From the Beacon College Office of College Communications | Summer 2024 Lighting the Path Newsletter

They've got this ...

The Opening Convocation is an annual tradition at Beacon College to formally welcome the new school year and chase away the butterflies new students may feel. READ MORE

Social Influencer

The Orlando Business Journal saluted President George J. Hagerty as one of Central Florida's Most Influential Leaders. The inaugural edition of the awards program tapped 49 honorees whose contributions to their business's success, community involvement, and industry leadership help better the region (Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Brevard or Volusia counties) and the business community for all. The Orlando Business Journal will publish full coverage on the winners in its Nov. 8-14, 2024, weekly edition.

Eureka! moments

Moments of self-discovery are at the heart of Summer for Success, Beacon College's three-week college immersion experience for college-bound high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who learn differently. The program helps students develop scholastic and life skills, forge friendships, build confidence, and equip them to make the successful leap to college.

Chess King

Michael Wang has a simple plan when he plays chess. At all costs, protect the king. That may sound simple enough but increasingly, his opponents have failed to do just that. READ MORE

Here come the Blazers

Beacon College has taken another significant step forward in the evolution of the school’s athletics program with its recent admission into the New South Athletic Conference providing more competitive playing opportunities in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. READ MORE

Director of Library Resources Gretchen Dreimiller, MLIS, MA saw her chapter, “I Have Problems, Too: Balancing Your Own Needs with Those of Your Staff" featured in the book "Critical Library Leadership: Managing Self and Others in Today's Academic Library" published in June by the Association of College & Research Libraries. Dreimiller also received a two-year appointment to the Florida Library Association Communications Committee.

Learning specialist Danielle Heider served as a panelist in June during the 2024 Guilford Dialogues Conference at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. The conference's focus was "Building Strategies for Economic Inclusion." Heider — who lived on campus when her mother attended the college and later graduated herself in 2012 — offered insight during a panel examining "Empowering Futures: The Role of Colleges and Universities in Encouraging Economic Inclusion."

Digital communications manager Mary Wymer, APR, was accepted into LeadershipFPRA Class IX and received a full scholarship. LeadershipFPRA provides our public relations practitioners and communicators with the tools they need to become stronger leaders in their organizations, communities, and the Florida Public Relations Association.

Men's basketball coach and Michigan State Spartans great Sam Vincent will serve as the 2024 grand marshal for the university's homecoming parade in October. Vincent also was a guest on the "HeadRoom with Dr. Rod Berger" podcast in August discussing his tenure at Beacon and playing career. LISTEN HERE

Darryl E. Owens, associate vice president of communications and engagement at Beacon College, and Mary C. Wymer, APR, digital communications manager at Beacon College, in July, earned a Best of Sunshine Award in the Public Relations Society of America Sunshine District Radiance Awards for their Beacon Salon Speaker Series integrated public relations campaign.

The Best of Sunshine Award represents the pinnacle of excellence in public relations programming in Florida. In August, the duo received a Golden Image Award of Distinction and a Judges’ Award for ROI for the Beacon College Salon Speaker Series in the Division A Community Relations category at the Florida Public Relations Association Golden Image Awards. Owens and Wymer also were saluted with an inaugural Silver Pinnacle Award in the Nonprofit Team of the Year category. The Pinnacle Awards recognize individuals, agencies, nonprofit organizations, corporate teams, and government agencies for outstanding and ongoing strategic work in public relations and communications.

International shutterbug

As a photographer and writer or as a leisure traveler, Grady McGill, '18, has gone to far-flung destinations, from Ireland to Russia, Alaska to Greece, South America to Canada — and many points between. READ MORE

Dr. Nicki Nance published her column "How Poorly Used Sarcasm Damages Relationships" last month in Medium.

Dana Manzo, vice president of student affairs, Dr. Oksana Hagerty, dean of the Center for Student Success, and Rosemarie DeJarnett, assistant chair of general education and distance learning, will deliver a presentation on "Navigating College Attainment with Neurodiverse Students — From Transition to Transformation" during a pre-conference training event September 15 at the 2024 National College Attainment Network (NCAN) National Conference in Anaheim, California.

The training aims to build a conceptual framework and provide practical strategies for supporting neurodivergent students from the time they begin exploring college options to the early months on a college campus. The presentation delves into the characteristics of adolescents and young adults with learning and attention issues and focuses on holistic student engagement (academic engagement, social engagement, and campus engagement). The trio will explore the five pillars for college success and its behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions.

NCAN is a nonprofit membership and advocacy association created to support members and influence leaders, organizations, policies, and systems nationally to increase equity and excellence in postsecondary degree access and attainment.

Salon Speaker Series

The Beacon Salon Speaker Series features Beacon Writing Center coordinator Dr. Raymond Nault and his presentation, "Japanese Woodblock Art." His presentation celebrates the history and techniques of Japanese woodblock printing. Sharing his seven-year experience working in a traditional studio, Nault won't spend time dwelling on the past. Instead, he'll demonstrate how the 20th century changed the relationships of the designer, carver, and printer, and opened up an incredible avenue for experimentation and creativity. REGISTER TODAY