sAt/Act

By Dr. Wayne Adams

Upcoming Exam Dates: SAT on May 12th, June 4th, and August 27th; … ACT on April 2nd June 11th, and July 16th.

The Florida Legislature is considering several bills that would expand the qualifications for Bright Futures to include paid paid work hours as well as volunteer hours. This is meant to help students who need or want to work.

The lower academic award (around $18,000 over 4 years), called Florida Medallion Scholars Award, currently requires that a student complete 75 hours of volunteer work, along with certain academic requirements. That would include a weighted 3.0 GPA, an ACT score of at least 25, or SAT 1210.

For the higher award (around $25,000 over 4 years), called Florida Academic Scholars Award, requires 100 hour of volunteer work, plus a weighted 3.5 GPA, and an ACT score of at least 29 or 1330 for the SAT.

For more information about this possibility, go to https://floridaphoenix. com/2022/02/18/big-changes.

To help my parents and students in quickly comparing colleges and universities, I have now developed a quick and easy way to get the most current and detailed information available on the Internet. You can quickly find out such information as national ranking, type, ranges of SAT and ACT scores for acceptance, campus life, overall and net costs, starting salaries, mid-career earning levels, and much more. This is particularly helpful when combined with my guide “Negotiating with Colleges” that has helped save my students $1,000 to $10,000/ year in college costs.

This is part of the first halfhour of each prep class where I almost always meet with the parent(s) and student(s) so we can get to know each other, they can hear the philisophies underlying the classes that have proven so successful for my students, and see how I aim for each student and family to have their best possible futures … including doing their best on SAT and/or ACT Exams.

As we all move into spring, many SENIORS are working on bringing up their exam scores up to qualify for the 75% or the 100% Bright Futures Scholarship (about $25,000). We have until the last SAT Exam on Saturday, June 4th, to qualify with the SAT, and until the last ACT Exam on Saturday, June 11th, to qualify with the ACT. At this point, it is not unusual to do a “Skill Strengthening” class to improve either the Writing and Language / Reading combined score or the Math score on the SAT, or either the English and Reading combined score or the Math and Science combined score on the ACT. These focused classes are about half the hours of a full prep class. Sometimes, when we are aiming for more improvement, we do the full prep classes.

My JUNIORS and some SOPHOMORES are usually focused on getting ahead with preparing for the SAT and/or ACT and either work over the spring, or get set to prepare starting right after school finishes for the ACT in mid-July and/or the SAT the last Saturday in August. For students wanting to do a combination class of ACT and SAT, we can finish either the week just before school resumes in August (with a complementary, additional review class the week before the SAT), or the week before the actual SAT Exam. During the summer, we easily schedule around family vacations, summer jobs, athletic commitments, and “surprises” as they may arise. If You Would Like To Talk More About Your Student … Please contact me at 727-2530639 or send me an email at wwa0811@mykolab.com.

Dr. Wayne Adams is one of the leading SAT and ACT tutors in the country. His students normally improve 200+ points on the Writing, Reading, Writing and Essay, and Math, and 4 – 7 points on the ACT composite. They have been admitted to 8 of the top 10 universities in the country, 18 of the top 25, and many schools in Florida. These schools include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, U Chicago, Duke, U Penn, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Notre Dame, Emory, UC Berkley, UCLA, USC, UNC (Chapel Hill), NYU, Northeastern (Boston), Boston College, Georgia Tech, Naval - Air Force - Merchant Marine Service Academies, Penn State, LSU, Auburn, UF, U Miami, FSU, USF, UCF, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, FIU, New College of Florida, Stetson, and Julliard – Manhattan - New England - and Berkley Conservatories of Music. Many have received academic, athletic, or music scholarships. This year, he also tutored three juniors who scored at the national merit finalist/semi-finalist levels on the most recent PSAT. He is a former Dean of a Graduate School of Business and Full Professor, and began college teaching at the University of Maryland in 1968. He has degrees and advanced studies at Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt, Columbia International, and Luther Rice.

TLC - story continued from page 1

in senior healthcare for over 25 years and owning a Medicare-certified home health agency for 17, Tom Wingo knew that a critical need was not being met for seniors and their caregivers. He founded TLC Adult Day Care and Recreation Center with his wife and two daughters in December 2019 to provide seniors a fun place to socialize while giving their caregivers downtime and an opportunity to recharge.

“We took the leap of faith to open an adult day care because the need was so great in Tampa Bay.”

Seniors may have been the hardest hit when the pandemic temporarily shut down many healthcarerelated businesses in early 2020. With limited guidance from the CDC and other state and federal agencies regarding proper safety protocols, in March 2020, Tom decided to close for the safety of his staff and members temporarily.

“Especially during the pandemic, loved ones isolated at home may experience depression and decline cognitively and physically because they are sitting at home doing nothing. They don’t have the interaction, the socialization, and the therapeutic activities to keep their memories sharp and to keep them physically active,” he said. “Many caregivers were begging us to reopen because their loved one had already started to decline. When you’re home, and there’s nothing to do, you get depressed, sitting around watching TV or sleeping all day.”

When better safety guidance was received from the government, TLC decided to reopen in May 2020, which meant many happy members could return to their favorite place. Though the business struggled for a while, once vaccines became available, the floodgates opened up of those seeking the type of programs that TLC offers.

“Because they had socialization and activities again, all of a sudden, the same loved one who was experiencing some form of cognitive or physical decline was thriving again.”

Featuring a bilingual staff and following CDC protocols, TLC offers an adult day program for halfday up to five hours and a full-day up to nine hours, 9 AM to 5 PM, making it flexible for the caregiver. Members are served a delicious breakfast, lunch, and a snack approved by a registered dietician.

“Adult Day Care is for someone who wants to live at home, or their caregiver wants them to live at home and have a safe place to come for the day to have fun, meet new friends, enjoy therapeutic and educational activities, and age-appropriate fitness programs,” he said. ”It’s so important for the caregiver to be able to take a break. Caregivers suffering from burnout and exhaustion really need to take care of themselves first so they can take care of their loved ones. Caregivers often experience guilt and feel that they should be ‘doing it all.’ Seeking help does not make you a failure. Actually, quite the opposite. Seeking help benefits both you and your loved one.”

Tom explained that many people don’t even know adult day care exists.

“That is the key – getting the word out – that this place is here. It is incredible, and many people don’t know about it. There’s help here. If they’re not appropriate for our center, we can help them find another alternative. It may be time for assisted living, memory care, or maybe even other options,” he said, “We get a lot of responses when people hear about us, ‘if only I had had this when I was taking care of my loved one. I could have really used what you do.’ “

“Our goal was to be different and have a homelike environment when people come in, and they feel extremely comfortable. We have an activity planned every hour. We go back and forth between an active and non-active activity. We don’t want to wear anybody out.”

Nicknamed ‘The TLC Fun Club,’ TLC is all about socialization and making friends.

“There’s different types of socialization. For example, some of our members can’t verbalize very well, so they listen and love to interact with others through the different activities. They want to be part of a group having fun. Even if they have difficulty, there is still socialization without speaking. We have something for everyone.”

Seniors who’ve transitioned from surgery and in-patient hospitalization to returning home may need someone to look out for them. TLC is a safe place for them to recover while meeting other seniors, staying active, and making sure someone assists them.

During admission to the center, each member goes through an activity and social history assessment to determine what they used to or currently like to do.

“A lot of caregivers are like ‘my mom would never do that’ and after a few visits ‘I can’t believe my mom loves that.’”

Therapeutic activities include seated indoor volleyball, bean bag toss, giant Yahtzee, chess, dominoes, darts, arts, crafts, singing, dancing, armchair traveling, Zumba, Tai Chi, yoga, foosball, a drum circle, ice cream socials, birthday parties, non-alcoholic happy hour, monthly themed events, and so much more! The center also features a relaxation Zen lounge complete with a waterfall, Himalayan salt lamps, and relaxing music for members who need a break from so many activities. “For us, it is all about our members having fun. It’s a party atmosphere. We try to have a party for everything. At the end of the day, if they aren’t walking out with a big smile on their face, we’ve failed. That’s the key – for them to have a wonderful day, meet new friends and have fun. When their loved ones come to pick them up, a lot of our members look over at them and say, ‘what are you doing here? I’m not ready to go home yet. No, it’s too early’.”

TLC Adult Day Care is located at 3970 Tampa Rd., Suite J, Oldsmar. To learn more about TLC Adult Day Care, visit https://www.tlcadultdaycare.com or call 813.510.4000.

realtor for her buyers and sellers.

“I am an Accredited Buyers Representative. This coveted designation demonstrates your commitment to providing outstanding service for real estate buyers and a Sellers Representative Specialist to peers and consumers. This designation elevates my professional standards, enhances individual performance.”

In addition to those, she also has a Pricing Strategies designation that gives her knowledge to explain pricing recommendations, keeping up to date with market developments. This designation helps buyers and sellers with pricing and understanding of what is happening in the market.

The designations help Colleen be more knowledgeable about negotiating, be educated on the latest strategies, and get the deal done.

She explained that every buyer and seller have different needs, whether a cash buyer, a finance offer or selling a manufactured home to a million-dollar home.

“I have developed skills to make each offer stand out. I work side-by-side with lenders that I know, like, and trust to work with my buyers.”

“Do you have the right lender? That’s very important. That should be the first thing so the buyer can know how much they can afford. They should know what area they want to be in, but we help out too by asking them questions like, where do you work, where do you go to church, so you can help them find a home in the right area. Do you need to be close to the water or the airport? Is this your starter or your forever home? We ask many questions to help them find the perfect home.”

The most crucial part of the process is working with a suitable lender if it is not a cash purchase.

When Colleen takes on a listing, she offers a concierge service to sellers from being a great communicator, professional photography, holding Open Houses, using staging companies to help stage the home if necessary, and marketing the property on social media also to the pertinent area/buyers and other agents. She works with a professional who can help the seller decide what stays in the house and what needs to be removed for a listing. It helps them organize and be showing ready! These are a few of what you get when you hire Colleen to sell your home.

One of Colleen’s many home buyer success stories includes a virtual tour. The buyer bought the property from Colleen’s tour without ever visiting the home. Colleen relayed a favorite story about a buyer from Las Vegas moving back to Florida who went on a virtual house tour.

The client, Mrs. King, happily attested to Colleen’s abilities in a five-star review:

“Colleen was the most remarkable realtor I’ve ever had the opportunity to hire. I moved from out of state, where I also sold my home. My realtor there wasn’t courteous nor helpful. However, every time I needed help, Colleen was there to listen and offer suggestions to assist me in making my decisions. I would say she saved my life with her professionalism, courtesy, kindness, and patience. If she didn’t have an answer, she would always

research and get back to you in a timely manner. Believe me, I will never find a more loyal, truthful, honest, hardworking realtor than Colleen. She is a Blessing sent to me in time of real need. Thank you isn’t

Colleen Bebell and her family (from L to R): Doug(husband), Colleen, Jessie (daughter in law), Branson (son), Walker (son) and Sydney (daughter in law) enough for such a great young woman.”

She described her favorite part of being a realtor:

“When you see the look on the buyer’s face when they find their dream home,” she said, “Let me be your key home!”

To learn more, call 727.251.0818 or email homewithcolleen@gmail. com. Join Home with Colleen on Facebook and Instagram.