St Augustine employees make commitment to advanced degrees

The City of St. Augustine proudly recognizes the personal achievement and the continued professional development of two hard-working employees who recently completed advanced degree programs; City Archeologist Andrea White and Corey Sakryd, the city’s Grants Administrative Coordinator.

Andrea White, St. Augustine’s City Archeologist, was recently awarded her doctorate in Anthropology from the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Andrea, who relocated from New Orleans to join the city in 2017, specializes in urban and historical archaeology and for her dissertation developed an urban archaeological model that can be implemented in any historic city, including St. Augustine, which pulls together overlays of historical maps to study a city’s development over time.

Corey Sakryd, the city’s Grants Administrative Coordinator, was recently awarded his Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Flagler College and was also presented the David B. Shoar award for academic excellence. A 26-year Navy veteran, Corey was named to the newly created position in April of 2018 and is responsible for researching financial support through available grants and oversight of existing grant contracts from Federal, State, and local Special District agencies.

“This commitment to education demonstrates the high level of dedication of our employees that they pursue these endeavors on their own time and of their own accord,” said City Manager John Regan. “This drive for self-improvement ultimately benefits not only our organization but the community as a whole.”

Congratulations to both for a job well done!  The city archaeologist works in the Planning and Building Department, and the grants administrator works in the General Services Department.