The Gabber: June 24, 2021

Student of the Month: Qwynn Foster

By Ryan McGahan

One year ago, Qwynn Foster had just finished his sophomore year at Gibbs High School, but found himself without a place to stay after a bad spat with the grandmother he’d been living with.

“Honestly, I had a lot of places where I as a person needed to grow, and that just seemed like the wake up call that I needed,” he explains, looking back on that night.

Finding a bed at his aunt’s house, Foster spent the night asking himself serious questions about what he wanted to do with his life, and who he hoped to become.

The next day, he called his school’s counselor and told her he’d be graduating a year early.

One year later, he’s met that deadline and more. Donning his cap at 17, he’ll be heading off to Vanderbilt University in the fall to study neurology.

By the time he made that big decision, he’d already laid the groundwork for his early graduation by joining the dual enrollment

QWYNN FOSTER

“Student of the Month” is a feature highlighting some of our area’s brightest young minds, what they’re doing and where they’re going. Know a student you think deserves a mention? Email news@ thegabber.com.

program in just his freshman year, at one point taking classes not just at Gibbs, but at St. Petersburg

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College, Pinellas Technical College and Florida Virtual school, all at the same time.

“I actually got into a little struggle with the district, because I had too many college classes,” Foster said, laughing. “I didn’t know it was possible!”

In his sophomore year, he took 16 courses at once. Some days, his first class would start at 7 a.m., and his last would end at 10 p.m.

“People ask me like, ‘How was sophomore year?’ and I tell them I don’t really remember sophomore year. It was really like a fever dream.”

In spite of his busy schedule, he says he never felt out of place among his peers, or like he was accomplishing anything out of the ordinary.

“I just did what I felt was necessary for my life,” he said. “Like, I

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