FSU installs rescue rings to boost water safety at Lakefront Park
Florida State University, in collaboration with Campus Recreation, the Student Senate, and the Aden Perry Hero Foundation, hosted a free water safety day at the Lakefront Park & Retreat Center. This event was held to commemorate the installation of the Aden Perry Hero Life Ring Initiative.
FSU is one of the first public universities in the nation to launch such an initiative, which honors 17-year-old Aden Perry, who tragically drowned in 2022 while attempting to save a driver from a submerged car in Sunrise, Florida. The initiative aims to educate students on water safety and the use of Coast Guard-regulated rescue rings attached to floating ropes.
“This collaboration not only brings water safety awareness to our students who enjoy FSU’s Lakefront, but also has the ability to save lives,” said Amy Hecht, vice president for Student Affairs. “We are honored to work with the Aden Perry Foundation and dedicate the lake’s life rings to him.”
The FSU Lakefront Park & Retreat Center on Lake Bradford is a 73-acre facility where students, faculty, staff and the public can swim, canoe, kayak and paddleboard.
The new rescue rings are designed to provide immediate assistance during water emergencies and let bystanders help safely without putting themselves at risk.
Since Aden’s tragedy in 2022, his mother, Sarah Perry, president of the Aden Perry Good Samaritan and Scholarship Fund, shared her inspiration for this water safety initiative. During a trip to London, which she originally planned with her son, she discovered the path she needed to follow to help save future lives.
“I was amazed at all the life rings I saw along a secluded body of water, placed strategically to help prevent drownings,” she said. “I told my son, ‘I know what I am to do now.’”
Perry has dedicated herself to ensuring life rings are accessible near water bodies. She emphasizes that “even the strongest swimmer can be drowned by someone else struggling.” Her key message is, “Throw, don’t go.”
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