Mission Statement

The mission of the HATS Program at Stetson University is to identify and serve high achieving talented students through challenging, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences within a culture of excellence.

We realize that not all students take traditional paths to college. Some students attend public school, some attend private school, and some are home schooled. Some are immigrant children who are learning English as their second language, so perhaps their academic gifts are not clearly evident to classroom teachers. Some will be the first person in their family to attend college, while others come from a long line of college graduates.

No matter who you are - regardless of your culture, your financial resources, your educational experiences - if you are a high achieving student, we want to encourage you to consider Stetson University as your future home, whether as a participant in the HATS Program or as a university student - or both! We salute your achievement and are committed to nurturing your continued success.

You are our future. You will change the world in ways too wonderful to imagine. We encourage you to imagine - to explore, to dream, to achieve.

 About the Founder:

The HATS (High Achieving Talented Students) Program was founded by Stetson University graduate ('94, '96) Dr. Cindy Lovell in 1999.  Dr. Lovell was identified as a gifted child, yet she dropped out of high school in the 11th grade because she was bored and underchallenged.  She was a successful business owner before pursuing her childhood dream of becoming an elementary school teacher.  She earned her BA degree in 2 years and 9 months while working 60 hours per week at her business, followed by her MA degree, both earned at Stetson.  Dr. Lovell earned her PhD from the University of Iowa in just two years while working three jobs - at the Belin-Blank Center, in food service, and in proctoring exams.  She joined the faculty in Stetson's teacher education department in 1999 as a fulltime assistant professor and immediately went to work applying all she had learned in Iowa.  In her "spare" time she launched the HATS Program and established dozens of summer programs around the state of Florida, set up above-level testing at various Florida sites, created the Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop in Hannibal, Missouri, launched the Hatterdays program at the request of parents, and established the Belin-Blank/HATS Scholarship at Stetson, an endowed scholarship that benefits participants of the HATS Program.  In 2007 Dr. Lovell accepted a position at Quincy University (Quincy, IL) in the School of Education and also volunteered to serve as the education coordinator at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.  Anyone who knows Dr. Lovell immediately learns of her passion for Mark Twain.  She credits her 4th grade teacher for introducing her to Twain, perhaps her most significant educational event.  Dr. Lovell is quick to point out that Samuel Clemens left school at the age of 11 when his father died, never to return, yet went on to achieve greatness under the pen name "Mark Twain."  

Dr. Lovell remains committed to the HATS Program in the capacity of advisor and is active in the Stetson alumni program.  She understands the frustration of boredom and mediocrity that many talented students face and is committed to extinguishing underachievement by challenging educators to set high expectations for their brightest students.  She also encourages bright students to - when all else fails - create their own pathway to success.