For some people, the decision to attend UM is about more than getting a degree. Legacy students get the unique opportunity to learn in the exact spaces their loved ones did decades ago.
When Hannah Kuker, a senior finance, legal studies and studio art major, sat in one of her sophomore year finance classes, her professor, Seth Levine, was hit with a strong case of deja vu. It did not take long for Levine to realize he taught Kuker’s mother almost 30 years before in a course to help her become a certified public accountant.
“He recognized me before I said anything about it, as he remembered my parents dating,” Kuker said. “He knew them both and put two and two together via my appearance and last name.”
Her parents, Galite Kuker, class of ‘93, and Seth Kuker, class of ‘92, met and started dating while they were at UM pursuing undergraduate degrees.
“Galite was my Spanish tutor,” Seth said. “We were friends first, but I asked her to be my Spanish tutor. That’s how we became better friends.”
When Galite realized Seth was struggling in his class, she knew she could step in to help him.
“I was really good with foreign languages, and Seth was struggling,” Galite said.
Just as Seth and Galite met on campus, Seth’s parents, Howard and Diane, also started dating after meeting in the 1960s while pursuing their undergraduate degrees at UM. Both are double ’Canes who graduated from UM Law School in 1971 and 1975, respectively.
Russ, Seth’s brother, is also a double ’Cane, who received both his undergraduate and medical degrees at UM.
30 years later, Hannah is not the only Kuker currently studying at UM. Her younger brother, Joshua, and her younger sister, Leah, are in their sophomore year.
“We’re very traditional as a family, so it’s not that we expected all three of the kids to end up there for undergraduate, but it actually keeps in line with the tradition in us,” Galite explained.
While the Kuker story is not one you hear every day, it is something that other legacies, like the Karlinsky family, can relate to.
When Neal Karlinsky had to choose a college, picking UM felt like a no-brainer. His father Lee Karlinsky, uncle Fred Karlinsky, and grandfather Richard Furman, all UM alumni, were people he always looked up to.
“Going to UM was a dream because of how much I admire these three men and how UM helped launch their success,” Neal said. “I feel so lucky to be able to pave my own way, while getting to walk in my dad, uncle and grandpa’s footsteps at the U.”
His dad, class of ‘92, and uncle, class of ‘89, were both resident assistants during their time as ’Canes. Fred and Lee also led Alcohol Awareness Week as Budweiser “Bud College Beer Reps.”
Neal and his younger brother Liam had been invested in the UM community for as long as they can remember. Growing up, they attended Mini ’Canes Camp, a sports camp the University offers every year.
Liam joined Neal as a ’Cane this spring, with the brothers sharing the UM campus for the first time since they attended camp as kids. Seeing his sons continue in the same path he and his older brother chose has felt special for Lee, the boys’ father.
“Having both my children attend University of Miami has been a gift for our whole family,” Lee said. “My older brother and I attended the University of Miami when we were younger and it was an amazing experience. We were both in the same fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and now my kids are both in the same fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi.”
Seth and Galite Kuker also expressed the great warmth and pride they feel when they think about their continuing family legacy. Every time they come to visit their kids, they are filled with memories from the days they walked the same paths together more than three decades ago.
“The school has come a long way since my parents went there, even from when my wife and I were there to now,” Seth said. “I’d say it’s completely different because it kind of is, but in the same breath, it’s the same, but it’s really incredible to watch it grow.”