Name: Jacobo Budoff-Corujo
House: Williams-Pilot
Hello, my name is Jacobo Budoff-Corujo. I am a sophomore at the University of Florida, currently majoring in biology. I live at the Williams-Pilot Scholarship House and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience thus far. I am originally from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, though I’ve been living in Florida for almost six years. I attended high school at North Marion High School in Citra, Florida, a small town north of Ocala. I originally found out about SSF through my track and field coach, who happened to also be my guidance counselor. He led me through applying to UF and wanted to make sure I was able to make the most of it. Thanks to the awesome guys at Williams-Pilot, I felt very welcome and included last year during the worst of the Covid pandemic, when there was so little activity on campus and all classes were online. SSF introduced me to some friends that I could socialize with when there was almost nobody else, and that helped me to get used to college and being away from home much better.
My favorite hobbies are reading and outside activities, such as biking and hiking. I have been able to expand on these a lot more during my time here at UF too since Gainesville is well laid out for bike transport. I was recently able to complete the 35-mile round trip of the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail. There are also many parks in the vicinity of the city which makes it feel like I can get away to the peace of a trail whenever there is a lot of stress from schoolwork. I also enjoy gardening and am currently an intern at the Field & Fork farm near Lake Alice, where we grow food for the Field & Fork pantry on campus.
Overall, SSF has given me a lot of peace and allowed me to focus on my studies rather than worrying more about the economic side of things. I always figured I would go to college, but I never knew how we would pay for any part of it. Florida’s Bright Futures program allowed me to attend UF in the first place, but rent would have likely still been a deal-breaker on my family’s budget. SSF has allowed me to get my education, as well as to meet some great people. I will be grateful for that for the rest of my life.
