From Rays and Trojans to Gators

An impromptu “casting call” by MIA founder Jane Watt and former Lely counselor Beth Colman netted seven University of Florida freshmen who agreed to meet at the Heisman Garden outside the football stadium. Two things all of them had in common - besides their Marco Island roots - was their enthusiasm over the school and its recent national championship in basketball. 

"I absolutely love it,” said Helena Davis, an MIA graduate. "I've made the best friends ever, and I'm having such an amazing time.” 

And how about that basketball national championship? 

"Oh my gosh,” Davis said. "Yeah, that's why I'm wearing the shirt. I'm all decked out. It was probably the best day of my life when the Gators won, I can't lie.” 

Katelin Reisinger, a basketball player at MIA, is loving the sports at UF. 

“Well, going to a school where the sport teams win is pretty nice,” Reisinger said. “No shade to Marco Island Academy, but winning is pretty nice. And winning at football is also pretty nice. I come here as a freshman, and they start winning. I'm not saying my brother's not jealous, but…” 

Reisinger’s brother Richard, a UF grad who is now attending law school at the University of Miami, didn’t experience any national championships while he was in Gainesville. 

Reisinger said her basketball background at MIA made following the Gators national championship run all the better. 

"I was one of the few people I know who knows basketball,” Reisinger said. "I ended up spending a lot of time explaining basketball. I really understand the game. So, I got really angry when they called technicals. It was really fun, especially when you go to the game.” 

Celine Schauer, an MIA grad, had a little different perspective on Gainesville. She appreciates the church family she’s met at UF. 

"I've met a lot of cool people,” Schauer said. “Got connected to a really nice church community. I only watched a couple games, but seeing the last one was pretty cool.” 

Tabatha Ubertaccio - the only Lely grad among the seven students - is ecstatic to be in Gainesville. 

"I absolutely love UF,” Ubertaccio said. "It was my dream school. And just being here, it's just a dream every day. And it's just great. It has a great community of people. I'm the happiest I've ever been here.” 

Moving to the University of Florida, with 35,000 undergraduate students from a small school like MIA, with an enrollment of just over 300 students, would seem a daunting challenge. Not so says Makayla Hendrick, who attends UF with her twin brother, Austin. 

"I love it,” Hendrick said. "I found such an amazing community, I didn't know I could have. It’s just the best school ever. It doesn't feel big once you are here and you find your people. It feels really small. Every day I see the same people. I go to the library and my friends are there. I'll see ten people I know just walking to class. 

She said the academic demands at UF surprised her. 

“The rigor of the courses surprised me,” she said. "It's very, very difficult in comparison to what we were used to. But I really like the challenge.” 

Elle Ward is thoroughly enjoying the academics and athletics at UF. 

"I love it,” Ward said. "I lucked out. I ended up being, credit-wise, a sophomore from taking the summer classes. There's a lot more opportunity here, and it's pretty nice. I can be myself a lot more, meet a lot more like-minded people than I ever would have met coming from a small island. So, it's pretty cool." 

And about the basketball? 

“Yeah, I was one of the kids waiting for five hours (to get in the O’Connell Center for the championship game watch party),” Ward said. “I had my physics homework up while I was waiting in line. Katelin Reisinger was with me. There was a big group of, like, nine of us who got stuck in the swarm going into the arena. The crowd rushed, so we were in like the back end, and everyone just rushed the doors at the last second, and we got caught up in that crowd of people. It was a little bit scary, yeah. We kind of got picked up for a period of time because of how dense it was, but it was definitely really fun.” 

The good news is that all of the students appear to be having the time of their lives at the University of Florida. The bad news, at least for their parents, is that while several students mentioned missing their pets, none of them said they were missing their parents. Though we’re sure they do.