Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Recognized for Impact on University Area Community
On Tuesday, June 18, Sen. Victor Crist, a former Hillsborough County Commissioner, was honored for his over 40 years of dedicated leadership and service to the community. Hillsborough County's University Area Community Center Complex (UACDC) was renamed the Victor Crist Community Center Complex in a touching ceremony attended by Crist's family, friends, mentors, and community leaders.
Alexis Santiago, a former University Area resident and student at the center, was a special guest. She shared her story with the over 100 people in attendance.
Santiago took part in many opportunities at the UACDC as a kid. Now a first-generation college graduate, first-time homeowner, and manager of a prestigious law firm in Ohio, she credits her success to the center and to the senator.
Crist has dedicated most of his adult life to improving the quality of life for people in the University Community, the neighborhoods that surround the University of South Florida's Tampa campus, which historically has had a large low-income, at-risk population.
Dr. Sarah Combs, the Center's director, says that Crist has left a remarkable legacy in the community. Weekly, Combs hears stories about the Senator changing a life, bringing another resource to the community, or raising funds for needed services.
Now - after 40 plus years - as a result of Crist's service, the lives of hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged residents have been improved and changed for the better.
Santiago knows this better than most and encourages youth in the area to try out the center, even just once. "You can be better than your circumstances. You can rise above the negativity around you. It's either come (to the UACDC) one day or come on day one. It can change your life forever."