ALUMKN IGHTS
Mary Hammock, ’97, earned her master’s degree in nursing at Emory University in 1999 and opened her own pediatric medical practice in Marietta, Ga., in 2011. She has authored six children’s books. Jay Hogue, ’97, named as an assistant gymnastics coach at the University of Georgia. Eric Barber, ’98, and Nick Zivolich, ’03, celebrated their third year as cofounder and founder, respectively, of No Limit Marketing & Advertising. Mark DiGesare, ’98, named TD Bank’s vice president, commercial relationship manager, for the Commercial Lending Group in Winter Park, Fla. Aimee Gurtis, ’98, turned a hobby into a new business venture called Whim Wham Art Studio in Ormond Beach, Fla. Valarie (Waskom) Angle, ’99, and Randy Polito, ’03, both received their master’s degrees in liberal studies from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. Mimi Chan, ’99, directed “Pui Chan: Kung Fu Pioneer,” which was accepted to screen at the Central Florida Film Festival. Mimi is most notorious for being the model and martial arts video reference for Disney’s “Mulan.” Brian Mathews, ’99, joined the University Libraries at Virginia Tech as associate dean for learning and outreach.
’00s Andy Bardos, ’00, re-joined the Tallahassee, Fla., office of GrayRobinson, P.A. as an ofcounsel attorney. Christopher Blackwell, ’00, received tenure from UCF. Chad Hart, ’00, hired as senior vice president and business banking sales team manager at BankUnited. Richard Coronado, ’01, founder and CEO of Reliable Systems Solutions, has formed a partnership with Ops A La Carte, a professional reliability engineering firm headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
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Dina Castillo Ward, ’01, joined The Unger Law Group as an associate practicing in immigration law and liability defense. Harsh Arora, ’02, promoted to the head of the litigation division at Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. Heather Forbes, ’02, a nationally known author and licensed clinical social worker, facilitated a free training seminar, “Why Tokens Aren’t Working: Helping Children with Difficult Behaviors,” hosted by The Marsh Foundation. Patrice (Dawkins) Jackson, ’02, selected as a 2012-13 Teacher Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education. Renee (Vicknair) Lama, ’02, started her own graphic design business in 2011, and has had her work distributed internationally. Sari Mankuta, ’02, and Ryan Kitelyn, ’98, were married March 3 at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Terry Surrency, ’95, and officiant Jon Niebch, ’06. Adam Singh, ’02, president of InternEdge in Orlando, was the keynote speaker at the sixth annual Millennial Mega MashUP event in Miami. Bryan Stewart, ’02, certified financial planner, appointed as associate financial advisor at Stewart, Stewart & Associates. Kimberly Banks, ’03, promoted to CFO at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Jaimie (Gossett), ’03, married Dennis Sprenkle, ’01, on March 17 in Islamorada, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Khon Luu, ’01; best man John Santo, ’01; Jeff Zinnert, ’01; Caryn Drew, ’02; Jennifer Hagge, ’02; and Amanda Rantuccio, ’02. Other alumni in attendance included Darin Patton, ’95; Michael Drew, ’98; Paul Hagge, ’99; H.J. Kennedy, ’99; Cortney Cohn, ’00; Joe Liguori, ’00; Jennifer Russo, ’01; Christine Caldwell, ’02; Tom Eriksen, ’02; Alan Fowler, ’02; Kelly Fowler, ’02; Alaina Haddad, ’02; Kristen Murphy, ’02; Stephanie Neverdousky, ’02; Heather Peña, ’02; Jose Rivera, ’02; Amanda Zinnert,’02; Kristin Luu, ’03; Marco Peña, ’03; Kyle Rivera, ’03; and Caroline Eriksen, ’10. The newlyweds live in Orlando, where Dennis works as a program manager with Crawford Thomas and Jaimie works at IZEA.
Andrew Kelly, ’03, and his wife, Kristina, welcomed their first child, son Blake Daine, on Feb. 23. Andrew owns Orlando-based roofing company Performance Roofing.
Naomi Gonzalez, ’04, named one of Orange County (Fla.) Public Schools’ 2011-12 Outstanding Partners in Education for her contributions, dedication and mentoring of students from Winter Park Tech’s Avalon Campus Nails Specialty Program.
Katie (Myers) Mehl, ’03, public relations coordinator for Citrus Memorial Health System and president-elect for the Nature Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association, passed her exam for accreditation in public relations, entitling her to use the APR professional designation.
Alex Harkins, ’04, married Andrea Freeman on May 12 at the Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club in St. Petersburg, Fla. They met at UCF in 2004. Alumni in the wedding party included Brad Morgan, ’06. Andrea is pursuing her master’s degree in physician assistant studies at UF and Alex is a sales manager for an employee benefits insurance carrier in Tampa, Fla.
Marco Peña, ’03, is running for the Florida House of Representatives 49th District. Marco works for the Florida Hospital Diabetes Institute and Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes. Brian Quarterman, ’03, and wife Kristina (Greer), ’00, welcomed son Brayden Jameson on Jan. 28. The family resides in Jacksonville, Fla. Joseph Regenstein IV, ’03, earned the professional designation of certified financial planner. Joe is a financial planner for Rainstone Financial in Oviedo, Fla. Brie (Turek) Sachse, ’03, appointed as assistant administrator for communications at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Falyn Leichner, ’04, and her husband, Scott, ’05, welcomed their second son, Rylan Daniel, on April 13. Lindsay (Strong) Keegan,’05, accepted a position as a communications specialist with GE Aviation in Evendale, Ohio. She relocated there with her husband, Pete, ’05, in March. Kristin Rothbauer, ’05, joined Visit Orlando as a community relations manager. Dodie Selig, ’05, passed her exam and became a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Justin Barnaky, ’06, and his wife, Maria (Tyler), ’06, welcomed their first child, Caden James, into their UCF Knights family on Dec. 18.
Douglas Beck, ’08, snorkels near the island of Ko Phi Phi Don in Thailand. “I’m so glad I waited to travel until after I received my degree. Most of the travelers here are young and have not yet started college. My education has given me confidence that most others don’t have.”