Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I want to be either an anesthesiologist or an E.R. doctor, specializing in pediatrics. I want to become a certified EMT while in Durham (N.C., at Duke) so that I have a background where I have experience in the whole trauma lifestyle. In 10 years, I’ll probably still be in school like in residency or something like that. My main goal is I want to be able to help people. I want to be able to work in an E.R. I want to be able to do what I like to do, and I also want to have a family as well. One thing I like about being a doctor is the money. (Laughs.)  If I want to be perfect, I’ve got to be like George Clooney and he was in ER, so pediatrics, here I come!

 

What are you most proud of? 

I won the election for student body president. When I entered in SGA as a freshman, I tried to run for president, got shot down, but I didn’t really stop. And I just kept going, and I became SGA president. I like to think I’m influencing other people, and I basically grew more in love with my school. While I’m there, of course I kind of hate it, but outside of school, I’m like, wow this is amazing, I really do want to help out, I really do want to leave my stamp on St. Pete High. I was in Key Club for three years and for IB, we have to do community service. So I did stuff outside of school, like I learned how to knit. So Sundays, when I’m watching Police Woman marathons, I’m in my Duke Snuggie, knitting my scarves. (Laughs.)

 

What teacher has most impacted your life?

I think it’s Mrs. Karyn Tash. She keeps me in line all the time. And even though I only had her for one class freshman year, I still see her, still talk to her. I like to think of her as my “school mom,” because she’s been that awesome to me. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be where I am today without her because she gave me the “grownup talk” that I wouldn’t take from my parents. And so she was like, “Fedner, everyone’s annoyed, everyone’s unhappy, everyone wants to get out of school. Because you’re right there, right at the finish line, you just have to cross it. You can’t alienate yourself from everyone else.” Because there are times when I get just like really annoyed with everybody, and she talks me down off of my ledge.

 

What made you strive fervently to succeed?

My parents came from Haiti, and they always told me, “You know, in Haiti, we didn’t have anything,” and it’s because of that, learning that they sacrificed so much for me, and they came from Haiti to America because their goal was to find a better life for their children. Their sacrifice for me is what pushes me so hard. I want to tell them, “Hey Mom, hey Dad, everything you’ve done for me, I get it,  and here’s how I’m thanking you: Platinum retirement package, cruises every year!”

 

How do you manage to live a normal life?

I just learn how to prioritize what I need to do. I also hang out with my best friends — I like to call us the “Hexagon of Man Love,” because there’s six of us and every Friday we go out and do something crazy. I never really got to do a lot of things when I was younger, because my parents were always like school, school, school, and so now that I’m a senior I’ve realized that I’ve missed a lot of my childhood. So I let my “inner child” out with the Hexagon of Man Love. 

 

What hobbies do you enjoy?

I love to read, and I’ve read everything from Christopher Paolini — young male adventure-type of thing — to Sarah Dessen to Harry Potter, of course. I really got into it because one of my friends told me I had to read Twilight. And she was bugging me about it for about three years, all throughout middle school, “You have to read Twilight. You have to!” So I finally went to the library to request it, but I’m No. 137 in line for the book. So I’m like, “Mmm, well that sucks,” and I picked up Pride and Prejudice. I’m reading about Lizzie Bennett and I’m like, this girl is amazing! She won’t back down, she loves her family, she’s stubborn as heck, she’s just like my sister who’s my role model — but don’t tell her I said that..  And then there’s watching TV. It’s Glee, Dog the Bounty Hunter and anything on the Discovery Health channel.

 

Which superhero do you  identify with?

Oh my gosh, this is so corny — John the Martian Hunter on Justice League. I remember the first Justice League episode I watched, he came from Mars and he’s this total antisocial person, and he finds friends and a family on Earth. He’s lost everybody on Mars, and he acclimates to the Earth. I’ve never really been “antisocial” because in my family, that’s impossible. But I feel like during middle school when I was bullied, I wasn’t exactly the person I could have been. Everybody would be like, “Oh that’s Fedner, he’s too uppity to act his color.” That’s what one girl told me. Retarded. I always tried to push myself into that image of the “average” African-American. Like the summer after eighth grade, because I was more confident than I ever was. I realized that if people didn’t like me, they could shove it because I’m not going to change for them, I tried that before. And when John came to Earth, he realized he could fit in here. He didn’t have to force himself to change. 

 

What is your kryptonite — your weakness?

You’ve got to have a balance, and that’s something I’ve been looking for my entire life. A balance between a Haitian and an American — I can’t just be both, I have to be a Haitian-American. I guess that’s what superheroes are like — the secret identity and then the superhero identity, you know? They’re not two separate personalities, they’re all one person, and they work together.

 

Who is a real-life superhero to you?

My mom and my sister. My dad’s going to get mad if I don’t say him too, but it’s really just my mom and my sister. My sister Adolphia is crazy insane, but she’s so honest, so caring. Like if you need something, you could call her up no matter what time. She’s been such a huge role model for me because she’s this biiiiiiig personality in this little tiny person: 5 feet 2 and three-quarters — if you don’t add the three-quarters, she’ll kill you — no matter what happens, she always (stands) up for her beliefs.