Senior baseball player Dexter Sebastian is going from a Ferrum Panther to an LSU Tiger to pursue his dream in the medical field as a physical therapist.

“Sebastian is a fantastic young man who is highly motivated and very driven to accom- plish the goals he has set for himself,” Coach Ryan Brittle remarked.

Sebastian has maintained a 4.0 GPA even while being a student-athlete.

“I am not at all surprised to see him gradu- ate at the top of his class and do it in three years! As he moves on to LSU New Orleans Medical School after this semester, I am sure he will continue to excel and become a great physical therapist,” Brittle added.

Teammates say Sebastian is a team player who is always putting the team before him- self.

“He is the quiet type, but his example speaks for itself. He is always willing to help, especially the younger guys,” Brittle said, “When Sebastian is not patrolling center field, he is helping his replacement with positioning and reading situations to teach them the nu- ances of playing defense at the college level.”

Sebastian arrived at Ferrum with 36 credits as a freshmen, which covered some of his general education courses.

“Most of the classes I was taking as a fresh- man were at a sophomore level. At this point in my college career, however, I feel that I have developed my work ethic in a way that makes my classwork more manageable while in season. Maintaining the grades is still a

hassle at times, though,” Sebastian explained. “(But) I would say as long as the work ethic and dedication are there, maintaining grades and continuing college athletics can be a lighter task than it may seem.”

The decision to be a med student is a some- what recent one. In middle school, he ended up fracturing his elbow playing baseball and had to go through physical therapy in order to get back in playing condition.

“That experience was not enough to make me want to pursue physical therapy, but I
did want to pursue an education in the health field because of it. By the time I was applying for undergrad, I still didn’t really know what

I wanted to do, but… I enjoyed the physical therapy experience,” Sebastian said.

He decided to pursue the pre-med major because it offered a wider range of fields he could potentially follow.

In the winter of his sophomore year of col- lege, he had minimized the fields.

“I wanted to pursue orthopedics and physical therapy, so I began shadowing those occupations to grasp what the field is like in action. After experiencing both, I decided on physical therapy and began all the processes for grad school from there.”

There were a few factors that were in his mind when determining to which school he wanted to apply.

“I applied to two schools in Virginia (Em- ory and Henry, and Lynchburg) and one in North Carolina (Elon) because I’ve grown to love this region of the country and the people I have met here.”

Dexter Sebastian, senior, crosses the plate, left, and readies to bat, above. Sebastian will be attending medical school at LSU afer he graduates this spring. (Photos cour- tesy of the Athletic Department)

Still, the lure of New Orleans and LSU won out in the end.