GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Freshman defensive back
Devin Moore, a mid-year enrollee, has enjoyed a tasty Americanized gyro. But when it comes to Greek food, loukoumades and galaktoboureko will need to be researched if on the menu.
Moore's teammate, veteran linebacker
Ventrell Miller, has taken cruises to the Bahamas and Grand Turk, but nothing compared to this excursion.
"Way across the water,'' Miller said. "Never been on a flight that long."
Kouri Peace takes her commitment to give back to Greece. The Gator soccer senior is among 16 Gator student-athletes traveling to Greece for a 10-day service trip.
Senior
Kouri Peace, a member of the 2021 SEC Soccer Community Service Team, took a family vacation to Puerta Plata in the Dominican Republic, providing a unique experience. She wasn't expecting to use her passport this summer, but when offered an opportunity to travel to Greece, Peace had difficulty sleeping for days afterward.
Peace grew up serving her community in Pennsylvania. Her parents taught her the importance of helping those less fortunate. She said her favorite day each week of the spring semester was volunteering at Lake Forest Elementary School, where she served as a mentor to the kids. She has extensive volunteer experience, but nothing like this.
"It's just going to be very eye-opening. I already know,'' she said. "I'll definitely take so many things away from this trip. Whatever it is, I'll just apply it to my life and be grateful for this experience. Hopefully, I'll become more aware of the differences in other countries and grateful for what I have."
That outlook will surely put a smile on the face of
Savannah Bailey, senior director of player relations and the GatorMade program. If you have listened closely to Gators head coach
Billy Napier over the past six months, he has often talked about GatorMade, a
holistic player-focused and purpose-driven initiative to help develop players as people equipped with the necessary tools to succeed in life.
A group of 10 football players and six UF women athletes from different sports are scheduled to board a flight Saturday morning to Atlanta. Once there, they will connect to a flight for Athens. And no, not the rival college town that's a short hop from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. They are headed to the original: home to the Parthenon, Acropolis and Hadrian's Library.
Freshman Devin Moore and head coach Billy Napier at the Orange & Blue Game in April. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Bailey is leading the group on a 10-day service abroad trip. Bailey directed similar trips at her previous stops, including a service abroad trip to Thailand at Clemson.
The group of Gators will have time to check out the historical sites and experience the local culture. Still, they will be working the bulk of the trip as volunteers connected to an organization known as "The Smile of the Child," which, according to its official website, is "the largest internationally recognized non-profit, non-governmental organization in Greece in the critical field of child protection, support of children and families with children in need, as well as free public health service for children."
Trips such as this were essential to Bailey when contemplating an offer from Napier to join his inaugural Gators staff.
"It's a different perspective,'' Bailey said. "I think it helps people grow their understanding of the world and understanding of themselves."
With Napier's support and the backing of the University Athletic Association's administration, Bailey worked with her contacts at various organizations to put together the trip. In addition, the Hawkins Center and senior associate athletic director
Jeff Guin pinpointed non-football scholar-athletes interested in making the service trip.
"We'll be doing primarily all of our service work in Athens,'' Bailey said. "Now you have a lot of Ukrainian refugees, who were of Greek ethnicity, coming back to Greece without a home, meals, or clothing. You've got families and children that have traumatic experiences, and we want to be intentional in how we serve them.
"I think that brings home the message that anyone can serve anywhere, so whether it's across the world, in your hometown, or right here in Gainesville, there's always going to be someone who needs help. Hopefully, that's what we get to instill: how to look for those opportunities, and how to pay attention to the world and what's happening so when those opportunities arise, you can be proactive."
Bailey sent out a questionnaire to the football team in January to see who might have an interest. Once she received the replies, she sought a broad range of participants, from newcomers like Moore to veterans such as Miller. A past inclination for community service was an important guidepost.
Moore grew up with a charitable mindset with his mother, a social worker working with foster children, and his father, a founder of a youth basketball program aimed at earning players college scholarships.
"The most important thing about it is just having the opportunity to go help people in need,'' Moore said. "Provide service for them and do anything you can. Any chance I can get, I will go work to help somebody, work at a camp or whatever, just to give back.
"It's very exciting just to have an opportunity to do something like this."
Miller was hesitant at first. He said he didn't know much about Greece, whose economy collapsed in 2019 and then experienced additional hardships through the global coronavirus pandemic.
But once he learned more about the trip, he changed his "maybe" to "yes" on the questionnaire.
"I think it's going to be a humbling experience, just going over there to do service work helping people that are in need," Miller said. "I'm a little anxious to see what everything is going to look like. Greece is just a beautiful place from what I have seen. Being able to go over there and see different things, experience culture shock, I think, will be exciting and different at the same time."
Napier discussed the GatorMade program and its mission throughout his spring speaking tour, educating fans and boosters while encouraging their support.
He targeted Bailey to lead the program soon after taking over in December, familiar with the work she had done at Clemson.
He and Bailey said a trip like this would be impossible without the support of the UAA administration and generous boosters who support the program. The potential benefits to the scholar-athletes are why it is so important to them.
"First of all, we specifically call it service abroad. There is an intent behind it. We're going to help other people. At the same time, really create a unique experience for the player,'' Napier said. "In my life, going places and experiencing other people and other places, having a visual of what it's like — and coming to grips with how great of a country we live and how unbelievable of an opportunity that we have — these experiences are about creating perspective for the player.
"And you really want to have a place where you have a well-rounded experience. You're not only competing on the field at a very high level, but you have an organization that is really making an impact on whom they are as people, prioritizing education. I just think you come back from these experiences, whether it was business weekend in Atlanta, micro internships, you come back from those and now have a little bit more of a vision of what I'm here to do. It's really what college athletics should be. For some of our young people, it will be life-changing."
Bailey has spent the past few weeks preparing those selected for the trip. She has shared information on the cultural differences, told them about the work they will be doing, educated them on the philosophy of servant leadership, and planned a short trip to Santorini to give them a fun break from eight-hour workdays.
Mostly, she has told them to keep an open mind. They are there primarily to serve people in need, and the day-to-day circumstances will fluctuate. They will be unable to communicate in the same language with many of those they are there to help.
"We will address whatever need we possibly can and work with our partner organization to maximize our impact," she said. "It's always interesting to watch language barriers melt away when facial expressions tell you everything you need to know. I do want them to practice the language and fail at it a little bit. Eat authentic meals. Try different things."
As they near their departure, the excitement of the unknown is building.
"I'm definitely going to tell the guys about the stories I have during my time there,'' Miller said. "Hopefully, that will give them more interest to see stuff for themselves and help others in need."
