Coastal Carolina University will recognize its newest graduates during commencement exercises on Dec. 15. Approximately 576 students are eligible to participate in the exercises. The University is proud to highlight a few diverse success stories from the fall class of 2023:

Jessica Cedeno

Jessica Cedeno is a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from Mexico to give their children the best opportunity for a quality education. For her, that was a public health degree from CCU.

A graduate of Carolina Forest High School, Cedeno earned enough AP and honors credits to qualify as a junior in her first year at CCU. In addition, she was awarded scholarships to fully cover her studies. She will receive her Bachelor of Science in public health with a concentration in healthcare administration after only two and a half years at the University.

Cedeno is a member of the HTC Honors College, a 2023 Dyer Fellow, a member of Eta Sigma Gamma (public health honors society) and Pre-Health Professions Association, and she served with the South Carolina Public Health Preparedness Student Corps at CCU. She also recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to present a research project on childhood obesity to South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry.

Cedeno plans to pursue a master’s degree in healthcare administration or an MBA.

Trenton Eden

Trenton Eden is graduating with a bachelor’s in communication and a minor in business administration. A member of the HTC Honors College, Eden is a nontraditional student who went from homeless to college graduate in three years.

In March 2020, he went from living underneath a palm tree in Tampa, Fla., to moving to South Carolina to live with his grandparents and enrolling in courses at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, with hopes to transfer to CCU, become a resident advisor, and complete a bachelor’s degree. Eden achieved those goals and more, securing a student worker position in the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies, completing an internship at ETV, and graduating with a 3.95 GPA with honors. He plans to pursue an MBA at CCU beginning in January 2024. See his video below.

Brooke Perkins

Brooke Perkins is a biology major who is the sports sustainability intern for Sustain Coastal. She previously worked as an Eco-Rep Leader and as a Green Team member on campus. Perkins worked at on-campus events including Zero Waste football and baseball and started CCU’s first-ever Zero Waste basketball game in February 2023.

She was recently contacted by Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, due to her Sustain Coastal internship, to interview as a supervisor for their sustainability efforts. Venue staff specifically cited her experience with Sustain Coastal and her internship as exactly what they are looking for to fulfill the open position.

Perkins also served as president of CCU Relay for Life (and is a cancer survivor herself) and held a fellowship with the Conservation Voters of South Carolina and traveled with other fellows and her supervisor to various community events, collecting petition signatures and spreading awareness about climate change.