Meet the new Honors Recruitment and Transitions Coordinator, TehQuin Forbes. Forbes is from Miami, Florida, and Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from the Honors Program at the University of Florida in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He then went on to get his master’s degree at Florida State University and is currently working on his doctorate from FSU. His studies are mostly focused on racism and heterosexism in higher education.

         As a student at UF, Forbes was a very involved Honors student. In 2016, he was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame, and he enjoyed going to the Honors End of Year Banquet and the Honors Holiday Party. His favorite memories from his time as an undergraduate include late-night visits to Chomp It, hiding out in Hume on game day (though he would brave the storm of football fans to get to Publix if he had to), and walking to Midtown with friends.

         Forbes’s job as the recruitment and transitions coordinator entails working with students and families to help with their transition to college life, leading info sessions for prospective and admitted students, teaching uncommon reads classes, and advising primarily first-year students. His goal is to ensure that all students feel welcome in UF Honors. He understands that going from high school to college can be disproportionately difficult depending on a student’s situation. “Some people have older siblings or parents who’ve been to college before who can ease some of the anxiety, help with the transition; some people don’t, so I want to make sure that I am helping everyone.” It is important for Forbes that the incoming Honors classes are diverse groups of leaders and scholars. Furthermore, he aims to challenge Honors students “to try new things, to take hard courses, to do some learning and unlearning about themselves and others.” In preparation for admissions season, he has been doing a lot of learning about the staff and students he works with.

Although Forbes’s position is primarily focused on first-year students, he hopes to meet and support other students in the program as well. “Also, I do love to play Pokémon Go, even in 2020, so I am always down to share my friend code with folks if they want it. That’s a good reason to stop by the office virtually and to get to meet me. I send gifts every day.” That deal sounds too sweet to pass up.

Welcome back to UF Honors, TehQuin Forbes!