Blake Dowling: Gator Nation — Class of 1990s

My Student Senate pal Lauren Ploch Blanchard and friends at the legendary Po Boys /Gainesville circa 1990s. Image via Blake Dowling.

I grew up in Dothan, Alabama, and my college trajectory began at age 5 with my first Crimson Tide jacket. My family was serious about football.

By 1991, my plans changed, and the University of Florida became my destination.

It was — and still is — a glorious run.

As the snow pummeled the Capital City this week, I was reading up on UF grad Ashley Moody and her new role in D.C. and remembered meeting her in the UF Student Senate chambers.

Thank you, Ashley, for serving UF, Florida and our nation.

Moody, former Florida AG, is now a U.S. Senator, replacing fellow Gator Marco Rubio.

It made me think of other UF legends. You never knew who you would run into back then, like future lobbyists such as Ron LaFace (Capital City Consulting co-founder and Blue Key President) or former State Representative and Dorworth Holdings founder Chris Dorworth. John McGovern, now Vice Mayor of the Village of Wellington; Brent Gordon, owner of the Gordon Law Firm; and U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee, all of whom I worked with as a Student Senator.

The University of Florida Student Government, created in 1909, consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Its mission is to represent and serve the student body. As Student Senators, we met on Tuesday nights, and my best friend in the Senate was Lauren Ploch Blanchard. Continuing our “where are they now” series, she is now a Specialist in African Affairs at the Congressional Research Service in D.C.

As a Senate, we worked to get student groups quality programs, events, and even concerts through Student Government Productions (see Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, etc., at the bandshell in 1994).

Student Government taught young people how to lead and find their voice.

As Chair of the Judiciary Committee, I didn’t pursue a life of politics like the others, but there is still time to run for office. Look out. I always thought “Feeling Good about Hood” was the best campaign slogan (my full name is Blake Hood Dowling), but that campaign is a few years away, maybe in 2032.

More importantly, some of those mentioned I don’t know personally, and some I have not seen since our days on UF’s campus. I still keep in touch with others today. Those friendships were made back then, and they are still intact. Watching their careers grow as the years roll on and their leadership shines from Florida to D.C. has been beyond incredible.

Other Gator greats include U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, super lawyer Jason Gonzalez from Lawson Huck Gonzalez here in Tallahassee, Samantha Sexton (founder of SG Consulting); Nikki Fried, our former Florida Commissioner of Agriculture; Bill Nelson Sr. and Jr.; super-lobbyist Dan McFaul of Ballard Partners, newly named Secretary of State Rubio, the legendary Randy Roberts — those folks are all Gator Grads.

Attorney Brian Burgoon was Chief Justice of the UF Student Traffic Court back in the day. With 50,000 students and 15,000 parking spaces, you need a judge to handle all those tickets. Brian did an awesome job; I failed to follow in his footsteps. While I loved Student Senate, Student Judge was not my thing. I think I was hitting year five of undergrad, and it was time for a real job.

The University of Florida is famous for many things and has many famous graduates. Did you know Actress Faye Dunaway, news pro Erin Andrews, author Michael Connelly, soccer legend Abby Wambach, actor Stephen Root, musician Stephen Stills, Coach Charlie Strong, SEC Nation media star Laura Rutledge, NBA legend Al Horford are all Gator Greats?

Looking back, I’m thankful for organizations like Student Government and for going to school in the 1990s. My high school GPA would not get me anywhere near UF these days. Thank you for reading today and celebrating this commonality. This year, I will find more time to do that rather than bickering about our differences.

Anyone can bicker; it takes a little work to find commonality, and that’s it for mine today.

Go Gators!