Logan Bell

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Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories looking at some of the 2008 graduates of distinction in Southwest Florida, leading up to graduation later this month.

There are dedicated students ... and then there’s Logan Bell.

A week and a half after having brain surgery to remove an unidentified growth from his cerebellum, the Golden Gate High senior was back in school preparing for the Advance Placement exams.

"I’ve gotten better. I used to walk with a limp (after the surgery)," said Logan, 18, who took four AP exams this year. "The biggest thing for me was that I didn’t want my grades to slip."

And although he missed out on the prom, Bell said he is excited to be back in school to finish his senior year and continue his education as a Seminole at Florida State University this fall.

"I am not nervous at all," said Logan, who is planning to major in psychology. "It means I get to go on with my life ... and I also get to party at Project Graduation."

Whether Logan would get to continue his regular student activities, or even going to school, came into question in February.

After dealing with worsening dizzy spells, Logan went to his family’s doctor and was subsequently referred to a neurologist who ran several tests.

One of those was the MRI that spotted the tiny growth on his cerebellum.

For Logan’s mom, Jill Zollar, 50, the diagnosis definitely wasn’t something she ever expected her second youngest to have to deal with — especially because no one could figure out what the growth was.

"It absolutely devastated us," said Zollar, of the family’s reaction to Logan’s Feb. 18 diagnosis. "It was never a clear-cut case."

After more MRIs and blood work, the doctors at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

Following one aborted surgery attempt, Logan finally went under the knife in late April.

Zollar said the family recently learned that the growth had in fact been a benign glioma, which is a primary central nervous system tumor that affects the brain and occasionally the spinal cord.

As a preventative measure, Logan will meet with an oncologist this summer, along with having to have an MRI every three months for the next three years to continually monitor his progress.

"We’ll see how his recovery goes this summer," Zollar said. "We’re scheduled for orientation (at FSU) in June and we’ll kind of know where he is medically in July."

Throughout his recovery, Logan has continued to go to school and even got to take the final exams for some college courses at Edison College.

He also got to perform in the band’s year-end concert on May 8.

"It was our last concert," said Logan, who started in band in the sixth grade as a clarinet player but switched to the saxophone in the eighth grade. "It was kind of sad."

Although Logan’s rush to get back to school wasn’t what most would expect from a typical teenager, Golden Gate guidance counselor Sandy Consolino said it wasn’t unexpected of Logan.

"He never makes excuses," said Consolino, adding that being ill has been hard for him.

When he comes to school, he feels badly when he’s having trouble doing things he knows he can do, Consolino said, noting, "He always wants to do the best he can."

But now that the countdown has started for graduation, Logan said he’s ready for his next challenge — becoming a child psychiatrist.

A bout with depression in seventh grade, Logan said, led him to what he now considers his calling.

"I was like ‘Wow I can fix myself,’ " he said, adding that psychiatry and psychology helped him bring himself up and out of depression. "I can help other children."

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Golden Gate High School

• Class size: 340

• Commencement: 7 p.m. Friday, May 23, at Golden Gate High School’s Titan gymnasium.

• Senior Class officiers: President Merline Jacques; Vice President Patrina Dieujuste; Secretary Madeline Viera; Treasurer Kelly Dyer

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Sunday: Palmetto Ridge High graduate of distinction.