Education News

TCL places in Top 100 in national cybersecurity competition
The Technical College of the Lowcountry has, for the third year running, made the Top 100 “power rankings” in the National Cyber League’s (NCL) Fall 2025 “ethical hacking competition.”

Coached by TCL’s Cybersecurity Program Director Angel Kern and Cybersecurity Program Director Ronnie Bustamante, this year’s team placed 83rd in overall performance in the national competition which saw more than 8,500 participants from 490 colleges nationwide.

Every year students from across the United States participate in the NCL competitions, which offer a way for students to prepare and test themselves against cybersecurity challenges they will likely face in the workforce. Students performed such tasks as identifying hackers from forensic data, running industry tests and audits, recovering from ransomware attacks and other challenges. The rankings measure the students’ abilities to work individually and as a team.

This year’s team included cybersecurity faculty and students: Kenneth Casavant, Olivia Ward, Jared Jimenez, Jonathan Eleuterio Candelario, Christian Osborne, Jennifer Crews, Ethan Ascencion, Nicholas Moser, Katherine Ellis, Mark Douglas, Lionel Grant, Gaston Langford, Brandon Biggins, Kenneth Kelch, Michael Freney, Daniel Taylor, Joshua Albridge, Danniella Bekisz, Abigail Mitchum, Randall Noriega, David Andiano, Grant Laseter, Walt Gnann and Guillermo Genovese.

For more information on TCL’s cybersecurity program visit www.tcl.edu/cybersecurity.

New Student Housing Coming to USCB
Plans are underway to build new student housing at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. One residence hall will be constructed on USCB’s main campus in Bluffton and the other will be built on the university’s Hilton Head Island campus.

The master planning for the residence halls will begin in March 2026, and last six to eight months. The master plan needs to be completed prior to the bidding process and construction phase of the projects.
The Bluffton residence hall will be designed for the success of first-year students. It will be located near Finland Field, home of the Sand Sharks women’s soccer team.

USCB’s Hilton Head Island student housing will be designed for upper-class students majoring in hospitality management. It’s the first residence hall on the island since the USCB campus opened at the world-class resort in 2019. As envisioned, it will be located next to the current university building on Sand Shark Drive, connected by a walkway.

The Beaufort-Jasper Higher Education Commission approved the residence hall projects at its January 2026 meeting.
According to ranking and review website Niche.com, USCB’s student housing is rated No. 1 in South Carolina.

BCSD Unveils Traveling Preschool Bus
The Beaufort County School District’s Office of Early Childhood held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new traveling preschool bus on February 4, at Port Royal Elementary School.

The mobile preschool will travel throughout Beaufort County, offering early childhood learning experiences for children and their families.
The bus is packed with hands-on educational tools and activities, ranging from dramatic play and blocks to art and housekeeping, all aimed at supporting young children during the most critical years of development.

The new bus, which is the district’s second traveling preschool bus, offers more sensory activities and newer technology. For example, it features a state-of-the-art interactive sand table that incorporates virtual technology. Students can dig for dinosaur bones, build volcanoes and watch them erupt, and even catch crabs while exploring an ocean environment.

However, support continues beyond the time spent on the bus. Families can access helpful brochures, pamphlets, videos, free children’s books, and more to take home and continue the learning.

Referrals to family support services are also an important part of the work. “We connect families to whatever resources and additional services they need, right then and there,” said Ashley Gould, Director of Readiness.

Those services may include referrals to pediatricians, Head Start, private childcare centers, or social service providers, according to Gould.

For more information, visit the Beaufort County School District Office of Early Childhood on Facebook.

Applicants sought for “Stay Safe, Bluffton!” scholarships
The Town of Bluffton is accepting scholarship applications through March 1, 2026, for up to five $1,500 scholarships which the Town will award to local seniors and college students who are safe driving ambassadors.

The “Stay Safe, Bluffton!” scholarships are awarded to honor academic and civic achievement while encouraging all students to influence their peers to be safe drivers in order to reduce vehicle incidents.
These scholarships are a component in the Town’s “Stay Safe, Bluffton!” safe driving campaign, to reduce traffic collisions in our region and raise awareness of mindful driving, especially among our town’s younger residents.

The five scholarship winners will be chosen from Bluffton High School, May River High School, private high schools, homeschooled seniors, or a local college/vocational school student.
Scholarship winners will be announced in May.
More details and the application are available on the Town’s website:
https://www.townofbluffton.sc.gov/639/Stay-Safe-Bluffton-Scholarship