CLARKSVILLE, TN –When Gracey Suggs came to Austin Peay State University, she brought along an impressive set of credentials. The Clarksville native and Montgomery Central graduate graduated a year early and came in with most of her general education requirements already completed through high school dual-enrollment courses.
Now a junior — despite just being in her second year on campus — majoring in biology on a pre-med track, Suggs stands out as a remarkably focused and dedicated student. Since seventh grade, she’s had her sights set on becoming a pediatric oncologist.
“One day, it just kind of came to me that’s what I want to do,” she said. “And ever since then, that’s just where my focus has been, and nothing has caused me to change my mind.”
To make her dream a reality, Suggs has charted out a clear – if occasionally taxing – academic roadmap, working through her biology prerequisites and planning to add psychology as either a double major or minor. Though the demanding course load can make it hard to find balance, she has strategically spaced out her toughest classes, never taking more than two higher-level science classes per semester. Still, with only lab-heavy upper-division courses remaining in her major, it’s a continual challenge.
“When you’re taking genetics, physics and chemistry all together … that’s a lot to study for,” she said. “That’s a lot of lab reports.”
On top of her studies, Suggs has a packed schedule as a second-year member of the Govs cheer squad, a responsibility she takes just as seriously as her classes. She navigates daily two-hour practices, a nonstop community service events schedule that takes her and her teammates all over Montgomery County and occasionally down to Nashville and a jam-packed game schedule during football and basketball seasons.
In addition, Suggs has taken on significant leadership roles across campus. She serves as a junior senator in the Student Government Association (SGA) and as part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the President’s Emerging Leader Program (PELP) and the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS).