One student now stands out amongst the rest at UCF. Bri Chmel, a senior in the Business School's professional selling program, is now a two-time World Wakesurfing Champion.
Originally from Bellingham, Wash., Chmel came to UCF as a transfer student to pursue her degree in marketing as well as her career as a world champion wakesurfer.
"I came here because of the year-round climate, and a lot of people come here to wakeboard, and there are so many lakes here," Chmel said. "After I came here, I only had two years left of school, so I came in as a transfer student, and now I'm in business marketing and the UCF professional selling program."
Chmel's story is seen as a dream come true by most people. She began as a kiteboarder, taking lessons with her parents when she was in high school. Her accomplishments as a wakesurfer stemmed from only one year of training and determination which led her to win the world championship in 2007.
"I was really interested in kiteboarding and wakeskating, and in 2006 I went to a photo shoot in California at Boardstock where a wakeboarding event was hosted with the world wakesurfing championship," Chmel said. "I watched all the guys and girls out there, and none of the girls were that great. So I said, 'I'm going to try that.' I told my team manager that I was going to win it next year, just wait and see."
Although it has not yet become as popular as other water sports, wakesurfing is similar to the others. Just like skiing and wakeboarding, it is performed behind a boat.
The rider stands up on the board with the help of a rope attached to the boat. However, once the boat reaches 10 mph, the wakesurfer throws the rope back into the boat and rides the wave behind it.
Regardless of its popularity, Chmel is proud of her achievements within the sport, especially considering it only took her two years to reach the top.
"I'm the only girl who gets paid. I'm the only girl who has gotten their own pro-model custom board. I'm the only girl that has been advertised in magazines, and just winning world's two times in a row," Chmel said. "No one knew who I was the first year, and they were really surprised and now with all the tricks I've learned, I'm so far ahead of everybody that it's nice to know that you don't have to worry about the competition."
However, Chmel's success is not just limited to the water. Chmel is a part of UCF's professional selling program, an exclusive and competitive academic program.
It is one the few such programs in the nation, and it offers students preparation and field time to learn to sell products and services.
Nicole Howatt, an instructor of marketing as well as an internship and sales program faculty adviser at UCF, sees Chmel's successes in the classroom.
"Bri is a fantastic student who consistently strives for the very best," Howatt said. "We have many corporate partners involved in the program, and they are always so impressed by Bri's maturity, professionalism and accomplishments."
Even though the students in this program are an elite group, Chmel still manages to stand out from the crowd by juggling her ambitious academic career with her sports achievements.
"All of the students in the program are the cream of the crop, but what is neat about Bri is her extracurricular sport accomplishments," Howatt said. "Being a world champion and also part of an exclusive academic program is obviously impressive."
Although Howatt has only seen Chmel in the classroom, the qualities that she brings to her work in school as well as the knowledge of her success in wakesurfing leads her to believe that Chmel has a bright future in marketing and in life.
"Bri has amazing listening skills," Howatt said. "She is very humble and modest. She is going to be one of the best success stories that UCF has seen in terms of academia, sports and career success. She will definitely do her alma mater proud."
With a demanding major and being a world champion, Chmel somehow manages to keep a balance between the two. However, she said that it is easy.
"I have always been able to ride as much as every day, until this semester, since I have been in the UCF professional selling program," Chmel said. "Because we are so busy, I have only been able to ride on the weekends."
Even Chmel's friends said she's got it together. Christina Ford, a student in the same program as Chmel and wakesurfer, said Chmel never misses a beat.
"She keeps things organized, she competes when she can and has a to-do list that she checks off every day," Ford said. "There is nothing that she forgets."
Ford and Chmel met at Lake Conway and then reunited when they joined the professional selling program. Ford said that prior to the program becoming increasingly difficult, Chmel and she wakesurfed together at least once or twice a week.
Ford said she admires Chmel's determination and ability to inspire others to push themselves to succeed. Ford said that Chmel was encouraging when she taught her how to do a 360 on the wakeskate.
"She is a very supportive person and tells you that you cannot get back in the boat until you try it again and get it right," Ford said. "It's good to have someone to push you a little more than you would normally push yourself."
Not only do her friends believe that she is inspiring, they also believe Chmel takes wakesurfing to the next level and that she dominates by performing tricks that others can't.
"Bri's best trick is the 'big shove kick flip,' because she pretty much is the only one that can do it," Ford said. "She is No. 1. She is the best. She's great."
After being crowned as the world champion for two consecutive years, Chmel still has a lot to look forward to in her future.
"Once I graduate, I am moving to Central California, and my dream is to work for a company such as Zimmer Orthopedics as a sales representative," Chmel said. "I am very excited to start pursuing my options with these companies in the next couple of months while I am traveling back and forth to California to visit my boyfriend, who lives there."
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