Last year, Andrea Clavijo learned the impact her hard work can make on the students she serves: a UF applicant wrote about Clavijo in her application essay.
“Someone applied to UF and wanted to be a Gator because of me,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The 21-year-old journalism senior has dedicated many hours to the Florida Cicerones since she earned a spot in the organization in January 2010.
The Florida Cicerones is the official student ambassador organization for the University of Florida, Clavijo said. The organization’s members provide campus tours, work directly with the University Athletic Association to recruit potential athletes, serve as hosts to the president’s “esteemed” guests and serve the Gainesville community in various ways.
“Since my tour guides are the ones who ultimately convinced me to even submit an application to UF, I wanted to be able to do the exact same for others,” she said.
Clavijo said she was also looking for a home away from home.
“I wanted a group of people I could call my best friends and who I could spend the rest of my college years with,” she said. “I found that from day one with them.”
As the recruitment chair of the Cicerones, Clavijo said she works with a team to create and introduce a recruitment campaign and create awareness of the organization on campus for future Cicerones members and students.
The best part of being involved on campus, she said, is meeting and interacting with people. But the worst part is spreading herself too thin.
“I like to be able to enjoy things 100 percent,” she said. “Being overinvolved caused me to enjoy a bunch of things for like 75 percent each. That’s cheating both the organizations and myself.”
In the future, Clavijo said she sees herself living in California or New York as a powerful entertainment and intellectual property attorney.
But until then, she has the following advice: “Ambition and vision are great and necessary, but it shouldn’t distract you from the now. If you’re too busy thinking about the next day, week, month, or year, you’ll miss out on the best memories, and the best laughs are taking place right now.”