CynthiaM@ShowcaseOcala.com     |      352.812.5795 Cell      |      View My Listings      


Cynthia Mikell

Cynthia Mikell

REALTOR®

• Computer Sciences, Chipola Junior College
• Humanities and Mathematics, Central Florida Community College
• Graphic Design, Santa Fe Community College
• Gold Addy Award, Advertising Photography (Maverick Studios)
• Silver Addy Award, Advertising Photography (Maverick Studios)

Cynthia is a fifth-generation Floridian, raised in a rural farming community with family members everywhere; all her grandparents and even great-grandparents were still alive when she was growing up, which gave her a particular insight into some interesting and diverse generational perspectives. She remembers she wasn’t especially encouraged to go to college and was told she couldn’t tackle subjects like trigonometry or physics, so secretarial school was probably a better strategy. But Cynthia didn’t put much stock in the idea that being female limited her, any more than age does.

She started working at thoroughbred farms when she was 15 years old, and developed an interest in equine photography. Combining her self-taught camera skills with her passion for horses, she became so adept that people noticed her work and started asking for commissions. A hobby became an unexpected career where she found her photos featured in the OBS catalogue, Florida Horse magazine, and various portrait commissions. Eventually, to her shock and delight, she wound up at the pinnacle: Shooting photos of Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

“I grew up on a little country farm! My grandmother gave me my first camera when I was twelve years old; I was a shy, quiet little girl who just liked taking pictures,” she exclaims, still amazed. “Suddenly here I was with one of the most famous – if not the most famous race in the horse world. It was just unbelievable.”

After a few years working at On Top of the World and running her photography business Maverick Studios, she decided she wanted to get her real estate license, recognizing it as an opportunity to develop her own professional mobility and build something for her future. Through her job, she had met and become friends with several people in real estate, and the prospect of being an active part of finding homes for people appealed to her.

“I know I’m supposed to say I had a great desire and passion for real estate, but it was more pragmatic than that. I asked myself, ‘What can I do that I can be successful in and where it doesn’t matter how old I am or if I’m a man or a woman?” She explains. Plus, it was a career that enabled her to meet and work with different people from different walks of life. “I do like helping people. And I thought it would be a fun job to do.”

She had met Lee years before when they were both involved in what she calls “a sort of guerilla short film competition” at the Marion Theatre, and they had stayed in touch. She already knew Valerie from their involvement in and shared love of thoroughbreds. “You can’t be into horses here and not know Valerie,” she laughs.

When the time came and she was ready for the change, she reached out to Showcase Properties and was excited to join the agency.

“It’s empowering to be able to work in a creative way and feel your bosses understand your strengths,” she says. “I feel like I’m in a place and working with a team that believes I’m good at what I do.”


CynthiaM@ShowcaseOcala.com     |      352.812.5795 Cell      |      View My Listings