"When I started here, I thought I would just go to school and go home and it would be all about my degree when I graduated," says Melissa Cobb. "I can now say that I am more connected to the university than I ever expected and for that I will be forever thankful."

Melissa chose this campus because it offered the classes she wanted and was close to home, which let her continue to work full time. But she soon learned the university offers many other benefits. "Once I started taking classes, I realized that this is exactly the type of university I wanted to attend long term. It's small enough that you can get to know the faculty and staff and, most important, you can grow with students on a one-on-one basis."

When Melissa enrolled she knew few people on campus and wasn't sure what career she wanted to pursue. Getting to know the faculty, however, played a key role in helping her grow and decide what was best for her.

"After my first semester I decided I would study general business administration with a concentration in management information systems and marketing," she says, "But that all changed when I took the basic marketing class with Professor Carol Osborne. She showed me how important marketing is to the success of every business or organization."

"After taking Promotion Management, I knew that marketing is what challenges me. It creates a desire to learn more, and it really makes my mind tick."

Questioning her career goals, Melissa decided to change her major to marketing. Now she plans on a career in public relations, preferably event planning or media buying.

"I will forever be grateful for the knowledge, experience and guidance Professor Carol Osborne has given me through the classroom and as the advisor for Delta Sigma Pi," says Melissa. "USF Polytechnic faculty and students are so fortunate to have her on their team. She has this natural way of teaching that keeps you interested, and she shows you how important it is to know how concepts work in the real world, not just in the textbook. She has inspired me and, I'm sure, many other students."

When she's not going to class, studying or working, Melissa keeps busy serving as president of the Lambda Kappa Lambda colony of Delta Sigma Pi, a national business fraternity. "This has been a great journey," she says. "In 2006, Delta Sigma Pi was the first fraternity on this campus. Now we are in the final stages of submitting our petition to become an official Delta Sigma Pi chapter. We have grown to 47 members, which is very exciting, and it shows that our students want to become leaders in the community and at the university."

"My fraternity is very near and dear to my heart because it has given me so many great opportunities, personally and professionally. I have traveled out of state for leadership training with fellow officers and members of the fraternity which has only created a closer bond for the future. This fraternity makes a difference in individuals' lives. It is a second family to me. We have our ups and downs, but every step of the way it increases my strengths and improves my leadership and management skills.

According to Melissa, the best is yet to come. "I look forward to the future of this fraternity and all the changes it will create in my life and in others. It takes time, patience, and perseverance to make great things happen. With Delta Sigma Pi, you are taught and receive each of those to make you a better person."