For spring 2009 graduate Ryan MacManus, the past four years has had its lows – like being diagnosed with the debilitating Crohn’s disease that nearly ended his cross country running career.

But there have been far more highs, like battling back to top running form and being named 2008 Independent Runner of the Year. He even landed an internship with the FBI in what he hopes will eventually lead to a career as a criminal profiler.

Those accomplishments seemed out of reach in the spring of 2006 while MacManus was running on Flagler’s cross country team. He was experiencing constant fatigue, stomach aches and head aches, and finished last in a race in Gainesville – far from ordinary for an extraordinary runner.

He was eventually diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a severe inflammatory bowel disease that leads to an obstruction of the intestine and the formation of scar tissue. “I went from running 10 to 15 miles a day and loving it, to being told that walking up the stairs could put my heart into arrest,” he said.

MacManus was forced to cease strenuous activity for three months. “It certainly put things into perspective,” he said. “It gave me a new appreciation for being healthy and watching what I put into my body, because every decision can make a difference. And most importantly, running became more fun than ever.”

The results of MacManus’ newly found dedication were never clearer than during the 2008 season when he led the Flagler team to a 17th-place finish in the NCAA Division II South Regional.

His time in the classroom at Flagler, where he was a psychology major with a criminology minor, also ended pretty spectacularly. MacManus spent the spring semester interning at the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Quantico, Va., in the Behavioral Sciences Unit. He worked with field agents gathering research on subjects like workplace violence, sexual offenders, child pornography and counterterrorism.

Eighty-five miles off the Colombian coast, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a small boat speeds through international waters headed north. Loaded with illegal narcotics like marijuana and cocaine, the boat is more than likely headed for U.S. soil, where the “runners” on board will sell the drugs for a higher premium to a buyer on the mainland.

The runners may make $10,000 each on this one mission — a typical day in the international drug trade. Unless they encounter HITRON and Flagler graduate Matt Rother.

When the U.S. Coast Guard determines one of these vessels is what they call a “go-fast” boat, they deploy their Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON), based out of Jacksonville’s Cecil Field. This specialized unit focuses on high threat drug trafficking, and their armed helicopters intercept and apprehend suspected targets.

Rother, a 1989 graduate with a double major in English and communication, is now in his 22nd year with the Coast Guard and his second year as a commander with HITRON. His main role is training pilots and gunners for counter narco-terrorism, along with leading them in homeland security initiatives, namely protecting ports, waterways and coasts. He just returned from a deployment in the Pacific, where he was trying to stop drug traffickers.

“I’ve always been driven by service to my country and to my fellow man,” Rother said. “Growing up in Oklahoma, I was definitely a militaristic child. My father was an air force pilot, so all I ever wanted to do was follow in his footsteps.”

When an office of DEA agents in Jacksonville set up a drug bust, they typically gather one pound of cocaine. That process sometimes takes upwards of a month from start to finish. During Rother’s tenure, the HITRON’s largest bust on record was 6,800 pounds of cocaine on one boat, which translated to an import value of more than $90 million.

Just this fall, they busted a boat with 3,900 lbs. of cocaine, worth a little over $50 million.

Rother didn’t grow up dreaming of the Coast Guard, but when he came to Flagler College in 1985 he quickly realized that there was more to life than combat. In his own words, he became a “humanist.” He decided he could still serve his country by enforcing laws and saving lives closer to home — all by joining the Coast Guard.

He started by entering the reserves in his junior year at Flagler. Upon completing his degree, he entered officer candidate school. When he went to become a Coast Guard pilot, people questioned his qualifications in math and science, the typical background subjects required for the job. He moved forward despite that, quickly establishing himself within his units as a talented pilot.

“I can’t understate the importance of the education I got at Flagler,” Rother said. “My time there made me a well-rounded officer with what I learned about speech and writing as an English and communications major. The most important thing you need to be a successful pilot is to be a good manager with a well-rounded skill set. I had all of that.”

McCuen came to Flagler from Gainesville Community College in Georgia, played two years under Scott and was a two-time NAIA All-American, graduating in the class of 1983 with a double major in recreation management and history. He went to Georgia State University with intentions of being graduate student that fall, but was quickly named the school’s tennis director, thanks in large part to a gleaming recommendation from Scott.

In 19 years, McCuen coached the Panthers to five conference titles and took them to three NCAA tournaments. He was named conference coach of the year five times and propelled Georgia State into a top-70 nationally ranked program. Perhaps most importantly, McCuen and wife Linda contributed much of their time to Atlanta youth tennis programs and were instrumental in creating the first collegiate wheelchair team in the United States.

“I’ve been coaching tennis for 26 years now, and it’s been a life-changing experience every day,” McCuen says. “From having the opportunity to start the wheelchair program, to building a solid program at Georgia State, and now becoming the top guy at Clemson, it’s been quite a ride.”

McCuen still credits much of his coaching success to the instruction of Scott – along with the legendary Chuck Kriese, whom McCuen is replacing at Clemson.

“I have to give all the credit to Peter Scott,” McCuen says. “He helped me get on my feet at Georgia State, and I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that I used the drills, the language and the philosophy that he taught me while at Flagler.”