This week’s Campus Cutie describes himself as an “outgoing redhead looking to see the world.” He’s a Navy ROTC man who can’t wait to take on adult life when he graduates in December. Meet Ben Paddock, collegiettes!
Ben is a 22-year-old geology major from Lithia, Florida. He’s also a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Ben says his relationship status as of now is “single and trying to wife up.”
You may have seen Ben chowing down on some garlic rolls and pizza at Leonardo’s by the Slice or on gamedays when he’s tailgating with his fraternity brothers. Ben’s favorite memory at UF was the 2014 Florida-Georgia football game. “It was a lot of fun from 7 a.m. on, and then we killed Georgia. [It was the] first time we’ve beaten Georgia while I was at UF,” he said.
Ben says his dream girl is funny, loves sports and has beauty and brains. He says his longest relationship was four months in sixth grade. Ben’s celebrity crush is Anna Kournikova because she’s athletic and attractive. For a first date, he would be sure to make a girl feel special. “I would want to take a sailboat out on Tampa Bay for night cruise. I would also cook dinner,” he said.
At the top of Ben’s bucket list is skydiving in Dubai, and he also wants to travel to Perth, Australia. Ben’s done quite a bit of travelling already. When asked what’s something that people don’t normally know about him, he said, “I moved eight times before I turned 12,” which he owes to the fact that his dad was in the Navy. Ben says his dad is also the most influential person in his life. “We’re very similar in our motives, interests and personality.”
After graduation, Ben says he’ll be continuing his journey with the Navy. “I’ll be commissioning as a Naval officer and hopefully end up in San Diego, California,” he said. In ten years he sees himself still in the Navy with a wife and three kids, but for now, Ben is enjoying his final few months at UF. If you see this week’s Campus Cutie walking around campus, be sure to say hi to this friendly guy!