0.1%, the percentage chance of getting a full-ride scholarship to a Florida college. Colleges in Florida rarely give out full-ride scholarships, typically, they give partial scholarships. Isaiah Derkevic, Brooke Pabst, and Dylan Bandale are three students from Cape Coral High School who are in that 0.1% of students receiving full-ride scholarships for sports.
Isaiah Derkevic, a senior at Cape High, got a full ride for basketball. Derkevic has been playing basketball since he was in fifth grade. Derkevic decided to play basketball because he found love for it after he played it for the first time.
“On days I didn’t want to practice, I put in a lot of effort, and I’m proud to say that effort played out. I’m so grateful for the opportunity that these colleges have given me, and I’m so thankful for everyone who lifted me up and reminded me to keep working,” said Derkevic.
One thing Derkevic wishes he had done better was to take school more seriously from earlier on. “Start working hard, make sure everything you do, whether it’s school or sports, you put your full effort into, will come back, and you won’t regret putting in effort; you might regret not putting effort in.”
Brooke Pabst, a senior at Cape High, has received a full-ride scholarship for bowling. Pabst didn’t start bowling until seventh grade when she joined the High school Varsity team back in Minnesota.
Pabst moved to Florida in her sophomore year. She tried other sports, but she truly found love in bowling. This scholarship did not come easily. Pabst had to work very hard for this scholarship. With only playing competitively for the last 3-4 years, she was way behind on her knowledge and overall abilities compared to everyone else who has been doing it longer.
“I had to train and work constantly every day, knowing that I really wanted to go to college for bowling”. She went to the bowling alley to practice four to five times a week.” I am so incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity. This is an absolute dream of mine, this is more than just the scholarships I have received. It’s about being the first in the family to ever go to college, and with it being a full-ride scholarship, it just makes it more special”.
One thing Pabst said she wished she had done differently was getting help from people. Pabst is a very independent person, and she said it got very stressful and she wished she had asked for help. Pabst is a very hard worker as she was balancing school, sports, and two jobs. Pabst’s best advice is to stay consistent and balanced.
“If you truly love what you are doing, you will become successful. Believing in yourself is the hardest thing to stay consistent with, but it’s okay because there will always be someone rooting for you, don’t forget that.”
Dylan Bandale, a senior on the basketball team who received a scholarship as well, has been playing basketball since fifth grade. Bandale originally started playing so he could play with all of his friends.
Bandale said, “I feel beyond grateful for these opportunities colleges have given me. I’m so thankful for my coach who did everything to get me where I am, including bringing me up and motivating me when I didn’t feel like it,” Bandale said.
Bandale felt he could’ve done better and worked harder during the freshman summer, going into sophomore year. Bandale’s best advice would be to stay in the gym, not get caught up in other things, not give up, and not care what others say about you.
