Student of the Month

 
West Ashley High School junior Colin Winstead was surprised and honored when he found out that his drama teacher, Nancy Shurlds, nominated him to be Student of the Month. “He is a good student, an excellent member of The Drama Studio, and he is a hard-working, diligent athlete,” says Shurlds. Winstead believes he was chosen because he is a hard worker who also respects authority. “I always do what I’m told or what’s asked of my teachers,” says Winstead.
Winstead is a respectful hard worker in and out of the classroom. He has a part time job at Stono Market and Tomato Shed Café where he has already earned one promotion. He is also a member of the West Ashley High School Wrestling Team. In fact, Winstead claims that his favorite part of high school is sports and all the people on his team. “We’re like a big family,” says Winstead. In addition to being nominated as Student of the Month, Winstead has also been nominated as Athlete of the Week for wrestling.
In school, Winstead maintains high grades in all of his classes. His favorite subject is science. “It’s just interesting learning about life and all the different levels of life,” says Winstead. He is also involved in National Honor Society, the honors drama class, and The Drama Studio. Despite his busy schedule, Winstead still finds time to give back to his community. “Colin is a magnanimous young man, with a kindness that extends beyond the classroom,” says Shurlds. He is very involved in community service projects at Ashley River Baptist Church. Just recently he volunteered for three different projects: to help pack boxes of supplies for children in Africa, a food drive, and Operation Christmas Child.
It’s easy to be a Renaissance man like Winstead if you’ve had a good role model. Winstead claims that his father has been his biggest inspiration and motivator. “He’s always there for me and never lets me down,” says Winstead. “Even when he was overseas, he still tried to communicate via letter or over the phone, however he could.” Winstead’s father just recently retired from the Air Force whose core values are integrity, service before self, and excellence in all you do.
Winstead plans to attend the University of South Carolina for pre-med. He wants to become an orthopedic surgeon. Doctor Olsen, an orthopedic doctor, helped Winstead overcome a number of wresting injuries and inspired him to pursue orthopedics. In 10 years, Winstead sees himself in Charleston, living on the river, with a wife and one child. Winstead aspires to open his own practice as on orthopedic surgeon.