Florida soccer coach Becky Burleigh prepares to drape an academic stole around the neck of Alyssa Howell on Thursday at UF's Student-Athlete Graduation Brunch Celebration. (Photo: Kelly Chase/UAA Communications)
Gators Celebrate Journeys Such as Howell's at Student-Athlete Graduate Brunch
Thursday, December 5, 2019 | General, Soccer, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The record of what Alyssa Howell has done in soccer is easy to find for anyone interested. Go online and search for the UF soccer team's roster, click the link under her name, and her career bio spills across the screen.
Of course, that's just a small part of Howell's story. She grew up in Farmersville, Ohio, a tiny village located well off the beaten path on Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton. Her grandmother lived nearby on a farm.
On that farm, there were horses and cows and dogs and cats and pigs and all kinds of other critters to tend to. Howell carved out a path to UF by playing soccer. She dreamed up a future career on her grandmother's farm.
On Thursday, the 23-year-old Howell was one of the 33 Gators honored during the 2019 Student-Athlete Fall Graduation Brunch Celebration held inside the Gator Room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Howell and teammate Carina Baltrip-Reyes represented the soccer team, both members of the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll. The UF football team had the most representatives with 17. Overall, 19 of the student-athletes in attendance made the All-SEC Academic Honor Roll during their college careers.
Howell is set to earn her undergraduate degree in animal sciences later this month with the goal of entering UF's college of veterinary medicine in 2020.
She went back to that farm to reflect on how she got here and where she is going.
"I would always go over there and be around her animals,'' Howell said Thursday. "I like the mystery of it. Animals can't tell you what's going on. That's kind of your job to figure it out. It's always presenting challenges to you."
Gator soccer's Alyssa Howell has more than 500 community service hours at various sites and worked at UF's Small Animal Hospital to gain practical experience for her next step - veterinarian school.
While at UF, Howell balanced an intense academic focus with the time commitment of being a student-athlete in one of the most successful athletic departments in the nation. Knowing the requirements she would need to meet someday to be accepted into UF's vet school, Howell started volunteering at the local Humane Society not longer after she got here.
She served more than 500 community service hours at various sites in total and worked at UF's Small Animal Hospital to gain practical experience. Gators soccer head coach Becky Burleigh saw the commitment from Howell that she heard about during the recruiting process.
"Sometimes her days started well before our days or went well beyond our days,'' Burleigh said. "Alyssa brought that work ethic and that perseverance that she probably learned growing up in that environment."
Stories such as Howell's were celebrated Thursday.
Gators center Nick Buchanan spoke on the behalf of the graduating seniors and said the common bond they share deserves a special tribute.
"We've accomplished a whole lot since we first stepped on campus,'' Buchanan said. "We attend each other's games. We understand the highs and lows that go into being a student-athlete. The crazy schedules, the travel, the early morning and late nights. We've been there for each other."
Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and former UF head coach Steve Spurrier spoke to the soon-to-be graduates. Their academic advisors shared anecdotes as each was introduced.
It was their day.
"Congratulations on graduating from the University of Florida,'' Spurrier said. "It is memories of a lifetime."
One of the memories Howell shared Thursday altered her career outlook. When she arrived at UF, the long-term goal was perhaps to own and operate her own animal clinic.
However, after working with doctors at UF as part of her studies, she has re-imagined the possibilities. One of the doctors she worked with will soon publish a study on a vaccine he created to extend the lives of animals with cancer.
"That's kind of what I'm hoping to do,'' Howell said. "I don't think you really get those opportunities in smaller clinics. To me it's very intriguing and warms the heart since it's something I've wanted to do since I was little."
