This is action: the class of 2024

You may not know Dylan Foster ’24 by name, but fellow students recognize him as an active and positive presence all around campus.

“In my senior year, I looked back at how far I’ve come, all I’ve been involved with, and I said to myself ‘OK, I’ve done all these things in the past. I’m in all these organizations, but this is the year to really put it all into action,’” shared Foster, who most recently was the co-host for the Student Life Awards. “I wanted to create events and use my voice to make an impact for students.”

In October 2023, Foster decided the way he wanted to deliver that impact was by planning and executing a Career Week in the spring to help his fellow graduates get ready to enter the job market. Foster received no class credits or service hours for the project, which was based purely in a mission to support his fellow students.

“My mom was a college counselor for 20 years, then she went to work in human resources for our county school system. Seeing her work with people in all stages of the job search and hiring process inspired me to bring people together to share that knowledge,” he said.

Working closely with Katie Wohlman, director of career and professional development, and Casey Stafford, director of student involvement and leadership, Foster spearheaded organizing activities ranging from resume workshops to building a professional wardrobe with the Career Closet to a full career fair with local employers. 

"Dylan's passion for encouraging his peers shines through all he has done throughout his time at LR, but especially this spring – planning the Career Fair and hosting the Student Life Awards – with so much energy, excitement and joy,” shared Stafford.

In his time at LR, Foster has played offensive line for a nationally ranked Bears football team while serving as a resident assistant, Student Government Association (SGA) secretary, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. chapter president, a member of the LR Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Council and an NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative – all while majoring in sports management with a finance minor.

“I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to come to Lenoir-Rhyne because people were willing to take a chance on me,” Foster shared. “If someone takes a chance on you, then you have to excel and do what needs to be done. I feel like I’ve done that, like I’ve accomplished a lot here.”

Those accomplishments haven’t come without challenges. After touring the campus and talking with the football team and coaching staff, Foster was eager to come to LR, where he could be part of a player-centered athletic program with academics that would lead him to his professional goals in sports management. However, the class of 2024 arrived on campus in the fall of 2020 amid the social distancing restrictions of COVID-19, which proved especially challenging for Foster’s outgoing personality.

“It was not what I thought college was going to be like. I need to talk to people, to see people face to face. That’s how I interact,” he said. “I called my mom early on and told her I wanted to just come home, and she told me to stick with it, that all this would be worth it in the end. It really has been, and that’s the advice I’d pass along to new students – keep going, and great things will happen.”

One of those great things was winning the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) football championship in 2023. 

“We were a really special team. We’d been through a lot together – I’d recovered from two injuries to be there,” Foster shared. “I’ll never forget that moment when the game clock hit zero and that win became a reality for us.”

According to Foster, though, his presentation as a new member of Omega Psi Phi – on April 9, 2022 – ranks as one of the best days of his life. 

“It was the same day as our spring football game, so I had to play, but I also had to get ready – get my hair cut, get my boots on. My family came to see the game and the presentation,” Foster explained. “Then I got hurt in the game and was afraid that would affect my performance that night at the presentation, but I was able to power through. It was the greatest day, just that feeling when you've been working for something for so long and you finally accomplish it. That’s also how graduating feels.”