Hi everyone!
My name is James Fleming, but most of my friends just call
me by my middle name, Christian. I’ve been a Gator since Fall 2010, and WOW is
it different from what I was used to back home! Just so you know, I spent 1st-12th
grade at a tiny school with only ~350 total students. Even though coming to UF
was obviously an enormous change for me, the limited opportunities in my
hometown left me eager to make the most of the resources here. I was determined
to involve myself in as many clubs and organizations as possible.
The first extracurricular decision I made upon moving into
my dorm at Trusler (I recommend doing the whole dorm thing for at least
freshman year if only to form friendships with people your age) was to check
out the listing of organizations and clubs on the website for student
activities and involvement. They have a wonderful directory with contact
information for every one of the 854 (at the time of my writing this but it is
constantly increasing!) recognized student clubs on campus. This I found
incredibly helpful as I began making a list of every organization that I found
even remotely appealing. In fact, no matter your interests: whether it be
archeology, marine biology, juggling, physics, kendo, sewing, politics, Jesus,
Krishna, or quiddich (it apparently exists), I’m 100% confident that you can
find a club with a diverse group of students that suits you. And guess what? Even if the club doesn’t
exist yet, all you need are a handful of likeminded members and you all can
found your own club! Now I admit, I didn’t follow up on even half of the clubs
I initially wrote down that day since being pre-med at UF is a lot of work
after all, but the ones I did become involved with helped me form lasting
friendships that made campus seem a lot less intimidating.
Personally, the club I was most excited about when first coming
to UF was the tennis club. I felt comfortable with tennis because I’d played
quite a bit in high school and I was eager to improve my game against people
from all over (I actually chose my freshman dorm based upon its proximity to
tennis courts). The very first day of club practice, I was actually rather
nervous. How would I compare to everyone else? Would I even be able to play at
their level? Well it turns out there were probably more people in the club on
the courts at one time than there were people total in 9th-12th
grade at my school and the skill level ranged from individuals who were just
learning to people who’d played for the state championship in high school and
who had a private coach since they were four. I fell somewhere in the above
average range. Even though I no longer attend the club meetings, I still meet
up on occasion to play a game or two with some of the guys I met there.
Over the course of the next few semesters I had some of the
most enjoyable learning experiences of my life. I wanted to learn something
completely new that I would never have the opportunity to back home-- so I
learned not only how to sail 420’s on Lake Wauburg with the Gator Sailing Club,
but also the basics of epee fencing from the Florida Fencing Club (which is
still something I’m trying to improve upon whenever I have the spare time). I’ve volunteered in the radiology department,
emergency department, and operating floor at Shands. I’ve observed open-heart
surgeries, brain surgeries, death and healing, all very close and very real. Thanks
to the time I’ve spent with the Campus Kitchens and Mobile Outreach Clinic, I’ve
learned that one need not travel to a third world country to see true,
debilitating poverty. It exists even in our local community if only you know
where to look or even want to. Finally, I’ve had the privilege of helping to
conduct research through my major in the College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences where I’ve learned techniques such as RNA extraction, and what being a
research scientist really means.
My point is this, hopefully you’ll realize your most memorable
college experiences will be lived while in the pursuit of something you never
imagined you’d have the opportunity or time to learn. I encourage you to go out
and try something offered at our university that’s new to you. Get involved in
a club pertaining to your major or intended career path. Learn that sport you’ve always thought looked
exciting but never had the opportunity or resources. I myself am looking
forward to getting the time for a skydiving trip with the Falling Gators soon. You
may fail although you most likely will not, but in my experiences at least you’ll
be glad you tried and come away with an interesting story. After all, what do
you possibly have to lose but a small part of your time that you probably waste
on Facebook anyways? But most importantly, you won’t have the opportunities
forever. Here at the University of Florida, we have an enormous, diverse, and
very talented student body hailing from a plethora of backgrounds and ascribing
to many different interests, so you need to go out and meet new people! You may
be surprised to realize that it really is true the most important lessons you
can learn at college aren’t taught in a lecture hall (even though those tend to
be pretty important!...at least until finals).
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”-Wayne Gretzky
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and last but not
least…
Go
Gators!
James C. Fleming
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James
Fleming
Class: Junior
Hometown: Georgetown,
Florida
Major: Entomology
and Nematology
Specialization:
Pre-professional
Involvement: Alpha
Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Honor Fraternity, Campus Kitchens, Shands
Volunteer,Alachua Astronomy Club, Entomology Club Leadership Team, Golden Key
Member, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, CALS Honor Program, Research
in the Entomology Department with a focus on Aedes albopictus
Hobbies: Tennis,
cooking, kayaking, traveling, movies, reading, politics, and astronomy
After
College:
Plans to attend medical school with the intent of eventually becoming a surgeon
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