Photos courtesy of Universal Studios Hollywood and Jennifer Ambrose.
truly a dream come true. In high school, she’d visit Disneyland on Fridays after school, and in college, she couldn’t wait for the Universal Knights events. The visits to Universal Studios Orlando may have fueled her passion, but her time spent at UCF helped build her career. She said that the concepts she learned in her mechanical engineering classes are the same concepts she employs every day on the job. She advises current students to pay attention in class and really learn the hard topics because they can pop up again in future projects. She also recommends that students take classes outside of their major. Because engineering is interdisciplinary, she uses principles of electrical engineering as well as mechanical engineering. Above all, she encourages students to consider how their UCF education can be applied to their career. “I work with some of the best in the business, and the opportunity to be so close to the top theme parks and resorts in the world like Universal Orlando is exactly why I chose to attend UCF even though I was an out-of-state student,” Ambrose said. “Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams.”
I wonder what those Universal Creative engineers do all day?
Senior Design Project Benefits Local Boy With Rare Disorder Every Senior Design project makes an impact on the students who
develop them, but not every project makes an impact on the community. This year’s Go Baby Go! project is the exception to the rule. A Senior Design team of mechanical engineering students partnered with UCF’s Go Baby Go! program to create a ride-on car for a local 4-year-old boy with a rare disorder. Evan Schaefer was born with Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome, which limits his muscle function and mobility. The ride-on car gives him the
ability to move around on his own. The Senior Design team, which includes mechanical engineering majors Zachary Whitacre, Rishi Basdeo, Sophie Hill, Hunter Brake and Dakota Valentine, worked with the Schaefer family for a year to determine what Evan would need from the UCF-themed toy car. They included a joystick for maneuvering as well as a button that plays his favorite sounds when pressed. UCF has partnered with the national Go Baby Go! initiative, which provides modified ride-on cars to children with disabilities, for the past six years.
View the USA Today coverage of this story at bit.ly/UCFGoBabyGo.
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