Visit to Gainesville Brings Elizabeth Mahlich from Michigan to Florida
Friday, February 4, 2011 | Gymnastics
When Elizabeth Mahlich was ready to consider colleges, the University of Florida was the farthest school from her mind.
The Mason, Mich., native had set her mind to going to school in state near the town she'd spent her childhood in.
She would be near the childhood home that filled Mahlich with memories of sledding down backyard hills and biking through the 12 acres of land her family owned.
She would be near enough to help her dad and his business with their holiday tradition – hauling milk to his customers on Christmas and New Year's.
She would be near her mom, who worked long hours at a local restaurant but always left in time to take her to the gym.
“I was always at the gym,” Mahlich said.
Mahlich had been a gymnast since she was three, even before she had the attention span to memorize a routine. She only remembers bits and pieces of the beginning of her career.
“From what my mom said, I loved it right off the bat,” she said.
Nearly 15 years later, she was a Junior Olympic uneven bars champion, a Region 5 gymnast of the year and had traveled to Japan to train as a member of the 2007 All-Star team. When Florida came calling, Mahlich wasn't interested.
“I had no intentions of going out of state in the first place, but when I found out they were interested I asked my coach to get the e-mails going and thought I might as well try it out,” she said.
A visit to Gainesville changed Mahlich's mind. She wouldn't be near her hometown, her friends or her family, but she thought there were plenty of other positives to look forward to.
“When we came down here, it was kind of like an eye-opener. I liked all the coaches and all the people here and I knew I was going to be taken care of while I was down here,” she said. “It was someplace I really wanted to be.”
Since Mahlich came to UF three years ago, she's earned All-America honors and is a member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll. Mahlich, who is pursuing a degree in health education and behavior and aspires to be a nurse, has found quite a few positives in her life. This semester, she is volunteering with three classes at Chiles Elementary School.
“I'm working with a lot of kids that have trouble reading and writing and comprehending. They might have the best reading ability but can't put sentences together. I'll help them organize their thoughts,” she said. “In my first class, the teacher had her students get out their notebooks and write me notes about themselves. I got to take the letters home and write back to them. Some of the letters were so cute.”
And while Mahlich might not be near her dad, she always keeps up their holiday tradition when she heads home.
“I help him work every Christmas,” she said. “I do the book work and help him rinse out the milk tank, and he does all the heavy lifting.”
She might not be near her mom, but a comforting Croatian meal like Mahlich's mom would make is only a short drive away in St. Petersburg. Dali Lemezan's Bosnian parents sometimes cook for the girls, and the teammates bonded over their European heritages and plan to go to Europe.
“I want to see my family who is out there. It would be fun to go out there again, and now a lot of my mom's family knows English so it would be a lot easier for me to communicate with them,” Mahlich said.
She might not be near her childhood home, but Mahlich has made another home with teammates and roommates Lemezan and Randy Stageberg, plus their kitten Pearl.
“We have a lot of fun in our apartment and make jokes all the time. It's fun to hang out with people you have a lot in common with,” she said.
By Mara Rudolph, UF Communications
