Professor Sophia Kugeares

Academic: University of Michigan, Yerevan State University [Republic of Armenia], St.
Petersburg College, the University of South Florida, Florida State University.
BA - USF -- Secondary English Education (1980)
Certificate in Armenian Language proficiency -- University of Michigan and Yerevan State
University (Armenia) (1990)
MLA - USF -- Masters Liberal Arts, specialization -- Early Christian and Byzantine Art (1991)
MA ESL at USF -- Masters English as a Second Language (1993)
ABD (All But Dissertation) FSU for PhD Interdisciplinary Humanities (1995)
MLIS -- USF Master of Library and Information Science (2016)
Specializations: Arts of Ancient Greece, Etruria, Byzantium and Early Christian and
Mesoamerican Eras; Eastern Europe; World Religions and History, Philosophy.
Travel -- Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Republic of Armenia; Russia
(Leningrad/St. Petersburg); Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Bahrain.

Personal: I was born and raised in Dearborn, MI; adopted Ann Arbor as my new hometown when I went to university there; and I have lived in Clearwater most of my adult life. My three children were born in Ann Arbor, where I paused my education. I resumed my advanced
education when my family and I moved to FL. I enrolled at St Pete (Junior) College when my youngest child began kindergarten. I've been here EVER since, in several different iterations and I love it.

My first academic experiences took place at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. While I did not earn a degree there, I remain a Wolverine fan and make frequent trips back for family gatherings and games. I travel frequently to Greece and toured all of Europe except Spain and England in 1984. I traveled to Armenia three summers in a row, 1990-1992, with the University of Michigan Overseas Intensive Language Study Program, to learn the language and culture of my parents. I feel privileged to have been in the country when it was Soviet and transitioning to Independence. I've also traveled to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize on a USF Study Program in the late 80s. I remain a strong advocate of Overseas Study, and fortunately SPC and USF have some fabulous programs.

I enjoy sharing my travel experiences and my knowledge with my students. I enjoy hearing reciprocal stories from others. My most recent travels took me to England in Summer 2022, on a Literary tour of Cornwall. We toured castles, cathedrals, and grand estates, settings for many
BBC-PBS series based on books by Daphne De Maurier, Winston Graham, Agatha Christie, and others. I departed London for Greece where I spent another month gathering material for stories and poems that I write.