Honors student Caleb Hardy selected for 2026 Coca-Cola Academic Team

Caleb Hardy, a Seminole State College of Florida honors student, has been named a member of the 2026 Coca-Cola Academic Team and will receive a $1,300 scholarship. Coca-Cola Academic Team members will be recognized in both local and statewide ceremonies and will receive a commemorative medallion.

Hardy was nominated for the academic team by Grindle Honors Institute Director Tracy Harbin and selection for the team was based on students' academic achievement, leadership and engagement in college and community service. Previously, Hardy was also one of the 200 Phi Theta Kappa members selected out of 600 applicants for the Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise Scholarship.

As president of Seminole State's Phi Theta Kappa chapter, he leads a team of 10 officers who help members connect, network and form a supportive academic community. They have assisted in hosting PTK's Florida Regional Honors Conference, created helpful resources for Seminole State students and partnered with the Naval Air Station Museum in Deland to digitize parts of their collection.

"More than anything, being president has taught me that leadership is less about directing people and more about empowering them," Hardy said. "PTK gave me a network of motivated peers, mentors and advisors who genuinely want to see each other succeed."

Beyond his academic excellence, Hardy has served as a tutor in General Biology I and II, a Grindle Honors Institute ambassador and an officer for Seminole State's Black Student Union. He has mentored first-generation students and teaches a bi-weekly class to sixth graders through his church.

“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” said Jane Hale Paulsen, president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa to make it possible for more deserving students to achieve their educational goals and support tomorrow’s global community leaders.”

Hardy's goal is to become a physician associate who helps serve clinics in rural areas. “In today’s world, health can feel like a privilege that not everyone has access to. I have seen health disparities firsthand in my own family,” Hardy said. “I have realized something important: not everyone has the resources, support or opportunity to challenge the systems that hold them back. That realization is what motivates me to pursue healthcare. I want to be someone who helps bridge that gap.”

He plans to use one of the College's transfer pathways to continue to a four-year university where he can further his education and has been named one of 425 semifinalists for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, a highly selective scholarship for the nation’s top community college students.