Father and Daughter Graduate from Business Program Together

AVON PARK – March 4, 2026 – Father and daughter, Edwin and Glarysvette Delgado will graduate together from South Florida State College (SFSC) with their Bachelor of Science in Supervision and Management (BAS-SM) in May 2026. Both of the Sebring residents earned their Associate in Arts degrees from SFSC in 2024 and both are the first in their family to graduate from college. 

SFSC began offering the BAS-SM in the fall term of 2012, and the first cohort of 14 students graduated in May 2014. The BAS-SM was the first baccalaureate degree that SFSC offered, creating a continuing educational and professional pathway for students in associate degree programs. The program allows students to stay within their communities, continue their education, and obtain a baccalaureate degree at a significant cost savings.

A year and a half ago, Edwin Delgado became the manager for energy and utilities at the School Board of Highlands County. “I’m the one who manages the electricity and water and does audits in the morning, making sure printers are off, lights are off,” he said.

Glarysvette Delgado works full-time as a secretary in the Guidance Department at Sebring High School. “I work at the department’s front desk,” she said. “I do enrollment, the withdraws, among other things.”

Edwin decided to apply to the BAS-SM program, because he wanted to be able to move up at the School Board. “Previously, I managed different types of businesses and was always involved in the financial part of the business. Now, I work out of the Finance Office. So, numbers interest me to a certain degree.

“The School Board encourages people to have bachelor’s degrees for certain positions,” he said. “If I want to move up, the BAS-SM will benefit me in the long run. I’d like to, eventually, become a director. I have 10 more years with the School Board before I reach my 30 years and I’d like to retire within the Florida Retirement System.”

Edwin has even longer-term goals for himself. “After retirement, I’d like to move to an island, somewhere in Central America,” he said. “I love being in the water. I know that down the road, I’d like to open up my own business – on the island. Through the BAS-SM program, I’m learning how to start from the bottom up as a business manager. It’s helpful in my current job and I believe it’ll be helpful later on in life.”

Glarysvette always wanted to have a career in education. “I love kids and I love education, so with my bachelor’s degree, I could use it in teaching,” she said. “Being a classroom educator, it’s important to set a good example. The business program teaches you to be a good and intentional business leader. If education doesn’t turn out to be the route I take, the degree will help me move up in companies when I first start working. I’ll have the foundation for managing a business. I may even start my own business one day.”

For father and daughter, the experience of taking classes together has been positive and beneficial. “It’s good to have someone you’re close with and who you can talk to about your classes,” Glarysvette said. “When we can align our classes and take them together, we keep each other accountable and on track. It’s funny, Dr. [Tina] Adams, the program’s lead instructor, didn’t know that my dad and I were related until we had a Zoom meeting. Our computers were too close and started making that echo noise.”

Heading for graduation, the current BAS-SM students are working on their end-of-program Capstone Projects that bridge their accumulated classroom work with a real-world application. “The company I’m working on is Carvanna, and my dad is working on United Healthcare,” Glarysvette said. “Dr. Adams gives us a major corporation and presents a problem for us to solve for the company. For instance, Carvanna has a 100-day warranty and Dr. Adams wants us to find out why the company hasn’t received good reviews for the warranty and how we could resolve that concern.”

Edwin supports and advocates for the BAS-SM program wholeheartedly and urges others to continue their education. “Look at me,” he said. “I started this journey in 2018. I stopped my education because my father-in-law passed away. I needed to help take care of his business. Otherwise, I would have completed my education a long time ago. Then, I developed the mentality of ‘I don’t know if the College is going to do anything for me.’ But I was completely wrong because an education will open doors for you. It will create opportunities. I’m 100% all for it. It’s helping me now, and it will help me down the road.”

The BAS-SM provides students with educational opportunities and the ability to increase their job skills and marketability in Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto counties. Major employers in the College’s service district are involved in public service, health care, business, and retail. Such employers require employees who have a well-rounded education, can think critically, have people skills, can supervise staff, and can manage aspects of a business.

The program runs for approximately two years and is online. For complete details about the BAS-SM program, visit southflorida.edu/bas-sm. To discuss your eligibility, call Dr. Tina Adams, BAS-SM program lead instructor, at 863-784-7448 or email tina.adams@southflorida.edu.