SCF's Angel Kelly Wins National Staff Development Award

Angel Kelly, office supervisor for library services at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), received a 2026 Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development. The award recognizes faculty and staff for outstanding commitment, talent, teaching, and service.

Kelly has served SCF for nearly three decades, starting in 1998 as a courier/staff assistant II. She advanced through library roles to become office supervisor, managing databases, inventory, and budgets for the libraries and the Family Heritage House Museum. She also serves as building manager and assists with event planning and student onboarding.

Kelly earned her Associate in Arts degree from Manatee Community College in 1990 while raising her son as a single parent. She later completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Homeland Security at SCF in 2015 with a 4.0 GPA, earning an Outstanding Graduate Award Finalist nomination and multiple scholarships.

“SCF is highly respected in the community as a top employer and a seamless transfer school to four-year universities,” Kelly said. “The college offered the flexibility I needed to earn my degree and reach my goals.”

Kelly finds joy in helping students succeed and celebrating their achievements at graduation. “SCF has become my second home over the last 27-plus years,” Kelly said. “I’ve worked with some amazing people working toward the same goal of helping our students succeed. Each graduation is uniquely special, watching students and their families celebrate and knowing that each of us did a little part in making it happen. It truly does take a village.”

Outside SCF, Kelly works part-time as a registered pharmacy technician at CVS Pharmacy. She enjoys board games, movies, and family day trips. Her favorite destination is Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a place she calls “a piece of heaven on Earth” and home to a historic frame house built by her ancestors.

Kelly also draws inspiration from her brother, whom she describes as an exceptional human being who “consistently finds the good in others” and overcame significant childhood hurdles with grace and resilience.