Known to many just as “Joey”, few MIA students have led bustling and diligent high school lives quite like Jose David Puell. Never afraid to step up and lead, Joey served both on the Key Club and Interact teams as President and Council member, as well as being a member of 5 other clubs and 4 honor societies including the Science, Spanish, and Thespian Honor Societies. Even despite his many extracurricular activities, Joey still found time to develop his skills and be a strong student as well through taking numerous AICE Classes and completing the AICE curriculum. 

In 2021, Joey graduated from Marco Island Academy having been accepted to the University of Florida, where he wasted no time getting to work once again and taking a summer semester. He now studies in the health field and is working towards a Bachelor’s in Neurobiology. In the university itself, Joey is immensely satisfied with his choice. “I adore UF. Beyond the beautiful, walkable campus, the amount of organizations for fun, service, or all in one are in the hundreds  – and that is not hyperbole. Not to mention the plethora of passionate professors eager to share their knowledge about a topic near and dear to them.”

The switch from studying at MIA to UF didn’t come without its share of culture shock. “Of course the obvious difference is the size,” Joey stated. “I do miss the connections I made in MIA, and the feeling of any part of campus being one that I had a personal tie to. The feeling that I actually knew everyone.” However, Joey still believes that there is a place for everyone at UF. “In all honesty, you can make anywhere you go a tight knit group of people you love. There are many opportunities to make it feel like home.”

True to his nature, Joey still participates and leads a myriad of different activities. He is involved in a Pre-Health honor society known as Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) and serves as the director for Arts in Medicine, and still engages in service doing work in his community to support marginalized communities such as disabled adults or children with autism. He helped to organize a fundraiser known as Climb for Cancer to support a nonprofit organization focused on supporting patients and their families through cancer treatment. He is even working with on-campus labs to get a research paper published on “The Inflammatory Markers of Fatigue and Depression in the Blood.”

Even for a university student, his workload is especially immense. On this topic, Joey feels excited rather than overwhelmed. “Attempting to be a student that excels in their classes, gets all the requirements necessary for professional school, and also a semi-functional adult, is not easy.” he states. “Studying is to be treated as a full time job with overtime in my case, and all of my positions around campus deserve an equal amount of intensity. It is definitely stressful, but I personally can’t imagine being me without keeping myself busy with these rewarding experiences.” 

Reflecting on his time spent at MIA, Joey acknowledged the importance of his leadership activities in creating his drive to improve. However, he also mentioned the importance of some of his high school classes. “Depending on the class, essays can be heavily scrutinized for the smallest errors or lack of proper formatting. I believe that English and Global Perspectives prepared me to a solid degree for my classes in that regard.”

Joey had a few words of advice for current high school students who wish to follow in his footsteps. “The best advice I can give regarding high school students and their college pursuits is don’t be afraid to try new things. Start a club, do a project on something you’re not very familiar with, or pick up a new hobby, because the more passion in these things that you can find, the stronger of an applicant you become.”

In his future, Joey hopes to be a successful student at medical school and is eager to learn more about his field. “I have a long road ahead of me and am actively scrambling to make sure I don’t waste a moment of my time here…” “… And in 6 years time, I hope I will be able to introduce myself as Dr. Puell.”