SCF. She said being the young one on campus can be uncomfortable sometimes, but she liked taking classes at SCF because it gave her a taste of what college will be like.

“It gives you the experience of attending a university,” said Quevedo, who hopes to attend George Washington University in Washington, D.C., after she graduates. “It’s awkward because they are older than you, but at the same time it’s a great experience.”

SCF officials said they did not yet have firm numbers on how many students will attend the school. Last year 11,265 students were enrolled.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 8:24 PM with the headline "SCF students have a bash while registering for class."