Eckerd College Newsroom

Call it a tag-team mission to help rescue the coral reefs that surround Florida. A group of students from Eckerd College is in the Florida Keys studying the Caribbean king crabs that graze on the coral reefs.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27.

The title of the course sounds like a classic oxymoron: Serious Comics. But it’s a perfect description of an Eckerd College Autumn Term course where students study serious cartooning, a popular but often overlooked art form where storytelling—and the complex relationship between words and images—is more valued than getting a laugh.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27.

Olivia Knowles ’24 was accepted recently into the prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program and will live and work in Norway from September until next June.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27.

Four Eckerd College students and Associate Professor of Biology Jeff Goessling, Ph.D., sat cross-legged in the sand in Egmont Key State Park recently, angling for what questionable shade a few nearby palms could offer. There wasn’t much idle chatter. They were working against the clock.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27.

Grace Adler knew her Eckerd College summer internship project would be tricky.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27.

Like Santa’s helpers in polo shirts, three members of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College walked into Eckerd’s West Lodge lounge on a recent Monday morning pulling carts filled with nonperishable food—cereal, mac and cheese, tuna pouches. The group had just arrived from Lewis House, where they had collected the food donated by ASPEC members and others during the previous week.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '27

In mid-February, Eckerd College’s members of the Florida Public Interest Research Group Students participated in an item collection for St. Vincent de Paul CARES, which works to find residences for the unhoused within a period of 30 days. The nonprofit organization is based in downtown St. Petersburg and operates initiatives aimed at assisting those in need.

Written and read by Emmi Elmaleh '27

Eckerd College’s Theatre Department is back on-stage with its first production after its fall season was impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Firebringer, directed by sophomore Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre student Elle Lily, ran March 6–9, marking a major return for the Theatre Program.

Written and read by Emmi Elmaleh '27

Eckerd College junior Clara Oxford grew up near a heavily wooded portion of northeast Pennsylvania, and thanks to her parents’ love of the outdoors, she always felt drawn to explore nature—especially the ocean. But there were hurdles.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '28

For the past three years, Eckerd College faculty have attended the annual Gulf Scholars Conference for the purpose of sharing ideas, learning, and building the Gulf Scholars community. The conference includes presentations and discussions from representatives of 24 colleges and universities in the Gulf region.

Written by Tom Zucco and read by Brennan Coleman '28