In the beginning of the semester, The Alligator asked four freshmen what clubs they were interested in joining. As the semester ends, we checked back in with them to see if they kept with them and how their commitments have impacted them.
Mira Karev: Great connections
Mira Karev, a 19-year-old UF material science and engineering freshman, said the pressure she felt to join clubs in the beginning of the semester influenced her to get involved in her clubs.
Kraev was interested in joining organizations related to her major to impress employers, so she decided to join the Society of Women Engineers in August.
“I knew it would be a good opportunity to connect with people who could help me with any questions or obstacles I had,” she said.
The SWE works to empower female engineering students through professional development and leadership opportunities. Karev said they host events such as resume workshops and social gatherings that have allowed her to build her skills and meet people.
Karev said in August she wanted to meet people to connect with and motivate her. After a semester of the SWE, she said the club helped solidify her desire to be an engineer and fulfill the want to make connections. She also found fellow student mentors in the club, who Kraev said she can turn to with any questions for the future.
The people she’s met in SWE have pushed her to do her best in and out of the classroom, she said.
In the beginning of the semester, she said she was worried about “overdoing it with clubs.” Now, Karev said she feels slightly overwhelmed with the workload she has right now.
“I love what I’m doing, it can just be a lot,” Karev said. “I think I need to focus on what makes me happy and what I’m doing that doesn’t.”
Karev still looks forward to coming back to SWE with a refreshed mindset next semester.
Ariana Estrada: A balancing act
Ariana Estrada, an 18-year-old UF business administration freshman, picked up a job this semester, which she said remained her focus. But she still found time to attend business clubs. Estrada wanted to work to see how she could balance everything, and so far, she said, it's going fine.
Estrada looked into joining Dedicated Leaders of Tomorrow and the Florida Business Leadership Society, both which offer mentorships and workshops to build leadership experience.
She joined Dedicated Leaders of Tomorrow, a club focusing on building leadership experience, which introduced her to UF alumni that she can reach out to for questions and upperclassmen who have been through similar situations as her.
Balancing work, academics and club involvement have taught Estrada to manage her time, she said. Her schedule keeps her busy and moving, she said, but that’s how she likes it.
“I’m used to doing a lot of things, I don’t like staying still,” Estrada said. “I think if I was less involved I would probably have an issue keeping up with everything, because I would be less motivated to get everything done.”
Next semester, Estrada said she is looking forward to joining clubs that go towards her interests, such as Hooked to the Book Club and Gator Pals.
Estrada came into the semester looking to network and said in her major, connections are everything.
Brayden Allen: New opportunities
Brayden Allen, a 19-year-old UF finance freshman, said networking is an important part of his major and future career. At the beginning of the year, Allen was interested in clubs that were good for his original major of computer science, but he also wanted to explore new opportunities. Allen decided to join GatorAI and the University Economics society.
“The most important thing I’ve gotten from these clubs is the connections with others,” Allen said. “I find people with similar interests and backgrounds, and I’m able to form deeper friendships.”
Allen said he never felt too much pressure to join clubs, because he knew he had the ability to manage his time, and he could always cut back if he needed to. Being a part of these clubs didn’t change his stance on that.
His time in the clubs introduced him to new skills like the use of AI and the importance of economics, which he said he wouldn’t have learned through just his classes.
“I want to continue joining clubs next semester because it’s exciting to see all of my options and the different paths I can go down,” Allen said.
Allen plans on continuing with the club next semester, he said, and he’s thinking of looking into more clubs that would provide new experiences.
Allen said from his experience in the clubs so far, he has a desire to keep up with those around him to stand out to employers. He said his time has been fun, and he hopes to continue in the future.
Jane Jones: Still figuring things out
Jane Jones, an 18-year-old UF exploratory freshman, was less worried about the pressure of joining clubs and more interested in finding what she wants to do in the future. Jones said for her first semester, she wanted to settle in and figure out what she needed to do to appeal to employers.
“Coming in, I felt like I was unsure of everything that I was supposed to do,” Jones said. “Giving myself time to figure out what I enjoyed was really important to understand what I want to do here.”
This semester, Jones said, she focused on her academics and kickstarting her career. She visited the career connections center, revised her resume and started looking at majors she was interested in, like finance and accounting.
In the beginning of the semester, Jones said, she faced more burnout than she expected. Her first round of exams were some of the lowest grades she had ever gotten, she said. Focusing on academics allowed her to improve her grades and put herself in a good spot for the following semester.
Though Jones hasn’t joined any clubs yet, she said she is looking at joining some clubs next year she thinks will benefit her career path, like Beta Alpha Psi, a business, finance, and accounting honor society.
While her semester might have felt boring, Jones said, not getting too involved is what allowed her to excel academically. Jones said she now knows more about what she wants to do with her time, and she feels ready for next semester.
“Getting burnt out is scary, that's why I wanted to take my time and know who I was before I decided to join anything,” Jones said.
Contact Madeline Herring at mherring@alligator.org. Follow her on X @m_herring06.
Madeline is a first-year journalism and environmental science double major and the Fall 2025 general assignment reporter. In her free time she enjoys reading, binging new television series, and browsing the isles of target with her friends.
