The College welcomed nearly 800 new first-year and transfer students, one of its most academically gifted classes. Flagler’s new Saints came from around the world and across 39 states, bringing with them new perspectives, ideas, and excitement.
These students’ stories are just a glimpse into the incredible talent among the Class of 2028 and why they decided to become a Saint:
Sana Mohtasebzada | Pioneering author
Hometown: Herat, Afghanistan
Academic interests: Cinematic Arts & Media Studies
Mohtasebzada (left) at book unveiling in D.C.
Sana Mohtasebzada uses fantasy writing to depict her homeland’s harsh circumstances.
“I am an Afghan girl—alive through words and sentences, a girl who is thirsty for literature,” Mohtasebzada wrote in a brief autobiography for her recently published fantasy novel, “Henry Smith and the Nightmare Monster" (see below).
Mohtasebzada wrote her first short story at nine and published her debut novel by eleven. As a child, she watched her mother freely publish children’s stories and find success as “an entrepreneur, writer, director, and advocate for women’s and children’s rights.”
At a very young age, Mohtasebzada was exposed to the “enchanting world of books—a world that allowed [her] to experience life over and over again.”
“I want something that I can’t find here,” she recalled thinking as a little girl in Afghanistan. This also laid her unconventional path to Flagler College.
“Since I was in Afghanistan, I dreamed of studying at this college,” she said. “I had researched its history and learned that its beauty was like the worlds I imagined, which made me eager to explore this environment. From the moment I saw Flagler, an idea sparked within me.”
Mohtasebzada said her mind is always brimming with ideas and her pen is always ready. Now, she’s crafting her first English novel, “a fantasy story set in this very place.”
“I want to learn more about the history of Flagler and St. Augustine, and by meeting more people, I hope to craft characters for my new story,” she said.
Her active imagination and call to writing propelled Mohtasebzada through the tumultuous years since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan.
Just a few months after her 18th birthday, her world took a devastating turn. She vividly recalls an August afternoon, running home from school with her sister as the Taliban set off explosions to “celebrate” capturing her city, Herat.
In the “days of hopelessness” following the takeover, Mohtasebzada said she found power through the characters she created and stories she told.
“Accepting this fate was painful,” she said. “The loss of my homeland and the strain of war and displacement transformed our lives. But I concluded that, although oppressive laws could imprison my body, no one could take away the freedom of my mind.”
Trevur Smalls | Star athlete
Hometown: Moncks Corner, S.C.
Academic interests: Sport Management
Transfer student-athlete Trevur Smalls helped lead his team at Berkeley High School to the state championships in his senior year.
“We made a lot of memories, a lot of records made a lot of history for the school, and I feel like that legacy will be talked about years and years after, still to this day,” Smalls said, reflecting on the momentum shift he and his teammates knew they were “destined” to create in Berkely’s basketball program.
Smalls (#24 at Berkeley) said the team had “probably three people that could have gone Division 1 or to the pros for basketball.” His late teammate and best friend since middle school, Ishan White (#13 ), was one of them.
When White sprouted three inches to 6’6” over the summer before their sophomore year, Smalls said that’s when the powerful duo started to see “a lot of minutes on varsity.” After a strong class of seniors graduated, Smalls said “they left the show for me and Ishan to take over.”
After high school, Trevur’s college journey began at a junior college, where he redshirted his first year. He then transferred to USC Salkehatchie, where he faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant ankle injury, and numerous personal losses. In a short time, Smalls experienced the passing of his best friend Ishan, his uncle, and two teammates from Salkehatchie.
“You always have a ‘why’...whether it’s the love of the sport, or for your family and your supporters,” Smalls said. “The stuff I was going through gave me another reason to go hard for the ones who are not here... They’re a main reason of why I’m where I am in life.”
Despite these profound losses, Smalls continued to push forward, eventually transferring to Caldwell Community College where his performance there caught the attention of Flagler College’s basketball program.
He draws strength from the memories of lost loved ones like White, using their legacy as a source of inspiration to achieve success on and off the court.
“We’re still down here making history,” he said.
Gabriel Dinger | Third-generation Saint
Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida
Academic interests: Cinematic Arts & Journalism
For Gabriel Dinger, becoming a Flagler College Saint is just something that runs in the family.
Dinger is a proud third-generation Saint. His grandmother, alumna Donna Manning, and his mother, Criston Dinger (formerly Criston Jackson) both attended Flagler, making Gabriel the only third-generation student in the Class of 2028.
“She told me all about her classes, experiences, and the friends she made,” Dinger said about his grandmother who was a social science major and active in Flagler’s Theatre productions. “These stories put Flagler on my college radar very early on in life.”
Dinger said his mother played a significant role in shaping his academic journey and inspiring him to explore the programs she enjoyed during her time here.
“She told me specifically about the communications (which funnily enough became my major) and theater departments,” he said. “I was encouraged specifically to enroll in Professor Gilmore’s classes.”
Growing up in St. Augustine, Gabriel said he always aspired to attend Flagler College. But as the time to apply approached, he said he felt uncertain and unprepared.
“Words from my mother showed me I needed to do what was best for me,” Dinger said. “And for me it was drumming up some courage and submitting the application.”
Maggie Demsey | Future Olympian
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Academic interests: Elementary Education
This summer, Maggie Demsey caught a glimpse of her future as she watched Olympians hit the waves in Tahiti.
“I did a surf camp and when I was about seven years old and I just fell in love with it,” Demsey, a Jacksonville native, said.
She started surfing competitions at ten years old, and said it’s been a part of her life ever since. Demsey regularly competes in the World Surf League (WSL) and was recently named to the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) 2024 All-Star team. She has also been invited to join the USA Prime surfing program, a prep program for the Olympics and the highest level of amateur surfing in the country.
“Unlike most sports, surfing is completely in the control of nature and the force of the ocean,” Demsey said. “So, the athletic ability and able to perform under pressure and circumstances that you haven’t prepared for exactly.”
Demsey has cemented her talent in surfing, even helping the Flagler Beach High School surf team snag third at the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s (NSSA) High School National Championships this summer. But her wave of success hasn’t been without a battle inside her body.
“I have struggled with arthritis, which causes all my joints in my body to flare up,” she said. “It makes it hard to surf.”
With the help of great doctors, Demsey said she’s seen significant improvement and is hopeful for a full recovery. The feeling she gets out on the water, when she’s doing what she loves most, no doubt gave her the spirit to push through the medical barriers.
“I love how [surfing] is just such a form of therapy and once you get out in the water, it’s like nothing in the world matters,” Demsey said.
A love for the local surf culture and its “sense of community” gave Demsey strong roots in the area, one reason she chose Flagler College. She was also drawn to its “small school setting,” supportive community, and of course- the surf team.
“I’m super excited to compete for them... hopefully some other girls come out because as of now it’s just me and Callie,” she said about junior Callie Hertz.
Over the next four years, Demsey said she’ll be balancing her courseload as she works toward becoming an elementary school teacher with her athletic aspirations. She said she aims to represent her mother’s home country of Guam in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
“I really want to focus on school because my overall dream is to be a teacher and help kids,” she said. “But also keep surfing one of my top priorities...Hopefully after graduation I could catch a flight over to LA and compete.”
Breon McClendon | Coding wiz
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Academic interests: Computer Information Systems
Jacksonville native Breon McClendon is the Class of 2028’s recipient of the prestigious Lewis-Wiley Scholarship.
This scholarship, covering full tuition for four years, is awarded based on merit to incoming freshmen who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, and leadership qualities.
He said this scholarship positively impacts his life, making his family proud.
“I believe I am only one of two people in our family to go to college, and to go to a college as prestigious as Flagler is definitely a blessing to us,” he said.
McClendon, originally from Michigan, moved to Jacksonville where he attended Frank H. Peterson High School. During his high school years, Breon served as the Student Body Vice President through the Student Government Association, and President of the school’s National Honor Society chapter.
Despite severe scoliosis requiring surgery in his senior year, Breon excelled academically. McClendon also found a passion for computer science, a field he was introduced to at his technical high school through a “coding and computers” class and the coding club.
“We would program small websites and [video] games, which, I like playing games as a teenage boy” he said about the Coding Club’s activities. “It seemed easy to me because I love numbers. Numbers are one of the few things I’m great at, and coding is just 1s and zeros.”
At Flagler College, he plans to further explore this passion, although he remains undecided about whether to pursue a career in video game development or go into a technology business.
“The future is getting more ‘tech-wise’,” McClendon said. “Better to get ahead now than fall behind.”
