Nicholas Baragona
Nicholas Baragona visits his favorite place in the world at least three times a week.
The UF Homecoming king finalist takes his breaks at The Swamp Restaurant with friends and some bourbon and Coke.
But for Baragona, it's all about time management and waking up early.
"School comes first, next involvement," said Baragona, a marketing senior.
"Social life comes last," he said.
Baragona is the assistant director of special events for Florida Blue Key, the president of Sigma Chi Fraternity and a member of Florida Cicerones.
He said the application for Homecoming king was no trouble for him.
"I'm so involved with the university and know so much about it that I was able to talk about it," Baragona said.
He added that he's enthusiastic about the possibility of being the first Homecoming king in UF history.
"It's an opportunity for gentlemen involved at this university to represent the university well," Baragona said.
Meanwhile, he said, he is enjoying his time representing UF as a finalist for the title.
"I have to uphold those high standards the university has set before me," he said. "To represent past, present and future Gators."
Katie Darst
Katie Darst has directed The Traveler's Camp, a summer camp for children with special needs, for the past two years.
When the other summer camps she worked for no longer seemed to satisfy the needs of older children, Darst decided to create a new camp for them in Tampa.
Darst, a UF homecoming queen finalist, has decided she wants to continue helping children with special needs throughout her career.
"I absolutely fell in love with the work and the kids," said Darst, a health science senior.
Darst planned daily lessons for her campers. During the final week, she helped the children host a bake sale to raise money for a man whose house had burned down.
"I have gained so much from helping these kids," she said. "It's just given me so much, and I want them to know what it's like to help others."
Twice a week, Darst helps a 12-year-old autistic child by working through the Behavioral Assistant Support Services.
She was nominated to run for homecoming queen by her sorority, Delta Gamma.
As the oldest of six siblings, Darst has always interacted with younger children.
"It's so much love and support," Darst said. "You have your own cheering section just bringing your family."
Sara Hartmann
Sara Hartmann has a passion for education that started when she was young. At the time, she was as young as the middle-school student she now tutors and mentors each week.
"I think just having someone she can talk to who is older and kind of a role model has helped," said Hartmann, a UF history senior.
By influencing young students, she hopes to inspire them to make significant differences in other people's lives, too.
Now, with a one-in-three chance of being UF's Homecoming queen, she hopes to expand this opportunity to be a role model.
"I think all the girls are already role models," Hartmann said of her opponents. "They've contributed and given a lot of themselves. I think it's just a matter of taking that title to take opportunities further."
Running for Homecoming queen is something Hartmann said she had always considered.
"I thought the women were amazing who were crowned every year," she said.
Before she applied, she wanted to "refine her involvement," she said.
Hartmann is a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and Florida Blue Key and is part of the Emerging Leaders Conference.
She is now in the application process for Teach For America. She hopes to teach at an inner-city school to "help with the education gap."
"I'll try to instill in (students) the personal belief that you can do anything you put your mind and heart to," Hartmann said.
Joshua Jackson
If Joshua Jackson wants a vacation, he said, he doesn't need to go anywhere. He can just take off the Red Sox cap he's worn since the ninth grade.
No one will recognize him, he said. No one remembers he has hair under that hat.
But he said he rarely does that.
His dedication is not only shown in his hat-wearing but school involvement as well.
"You can't have a day off," Jackson said. "You can't have any time to slack off."
Jackson is executive vice president of Florida Cicerones, a Student Government cabinet chair, and a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.
When his friends finally convinced him to apply for Homecoming king, he said they probably just wanted to see him on stage wearing a suit.
He didn't expect to be one of three finalists for UF's first-ever Homecoming king competition.
"I thought I was just doing this to appease my friends," said Jackson, a UF political science and classics senior.
If Jackson is announced the winner, he said, he plans to set a precedent for Homecoming kings and queens to hold community-service programs each year.
"I'd put it to use," Jackson said.
"Don't let it be a title. So many people strive to get a title and once they get it, that's it."
It's not about the crown, he said.
Ryan Merkel
As a trombone player and former member of the UF marching band, Ryan Merkel is no stranger to the stage.
But he said he's still nervous for the moment when UF's Homecoming king and queen will be announced.
"If I trip or something, all my friends are going to see it," said Merkel, a UF marketing senior and one of three finalists for Homecoming king.
Merkel devoted 15 to 20 hours a week to the UF marching band during his freshman and sophomore years.
"I had a great experience, but I kind of wanted to move into other areas," he said. "I'm all about trying new things."
Merkel is a Florida Cicerone and member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Florida Blue Key.
He said he's been involved in so many activities at UF that he can't remember them all.
If he wins king, he said, he wants to convince students to be more active in the community.
"I'll maybe use that title to promote student involvement and student leadership to other people," Merkel said. "Especially younger people. It makes the college experience a lot more fulfilling."
Merkel is proud of his latest project: rebuilding the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house.
"This will be enjoyed by hundreds of students after," said Merkel, who helped design the house. "This is a project for the future."
Jillian Yoerges
Jillian Yoerges spent most of her days during spring break on her hands and knees working on a farm in Costa Rica.
In the afternoons, she taught children English.
With her work during her Florida Alternative Break and a glut of other activities, her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, nominated her for Homecoming queen.
Yoerges, a UF anthropology senior, was excited for a pageant that focused on leadership and involvement. A few friends she admires had been in the pageant in previous years.
"I'm definitely not a pageant girl whatsoever, but I think these role models drove me to do it," she said.
Her list of at least 12 activities includes working as a Florida Opportunity Scholar mentor last year, a morale captain for Dance Marathon and assistant director of Gatorship.
"What a lot of students don't realize is when you move to a new university, you are moving to a new community," she said.
"It involves really diving in and not just taking these opportunities for granted."
Yoerges hopes to work in urban elementary education for Teach For America once she graduates.
After working at a summer camp for terminally ill children, she said she questioned whether she had the energy to handle being a teacher every day.
"It made me realize it's never going to be easy, but I think I can do it," she said.
