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UCF Celebrates Order of Pegasus, Student Awardees During Founders Day 2026

Joe Adams — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:45:01 +0000

UCF will honor 56 exceptional students at Founders’ Day on Wednesday for excellence in scholarship, leadership and service across various disciplines.

Our students are groundbreaking national and global scholarship winners, researchers, athletes, teaching assistants, residence assistants and leaders in campus organizations, including Student Government, LEAD Scholars and the President’s Leadership Council. The honorees include transfer students, those from first-generation and international backgrounds and members of the Burnett Honors College.

Aside from focusing on academics and campus causes, many of the student honorees volunteered at hospitals, schools, parks, food banks, shelters, clinics, youth clubs and with many community service organizations — at times as organizers and coordinators for support drives and campaigns.

“When you look at this group, you see trajectory.” — John Buckwalter, UCF’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs

“The students we recognize at our Founders’ Day Student Honors Celebration are extraordinary not just for what they’ve achieved, but for how they’ve shaped their time at UCF. They’ve pursued opportunities, challenged themselves and lifted others along the way,” says John Buckwalter, UCF’s provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “When you look at this group, you see trajectory — students whose experiences here are opening doors in meaningful ways and changing the direction of their futures, the trajectories of their families and the communities they inhabit.”

Student award categories highlight new inductees of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s highest student honor; graduate awards for outstanding master’s thesis and outstanding dissertation; undergraduate awards for honors thesis; and individual college awardees as chosen by the respective college deans. All honorees earned financial awards.

This year’s 37 inductees into the Order of Pegasus mark the 25^th anniversary class of top-achieving Knights. The average GPA of the 2026 class is 3.912.

The campus community is invited to attend the Student Honors Celebration on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom. A brief reception will follow.

Here are the students to be recognized.

Order of Pegasus Inductees

Fatima Alziyad, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
Andy Ayup, College of Sciences
Megan Bailey, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
Stacie Becker ’23, College of Arts and Humanities
Akash Hari Bharath ’25MS, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Swati Bhargava ’25MS, College of Optics and Photonics
Sanjana Bhatt, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Griffon Binkowski ’24, College of Sciences and Burnett Honors College
Ossyris Bury, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
Nico Chen, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
Kyle Coutray, College of Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College
Allyson Crighton, College of Nursing and Burnett Honors College
Nyauni Crowelle-Feggins, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
Cameron Cummins, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
Andrew “Drew” Hansen ’25, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Andrea Hernandez Gomez, College of Sciences
Lindsey Hildebrand, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Ariana Johnson, College of Medicine
Sanjan Kumar ’23, College of Medicine
Kworweinski Lafontant, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Meera Lakshmanan, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Abrianna Lalle, College of Nursing
Ilana Logvinov, College of Nursing
Hannah Lovejoy, College of Business
Taiel Lucile, College of Health Professions and Sciences and Burnett Honors College
Robin Marquez, College of Sciences
Shanel Moya Aguero, College of Community Innovation and Education and Burnett Honors College
Gabrielle “Gabby” Murison, College of Sciences
Varun Nannuri, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Natalie Otero, College of Business and Burnett Honors College
Om Pathak, College of Medicine, College of Arts and Humanities and Burnett Honors College
Pritha Sarkar ’24, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Jacob Vierling, College of Community Innovation and Education
Janapriya Vijayakumar, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Ornella Vintimilla, College of Medicine and Burnett Honors College
Om Vishanagra, College of Medicine, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Burnett Honors College

Undergraduate Student Awards

College Founders’ Award

Liam Pivnichny, Burnett Honors College
Antonella Bisbal Hernandez, College of Arts and Humanities
Jordan Nell, College of Business
Jude Hagan, College of Community Innovation and Education
Ossyris Bury, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Timothy Horanic, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Sun Latt, College of Medicine
Abrianna Lalle, College of Nursing
Jacob Silver, College of Optics and Photonics
Emily Willis, College of Sciences
Fabian Rodriguez Gomez, Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis

Edwin Garcia ’25, College of Arts and Humanities, Outstanding Honors Thesis in Arts, Humanities and Creative Inquiry
Eric Haseman ’25, College of Sciences, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Social Sciences
Shreya S. Pawar ’25, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Natural Sciences
Andrea C. Molero Perez ’25, College of Medicine, Outstanding Honors Undergraduate Thesis in Health Sciences
Nicholas Rose ’25, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Outstanding Honors Thesis in Engineering and Technology

Graduate Student Awards

Outstanding Dissertation

Jessica Moon ’25PhD, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Michael Pierro ’20 ’23MS ’25PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science

24 Students Honored as Order of Pegasus Recipients

Wed, 19 Feb 2020 21:01:54 +0000

Twenty-four students —– ranging in disciplines from engineering to biology to education and more —– have been named as 2020 recipients of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s most prestigious student award.

This year’s inductees include seven LEAD Scholars, five President’s Leadership Council members, seven Student Government leaders, 11 Burnett Honors College scholars, three Greek members, two student-athletes and three transfer students, including one as a master’s degree student. Their collective GPA is 3.88.

Undergraduate students are selected based on academic achievement, university involvement, leadership and community service. Graduate students additionally are chosen based on publication or research experiences.

This year’s recipients will be honored at 5 p.m. April 6 at a ceremony in the Pegasus Ballroom.

The names and pictures of the recipients will be added to the wall showcasing past and present Order of Pegasus recipients in the Pegasus Lounge on the second floor of the Student Union. Inductees also receive commemorative medals and scholarships from Student Government.

This year’s recipients are:

Yaser Ahmad, biomedical sciences (College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College)
Karla Badillo-Urquiloa ’14 ’15MS, modeling and simulation (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Kyle Benkel, biomedical sciences (College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College)
Samantha Berg, (College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College)
Giorgi Beruashvili, international and global studies (College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College)
Safia Centner, – pre-clinical (College of Health Professions and Sciences, Burnett Honors College)
Breon Clark, – pre-clinical (College of Health Professions and Sciences)
Kristen Detz, elementary education (College of Community Innovation and Education, Burnett Honors College)
Jenna Dovydaitis, political science/biology (College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College)
Taylor Duffy, – pre-clinical (College of Health Professions and Sciences)
Kyler Gray, (College of Community Innovation and Education)
Timothy Hill ’18, /criminal justice (College of Community Innovation and Education)
Stephanie Jarmak, physics/planetary science (College of Sciences)
Samuel Mikhail, biomedical sciences (College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College)
Victoria Millington, biomedical sciences (College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College)
Madeline Mills, political science/pre-law (College of Sciences)
Sharon Park ’19, (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Taylor Pryor, English literature (College of Arts and Humanities, Burnett Honors College)
Ryan Ridenbaugh ’16, biology (College of Sciences)
Allison Sabol, (College of Business)
Rachel Sampson, (College of Optics and Photonics)
Sirikanya Sellers, (College of Medicine)
Sarah Swiersz, (College of Undergraduate Studies, Burnett Honors College)
George Walters-Marrah, biomedical sciences (College of Medicine)

UCF Student Hannah Sage Finishes 3rd in Jeopardy! College Championship

Meredith Harris — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 19:00:00 +0000

Sophomore Hannah Sage finished in third place at the Jeopardy! College Championship finals, collecting $25,000. Over the course of the weeklong competition, she defeated students from Darmouth College, Oklahoma ��ֱ��, Rochester Institute of Technology and Stanford ��ֱ�� to advance to the finals.

“I never would have imagined I would’ve made it to the finals and was so happy that I did,” she says. “No matter what happened during those two matches, I was extremely excited about whatever the outcome would be and was just proud of myself for having accomplished so much.”

“I am very proud to be a Knight and to represent one of the few public universities in the tournament this year,” Sage says.

Representing one of only three public universities in the competition, Sage says she was thrilled to share her love for UCF on a national scale.

“I am very proud to be a Knight and to represent one of the few public universities in the tournament this year,” says Sage. “I am showing that no matter what school you go to, you can accomplish whatever goals you have and can even exceed them.”

The Road to Jeopardy!

An avid quiz competitor, Sage prepared by participating on the UCF Quiz Bowl team, which travels around the state battling other college teams. The Manatee County student also attributes her time at UCF to helping her prepare for the academic rapid-fire of the quiz show. An honors student majoring in math and minoring in art history, Sage has developed a wide range of knowledge for the competition. The National Merit Scholar also participates in UCF programs that encourage academic excellence and help develop leadership skills.

“The honors program has helped me prepare by allowing me to have a great education and diving further in depth on topics that interest me — and helped me grow my passion for learning and trivia,” she says. “LEAD Scholars has taught me about my own leadership style and given me my self-confidence to work toward my goal of being on Jeopardy!”

Sage’s Jeopardy! journey began with an online test. She was given 50 questions with 10 seconds to type each response. Her high score landed her an invitation to an audition in Atlanta. After passing a second test, Sage participated in a mock game show with other hopeful students. Finally, she had a short interview with producers and was told they would contact her if selected for a show.

She received a call inviting her to compete last fall during final exams.

What’s Next

Since filming began over spring break, Sage admitted the hardest part of the experience was not being able to tell her friends the results. She enjoyed packing her friends into her room for a watch party for the finals, and receiving countless text messages from those watching from afar.

The College Championship consists of three rounds: a quarterfinal, a semifinal, and a two-day final event. With her winnings, Sage dreams of travel and further schooling. “I want to go to Italy to see all of the art in person, rather than the tiny photos in my textbooks,” says Sage. “Then I’d probably save a chunk of that for medical school — I want to be a dermatologist.”

22 to Receive Order of Pegasus, UCF’s Highest Student Honor

Briant Coleman — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 13:30:36 +0000

Twenty-two UCF students have been named as recipients of the 2018 Order of Pegasus, the university’s most prestigious student award.

The recipients were selected from a pool of 79 nominations. The new class includes seven LEAD Scholars, five President’s Leadership Council members, one Student Government Association leader, 12 from The Burnett Honors College, four Greek members, and four student-athletes.

Undergraduate students are chosen based on their outstanding achievements in the areas of academics, university involvement, leadership and community service. Graduate students are selected based on the same merits as well as publication or research experiences. The average GPA of the 2018 Order of Pegasus class is 3.91, the highest in the Order of Pegasus history. Because of the breadth of accomplishments required for this award, the Order of Pegasus is the highest student award that can be attained at the university.

The winners will be honored at an April 2 ceremony.

The names and a picture of the inductees will be added to the wall showcasing past and current recipients in the Pegasus Lounge on the second floor of the Student Union. Inductees also receive commemorative medals and scholarships from the Student Government Association.

This year’s recipients are:

Undergraduate Students

Ana Beltran, College of Arts & Humanities, Emerging Media and Digital Media

Eliana Benevento, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Event Management

Erica Castaneda, College of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

Anthony Catotti, College of Business Administration and College of Education & Human Performance, Management and Sports and Exercise Management

Sarah Davenport, College of Sciences, Anthropology

Jessie Dickens, College of Business Administration, Business Economics

Paul Gill, College of Sciences, Political Sciences and International Relations

Heather Holman, College of Medicine and College of Education & Human Performance, Biomedical Sciences and Sports and Exercise Science

Jeslin Kera, College of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

Nicholas Larkins, College of Health & Public Affairs, Health Sciences Pre-Clinical

Minh-Chau N. Le, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering

Maria Pennella, College of Health & Public Affairs, Health Sciences

Michelle Prophete, College of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

Bailey Ranson, College of Nursing, Nursing

Lindsey Webb, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering

Matthew Wright, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering

Graduate Students

Carissa Baker, College of Arts & Humanities, Texts and Technology

Porsha Dossie, College of Arts & Humanities, History

Daniel Franklin, College of Sciences, Physics

Ahmad Qasem, College of Medicine, Biomedical Sciences

Elizabeth Wellings, College of Medicine, Medical Doctor

Taylor Wickey, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Hospitality and Tourism Management

For more information, visit: .

1st Generation Student Encourages Classmates to Give Back

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:00:09 +0000

Josh Goodridge, the first in his family to attend college, believes in the power of education so much that the senior already donates his time and money to UCF’s giving drive to financially help other students.

During the university’s recent annual Believe campaign, Goodridge spoke at the final presentation for the program because he wanted “students to understand the importance of giving back.”

Perhaps that could be expected from a motivated student with a double major in theatre and business who said “UCF has been my home away from home that has helped to mold me into the confident and strong individual who is going to do whatever it takes to achieve my dreams.”

Goodridge, from Wesley Chapel, FL, said his mother, who works at a high school, and his father, employed at a bank, insisted that he and his two siblings attend college. His sister will begin at UCF this fall.

“They understood the changing times and how a high school diploma was no longer enough to secure and keep a career,” he said

Goodridge chose UCF because of its theatre program and the LEAD Scholars program, of which he is a graduate. The program provides two years of academic leadership opportunities for students committed to academic excellence and making a difference in the world, including offering their time through community service.

He said his theatrical roles on campus also have helped shape his outlook on the world.

“Every role I portray I feel that I find out a little more about myself as a person. Especially as I put myself into the shoes of these characters,” he said. “The process of putting on a show comes with many life lessons about working together with others and life in general.”

His roles have included the weaver whose head is transformed into a donkey in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and both Langston Hughes and Willie Joe in Spunk and the Harlem Literati, an adaptation of the play Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston.

“I love acting and theatre. I love what it represents and what it does for people,” he said. “We are able to send messages through an art form like no other and/or allow people to escape from the real world pressures of life to relax and experience something fun or intriguing.”

Goodridge is a recipient of the UCF Pegasus Gold Scholarship and the UCF Theatre Talent Grant Scholarship. He also is a 4EverKnights ambassador, works with the UCF Foundation to help raise money for academic programs, and has been involved with the SGA.

Outside of UCF, Goodridge is training to become an advanced actor-combatant in stage combat with the Society of American Fight Directors and he volunteers on projects at his church back home.

He recently was awarded a Region IV Comedy Actor award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and previously won the center’s directing award.

“Josh has many skills that will help him land successfully on his feet in the field of entertainment,” said Be Boyd, an associate professor of theatre. “A lot of doors will open for him because he has had a high level of success in many areas.”

Boyd said she has seen Goodridge grow from a young supporting player into a confident leading man.

“Joshua has a very strong presence on stage and has proven he is not only a good comedian but an actor with depth as well,” she said.

After Goodridge graduates in December, he said he plans to continue performing Shakespeare and other roles and eventually move into film and television acting.

“I cannot wait to come back to UCF in 5 to 10 years and just see how much it has grown,” he said. “I plan on being a part of and supporting the UCF community for a very long time.”

Anthropology Student Seeks Degree to Thank Mom, Dig Up Latin American Roots

Rachel Williams — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 13:00:51 +0000

Kimberly Batres was too young to remember, but her mother often went hungry.

As a single mother living in Guatemala with daughters 7 and 3 years old, Alison Batres earned just enough money working in a family-owned bakery to pay rent and feed her children.

Fed up and in search of a better life, she moved with her daughters to Miami, where her mother lived and worked as a housekeeper. Becoming a housekeeper herself, she saved enough money to get a place of her own five years later. Although still a modest lifestyle – a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Miami’s predominantly Cuban neighborhood called Little Havana – the move positioned her daughters to attend a school that ultimately led to Kimberly Batres pursuing something no one else in her family had: a college degree.

Batres, now a junior at the ��ֱ��, is studying both anthropology and Latin American studies to work toward a career in archaeology. She plans to root her future research in Guatemala to discover its unmasked history and to further connect with her heritage.

“One of the things I realized, through my minor in history, is a lot of research and resources accumulated for anthropology either go to Europe or the Middle East,” Batres said. “There isn’t much to document Latin America, and what there is, it’s information from an outsider. I want to bring the perspective of someone from that country.”

Batres wants to help dig up undiscovered Mayan temples and precolonial sites and identify the history behind them.

“With archaeology, we’re out there excavating, documenting everything we find and uncovering history. What people often don’t consider with archaeology is we include the local community people in our work. We also work to preserve cultural identity,” said Amanda Groff, UCF archaeology associate lecturer. “When we involve locals, it gives them a sense of ownership in what we uncover, which can lead to a greater desire to preserve it.”

Batres’ Guatemalan heritage can assist in her archaeology efforts, Groff said. That’s because the locals may be more willing to interact and participate because Batres has an established connection with their community and culture.

Batres’ educational success, which spans from being part of LEAD Scholars, Volunteer UCF and the President’s Leadership Council, began to blossom in 6th grade when an inspiring teacher helped her discover her love of history and opened her eyes to the possibility of attending college. A higher education was encouraged by Batres mother and grandmother but not often discussed, as neither of them had attended college.

Taking every advanced placement course she could in high school, often staying until 9 p.m. to study, plus joining clubs, sports teams and working part-time at Publix to pay for her college applications ultimately led to Batres’ acceptance at UCF. Now, a drive to one day help support her mom to thank her for her sacrifices pushes Batres to keep going.

“My mom worked from nothing to having her own apartment and to being comfortable enough to not be starving anymore,” Batres said. “Seeing her hard work has motivated me to work hard, too, and return the favor to her one day.”

Batres also wants to encourage others to pursue their dreams, as she’s seen firsthand how hard work pays off. As part of Volunteer UCF, Batres now is coordinating a trip to Charlotte, N.C., to help homeless families get back on their feet through an organization called Charlotte Family Housing. The volunteers also will work with Wings for Kids, an organization that helps low-income elementary and middle school students learn emotional and social intelligence through after-school programs.

Batres and nine other students will spend their spring break, March 12-18, volunteering with the organizations.

“We can give these kids the perspective of what they can accomplish if they continue in school,” Batres said. “I was sort of in their situation, too.”

High School Students Challenged to Develop Leadership Skills

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 11:47:54 +0000

The Jefferson Awards Foundation, America’s most prestigious and longest standing organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service hosted the 9th annual Students In Action Leadership Conference on October 3 at the Brevard Public Schools District Office.

This year’s Leadership Conference was designed and facilitated by students from the UCF’s LEAD Scholars Academy led by Amelia Gallo. The Lead Scholars Academy is a selective, two year academic leadership development program for students committed to academic excellence and making a difference in the world around them. The scholars make a difference in the UCF and Central Florida community with thousands of hours of community service each year.

The goal of the Students in Action Leadership Conference was to challenge the high school student leaders and develop leadership, communication and problem solving skills while building cross-cultural bonds and preparing them for active, contributing roles in their communities.

Students participated in a series of workshops aimed to assist them in leading an action oriented volunteer service culture in their school while sharpening their leadership skills. The workshops centered on collaboration, innovation, effective communication, team building, problem solving and a fundraising session facilitated by the Orlando Chapter of the American Fundraising Professionals. They also participated in two service projects that benefited the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida and the Sue M. Pridmore Center for Women & Children in Melbourne.

The event was attended by 60 high school students from the following schools: Bayside High School, Edgewood Junior Senior High School, Leesburg High School, Melbourne High School, Mt. Dora High School, Southlake High School and Viera High School.

The Jefferson Awards Foundation is the country’s longest standing and most prestigious organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service. Through its programs, JAF trains and empowers individuals to serve and lead in their communities, amplifying their impact through the organizations vast network of media partners, mentors and volunteers.

Students In Action is an intensive leadership training program for middle and high school students designed to build leadership, promote engagement and measure impact. They train core leadership skills, help develop personal service passions and provide the tools for effective, measured and collective service impact. The program is currently operating in over 350 high schools in 10 communities across the country.

To learn more about the Jefferson Awards Foundation and Students In Action visit: JeffersonAwards.org.

Technology on Wheels

Angie Lewis, ’03 — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 17:44:59 +0000

Frequent flyers know the importance of a good suitcase. It needs to hold all of your stuff, roll smoothly along a variety of surfaces and fit into the coveted overhead bin space onboard.

But, no matter which ones he tried, avid traveler Gaston Blanchet, ’09, realized the perfect suitcase for his needs just didn’t exist — so he invented it.

Inspired by the roll-top doors for meal storage on airplanes, the Trunkster was born. It’s the world’s first and only zipperless, roll-top luggage that introduces a revolutionary industrial design. A durable and waterproof sliding door allows for quick access to belongings, even in the most constricted spaces. The bag also includes a removable power bank, built-in digital scale, and can be enabled with GPS.

Blanchet, who earned his UCF bachelor’s degree in business management, and his business partner Jesse Potash, used Facebook and Twitter to help build awareness of their product, and targeted travel and tech bloggers, as well as business travelers. The buzz created a network that led to thousands of pledges and preorders on Trunkster’s Kickstarter page. The support and demand was so great, in fact, their $50,000 goal soon multiplied more than 27 times in 59 days, with 3,566 backers pledging $1,395,370 by the Jan. 16 deadline.

“You can never take luck or good timing out of the equation,” Blanchet says. “I think we were fortunate to launch at a time when both smart products and crowdfunding became two of the year’s biggest trends. This, coupled with having a unique product in a stagnant industry, and months of media planning, let us claim the spot as the world’s most-crowdfunded travel campaign.”

While the guys have another idea they’d also like to take to crowdfunding, for now, they’re focused on manufacturing and delivering more than 5,000 Trunksters to anxious travelers.

PACK IT UP Q&A

Q. How were you involved as a student?

A. I think some UCF staff thought I was probably over involved! When I begged my way into the Honors College and LEAD Scholars, I assumed that would largely be the extent of my involvement at UCF, but then I had the strange fortune of entering and winning the Mr. UCF scholarship competition my freshman year, which opened the doors to a pretty unique UCF experience! I had some of my best memories as a member of the President’s Leadership Council, where I was able to intimately partake in some unforgettable UCF moments, including the groundbreaking of the new arena, stadium and College of Medicine.

Q. Favorite UCF memory?

A. It was at Lake Nona while working on the President’s Leadership Council at the groundbreaking of College of Medicine — when the scheduled singer didn’t show up to sing the National Anthem for the opening ceremony, our PLC directors, Nancy Marshall and Ana Petkov, looked over at me and said, “Oh, Gaston sings! He can do it.” Well, it was about 6 a.m., and I never can remember the lyrics to that particular song. Ha! To everyone there that day, including President Hitt, I apologize to your ears.

Q. How has your UCF degree helped you in your career?

A. I’m grateful to be working in the field I studied. The business classes were instrumental in giving me a well-rounded toolkit to tackle all of the unique challenges that come up when running your own business. The classes that most helped me while at UCF were accounting, finance and business law, which exposed me early to everyday issues I deal with now.

Q. In what ways have you stayed connected to your alma mater since graduating?

A. I’m lucky my parents still live nearby and are involved with the Honors College as donors. And, of course, it’s been an amazing set of years as a UCF football fan. I’ve really cherished watching the team grow under Coach O’Leary and produce stars like Bortles. My fondest memory by far was watching my Knights win the Fiesta Bowl in the middle of the night while in Asia!

Q. What advice would you give to current UCF business students/aspiring entrepreneurs?

A. I’m not sure if all entrepreneurs say this, but I firmly believe there’s no better moment for aspiring entrepreneurs to take advantage of the incredible new tools available to our generation. To be specific, we’re entering a golden age of products. Crowdfunding lets you find the funds and create the community for your idea, while a fully globalized world has made component and manufacturing costs come way down. Furthermore, the Internet lets you easily find customers all over the world for your products and services. So, there’s really no deterrent but your will. The tools are out there. I encourage you to make the most of them, and take the steps to go through with the ideas you come up with. You’ll fail at a couple until the timing is right, then one of your ideas will take off.

Q. What are three things you never travel without?

A. Bose in-ear, noise-cancelling headphones; Canon C100 documentary camera; and Kindle

Q. Last vacation?

A. Vietnam — motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Q. Dream vacation destination/itinerary?

A. Exploring mountain temples of Bhutan.

Q. Favorite way to pass the time while traveling?

A. Filming local stories for our interactive travel documentary series, “Humanity,” for iPad.

Q. What do you do for fun?

A. I’m a total adrenaline and adventure junkie. I love to sail, kitesurf, scuba, skydive, snowboard, any fun local excursions I can find …

Q. Pet peeve?

A. Delayed flights!

Q. Most embarrassing moment?

A. I left my $4,000 camera on top of a rental car and drove a mile before realizing. It miraculously stayed on!

Q. Hidden talent?

A. I can juggle.

Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

A. Hold my breath for five minutes.

Q. Best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

A. There’s no good time to launch a bad product, and there’s no bad time to launch a good product.

MORE INFO

See the Trunkster in action. (Save 10 percent with code “UCF” at checkout.)

Read more stories about alumni at ucfalumni.com.

UCF Students Shave Heads to Raise Awareness, Money for Childhood Cancer

Kevin Deo — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 17:09:30 +0000

��ֱ�� students will shave their heads this week in an effort to stand in solidarity with children facing cancer.

The effort is coordinated by the student group St. Baldrick’s Knights, a branch of the national volunteer-driven charity St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The organization is dedicated to funding research to find cures for childhood cancer and to giving survivors long and healthy lives.

The UCF event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, on the patio in front of the Student Union. The electric razors will come out around noon, and more than 12 students have already signed up to have their heads shaved.

St. Baldrick’s Knights was developed as part of a leadership class challenge to create social change. The group believes that asking volunteers to shave their heads will unite them with children battling cancer and bring attention to the importance of funding research for the disease.

Wigs for Kids, a national effort that creates wigs for children suffering from hair loss, also will accept donations of hair 12-inches or longer Friday.

Haircut registration is online at , and open haircuts will be available from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Annual Training Enhances Teaching Skills

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:19:49 +0000

LEAD Scholars have the opportunity to learn about leadership studies and leadership development from student affairs professionals and faculty members from across disciplines here at UCF.

There are four classes offered in the LEAD Scholars Program curriculum and the Leadership Studies minor and certificate program which provide knowledge, skills and leadership experience using classroom and service learning opportunities.

These instructors attend a yearly summer training meeting to enhance teaching skills and leadership education. Staff from the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Center for Distributed Learning, and LEAD Scholars provide interactive presentations and sessions for LEAD instructors.

LEAD Scholars Archives | ����ֱ�� News