One day, it will be your turn to apply to different colleges, to tour different colleges, to find one that is the right fit for you. You might leave your home, city, or even country to pursue grander ambitions. You will leave your friends, lovers, and possibilities. When you leave these behind, you are actually opening the doors for your chance to roam the world, make deeper connections, defeat your fear of change, and do what you thought was once unthinkable: walk away. It will be scary at first, but you will not just find love, adventure, or even freedom. You find something bigger than all of those, you find you. You find who you are meant to be.

If you are touring Florida Gulf Coast University, I urge you to ask questions. Tour guides want to be there to help you, to find your home. Take mental notes, get in the moment, nobody can take this from you. Remember how you are feeling when you are touring, how happy or anxious you are to see more. Go exploring after your tour, if you are still enjoying the moment, take a look around. Breathe it all in. This could, in fact, be your home for the next four years! Keep in mind what the culture felt like, how you felt, and what you learned.

If you want to go to a university, go. But, make sure you do it for the right reasons. Education is not a gun held to your head, it is a weapon in your hands. Go because you love to learn, because you are excited by ideas, because you believe that education is important for its own sake, and when you get there, pay attention, read everything you can get your hands on, cram yourself with words, figures, and ideas. That is the one thing they can never take away from you. Do it for you.

I spent a day collecting present students on their opinion on why they chose Florida Gulf Coast University, and the results are absolutely astonishing. If you are looking for a voice in the crowd, continue reading, soak in what these students said. I learned a lot from writing this article but one thing is for sure, you are never alone here at FGCU.

I encourage you to read what each of these twenty-eight students had to say about FGCU! Who knows, maybe your new home will be here too!

Michelle Wells

• Michelle Wells– "I currently live in Minnesota and I did not have a great high school experience in the area and so throughout high school, I knew I did not want to stay in that area for college. I was only looking for out of state schools. Growing up, Florida has always been my favorite state. My Grandparents live here, my heart and mind are always happiest here, and I was born and mostly raised in the South and my Dad was born and raised in the south and he is my favorite person. It is a connection we have always had, so I have always had this connection to the South and Florida. I knew that FGCU would give me so many opportunities for my education but also my life. I knew I would be happy and successful here in so many ways."



Ansley Waddell
• Ansley Waddell– "Honestly, it was never a question. I wanted to go here since my freshman year of high school. I visited the school and for some reason just saw myself here. It is a beautiful campus. I love the dorms and the people here are so nice. It is a small school so I liked the idea of having a close-knit community."

Emily Barrett

• Emily Barrett– "Being a transfer student, I wanted to look for a school that checked everything off for me. First being the major, anything in the medical field is for me! My major is exercise science and I am excited to learn skills about how to help my patients in my career. Second is the size. I actually applied to UCF as well and even with a scholarship from them, I still picked FGCU. FGCU has smaller class sizes and student to professor ratio. It allows the student to feel more a part of the class and grasp the material but also to develop those relationships with professors. I would rather be known by my name in a class than a seat number or number on the roster. Lastly is distance. FGCU is less than 2 hours from me compared to other universities that are 4+ hours away. This allows me to be more involved with my family back home!"

Josie Lorea

• Josie Lorea– "I will be a freshman this fall majoring in accelerated biology. I chose FGCU because of its partnership with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, research/study abroad opportunities, and it is a beautiful campus and location!"

Lexi Weck

• Lexi Weck– " I chose FGCU because of how beautiful and outdoor-oriented the campus is. I love how there is a beach on campus and everything is so close!"

Lauren McDonald

• Lauren McDonald– "I have a history with never really finding a school right for me. Growing up, I strongly disliked school. College was a huge decision I had to make. I wanted to feel like I had a family and could be involved. I applied to 6 different colleges and got into 5. FGCU was my second application. My sister goes here, so in the beginning, I only applied because she did. I did not plan on going here. However, I started getting excited when I got my acceptance letter. I loved the campus. I am pretty environmental so I absolutely loved that it was an environmentally friendly school. We have a bridge through nature, a beach right behind our dorms... what else could we ask for? I loved that classes were small. If I went to Florida State, my other highly thought about option, I would not be seen from the professor. At FGCU, they want to help! I am a pre-nursing major and I hope to go into the NICU or into Labor and Delivery. That is hard to do! I knew I would want to get to know my professors and attend all the help they give. Also, the dorms are unbelievable. I am living in SoVi and have basically a dorm apartment over in Osprey. I got to choose my roommates and got who I wanted! They were perfect. I even get my own room! I signed up for recruitment so I could feel I have a family. I think that is what I need most, to feel like I belong. I am so excited to attend here!"

Aleah Stein

• Aleah Stein– "I chose FGCU because it seemed like the best fit for me. It was not super large like UCF and it was not a tiny college that would feel like high school. I felt like it would balance out exactly what I wanted, and it did! I loved the sustaining mission of the University. That was something special and very unique to me. I also really loved the nature trails on campus. To be able to hike on your own campus? Yeah, that was definitely a factor for me!"

Monique, Olivia, and Samantha Zacarias

• Monique Zacarias– "I chose FGCU because of the people and how welcoming they were. I also chose it for the nice area."
• Samantha Zacarias– "I chose FGCU because when I was little, my parents and I did Florida Prepaid so we knew we were going to a Florida school. We were looking at different schools and fell in love with the campus and the people around us. The people were so friendly and there is a lot of resources given to us around campus!"

Brianna Felisko

• Brianna Felisko– "I chose FGCU because I love the laid back atmosphere and the opportunities they had for my major."

Gabriella Johnson

• Gabriella Johnson– "I live in Ohio but my family lives in Fort Myers. My nieces are young and I want to be there to watch them grow up. I want to spend more time with my family as well. The campus was absolutely beautiful! Who would not want to study there?! I have visited campus a couple of times and met other people going to FGCU and made so many friends that I want to have for the rest of my life. FGCU has such a sense of community and I love it!"

Haley Lear on the rightHaley Lear

• Haley Lear– "I know a few people that went to FGCU and I decided to do a visit and after that, I just fell in love. The campus is beautiful and the tour guides were so nice. I had such a good vibe, I knew that it was exactly where I wanted to go."

Samantha Toledo with parentsSamantha Toledo

• Samantha Toledo– "I chose FGCU because I felt like it would make the transition from high school to college easy because it is a small school that has many resources, it is also close enough to my hometown to be able to drive home whenever I want but also far enough to be away from home."

Elizabeth Geiger

• Elizabeth Geiger– "When I was little, I would spend Christmas at my Grandparents' house in Sanibel. Ever since I was old enough to understand the concept of college, I wanted to have that experience in Florida. When my brother decided to attend UF, I knew in my heart that Florida was where I was meant to be, too."

Gabi Maria

• Gabi Maria– "I chose FGCU because the location was far enough to have freedom but close enough to go home, where I could drive home an hour and a half if I missed my family."

Olivia Zacarias

• Olivia Zacarias– "I chose FGCU because when my family and I were touring schools, there was something different about FGCU. You could tell that the people were super friendly and the school was just beautiful. I also heard that the nursing program was a really good program but a challenge to get into, which was something I was willing to try. Another thing that caught my eye was the cheer team, their team looked professional and fun. I was really looking forward to trying out for the season. FGCU provides us with everything we need and more than I could ever think of."

Maddie Richter

• Maddie Richter– "I chose FGCU because it is my dream school. When I would be in Fort Myers visiting my Grandpa, my parents would drive me through the campus. I always loved the school but I never thought I would commit to moving 18 hours away from where I grew up. I am so excited about my next step in life at FGCU!"

Elizabeth Stivers - blue shirtElizabeth Stivers

• Elizabeth Stivers– "I chose FGCU because I fell in love with the campus and how beautiful it is, how much there was to do, the size, it is a newer college so you still have a chance to make your mark on it, how environmentally friendly it is, how nice the people are, and it had all the majors I was interested in!"

Julie Marcus

• Julie Marcus– "I chose FGCU because it is like the perfect combination of all the characteristics I was looking for in a school. It is a good distance from home, the campus is beautiful, there is a wide range of majors, and the dorms are incredible! On top of all of that, my older sister goes there so I know that she has had a positive experience, which made me more confident in my decision."

Julia Rosepl

• Julia Rosepl– "I chose FGCU because of many reasons: the campus is beautiful, there are amazing programs for the students, and the small class sizes. I could continue onto this list with all the amazing things FGCU provides, however, there was one main reason I chose this school. The feeling I got when I first toured FGCU, as cheesy as it sounds, I instantly felt at home and fell in love with this school. When it came to making my decision, nothing compared to this feeling and that is why I chose FGCU."

Samantha Rothgery

• Samantha Rothgery– "I chose FGCU because as soon as I looked into what they believe as a school and as a community, I knew it would be the perfect place to call home for the next four years. The staff at FGCU does not just believe education is the sole purpose of college and I could tell right away that my success was so important to my advisors! It just really felt like a home more than a school."

Jimmy Tacy

• Jimmy Tacy– "I had a few options for college but once I visited FGCU, I was hooked. The campus was so beautiful and unlike any other I had seen before. Ever since the first time I visited I have never thought about going to a different college. Go Eagles!"

Cheyanne Cartales

• Cheyanne Cartales– "I chose FGCU because it was close enough to home and was small enough for me that I did not feel overwhelmed, but big enough to feel like a big campus. I also chose it because I discovered their awesome biology program, I want to go on to medical school to become a doctor."

Patty O'Leary

• Patty O'Leary– "I chose FGCU because I really wanted a change of pace. I am from the Midwest so going to Florida is something that always appealed to me. I also really admire the way that FGCU staff and students are passionate about their role within the school and I wanted to feel the same way."

Ashley Postlewait

• Ashley Postlewait– "I chose FGCU because I am extremely passionate about the environment. This school has many opportunities, like the Water School, and it implements environmental improvement!"

Ashley Barron

• Ashley Barron – "Ultimately, I was not sure where I wanted to go. A voice in my head told me, "Apply to FGCU" and I did. I had told my Dad how much I loved the campus. He was truly the only one that knew how much I wanted to go to FGCU. He passed away a few months later. About a month or so after he passed, I received my acceptance letter. I felt as if it was a sign to follow my dreams. Now, I am attending FGCU and I am beyond glad I did. The campus is gorgeous, the people are so friendly, and the staff is one in a million, they are always willing to help. This is more than a school, this is home. This is my new home."
• Cameron Hare– "I chose FGCU because I really liked the whole mission of the college, being super environment-friendly and for helping out the community. I also think it is cool that it is a fairly new college with some really unique/advanced programs and is still growing and I want to be a part of that growth!"
• Aubrey Skylar– "I chose FGCU for its relatively small campus and small class sizes. I love the college feel and FGCU gives me just that! Not only are they a small college with a family feel, but they also have a beautiful campus beach with lots of free amenities to students. The amount of recreational and educational services they offer is astounding!"