When the Howard University Ooh La La dancers take the field at the 2025 Orange Blossom Classic at Hard Rock Stadium later this month, one of their newest members will be dancing in front of a hometown crowd. For freshman mechanical engineering major Keziah Robinson, it’s more than a performance — it’s a homecoming.

A 2025 graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School — one of the oldest predominantly Black high schools in the nation — Keziah spent three years with the school’s famed G-Girls dance team, a group so wildly popular its story was told through “Supa Girlz,” a 2024 show on the AMC Network. 

The Orange Blossom Classic, in which the Howard University Bison football team will face Florida A&M University, will be her first game as an Ooh La La, and Robinson said she is ready to perform before family and friends — many of whom have FAMU ties. 

“When I found out we were performing at the Classic, I was overjoyed,” Robinson said. “I’ve already told my whole family to be in the stands and sit on the Howard side with their Howard gear on. Some of them are FAMU alumni, but they know that they’ll have to be there to support me and my school now.” 

As she looks forward to stepping onto the field in Miami Gardens, Keziah carries gratitude for the people she credits with getting her to this point, among them her parents and G-Girls coach Traci Young-Byron. 

“I’m just very grateful for my parents, my coaches and all those who’ve made up my village over the years,” Robinson said. “They’ve poured so much into me and now I get to return home and represent Howard University. It’s just such an exciting time for me.” 

The only thing stronger than Robinson’s excitement is her faith. In fact, it was her deeply rooted faith that led her to Howard. While she had heard of Howard as a child and occasionally thought of it as a place she would like to attend, she admits that, during her high school years, she thought less about moving away from her hometown. However, in her senior year of high school, she decided to let a higher power order her step. 

“My journey to choosing to Howard was strictly because of God,” said Robinson, whose father Rev. Nathaniel Robinson III is the pastor of Mt. Hermon AME Church in Miami Gardens. “I prayed and asked Him to show me where He wanted me to go. Howard was my dream school for years, then it fell off my list — but through prayer, I ended up right where I was meant to be.” 

Robinson arrived at Howard in July for a summer bridge program with the College of Architecture and Engineering for a few weeks, before returning for band camp Aug. 1. The rigorous schedule of preparing for the upcoming football season has been demanding, she admits, but full of support from her new teammates and advisors. 

“The Ooh La La dancers have helped me stay grounded and keep from getting homesick,” said Robinson, who successfully completed a virtual audition over the summer to land a coveted spot with the renowned dance team. While there are differences between the G-Girls and Ooh La La dancers — including G-Girls performing the entire halftime show with Miami Northwestern’s band while Ooh La La dancers do featured performances during the Showtime Marching Band’s halftime show — Robinson said she’s ready to continue her dance career while building bonds with a new set of dancers.  

With eight years of dance experience — starting as a gymnast, then training with Miami’s Young Contemporary Dance Theater, and finally joining the G-Girls as a sophomore — Robinson brings both skill and determination to the Ooh La La team and to her Howard University experience overall. 

Her advice to other first-year students trying to adjust to their new environment these next few weeks: “Put yourself out there and get involved. You don’t realize how important that is until you’re here. It helps you build community, stay motivated, and push through homesickness. That’s what’s making all the difference for me.”