Chris Bacca Elementary Education ESE Jacksonville, Florida

For someone who moved into town less than a year ago, Chris Bacca has a lot of friends in St. Augustine. There are the high school children he mentors through Flagler's Big Brothers/Big Sisters. There are the elderly whose homes he repairs free of charge as a member of the Hometeam organization. And of course, the dozens of friends he has made by getting involved in various student activities at Flagler.

“With such a small, friendly and active student body, Flagler College quickly becomes less of a school and more of a home-away-from-home.”

“I chose Flagler because it met my simple checklist of things to consider,” says the elementary education major. “Was it close enough to home? Check. Did it have my major? Check. Was it small? Okay, check. So I didn't really have any expectations coming in. But my first week here as a freshman, we had all these activities…game night, movie night, pool parties. In the beginning I thought they were really stupid, but all of a sudden I was having fun and really getting to know people. Guess what? My three best friends today are all people I met that week!”

A Flagler Student Ambassador and a member of the Inter-Club Council, what Chris enjoys most about Flagler is the sense of community. “Flagler offers all the benefits of a big college—great programs, great student clubs, great athletics. But the difference is that we do everything as a whole. Everything you do has an effect on another student. It's like being part of a small family but still enjoying an amazing variety of opportunities…to prepare for a career, to serve the community, to work on your leadership skills, to have fun.”