AUBURN | Much like thousands of others that have decided to come to Auburn University, Suni Lee begins her freshman year on Monday. Don’t expect her experience to be similar to the rest of them, though.

That idea flew out the window when Lee won the all-around gold, silver in the team event and bronze in uneven bars at the recent Tokyo Olympics, shooting her fame into the stratosphere. She now has more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram, her picture already on a billboard in Auburn and the attention of everyone. It’s all new to Lee.

“I’m still trying to find a way to balance it out,” she said. “A lot of people here know me, and I just got here, so of course people are going to be really excited, but once it dies down, I feel like it will be a little better and I’ll actually be able to go do stuff."

Lee starts her time at Auburn as one of the most famous athletes in the world, her face familiar after being splashed on our television screens again and again over the past month. She admits her life has been “pretty crazy” and some downtime has been vital since arriving on campus.

“I'm taking a little bit of a break from gymnastics and just focusing on healing my body and just mentally as well because the Olympics is so hectic," she said. "I just haven't had any time to, like, settle. So that's the main goal right now.”

Jeff Graba now takes the duty of coaching Lee from his twin brother, Jess, who has trained the Minnesota native since youth. The transition for the gymnast might be a bit easier than normal plainly because of their appearance.

“Every time I look at him he just reminds me of Jess,” Lee said while laughing. “Me and Jess are like, really close. He’s somebody that has put up with me for so long. I’m really thankful for him and wouldn’t be here without him. So, moving to college and having it be with Jeff, I feel like, is going to be real good.”

Auburn gymnastics meets will be the place to be this upcoming season and the main reason is the arrival of Lee. All of this fame could easily divide the locker room as the attention will rightfully be focused on her. So is there tension between Lee and her new teammates? Please.

“They've all been super welcoming,” Lee said. “They've all reached out to me separately to just see if I need anything, so I'm really excited to be competing with them.”

That hospitality isn’t just coming from her teammates. Lee expressed how supportive the people in Auburn have been since her arrival, stating that “everyone is so nice.” She’s an Auburn Tiger now and is excited to be here.

“It feels like home," Lee said.