TALLAHASSEE — The Seminole Tribe’s princesses are not even halfway through their year of representing the tribe, but both said the experience so far has already exceeded their expectations.

“This is everything I expected, and more. I love it a lot,” said Miss Florida Seminole CeCe Thomas.

Case in point came at Florida State University’s homecoming weekend. Thomas, 18, and Jr. Miss Florida Seminole Violet Osceola, 15, played a big role in activities that were accompanied by ideal late fall weather in Tallahassee.

Osceola enjoyed her visit so much that FSU could become the college of choice for the 10th grader who attends the Miccosukee Indian School.

“The weather is nice; the people are welcoming. I love it. It’s a great place, a great school. Coming up here makes me want to come to FSU,” said Osceola, who comes from a family of big FSU fans.

Thomas also received good vibes from FSU, including at the homecoming football game Nov. 23.

“This energy is hyping me up a little bit. I like it,” Thomas said.

The culmination of the princesses’ activities came at halftime of FSU’s 41-7 win against Charleston Southern. In front of more than 43,000 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium, the princesses strode across midfield, flanked on both sides by the Marching Chiefs band.

They crowned FSU’s homecoming king (DJ Mayard) and queen (Rain Bellamy). The game was deemed a “Seminole Heritage game.” FSU coaches and other personnel donned turquoise shirts as a nod to the tribe during Native American Heritage Month.

Earlier in the day, the princesses attended the FSU homecoming breakfast, where they joined “Grads Made Good” honorees for photos after their meals.

The prior day also featured a busy schedule for the princesses, who participated in the dedication of the Native American & Indigenous Studies Center on campus at noon. At 2 p.m., they sat atop the backseats of white convertible Ford Mustangs and rode in the homecoming parade.

The princess program’s Wanda Bowers, who accompanied the princesses throughout the weekend, drove the Miss Seminole car; Osceola’s father Joseph drove the Jr. Miss car. Some of the parade’s loudest cheers were directed at the princesses as they smiled and waved their way on Macomb, College, Copeland and West Pensacola streets. They also spent time taking photos with parade participants, including the band, cheerleaders, dancers, fraternity and sorority students, and the colorfully speckled and distinctively characteristic Garnet and Gold Guys.

The outfits worn by the princesses were made by Edna Tommie (for Thomas) and Ashley Cypress (for Osceola). Both princesses wore beads from Dakota Osceola.

Being on a college campus seemed like a natural fit for the princesses, who take their education seriously. Thomas earned an associate’s degree from Florida SouthWestern State College during her senior year at Moore Haven High School.

Osceola is a straight-A student who served as Miccosukee Indian School’s student chairwoman last year.

Thomas is in the midst of taking a “gap year” from school. She works in the Tribal Secretary’s office on the Brighton Reservation. She said the next chapter in her academics could be attending the University of Oklahoma or Haskell Indian Nations University. She plans to major in Indigenous Studies. She’s completed an internship in curation at the tribe’s Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

She’s not sure what career path lay ahead, but she’s a people-person who enjoys Seminole history and culture.

“I like to talk, so I would probably like to do what the (museum’s) educators do, and talk to people,” she said.

Osceola would like to become the first member of her family to attend college.

“I hope to be an FSU undergraduate, and after I graduate, I want to go to an Ivy League [school],” she said.

Still with a couple years of high school left, Osceola already has a good idea of what major she wants to pursue. She wants to attend law school and study Indian law or criminology.

Osceola, who was only 14 when she won the Jr. Miss crown, said being able to serve alongside Thomas has been beneficial.

“She’s been like a big sister to me. She’s very nice, very sweet. She’s taught me how to get me out of my shell a little bit more. She’s very outgoing. I love being Junior Miss with her at my side,” she said.

Osceola said the experience of being Jr. Miss has reinforced her desire to run for Miss when she becomes eligible in a few years.

“Being Jr. Miss Seminole is already cool enough, so being Miss [would be] even better,” she said.

The FSU visit was the second major trip in the princesses’ year. They also attended the Seminole Nation’s princess pageant in Oklahoma. Some of the other major items on their schedule in the coming months are Tribal Fair, Brighton Field Days and trips to New Mexico and Washington, D.C.