DELAND and FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — When most Rockport residents travel over 1,400 miles to the Orlando area, or 1,600 miles to the South Florida area, they usually do it for a vacation or to escape the cold Maine winters. 

For Alexis Lahner and Emma Brownawell, both Camden Hills Regional High School 2017 graduates, they made the long journey to pursue their dreams of being collegiate athletes. 

Lahner, a California native, is an economics major at DeLand’s Stetson University, near Orlando, where she plays on the indoor and beach volleyball teams. Brownawell is majoring in communications, with a strategic communications concentration, and is a rower at Fort Lauderdale’s Nova Southeastern University. 

Stetson is a NCAA Division I program while Nova Southeastern competes in NCAA Division II. 

Aside from the extreme difference in temperatures, what drew the two Camden Hills graduates to the Sunshine State?

“The first time I ever came to Florida, I oddly enough said that I could picture myself going to school in the state,” Lahner said.

At that time, she noted, she had never heard of Stetson, but later became “attracted to attend Stetson because of their volleyball programs, both for beach and indoor” and loved how the campus environment reminded her of her California roots. 

“Maine will always be my home, but I wanted to explore somewhere new,” Brownawell said. “There is so much to see in our world. Going to school in Florida gave me the opportunity to do that for four years.” 

“I began to like Florida even more when I was able to get onto the campus of Stetson,” Lahner said. “I loved seeing palm trees wherever I went, the downtown area of [DeLand], as well as the campus’ architecture and small school feel.” 

“The [Nova Southeastern] campus has a lot to offer,” Brownawell said. “When I first visited with my Mom, I was drawn to the beauty and unique feel it carried. Most importantly my degree has a strong program. I have only been here for a short few weeks and have made solid connections with my teachers. The small feel goes [a long] way.” 

Brownawell also noted how Nova Southeastern “has a strong rowing program which develops not only the athlete but places emphasis on developing the individual.” 

“My favorite part about Florida is how much it reminds me of my home in Redonodo Beach, [California],” Lahner said. “Always having the sun shining sounds like such a minimal thing, but it is something that truly makes me a happier individual. Also, the beach has always been my favorite place to be, so to be able to live in an environment where the beaches are neighboring my school has been quite a blessing.” 

“The people I have been able to meet and things I’ve experienced,” is Brownawell’s favorite part, so far, about Florida. 

“Everyone carries a different perspective on the world,” Brownawell said. “New people and places allow me to learn about myself. The thought of moving this far from home scared me for months. It has been really cool to prove to myself I am capable.” 

Moving to Florida has required some major adjustments for both Rockport residents. 

“The biggest adjustment I have had to make since I moved to Florida is dressing for the weather,” Lahner said. “Being in Maine for so long, I learned to always have a winter coat in my bag, and to always be prepared for the cold. Now in Florida, I am able to wear flip flips around without even checking the weather network.” 

The weather has also been a major change Brownawell has needed to get adapt to. Brownawell noted it can be around 90 degrees when the team goes to practice at 4:45 a.m. 

“It’s a little different than home,” Brownawell said. “I already find myself thinking 70 [degrees] is chilly.” 

Although both females love the Sunshine State, they both still hold fond memories of the Midcoast. 

“The thing I miss the most about Midcoast Maine is being the [state’s] unique outdoors all the time,” Lahner said. “The lakes, hikes, and starry nights will always hold a very special place in my heart. Midcoast Maine is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been able to explore, and being [able] to call it home for a couple of years was truly a blessing.” 

“[The Midcoast] is home,” Brownawell said. “It was such a unique place to grow up. We could drive in the car for [two] minutes and get to the ocean or the nearest hiking trail or lake. Being away from home, I realized how lucky I was to grow up in this community.” 

Furthermore, Brownawell enjoyed “the small town feel” and how she “always knew someone” wherever she went. 

“The saying ‘the way life should be’ when we cross the border into Maine is exactly how I feel,” Brownawell said. 

From ‘volleyball-filled’ California to volleyball-less Midcoast Maine

Volleyball is not a school-sponsored sport at all in the Midcoast. In fact, Lahner traveled four hours round-trip just to practice with her club team while also traveling the country to compete in tournaments.

“It was very challenging to become a volleyball player in Maine,” Lahner said. “When I moved to the state, there was close to no opportunities for me to continue my development in the sport. Luckily, it was only a challenge and not impossible.” 

Due to volleyball not being offered by the Midcoast schools, it was not in the Midcoast that Lahner discovered her love for volleyball.

Rather, it was as a 10-year-old “growing up in the volleyball-filled atmosphere of Redonodo Beach, California,” where she fell in love with volleyball.

“I was leaving the fourth grade, and at our ‘end of the year’ beach party, I was able to pick up a ball and start playing for the first time,” Lahner recalled. “I don’t know what it was specifically that interested me so much in the sport at the time, but I remember that that day I fell in love with the sport.”

Once Lahner completes her collegiate career, she plans to compete on a beach volleyball professional tour, ideally with the Association of Volleyball Professionals or the National Volleyball League. 

Lahner elected to become an economics major since she has “always greatly interested in the world of business” and specifically “was interested in the interactions that took place between markets, and how their actions effected others on both a domestic and international level.” 

And although the Midcoast currently offers no local opportunities for volleyball enthusiasts, Lanher believes the tides will change in the future. 

“I think eventaully schools in Midcoast Maine will offer volleyball,” Lahner said. “I lived in Maine for [seven] years and in such time the sport had drastically grown in popularity. Girls are becoming more interested in the sport, and clubs are becoming more advanced in the state.” 

Aside from the growing interest in Maine, Lahner does acknowledge “it will take time for [there] to be enough interest in volleyball in the Midcoast area for schools like Camden Hills to offer it,” but she remains “optimistic about the sport taking strides in the state.” 

From soccer pitch to Megunticook rowing 

Brownawell started her athletic pursuits as a soccer player, a sport she played from five-years-old until the end of her freshman year. 

But what pushed her from the pitch to the water? 

“I have always loved being on the water,” Brownawell said. “The summer going into my sophomore year my Mom came home from a learn to row [event] with a couple of her friends and told me I would love it. Thinking to myself ‘ok Mom ... right’ [I finally] agreed to go out to Megunticook and she was right. I loved it. I gave up soccer and rowed.” 

Through high school, Brownawell also dabbled in lacrosse, a spring sport, but “gave up lacrosse” by her senior year “to row in the spring as well”. 

“The people I have met through at rowing at Megunticook have become lifelong friendships,” Brownawell said.

As for what Brownawell plans to do after getting her degree: “Who knows if my plans will stay the same, a lot changes throughout college I am told,” Brownawell said.

“As of right now I would love to go work abroad in a city, explore somewhere new. A communications degree and double minor in marketing and management offers me a wide range of opportunities.” 

Reach George Harvey and the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.