High School fishing has once again proven to be the catalyst that has lead one of our SAF anglers on to college as Gardendale High School’s, Laura Ann Foshee, joins the Savanah College of Art and Design as part of their fishing team in the fall in 2016. The unique and exciting thing about the Savanah College of Art and Design’s team is that this will be the first all-female collegiate team.
“I’m very excited to be joining the SCAD team next fall,” Foshee said. “I was planning on going to college anyway but was undecided as to where I would go. So, when I met SCAD Coach Isaac Payne on social media that really got things started,” Foshee continued.
“Then, when I attended the Southeastern Conference Regional Tournament in Gainesville, Georgia he was actually a speaker for the event. The rest is history I guess.”
Foshee is a senior this year at Gardendale, as well as, the founder and president of her school fishing team.
SCAD coach Isaac Payne is equally impressed with Laura Ann. “She’s one of the most accomplished female anglers I’ve ever met,” Payne stated.
Payne is planning on quickly building both a men’s and women’s team at the Savanah Georgia School. “Our school is about 70% female so it only makes sense we try to build the first all-female team to compete at the collegiate level,” Payne continued. “Our president, Ms. Paula Wallace, is behind our team 100 percent. So, we’re excited to get started and have Laura Ann be one of the building blocks of the team.”
Foshee, who plans to major in art with a minor in photography, says the school is a perfect fit for her and the fact they help with direct scholarship money is a big plus. “My mom and I started the team at my high school and we’re now up to 18 members in just 3 years,” the well-spoken senior added. “So, being one of the first members of the team to help build the program doesn’t bother me a bit; in fact, I welcome the challenge.”
When asked to recall one of her favorite moments of her high school fishing career Laura Ann quickly recalled last year’s SAF Eufaula Open, which also served as the state championship for the anglers from Alabama. My cousin Abigail Montgomery and her partner finished first and my partner DJ Barber and I finished second just a few ounces behind. It was a very special day for our family and I will never forget it”!
