Life in Fiji seems to suit Florida Atlantic University alumni because for the third time, a former Owl has made it to the finale of the hit reality TV show Love Island USA.
Aniya Harvey, daughter of retired NBA Player Donnell Harvey, graduated from FAU in 2024 with a degree in Business Marketing. Harvey also spent a lot of her time on the court playing for the FAU volleyball team.
Harvey is now one of the six known Love Island contestants from FAU and placed second alongside her partner Carl Schmidt on the finale that aired on Sunday.
FAU alumni generally have a high overall placement on the show, with Season 7’s Nicolas Vansteenbergh also placing 2nd and Season 5’s Marco Donatelli winning the entire competition. Additionally, in August, Antonia Laites became the first American winner on the flagship show, Love Island UK.
During her time at university, Harvey interned with FAU Athletics where she met and befriended current senior Adesh Singh. The two have been friends for three years now, still holding strong to this today.
“She’s always listening to any issues or concerns that are on my mind, and she’s just a genuine person all around,” said Singh.
As for her portrayal on the show, Singh believes that producers truly showcased Harvey’s personality on the big screen. “The show does a good job at showing how Aniya is. Especially with how supportive she is with all the other girls, and it also shows her maturity with handling things with KC and talking to Sincere about how he handled things as well.”
Harvey started the season in a couple with Kuman “KC” Chandler, a nursing assistant from California, in episode 1. Their relationship was considered one of the strongest connections amongst the Islanders, and was even voted as one of America’s Top Four couples in episode 14.
However, that doesn’t mean Harvey and Chandler didn’t face turbulence in their relationship. During a challenge in episode 11, when asked to pick an Islander who felt they “already won the league,” Zach Georgiou splashed Chandler, saying that Chandler might not have explored bombshell Sol Dean, even though he had shown interest, and that it might be safer to stay with Harvey.
This left Harvey concerned about the genuineness of her relationship with Chandler, even after Dean was dumped from the villa.
In episode 15, once again, a challenge caused hiccups in their relationship. Islander Bryce Dettloff chose KC when asked the question: “Which prince is playing the role of the hero but is actually the villain?” Dettloff went on to say, “he is a hero, but thous intentions confuse thee.”
After the challenge, Harvey wondered if Chandler was telling her one thing, and the other islanders something else. This was confirmed when Islander Trinity Tatum told Harvey that Chandler actually played a big role in advocating for Dean to stay despite telling Harvey a different story.
Upset with him playing the role of “Captain save-a-Ho,” Harvey confronted Chandler about his actions, though things only spiraled from there.
In Casa Amor, the show’s “ultimate relationship test,” Harvey developed a connection and shared multiple kisses with Schmidt; however, she still decided to stay loyal to Chandler, only to be blindsided when Chandler returned with his Casa Amor partner, Tierra Davis.
“I felt really bad for her. Just seeing how she tried to work things out with him and being respectful; during the games and him, in my opinion, not putting in the same effort, I couldn’t help but feel for her,” said Singh.
Luckily for Harvey, Schmidt was voted back into the villa by viewers, and they were able to continue developing their connection.
Even though they didn’t take the crown, Singh believes that Harvey’s connection with Schmidt is strong. “I think he is a great guy and I’m excited to see how things progress with them moving forward outside the villa,” said Singh.
Isaiah Sewell is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or contact him on Instagram @izayahx_.
