As a scuba diving and scuba ecology instructor, Alex Rhodes has developed a fondness for the beauty land dwellers often don’t see. So, when the senior anthrozoology major decided to take a shot presenting at the prestigious Anthrozoology as International Practice student conference at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom the choice of topic was clear. And when he learned that his presentation, “The Effects of Tourism on Coral Reefs,” was selected as the only undergraduate presentation out of 10 U.S. lecturers, Rhodes was thrilled.

Beacon College students are studying the manatee crisis as Florida’s beloved sea cows are dying out in record numbers. It’s part of a troubling pattern. Last year, more than 1,100 manatees died from starvation, the cold and boat collisions in Florida.

As hundreds of travelers before them, a flock of Beacon College students set out on a journey this summer in search of knowledge and fun in another part of the world. Their destination: Australia. Nearly 30 students, one alum, two parents, and one sibling joined the June trip, part of the college’s Travel Abroad Program led by Provost Shelly Chandler

This year, the Tuscany adventure, believed to be the only semester-long study abroad program for neurodivergent students, is back on the manifest. Nearly two dozen students have been selected for the September to December semester at the University of Florence’s campus in Prato, a town about 40 miles from Florence.

She set out at dawn on her highway marathon, a 2,400-mile journey to a new life. With her three-year-old daughter as copilot, Sarina Alford covered the continent-long trail in three days — a feat that most travelers would never tackle. Her destination: Beacon College, Florida. From suburban San Diego to Leesburg, Alford was driven by the hope of a college education and a career in her future. It was something that had seemed all but impossible earlier in her life as she wrestled with dyslexia and other learning issues. Last year, however, her mother found Beacon online and shared what she found with Alford.

Most eight-year-olds dream of playing in the rain. Fiorella De La O wasn’t playing when she dreamed of saving the Amazon rainforest. That dream remains, but she first is trying to save her own backyard. Combining her twin passions of conservation and art, the Beacon anthrozoology major has brought her ardent advocacy to the pages of an educational calendar.

When Meghan Woerner received an email from her anthrozoology instructor, Dr. Michelle Szydlowski, inquiring about possible interest in a trip to Nepal to study elephant health and welfare, she jumped at the chance.

Beacon student Carlos Almasque recently received a $3,200 scholarship aimed at needy first-generation, minority, and new American students attending Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) and Florida Independent College Fund (CICF) member schools.

As a college intern, Jack Jones built his own field of dreams this summer for a parks and recreation department. And to draw from a famous line in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” the memories were so thick, it was like dipping in magic waters. Jones joined more than 40 Beacon students who filled real-world jobs this summer as part of the Career Immersion Program (CIP). The three-week internships immersed them in a range of fields, including hospital human resources, information technology, web design, animal care and rescue, law enforcement, and recreation management.

From Disney to Broadway, high students from across the country found new avenues of creativity during the 2021 edition of Summer for Success, Beacon College’s annual summer college immersion program. Joanna Shang of Baltimore, Md. and her team envisioned a new theme park where everything is based on colorful villains of Disney lore. Bill Gordon of Dallas, Tx. helped make history come alive in an original musical. And Manuel Frangis of Atlanta, Ga. peered behind the curtain of Broadway to see what makes Hamilton and Les Misérables tick.