Tulane graduate student perseveres to make positive change for herself and others
As a graduate student in Tulane’s School of Professional Advancement, Rhett Anderson made a difference.
She immersed herself in campus life at Tulane, contributing to research in the Tulane Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies and co-founding the Tulane Indigenous Students, Healers, Leaders and Allies organization, which welcomes all students.
She also developed BEACON, an early-warning model designed to identify eating disorder risk among service members through behavioral indicators. The goal of BEACON is to help nonmedical military leadership recognize warning signs and connect individuals to support.
BEACON was Anderson’s capstone project and, fittingly, capped a year defined by academic achievement, leadership, service and the determination to finish what she started.
Anderson enrolled in the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement Emergency & Security Studies program in 2023 with a clear vision for her future — complete a three-year commitment to the Air Force ROTC program at Tulane and commission into the U.S. Space Force upon graduating.
But in September 2025, everything changed when she was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma.
Anderson described her diagnosis as more than a medical crisis. It put her at a professional crossroads because it medically disqualified her from the military career she had spent over half a decade working toward.
“Being disqualified from the service was the worst thing that had ever happened to me,” said Anderson. “That was what I wanted. That was why I was here, and right at the end, when I’m this close, it’s derailed.”
Faced with the emotional weight of an uncertain future and the physical toll of chemotherapy, Anderson chose to remain in New Orleans and complete both cancer treatment and graduate school on her terms rather than return to the support of her family in Vermont and finish her degree remotely.
“I was kind of sitting with myself, and I thought, ‘I have to finish what I started,’” said Anderson. “I decided to jump into every other opportunity that I could to move forward.”
Anderson noted that she could not have succeeded without the support of the Tulane community, including friends, peers, professors and university case management staff.
“It's remarkable how much people will come together to support you here at Tulane,” said Anderson.
She said her experience reinforced her decision to keep moving forward, even when the future no longer looked the way it once did.
In April, just a month before earning her Master of Professional Studies in Homeland Security Studies, Anderson presented BEACON at the 2026 Tulane Research, Innovation and Creativity Summit.
The presentation was part of her effort to explore ways to implement BEACON in military spaces, creating a better future for others and for herself.
