Pegasus Magazine Fall 2019

PEGASUS The Magazine of the University of Central Florida

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looks bright THE FUTURE

IN DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

A N E W D AY As the rising sun sparks promise of possibility, so too does our new campus in the heart of downtown Orlando. It’s a space for the next generation of Knights to expand their horizons, transform themselves and their communities, and to always, always Reach for the Stars.

Inbox

PEGASUS

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JUST READ YOUR “LET’S GO” ISSUE [SUMMER 2019].

It is a testament to how far UCF has come in the almost 50 years since some of us were about to become the first senior class (at what was then FTU). The diversity of the programs, students, faculty and staff is inspiring, as are the multitude of accomplishments produced by the UCF family. Truly awesome.

INSTAGRAM

AVP FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Patrick Burt ’08MA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Laura J. Cole

» TIM ACKERT ’70

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ron Boucher ’92 ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lauren (Haar) Waters ’06

I LOVE RECEIVING AND READING PEGASUS magazine. It truly makes me feel so proud of being a UCF alum and keeping up to date on our incredible university.

STAFF WRITERS Bree (Adamson) Watson ’04 Nicole Dudenhoefer ’17 Jenna Marina Lee

» SHARON GREEN ’87

ART DIRECTOR Steve Webb

THE EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT THE PAN-AMERICAN Highway in the latest issue of Pegasus reminded me of a book I read in high school called 20,000 Miles South by Helen and Frank Schreider. It relates their adventures of driving the Pan-American Highway from the Arctic Circle in Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. They drove the highway in a war-surplus amphibious jeep.

DESIGNERS Mario Carrillo Janeza Dino COPY EDITOR Peg Martin

» ANNON BOZEMAN ’70

I’M CURIOUS IF YOU KNOW WHY MY COPY OF THE front page from the July 21, 1969, issue of the Orlando Sentinel shows different text from that shown on page 5 of the Summer 2019 issue. I love getting this magazine!

» DAVID NOLL ’88MS

Editor’s response: This certainly sent us down a rabbit hole!

Not only was the page number different, so was the copy on the main story. We reached out to the Orlando Sentinel to determine the reason for the discrepancy. They said there were at least three front pages printed that day. One went to residents in Brevard County, one went across Florida, and one went to residents in the metro Orlando area. It looks like the copy you have was the one sent to residents in Brevard. What a fun memento! Thanks for sharing it and giving us more insight into that day’s paper.

CHIEF OF STAFF AND VP FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Grant J. Heston ’13MBA

Liked by ucf.edu and 189 others

tuckerinphilly So UCF — I hear they are doing pretty good this year! Go Knights! @ucf.knights @ucf.football @ucf.edu @sheehystrategies on my way! ucf.edu

That’s a good plane read

ON THE COVER:

Carlos Torres is a senior digital media student studying video game design at UCF Downtown.

Meet more UCF and Valencia College students who are studying — and finding inspiration — at the new campus on page 24.

MULTIMEDIA Thomas Bell ’08 Jasmine Kettenacker Nick Leyva ’15 Lauren Schoepfer ’17 PRODUCTION MANAGER Sandy Pouliot WEB Jim Barnes RJ Bruneel ’97 Jo Dickson ’11 Kim Spencer ’11 Cadie Stockman Roger Wolf ’07MFA CONTRIBUTORS Elizabeth Gondar Mike Hinn ’92 Jim Hobart ’91 Gene Kruckemyer ’73 Keith Pfeiffer Katie Schmidt ’12 Ileana Soon Studio Say So PEGASUS ADVISORY BOARD Chad Binette ’06MPA Richard Brunson ’84 Cristina Calvet-Harrold ’01 ’03MBA John Gill ’86 Michael Griffin ’84 Mike Hinn ’92 Gerald McGratty Jr. ’71 ’72MBA Michael O’Shaughnessy ’81 Dan Ward ’92

INBOX SUBMISSIONS Emails to the editor should be sent with the writer’s name, graduation year, address and daytime phone number to pegasus@ucf.edu.

Pegasus is published by UCF Marketing in partnership with the UCF Foundation, Inc. and UCF Alumni.

Opinions expressed in Pegasus are not necessarily those shared by the University of Central Florida.

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Email:

pegasus@ucf.edu

Mail: UCF Marketing P.O. Box 160090 Orlando, FL 32816-0090 Phone: 407.823.1058

©2019 University of Central Florida. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Pegasus is a registered trademark of UCF Alumni.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium. Due to volume, we regret that we cannot reply to every letter.

MOVED RECENTLY? NEED TO UPDATE YOUR INFO? Update your contact information: ucfalumni.com/contactupdates

Contents 6 In Focus

20 Energy Boost

34 Life After Hate

12 Briefs

21 The Feed

38 Millennial Falcon

14 On Campus

22 Processing Risk

40 Class Notes

16 Get to Know Bev Seay

24 Where Expression Meets Inspiration

42 Weddings & Birth

17 Power Move 18 Fueling the Future

S Q U A D S TAT U S A 45-27 win against Pac-12 powerhouse Stanford takes more than one star player. It takes a team. It takes the Knights. And in true leader fashion, head football coach Josh Heupel celebrated the offense, defense and special teams after the game with recognition all around. “That’s the epitome of star status right there. All three phases.

Great job! Everybody gets a game ball!”

PHOTO BY LELAND DUTCHER

30 Helping the Helpers

46 Why We Started Pegasus

In Focus TOMORROW’S ANIMATORS While children nationwide flocked to movie theaters this summer for Toy Story 4 and The Secret Life of Pets 2, a group of fourth- and fifth-graders in Orlando learned to animate their own film. The weeklong intensive camp was offered through a partnership between nonprofit Page 15 and UCF’s Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology and Entertainment (CREATE).

The 20 elementary schoolchildren created a circus show that featured a bodybuilding monkey with the head of a rhinoceros, a tightrope-walking dinosaur named Spike, and a pair of acrobatic, telepathic plate spinners who resembled the Pringles chips man.

“It’s amazing to see these kids and the spark that happens when we help plant a little seed of what’s possible,” says Stella Sung, director of CREATE and a Pegasus Professor.

Page 15 and CREATE were able to partner and form the programming after receiving a $100,000 grant from Walt Disney World Resort. The grant was one of five presented to nonprofit organizations throughout Central Florida.

UCF students served as mentors to the campers, who spent their week at UCF Downtown learning about the fundamentals of storytelling and animation before unveiling their original stop-motion film to parents and friends on the final day.

Although the Disney grant was a one-year funding opportunity, Page 15 and UCF are committed to not only keeping the programming going, but to expanding it.

“Some of the parents had tears of joy. They were just like, ‘I had no idea my child was capable of doing anything like this.’ That’s one of the most satisfying feelings ever.”

— Dana Barnes ’16, emerging media graduate student

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In Focus 40 YEARS — AND COUNTING What would a football game be without the marching band? If you ask senior Bobby Gillman, the Marching Knights’ sousaphone coordinator, “That’d be like chicken without the spices — and that just shouldn’t happen.” Thankfully, the Marching Knights have been adding the essential zest to the university’s football games for the past 40 seasons, with the band’s creation just a year after the team’s founding. As one of the largest student organizations at UCF, the Marching Knights are the most visible and vibrant force on campus — and they put in hundreds of hours a semester to uphold that honor and responsibility. “Being a Marching Knight is a huge test of character, but our bond is what keeps me coming back,” Gillman says.

“We’re the hype men for the whole university.”

— Bobby Gillman, senior music education major

3,000+

Marching Knights alumni

375

Members in this year’s band. The first Marching Knights numbered 125.

50

Songs performed during the 2019–20 season

10

Instrument sections, including alto sax, baritone, clarinet, drum line, mellophone, piccolo, sousaphone, tenor sax, trumpet and trombone. There are also dance, color guard and majorette sections.

5

Average number of miles the band marches during a game week

Watch a video about this year’s Marching Knights at ucf.edu/pegasus.

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In Focus DRIVING SPIRIT “Charge On!” has been part of the UCF lexicon for more than two decades. First introduced in the lyrics to the UCF fight song in 1998, that familiar refrain is still heard during sporting events. It’s become our battle cry — the words you’ll hear when the Knights score a touchdown. Or read in a tweet about yet another UCF achievement (often condensed to simply #GKCO for “Go Knights! Charge On!”), or holler at a stranger donned in Black and Gold with a knowing glance.

But “Charge On!” is more than a rallying cry. It’s an attitude. And when we considered what to do for this year’s brand campaign and our most recent commercial, we thought what better than the phrase that unites us all. Led by creative director Ron Boucher ’92 with the help of Jon Strong ’11 and his company Strong Films, the UCF Marketing team spent the summer defining what it means to be a Knight and embody those two words.

The commercial premiered August 29, as the Knights defeated Florida A&M University in the first game of the football season with the words: “When we say Charge On, we commit to do extraordinary things. It’s a catalyst for action. To put in the work. To keep trying.”

It drives us to be more. To be our best. To be Knights.

And to always Charge On!

“It’s a challenge.

To be smarter and stronger.

To get after it, every day.

It’s time to rise above.

To let ’em know we’re coming.”

To view the commercial and read more stories of achievement and perseverance, visit ucf.edu/charge-on.

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Briefs RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Comets arrive in the outer reaches of our solar system and travel toward the sun. Until now, scientists have long debated the pathway comets take to make that voyage.

UCF scientists discovered a cosmic gateway that comets pass through before they approach our solar system’s only star. According to one of the researchers, what they discovered “will change the way we think about the history of icy bodies.”

SAFER ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Amount UCF received in research funding for 2019 — a new record

PROFESSIONAL DISTINCTION Two faculty members were elevated to endowed positions: PAMELA “SISSI” CARROLL Mildred W. Coyle Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair

JOHN SOLOW Kenneth White and James Xander Professorship in Economics

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Electric cars may be better for the environment than their gas-fueled counterparts, but their lithiumbased batteries aren’t. A UCF researcher is working to fix that by designing fuel cells that are safer, more powerful and less expensive by reducing the amount of platinum needed in the fuel cell by 90 percent.

“Electric cars and electric transportation powered by fuel cells might be the future solution to our energy and environmental problems.”

— Yang Yang, UCF Assistant Professor

Social media has the power to connect people all over the world instantaneously — and to influence the way we talk, how we act and even what we believe. But little is known about how online communities impact the offline world. Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, UCF Professor Anastasia Salter is leading the charge to provide better understanding.

PEGASUS

THE RAISING THE BAR SEARCH FOR UCF’S NEXT 4.17 PRESIDENT This year’s incoming class set a new bar for academic excellence.

G P A

The UCF Board of Trustees voted unanimously to launch a national search for UCF’s next president with the goal of having a new president take office in Summer 2020.

1333

National Merit Scholars

average SAT score (compared to the 1059 national average)

16

#

Most innovative university in the nation — and No. 1 in Florida (U.S. News & World Report)

NEW LEADERS

CHRISTOPHER INGERSOLL Founding Dean, College of Health Professions and Sciences

RHONDA BISHOP Vice President, Compliance and Risk

S. KENT BUTLER Interim Chief, Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Officer

“EA’s presence here creates an immediate pipeline with our educational partners in and around the Creative Village.”

— Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced that Electronic Arts will be moving next to UCF Downtown during his annual State of Downtown address in October. One in seven EA Tiburon employees are alumni of UCF’s graduate video game program, and the company will soon be within walking distance for students, bolstering the career pipeline the downtown campus was built to create.

1

#

25 #50 #55 #70 #77 #79 #83

#

Wakeboarding team in the nation

Best Bang for the Buck (Washington Monthly)

For undergraduate research and creative projects (U.S. News & World Report)

Best National University (Washington Monthly)

Top Performer on Social Mobility (U.S. News & World Report)

For ethnic diversity of student body (U.S. News & World Report)

Among public universities (U.S. News & World Report)

Best undergraduate engineering program (U.S. News & World Report)

TO P

80

Best College for Student Voting (Washington Monthly)

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AUG.

9

Harry Foreman ’18 took a break from painting the new mural inside Dr. Phillips Academic Commons at UCF Downtown.

SEPT.

7

UCF Volleyball celebrated a 3-0 sweep against the University of Albany during the UCF Challenge.

23

Knightro and housing volunteers helped students move onto campus.

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PHOTO BY CONOR KVATEK

AUG.

PHOTO BY RHIANA RAYMUNDO ’19

PEGASUS

AUG.

24

Students beat the summer heat at the Leisure Pool.

AUG.

21

The sun set over UnionWest at Creative Village, the new 15-story student resident community at UCF Downtown.

SEPT.

10

Katie Seymour visited the Field of Memories on Memory Mall for World Suicide Prevention Day.

PHOTO BY BROOKE MORRIS

SEPT.

14

Fans cheered on the Knights as they took on Stanford in the Bounce House.

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Get to Know Bev Seay

BY LAURA J. COLE Trustee Chair Bev Seay believes we’d all be better off if we knew more about computing and data analytics.

That’s not to say everyone should be computer scientists or data analysts, but we should have an appreciation of how both impact our work.

“I would like to see all UCF students have the opportunity to gain a level of understanding of computing and data analytics in their chosen fields,” Seay says. “The shortage in both areas is pervasive, so if we can prepare our students to become subject matter experts in their field plus provide those skills, they’ll have far more career possibilities.”

It’s not surprising considering both play a role in everything from the shows we stream, the games we play and the news we consume to how we communicate, create and operate.

Seay admits she may be biased. After all, everything from her career to her volunteer work to the legacy she’s passing on to her daughters and granddaughters revolves around computing.

So it’s natural that Seay brings that perspective and passion to her new role as chair of the UCF Board of Trustees.

“Computing is what I know,” Seay says. “But I also know business, and I want to make sure we’re preparing our students for as many career opportunities as possible.”

On preparing students for jobs

On shifting from industry to higher education

“When I was in industry, I saw the value of being close to the university, whether we were funding research, hiring graduates, working with the faculty or doing community projects together. It was natural for me to become involved.”

On what she’s most proud of from her career

“At SAIC, we worked closely with UCF, the community, the customers and our industry partners to make Central Florida a global center of modeling and simulation. I’m very proud that we were able to achieve that as a community.”

On UCF’s future

“Our strategic plans ought to be closely tied to the strategic plans of Central Florida and the broader Florida community. Being here for our citizens at every stage of their lives is really what we’re about and why we’re here.”

CURRENT ROLE: Chair, UCF Board of Trustees

PREVIOUS ROLE: Modeling and simulation executive

PASSIONS: Computing, higher education, women in STEM, her grandchildren

“I’m very interested in the question of whether higher ed is doing its job to prepare students for careers and the future. We can teach them the mechanics of their education, but it’s just as important to offer experiential learning, such as internships, so they understand how what they’re learning is applied in the real world.”

UCF CONNECTIONS:

On why she’s committed to UCF

Supported Girls EXCELing in Math and Science as well as a mentorship program for women in STEM

“This is my community, and what goes on here is very important to me. When I moved to Orlando, many people in the community helped me, and I want to give back. In a sense, I feel like we’ve grown together.”

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Daughters Tiffany (Kitaoka) Kaminski ’06 ’11MS and Michelle (Kitaoka) Nicol ’18MS Served on the UCF Board of Trustees, College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean’s Advisory Board, and the UCF Foundation Board of Directors

P

To learn more about Seay, visit ucf.edu/pegasus.

Artifact

Forging the future of endurance-boosting technology

BY BREE WATSON ’04

C

ountless examples of exoskeletons exist in the world. Scorpions, snails and lobsters have shells instead of bones. Iron Man films and Halo video games shine a spotlight on superhuman suits. And then there’s that scene in Aliens when Ripley dons a yellow power loader and dukes it out with the xenomorph queen. For Gavin Barnes ’07 ’09MS ’13MBA, lead engineer for Lockheed Martin’s exoskeleton technologies program, exoskeletons are a way to help people perform jobs with improved strength, endurance and safety.

Barnes’ latest project, Onyx, is a wearable robot that supports and boosts the energy of its user during physically demanding tasks that require repetitive kneeling, squatting, climbing and carrying heavy loads.

“Think of a firefighter running up the stairs of a burning building. A soldier marching up the side of a mountain. Industrial workers who have to squat down and pick up heavy objects,” says Barnes. “Onyx takes the burden off [the user’s] knees and the associated muscle groups, so they have more energy to do their job and do it safer because they’re not getting tired.”

NAMESAKE The name Onyx was chosen by the team that works on the project, many of whom are UCF alumni. “It was inspired by an amulet that Roman soldiers wore into battle for courage,” says Anthony Mickle ’98, communications lead at Lockheed Martin. “And this is one you wear for endurance.”

To watch a video and learn more, visit ucf.edu/pegasus.

HERE’S HOW ONYX WORKS AND WHAT’S IN DEVELOPMENT:

PREDICTIVE AI Sensors at the feet, knees and hips collect data based on the user’s movement and send it to the control module on the waist. Artificial intelligence within the computer enables the device to predict the user’s next movements and react accordingly. “Once [AI] can predict what you’re about to do,” Barnes says, “it knows the right amount of torque and the timing for it to be applied to the motors at your knees to give you that boost of assistance and energy.”

CLEAR BENEFIT In a trial run, a user was asked to exercise with a 185-pound squat bar, and he completed around 25 squats. The next day, the same person was outfitted with an Onyx and asked to perform the same exercise. He reached 72 squats before being stopped by the team. “The user was already physically capable of holding this weight, but the Onyx helped him go that much further,” Barnes says.

TOUGHEN UP Weighing nearly 20 pounds, including its battery, Onyx is made of carbon fiber, aluminum, plastic, fabric and a bit of titanium. “It’s not ready for water, sand, dust, shock or vibration,” says Barnes. “But our users will ultimately put it through all those paces, so [we’re working on ensuring] it can withstand any environment.”

LOOKING AHEAD It takes about 150 milliseconds for Onyx to respond to a user’s movement, which is similar to the amount of time it takes muscles to respond to signals from the brain. The team plans to use a technique called electromyography to cut that time in half, enabling the exoskeleton to not just predict what movements will be based on AI, but to implement the next motor command while the user is in motion.

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UCF successfully raised more than $500 million to support student success, faculty retention and student-athlete performance.

BY JENNA MARINA LEE

We do not take lightly the trust our donors have placed in this great university. You can be sure their generosity will have a positive and profound impact on the lives of our students, faculty and alumni for years to come.

Thank you!

— Rick Walsh ’77 ’83MS IGNITE Campaign Chair

$ 405 28.3 S C HO L A R SHI PS

N E W

N E W

SCHOLARSHIPS ESTABLISHED

$38.2MILLION

T

O

O

F

A

s the most ambitious fundraising effort in our history, IGNITE: The Campaign for UCF will transform the university and the community for years to come. During the eight-year campaign, which came to a close June 30, 2019, every gift made to the university was counted toward the $500 million goal. And in true Knight spirit, we not only met the goal — we exceeded it.

W H E R E TH E M O N E Y I S G O I N G

TA

L RAIS

E

D

MILLION

R

S

FUELING THE FUTURE

IGNITE: The Campaign for UCF raised

NE

W S RS CHOLA

TOTAL

H

IP

RAISED

FOR EXISTING SCHOLARSHIPS

1

NE W CAMPU S

NEW ENDOWED F A C U L T Y

12

B REA K D O W N

KN IGH T’S PA NTRY

BY COLLEGE

$14,540,480

College of Arts and Humanities

$3,690,416

Burnett Honors College

STUDENTS IN N FEED EE D TO EQUIVALENT TO:

M

80,288

EAT

$13,667,932

College of Engineering and Computer Science

$91,763,251 $294,444

O

23,160 DOZEN EG G S

$2,545,363 $37,192,100

College of Medicine

D

ZEN GO

College of Community Innovation and Education

College of Health Professions and Sciences

S

JARS

O

$28,530,981

College of Graduate Studies

231,750 lbs & R F

BOWLS OF CEREAL

College of Business

College of Nursing

$11,031,845

College of Optics and Photonics

$8,208,603

Rosen College of Hospitality Management

$25,169,283

College of Sciences

$24,220,188 $1,043,551

College of Undergraduate Studies

BY AREA

$110,769,451

Athletics Student Development and Enrollment Services

$34,821,820

WUCF

$15,357,803

WHERE THE M O NEY CA M E F RO M

TOTAL DONORS

FL

ALL COU N TIES

ALL

THANK YOU!

REPRESENTING

106,986

SPOTLIGHTS

STA TES

$10.25 MILLION To support programs in the College of Business and UCF Athletics From Vince ’95 and Joyce ’98 Virga

$3 MILLION To establish the James and Julia Rosengren

Endowed Chair, which will support research at UCF RESTORES, a PTSD clinic From Julia and Jim Rosengren ’81

$2 MILLION To reduce barriers and improve access to

education in the Parramore neighborhood From Helios Education Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and The Kresge Foundation

$1.5 MILLION To create a learning hub and classroom for cybersecurity students From Lockheed Martin

COU N TR IES

$1 MILLION To improve nutrition for all UCF student-athletes From Bob Garvy

Launchpad

ENERGY BOOST

One of the most technologically innovative startups is paving the way to a more affordable renewable energy future.

BY ELIZABETH GONDAR

I

CABLE-BASED CAPACITOR

EMBEDDED INSIDE EXISTING WIRE

n today’s age of technology, it’s all about being connected. Millions of miles of cables and wires stretch across the globe providing power to buildings, streetlights and even cars.

Most people barely give these cables a second thought until the power goes out or the Wi-Fi stops working, but UCF Associate Professor Jayan Thomas couldn’t get them out of his head.

In 2014, he was working on inventing copper foils that would act as supercapacitors — think of a battery that is made to provide a large burst of power in a short amount of time. Realizing that most cables are made out of the same copper material he was working with, he wondered if our everyday cables could double as energy storage devices.

Bringing this knowledge back to his research lab at UCF, he invented the first cable-based capacitor.

These thin, copper wires can transmit and store energy — and he hopes they can make a big impact in renewable energy and clean technology.

“That’s the real pleasure for an inventor. You have a scientific idea, you worked on that idea and made it into a device, and then that device is used for a commissioned product. That is what I’m looking forward to,” Thomas says.

Take solar panels, for example. When a cloud blocks the sun, a solar panel’s output drops, causing batteries to kick in to provide power. Batteries are good for providing a steady flow of power, but whenever they have to provide a surge their operating life gets shortened. This can prove problematic over time as the battery continues to wear itself out to make up for the lost power.

Who

Associate Professor Jayan Thomas, Joe Sleppy ’18 and Isaiah Oladeji ’99

The Pitch

Building energy storage into the infrastructure of the world to prolong clean technology’s operating life while reducing the overall costs of sustainable technology.

Joe Sleppy ’18

Jayan Thomas

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However, cable-based capacitors attached to existing wires could use their stored energy to provide that extra boost needed, allowing the battery to continue functioning at a steady rate and greatly reducing the overall cost to replace parts.

Thomas recruited Joe Sleppy ’18 to start Capacitech Energy and to help turn his invention into a commercial product.

Sleppy, an electrical engineering student at the time, already had business experience (starting his first company when he was 16) and knew that without proper funding, Capacitech could not move on to the next level.

By winning first place in UCF’s 2016 Joust New Venture Competition, they received the necessary funds to license the intellectual property and begin the process of moving to market.

In 2018, a $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation helped Capacitech’s team expand to include Isaiah Oladeji ’99 and to collaborate with Thomas’ lab to produce the commercial version of the cable-based capacitor that Capacitech is selling today.

As a result of the team’s effort, Capacitech has been recognized as one of the top 30 startups in the world

by InnoEnergy. Sleppy credits his time at UCF with connecting him to the people and resources needed to lead the business.

“Education is more than just what you learn,” Sleppy says. “It’s about who you meet through your coursework and using the opportunities that present themselves.”

Capacitech recently built a manufacturing line in Orlando to fill larger orders and is raising money to further scale the company.

The Inspiration

Thomas was researching how to make copper foils into energy storage devices. “But I was seeing wires everywhere while I was on a walk around my home. I realized that these cables are mostly made up of copper, so why don’t we convert this copper into an energy storage device instead?” Thomas says.

Backers

Total funds: $700,000+ They include: National Science Foundation: $225,000 NSF Innovation Corps: $50,000 Starter Studio: $25,000

where you can find it CapacitechEnergy.com

Find more @

ucf.edu/news

The Feed @UCF

@University of Central Florida

Sober Truths

Tom Hall ’16PhD spent 15 years creating a culture of sobriety at UCF. Now, he’ll apply that knowledge as director of the Orange County Drug Free Coalition. bit.ly/ucf-sober-truths

Proud Representation Six LGBTQ+ Knights share advice on everything from coming out to how to be a better ally. bit.ly/ucf-proud-rep

Congressional Aide

Christina Willis ’09MS ’13PhD is providing technical and scientific perspectives to legislators’ decision-making process. bit.ly/ucf-science-aide

Understanding Opioid Overdoses

A new UCF-developed device will provide insight on the impact of opioid overdoses on multiple organs and the effect of a drug used to treat overdoses — without harming patients or animals. bit.ly/ucf-understandingopioids

Avoiding Asteroids

Arecibo Observatory — managed by UCF — received $19 million from NASA to study asteroids that pose a potential threat to Earth. bit.ly/ucf-avoidingasteroids

WHAT’S TRENDING ON...

UCF TODAY

TWITTER Sept 23 @UCF 8 6 0 volts

That’s the record-shattering voltage from an eel recorded by UCF biologist William Crampton Keep in mind that the voltage of most home outlets today is 120 volts

“We’ll Never Yield”

Seven facts you may not know about the UCF fight song. bit.ly/ucf-fight-song

Sept 24 @UCF_Nursing

FACEBOOK University of Central Florida September 25, 2019

While some say Florida has no seasons, real Floridians know there are 3 — summer, hurricane and lovebug. UCF College of Sciences’ Nash Turley breaks down what makes lovebugs appear and disappear, debunks myths and more… you’re welcome. bit.ly/ucf-lovebug

40 years ago today, this small group of trailblazers began the [nursing] program at UCF.

Girl Power

UCF’s first all-female cybersecurity competition team finished third in a national competition. bit.ly/ucf-girl-power 247 Likes 53 Comments

Camp Counsel

Students from nearby Jones, Evans and Boone high schools participated in a weeklong camp hosted by UCF to learn more about legal careers. bit.ly/ucf-camp-counsel

Lonny Butcher Ok, y’all need to do more of this! It was really Oct. 6 @NBA A warm welcome for Tacko Fall in Boston... followed up by a slam & swat! @celtics | #NBAPreseason

interesting and Nash Turley was great.

Fred Worrill They’re good for the car wash business.

Nguyen Thang So you are telling me that UF is… innocent?

U C F. E D U / P E G A S U S | 2 1

neuron

PROCESSING Risk

Could eating processed foods while pregnant increase the likelihood of childhood autism? Recent findings by UCF researchers suggest yes.

BY NICOLE DUDENHOEFER ’17

A

utism diagnoses have risen 15 percent in the past six years, with 1 in 59 U.S. children now being diagnosed with the developmental disorder. As a result, scientists are working diligently to understand the overlapping genetic and environmental factors that cause it. And a group of researchers at UCF may have found a link: processed foods.

Children with autism often experience gastrointestinal issues, which led UCF Professor Saleh Naser to wonder if there’s a link between the gut and brain, and how gut bacteria differ for those who have autism. In a study published in Scientific Reports, Naser

and his team, including postdoctoral scholar Latifa Abdelli ’14MS ’15PhD and undergraduate research assistant Aseela Samsam, discovered that a food preservative known as propionic acid (PPA) can alter how a fetus’s brain develops during pregnancy, leading to autism.

“It’s my hope that our study will motivate other scientists to look into the role of PPA in the development of autism with the goal of eliminating the condition as we know it,” says Naser, who has 25 years of experience studying gastroenterology.

glia cells

WHAT IS AUTISM?

WHICH FOODS CONTAIN PPA?

Autism is a disorder covering a wide range of conditions that include challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and speech and nonverbal communication. Other sensory sensitivities and medical issues, such as seizures and gastrointestinal disorders, often accompany the condition.

Since autism affects people differently, some people diagnosed with it live independently while others may need varying levels of daily support.

Store-bought breads, baked goods, processed cheese, dried fruits and juices often contain some form of PPA as a preservative.

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Check labels for these ingredients: • Sodium propionate/propanoate • Calcium propionate/propanoate • Methyl propionate/propanoate

HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENS: PPA is a naturally occurring acid released in our digestive tract as food ferments.

It’s also produced chemically as a food preservative for bread and to flavor products such as processed cheese.

If a pregnant woman consumes a significant amount of processed foods, PPA levels can spike.

In excess, PPA impacts a fetus’ brain by reducing the development of neurons — cells that tell other body cells how to function. This can also damage neurons’ communication pathways throughout the body.

High amounts of PPA also cause an overproduction of glial cells. These cells protect neuron function, but too many cells disrupt the connection between neurons and causes inflammation in the brain and the rest of the body.

Typically there is a one-to-one ratio of neurons to glial cells, but in Naser’s study high levels of PPA threw off this balance with a one-to-four ratio. This smaller number of neurons also exhibited abnormal qualities in the study.

Together, these issues result in behaviors associated with autism, such as difficulty communicating in social settings and repetitive behaviors such as rocking.

ILLUSTRATION BY ILEANA SOON

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expression W H E R E

M E E T S

I N S P I R AT I O N The new UCF Downtown campus reflects — and inspires — the energy and personalities of the more than 7,000 students who started classes there this August.

BY NICOLE DUDENHOEFER ’17 PHOTOS BY NICK LEYVA ’15

Jordyn James UCF junior Major: Human communication

“I just changed my major from business to human communication because I want to get into public relations.

I’ve always been into fashion, so I want to own my own PR firm and work with big fashion houses. This is a really fresh start for me because I’m on a new campus with a new major.”

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“We are all students.”

The words emblazoned in the lobby as you enter the new Dr. Phillips Academic Commons building reflect the focus and purpose of the new UCF Downtown campus: to foster learning, creativity and collaboration.

While UCF Downtown is dedicated to promoting student success and academic excellence, the vibe is far from institutional. Bright, bold spaces greet you at every turn.

One area in particular on the new UCF-Valencia College partnership campus is a showstopper — the rainbow-lit Creativity Hallway. On the first day of the Fall 2019 semester, students rushing to class paused to take pictures and videos of the space.

Faculty and staff took a moment

between their busy schedules to check out what the buzz was about too.

“From the start, one of our goals has been to design facilities that inspire learning through active and vibrant spaces,” says Mike Kilbride ’12, assistant vice president for UCF Downtown. “With the help of local artists, we created unique places that bring people together and are inspired by the rich history, diversity and culture of UCF and downtown Orlando. These one-of-a-kind installations use color, graphics and immersive art to create community and a sense of place on our newest campus.”

A 2016 article in The New York Times, titled “The Innovation Campus: Building Better Ideas,”

cites the design elements needed to ignite curiosity. These include flexible seating from “office chairs to privacy booths,” furniture on wheels that can easily be moved to accommodate different group sizes and preferences, natural lighting, and built-in cafés that encourage students to move about while grabbing coffee with classmates and professors.

The new campus includes all of these. From custom wall graphics to futuristic furniture, the space is designed intentionally to inspire all who enter to think creatively, pursue innovative ideas and perform their best.

Because when we make the effort to collaborate, we’re able to achieve greater outcomes.

Lina Caro UCF senior Major: Human communication

“I only have a year left, so I’m pretty excited for my classes this semester.”

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Emily Kemp UCF senior Major: Human communication

“I think having a campus downtown will make people branch out more — kind of like I did for this photoshoot.

This isn’t something I normally do, but I thought, ‘It’s the first day, what do I have to lose?’ ” 2 6 | FA L L 2 0 1 8

Cole NeSmith ’07, who leads Orlando’s Creative City Project, came up with the concept for the colorful Creativity Hallway, and UCF graphic designer Janeza Dino designed the motivational message that runs along its walls: “Stay curious, see differently. See differently, stay curious.”

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Eric Young Valencia sophomore Major: Architecture

“I lived in Germany until I was 15, and my best friend’s uncle and grandfather there were architects, so that’s how I got into my field. I like the futuristic design on campus because it inspires me in my studies.”

Theresa “Resa” Saintfelix Valencia freshman Major: Health sciences

“After I moisturized, I looked in the mirror and gave myself a pep talk. I screamed, ‘You’re going to get straight A’s this semester.’ I have a tattoo that says ‘Think positive,’ so I’m big on self-motivation.”

Jonathan Watson Valencia freshman Major: Health sciences

“I’m living with six guys in UnionWest, so I’m already making friends here, but I really like the common areas because they make it easier to meet other people.”

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Max Desir ’15 UCF graduate student Degree: Health administration

“Everything I’ve accomplished I couldn’t have done alone.

There were a lot of times I didn’t think I would be able to finish college, and now I’m in my last semester because of my family’s support.”

Designed by Burnett Honors and art grad Lauren (Haar) Waters ’06, the donor wall recognizes the people and organizations that came together to help make UCF Downtown possible. Built on partnership, UCF Downtown works with Valencia College and the surrounding Parramore community to create more opportunities.

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Carlos Torres UCF senior Major: Digital media

“I really like the way campus is set up colorwise. It kind of reminds me of the Google building.”

Maryam Ali

Bonnie Bensinger

UCF graduate student Degree: Communication

UCF graduate student Degree: Digital media

“I moved to the U.S. three weeks ago from Bahrain and am a Fulbright scholar. I’m not here to just learn coursework.

I intend to explore various opportunities that could help enrich my experience.”

“I’m an international student from China.

I love films, video games, music and art, and I’m very excited to be studying in my grad program at UCF.”

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FROM PROVIDING P O S T-T R A U M AT I C S T R E S S D I S O R D E R T R E AT M E N T T O C R E AT I N G D E V I C E S T H AT DETECT TOXINS SUCH AS F E N TA N Y L , U C F I S M A K I N G FIRST RESPONDERS’ JOBS EASIER AND SAFER.

BY JENNA MARINA LEE “This means I promise to keep you safe,” says Orange County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ashley Strange ’05 ’07MS, while pointing to the star badge on her uniform.

Her vow is at the heart of her job duties as a featured police officer on WUCF TV’s Meet the Helpers, a multiplatform project for teaching children about first responders and better preparing them for emergency situations.

Named after Mister Rogers’ famous advice to “look for the helpers,” the series introduces viewers to seven professionals — from paramedics and 911 operators to teachers and meteorologists — who help during emergencies. It was developed under the advisement of Judith Levin ’86MEd, associate lecturer and program coordinator for Early Childhood Development and Education.

In July, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting granted $250,000 to WUCF to support the project, which was created in response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. The funding will focus on emergency preparedness, youth stress and anxiety, and crisis communications.

As UCF works to make Meet the Helpers a national model, the university is also committed to improving the quality of life for first responders.

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HEALING TRAUMA Since its start in 2011, UCF RESTORES has become known nationally for its innovative PTSD treatment for veterans, active-duty military members, first responders and other victims of trauma.

The program’s unique approach to treatment — including its groundbreaking three-week intensive outpatient program — combines exposure therapy, emerging technology and group therapy sessions to treat patients. For example, through virtual reality, patients are exposed to the sights, sounds and smells that have contributed to their PTSD, helping them work through possible triggers.

Backed by funding from generous private donors, the Florida Legislature, and grants from the Department of Defense and U.S. Army, UCF RESTORES has treated nearly 500 veterans and active-duty personnel, and has expanded its services to treat more than 200 first responders from 20 states. The organization has also served survivors of mass shootings.

In March, UCF RESTORES announced it was teaming up with the Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative to streamline access to support, resources and treatment for more than 350 departments around the state.

Until now, UCF RESTORES has leveraged thirdparty technology for the virtual reality element of its treatment, but that’s about to change thanks to funding from Congress and a partnership with the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design, the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media, the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training, and E2i Creative Studio. The proprietary VR technology will allow UCF RESTORES’ therapists to dynamically recreate traumatic scenarios specific to each participant.

Located on UCF’s main and Brevard campuses, UCF RESTORES currently provides free treatment for Florida residents.

PREVENTING EXPOSURE T O D E A D LY C H E M I C A L S Imagine a device that resembles a mix between a Star Trek phaser and a baseball radar gun that can detect deadly toxins.

That’s what UCF engineering Associate Professor Subith Vasu is developing after receiving a $1 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Vasu’s energy-efficient handheld device would have the capability for remote detection of fentanyl and carfentanil — opioids that are 50 to 10,000 times more potent than heroin. When dispersed in the air, the chemicals can kill, even if the exposure is minimal.

The device’s sensor would also detect similar toxins, sometimes released in fires or explosions and used in chemical warfare, which pose threats to first responders and military personnel.

“The goal is to combine laser technology with artificial intelligence in a compact and rugged device people in the field can use,” Vasu says. “We want to keep our military and responders safe while they keep us safe.”

INTERPRETING DANGEROUS SIGNS The Orange County Fire Rescue Department posed a challenge to the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training: “Can you clone our best trainer?”

While the institute may not have had the capability to actually clone a human, program director Eileen Smith believes the institute’s E2i Creative Studio came up with the next best thing: the Firefighter Incident Command Training Simulator.

For the past seven years, the fire department has used the simulator as a tool to train new lieutenants, captains and battalion chiefs. With the click of a few buttons, the program allows for dozens of fire situations to immerse future incident commanders in seven different environments, ranging from a forest to a home. Within each simulation are cues that the incident commander needs to recognize to make critical decisions.

There might be toys in the yard or a car in the driveway, suggesting that someone might be trapped. A propane tank beside a building or a certain kind of smoke can indicate impending hazards to firefighters. The trainee has to recognize the clues, make fast and accurate decisions, and actively call out the commands to manage the situation, gaining experience in weeks that would otherwise take years.

The scenarios typically last 20 minutes, compressing hours of real-life incident command decisions that occur during an actual fire. This helps prepare lieutenants, who are usually the first officers on the scene, on how to transfer critical information to the battalion chief when he or she arrives and takes over command.

“What are you handing them in 20 minutes? It could be a catastrophe, or you could already have the fire down,” Smith says.

OCFRD says that the system has helped their department increase confidence in their command officers.

“When we initially began using the simulator, we could tell who had taken the training based on their radio communications on actual incidents,” says OCFRD Chief Jim Fitzgerald. “They were using standard command terminology and asking better questions. They were communicating commands more effectively and preparing incoming units to operate more efficiently when they arrived. It increased their confidence and competence.

And when every second counts, that matters in a big way.”

The lab’s next simulation project is a research testbed for unified incident command, which would allow police, fire and emergency medical technicians to train together to respond to events such as a hostage situation, mass shooting or hurricane evacuation, so they can learn how to work through the situations as a team more efficiently.

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IDENTIFYING I M PA I R E D D R I V E R S UCF police officer Frank Imparato is on a mission to make roads safer in Central Florida, the state and nationwide.

Imparato, who joined the UCF Police Department in 2011 and serves as supervisor at UCF Downtown, is one of five certified drug-recognition expert instructors in Orange and Seminole counties.

He regularly hosts instructional DUI trainings for Central Florida police officers, from rookies learning protocol to 20-year veterans on the force who need a refresher. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandates 24 hours of curriculum for police officers nationwide, but Imparato has extended his lesson plans to 32 hours to include other helpful hands-on experiences.

Imparato puts his trainees through a mock trial interrogation with defense attorneys and prosecutors, which allows officers to practice testifying as a witness in court. He also supervises a wet lab exercise that enlists volunteers to become inebriated just past the legal limit, so officers can learn to interpret signs of impaired driving correctly and with more accuracy.

In addition to his service at UCF, Imparato is an instructor at Valencia College’s Law Enforcement Academy and also collaborates with the University of North Florida’s Institute of Police Technology and Management to teach various topics to officers from around the country.

“I am only one person, but if I can pass on that knowledge to officers, not just at UCF but around the country, maybe they can save a life so someone gets to go home that night,” Imparato says. “I take pride in having the city of Orlando, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol calling upon UCF to educate and train their officers and assist them in investigations.”

DETECTING SIGNS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE According to a study in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, women who have been previously choked by their partner are over seven times more likely to be killed in the future.

So when the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office contacted the UCF Department of Sociology in 2014 about improving its officers’ ability to identify nonfatal strangulation in domestic violence cases, Associate Professor Amy Reckdenwald jumped on board.

Over the last five years, Reckdenwald, who specializes in domestic violence research, and her colleagues teamed up with law enforcement, public health practitioners, local domestic violence victim advocates and the state attorney’s office to develop the Brevard County Strangulation Prevention Program, a coordinated effort to teach law enforcement officers how to better identify and document choking and refer victims to forensic

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I TA K E P R I D E I N H AV I N G THE CITY OF ORLANDO, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, SEMINOLE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND T H E F L O R I D A H I G H W AY PAT R O L C A L L I N G U P O N U C F T O E D U C AT E A N D TRAIN THEIR OFFICERS AND ASSIST THEM IN I N V E S T I G AT I O N S . ” — F R A N K I M PA R AT O UCF Police Officer

medical exams. The program also trains sexual-assault nurses how to accurately document forensic evidence of a strangulation assault during an exam and testify as expert witnesses in court.

“One may think you’d easily notice signs of strangulation; bruises around a victim’s neck, for instance, are commonly thought to be a clear indication of strangulation. While that may be the case, research has shown that the majority of strangulation victims do not have any visible signs of injury,” Reckdenwald says. “And even though strangulation is a felony offense in Florida, there is no required training to empower police officers to accurately identify it. This lack of corroborating evidence that the strangulation took place results in many cases being unable to be prosecuted.”

Reckdenwald says the program has been a success.

Findings from the evaluation showed officers were able to identify strangulation with more accuracy, and more cases with forensic evidence were sent to the state prosecutor’s office. As a result, 70.8 percent of explicit strangulation cases had sufficient evidence for the prosecutor to file a criminal charge, which was significantly higher than the 46.6 percent filed previously. Additionally, explicit strangulation cases with forensic evidence were prosecuted at a more stringent level than cases without forensic evidence.

Training for officers is still taking place in Brevard County, and the program is looking for continued funding to be able to provide forensic medical exams to victims of choking.

REDUCING EXPOSURE T O R A D I AT I O N This year’s HBO miniseries Chernobyl was a massive hit with audiences and critics but left some fearing what might happen if a nuclear disaster occurred in our own backyard.

UCF industrial engineering doctoral student Buder Shageer ’13MS is researching that concern in his quest to develop tools for nuclear-disaster response. Using data from the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Shageer is simulating a similar disaster at the St. Lucie Power Plant in Jensen Beach, Florida.

In March 2011, Fukushima, a coastal nuclear power plant in Japan, experienced a Level 7 meltdown — the same level as the 1986 disaster at Chernobyl — after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami knocked out the plant’s primary and backup power supplies. The loss of power disabled the cooling process for three reactors, resulting in overheating, explosions and radiation released into the air and surrounding ocean.

Shageer’s advisor, Michael Proctor, associate professor of industrial engineering and management systems, says lessons learned from Fukushima’s accident prompted U.S. nuclear plant managers to take precautions to guard against such disasters. Nevertheless, a Florida coastal nuclear plant runs the same risk of power outage from a major hurricane and catastrophic storm surge.

“It’s probably less than a 1 percent chance that something like this would happen at St. Lucie, but the potential scale of what might happen is so large that it’s important to address,” Shageer says. “These disasters are not a one- or two-year event. The effects last decades.”

In addition to improving disaster response, Shageer’s research would help improve the safety and well-being of first responders.

Combining data from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and real-life flight dynamics, Shageer is determining how unmanned aerial vehicles — in this case, helicopters — can deliver water precisely to reactor cooling pools despite radiation in the air.

Helicopters may be an important first line of defense as storm surge may knock out bridges and roads, as seen in Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. But manned helicopters can be dangerous and ineffective. At Chernobyl, one crashed, killing all on board, after its electronics and operations systems failed due to radiation exposure. At Fukushima, helicopters flew so high to avoid dangerous radiation and reactor debris that water dumps to cool reactors were futile.

Shageer’s simulation would ensure that doesn’t happen by determining electronic radiation hardening requirements for helicopters until ground vehicles reach the disaster site and assume operations. His simulation can be applied to any nuclear disaster situation by modifying parameters such as radiation leak rate, the number of compromised reactors and radiation hot spots, time of day, wind direction, and location of the nearest source of fresh water.

The simulations can model ground scenarios involving groundshine — the radiation emitted from radioactive materials on the ground — which is a big threat to surrounding communities and first responders on the ground.

“This would help map better recovery plans and give communities and first responders the ability to plan for and contain a disaster,” Shageer says.

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The first two decades of Angela King ’07 ’09MA’s life were fueled by bullying, violence and her involvement in white supremacist organizations. She has spent the past two decades trying to make amends — and helping others leave hate groups.

Angela King ’07 ’09MA was 19 and deeply entrenched in a white supremacist organization when Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring more than 700 others.

The year was 1995, and King recalls watching the aftermath on TV. At first, she felt disconnected — it was only something on television. The smoking building with all nine floors of its messy insides exposed looked like a scene from a movie. Then she saw the children who were being pulled from the rubble of what was once the building’s nursery school.

“That was the first time that I ever considered [that what I was doing wasn’t] just a game,” King says. “This was a whole other level of violence and destruction.”

King could see something of herself in McVeigh, and the reflection scared her. They shared the same ideology. The

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anger that drove McVeigh to blow up a building came from the same ideas that shaped her belief system. They even ran in the same social circles and attended the same house party once.

Untwining herself from that world would not be easy. Leaving behind the people she called her friends would prove challenging, but not as challenging as moving past the ideology that had become a part of who she was.

It would take more than four years, a prison sentence, some unexpected kindness from a Jamaican inmate, and nearly two decades of sharing her story — with all its shame and violence — to replace hatred with forgiveness. Today, nearly 25 years after the Oklahoma City bombing, King is a co-founder of and programs director for Life After Hate, a nonprofit that helps people leave extremist groups.

Her story is one of destruction as much as it is of constructing something new from the rubble.

ILLUSTRATION BY KEITH PFEIFFER

BY LAURA J. COLE

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For most of her childhood, King’s world was small, sheltered and safe.

She grew up in a rural town in South Florida, where she attended a private Baptist elementary school during the week and Catholic services on Sundays. Her mom, who King describes as overprotective, stayed home with her and her siblings while her dad worked. That’s not to say her family was perfect.

“I was raised in a family where racism and homophobia were the norm,” King says.

King didn’t have a lot of friends.

She struggled with her weight. She was insecure and lonely.

It didn’t help that as a preteen, King’s world was upended. Her family moved several times before her parents eventually divorced. She went from a private school where she had grown up with most of the kids to a public school where she knew no one.

And that’s when the bullying began.

At first, kids called her names. Then it escalated.

“I was essentially this dorky little chubby girl with glasses and braces,” King says. “In seventh grade, the school bully started a fight with me and ripped my shirt open in front of the entire class. Even today, all these years later, I can’t verbally describe the level of humiliation.”

While some children might have shut down, King became filled with an intense rage. All the discomfort and anger bubbled up until there was nowhere else for it to go. She fought back.

“I took [the bully’s] place,” King says. “Literally overnight, I came to the conclusion that if I was doing what she was doing, then nothing like that could ever happen to me again.”

King became violent. She struggled with self-hate and self-harm. By high school, she was experimenting with drugs, sex and drinking. She had been in trouble with the law.

“By the time I met skinheads in high school, I had already been arrested a few times,” King says. “And once I fell into the far right, it was just pretty much over from there. It was free rein just to be angry and violent and to act out against anybody and everybody.”

King spent eight years involved in what she calls “some of the most violent far-right organizations,”

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including what was then called the World Church of the Creator, which has been classified as a neo-Nazi hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The organizations embraced her anger and provided community, but they were more Band-Aid than salve.

“In some aspects, [the groups] made me feel like I had a place in the world and something important to do,” King says. “But on the other hand, [they] did nothing for the issues I was already struggling with — with confusion, with my self-esteem, with self-hate.”

After the Oklahoma City bombing, she attempted to step back. When she

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nonwhite-run business and sending the money to their organization.

“We discussed the book that inspired Timothy McVeigh, and decided we were going to go along with some of what the book said,” King says. “Essentially, that it was OK to hurt and steal from people who we didn’t consider to be white.”

They ended up at Exotic Video in Hollywood, Florida, where King’s boyfriend demanded money from the Jewish owner and pistol-whipped him while King and her two friends waited in the car.

At 24, King was charged with robbery and committing a felony with a firearm. She would go to federal

Once, I would’ve describe myself as a warrior — a proud white woman willing to do anything necessary to ‘save’ her people. I’ll be apologizing for the rest of my life for that. But this work no longer feels like penance.

stopped going out and answering the phone for a few weeks, her so-called friends showed up at her house. One threatened that he saw her younger brother playing outside “all by himself.” She got the message. She didn’t have the money to pack up and leave everything behind. Even if she did, she was covered in racist tattoos — constant reminders for herself and others that this is who she was.

Plus, she still really wanted to belong somewhere, anywhere.

“I ended up going right back in, and it wasn’t until I went to prison that the final break actually happened,” King says.

On March 29, 1998, King was drinking alcohol in South Florida with her boyfriend and two friends. They were talking about how they could best contribute to the white supremacist movement. They landed on robbing a

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prison for her role in the crime.

With her arrest came a very public case that garnered substantial media coverage. In prison, that put a target on King’s back. As did the swastikas and other white supremacist symbols tattooed on her hands, wrists, chest, legs and back. She couldn’t easily cover up her past or the ideology she had spent eight years espousing.

Anxious, scared and admittedly naïve, King spent her time smoking in the prison’s small outdoor rec area with her back against the concrete wall “just trying not to be noticed.”

It was there that an unexpected act of kindness began to open up King’s world. A Jamaican inmate asked if she knew how to play cribbage.

“I literally was like, ‘What the f--- is cribbage?’ ” King says. “I had no idea what it was, and this woman who doesn’t know me at all picks up a cribbage board and cards, comes over and sits down next to me and teaches me how to play.”

According to King, this woman, who we’ll call “Jamaica” to preserve her anonymity, had to have known why King was in prison and that she was a skinhead.

“I had no idea how to process that,” King says. “I was so used to anger and aggression and confrontation and violence. That’s what I was expecting.

That’s what I was prepared for. I was not prepared for kindness. It literally disarmed me.”

Sammy Rangel, who co-founded Life After Hate with King and now serves as its executive director, says it’s usually these seemingly insignificant interactions from someone unexpected that transform people.

“All of us [at Life After Hate] had an experience with a person who broke the mold of our global narrative about people,” Rangel says. “That genuine compassion cut through our defenses like butter. Don’t get me wrong; that doesn’t mean it happens overnight.

What it means is that something got through. For me, a guy came to my cell and showed kindness in a place where there shouldn’t have been any.”

Like King, Rangel grew up around instability and violence. He too found himself a part of what is considered a hate group — the Maniac Latin Disciples, one of the largest Latino street gangs in Chicago. Unlike King, he is of Mexican and Native American descent. He says his hatred for white people didn’t happen until he was 17, when he witnessed white prison guards do nothing while his black friend died during a prison riot.

For Rangel, a prison guard knocking on his cell door and asking to talk was the starting point he needed. “That simple gesture of respect opened the door for me to be vulnerable, but I was still very defensive.”

Being asked to play a game of cards may seem insignificant, but it likewise opened up a door for King. Her subsequent friendship with Jamaica and other women of color allowed King to cross beyond the threshold of the ideology that had held her captive.

Jamaica and King would spend the next two years in prison as friends, having difficult conversations — ones that held King accountable and made her question the type of person she wanted to be.

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“I remember [when Jamaica] asked me what I would have done to her and her young daughter had I encountered them before I went to prison,” King says. “Would I have called them racial slurs? Would I have been violent? Would I have wanted to kill her and her baby? Those were things that I didn’t even want to think about myself, but they really made me start to engage and critically think about who I was and what led me to that point in my life.”

While being released from prison is usually cause for celebration, for King it was scarier than entering prison.

She knew she wanted to change, but there were years of ingrained racist thoughts that didn’t go away just because she wanted them to. She worried that she was permanently hard-wired to see the world through a lens of hatred.

“I couldn’t seem to reconcile who I was, the person that I was becoming, with the old me,” she says.

There were former relationships that weren’t so easy to end. She feared confrontations with her former friends and her family. And she was 26 years old, with a GED degree but no work skills, no savings and no real career goals.

Moving on would not be as simple as stepping outside the prison doors, but she was determined. In some ways, the universe aligned for her.

Nearly everyone she previously associated with was in prison, on probation or under house arrest.

She found several jobs and saved up enough money to move out of her mother’s house and enrolled at nearby Broward College.

She began telling her story publicly.

King had begun to see a future for herself — a way forward — but she would face more setbacks. She applied to three universities in South Florida; all denied her because of her criminal record. “I felt defeated. My associate degree wasn’t as far as I wanted to go.”

After moving to Lake Mary, Florida, she decided to write an essay about her past as part of her application to UCF. She received a simple letter from an admissions officer asking to meet with her in person. It was another breakthrough for King.

“It never fails. No matter how much time has passed, that letter from UCF

always makes me cry,” King says. “It meant so much to me to actually be treated like a human being, like I had potential and could accomplish something with my life. UCF absolutely changed my life. I found individuals who believed in me.”

That’s not to say it was easy. She had to agree to be on probation during

her time at UCF. She worried about being able to get internships and eventually a clinical license. She had to fight to design an interdisciplinary degree that she thought would offer her what she craved — the opportunity to learn about American history, our social systems and about other people’s circumstances. But she went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies.

King slowly started coming out of her shell. She did outreach work and joined civil and human rights organizations, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the

SPLC. She began the process of having her tattoos removed. And she continued telling her story.

She has spent nearly two decades “rehashing all my worst mistakes, all my bad decisions, all of my most

humiliating situations,” she says.

But opening up led the girl from small-town Florida all the way to Dublin, Ireland, and the start of her career helping other individuals find a way out of hate groups.

In 2011, she was invited to speak at the Summit Against Violent Extremism, a three-day conference in Dublin sponsored by Google Ideas.

She joined other former extremists from around the world — from white supremacists to Al-Qaeda members — as well as survivors of extreme violence.

It was there that she met the five other individuals who co-founded Life After Hate with her, including Rangel.

“I was just amazed by her strength, her transparency, the courage to get on a stage and tell her story in front of a bunch of strangers,” says Rangel.

“A lot of these women from white supremacist groups will not speak about their experiences. Angela was the first in our country to do it, and I think she’s the model we all should be following.”

What started out as a blog has evolved into what Life After Hate is today. Driven by its ExitUSA program, Life After Hate, according to its website, is “dedicated to helping individuals leave the white power movement and start building a more fulfilling and positive life, just like we did.”

And there’s plenty of work to do.

According to the ADL’s annual report on murder and extremism in the United States, 2018 was the deadliest year for right-wing extremism since the Oklahoma City bombing. Last year also saw hate groups rise to an all-time high with the number of white nationalist groups increasing by 50 percent, according to the SPLC. King shares her story not because it’s easy. But she and other members of Life After Hate do it in the hope that others going through something similar will hear their stories, see someone they can reach out to for help, and envision a way out — and forward — for themselves.

“My sense is that Angela has suffered a lot in her life,” says Rangel.

“But today, when you see how much she loves, who she loves, how she loves, it communicates to everyone else that our experiences don’t have to make us unloving or unlovable.”

“Once, I would’ve described myself as a warrior — a proud white woman willing to do anything necessary to ‘save’ her people,” King said in an article in O, The Oprah Magazine. “I’ll be apologizing for the rest of my life for that. But this work no longer feels like penance. I own my mistakes but have compassion for myself — I’ve stepped into the human being I am today. I’m more than I ever could have given myself credit for.”

U C F. E D U / P E G A S U S | 3 7

AlumKnights

MILLENNIAL FALCON

How Jacqueline (Cade) King ’12 helped dreams come true for generations of Star Wars fans.

BY NICOLE DUDENHOEFER ’17 What seemed to be a distant fantasy for Star Wars fans is now an exciting possibility in a not-so-faraway galaxy: flying the Millennium Falcon.

Within the past year, the 14-acre Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has been added to both Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Among the attraction’s immersive experiences is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, a simulation ride that allows up to six people working together as pilots, gunners and engineers to complete a mission in real time.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ©DISNEY/LUCASFILM

One of the leaders on the Walt Disney Imagineering team behind the ride is civil engineering grad Jacqueline (Cade) King ’12. While a senior at UCF, she was connected to an internship opportunity with Disney through the American Society of Civil Engineers student organization. Once she graduated, King’s role at Disney evolved before she landed the gig as an attraction producer for Smugglers Run. “I went to school to build bridges, and I ended up building spaceships,” says King, who grew up watching Star Wars films with her family. “Working with Imagineering is one of the best jobs you could ask for. No day is the same.”

King’s job is to ensure the creative vision of the project is delivered on time and on budget. Acting as a liaison between Imagineering and other teams, she oversaw aspects on the project from major conceptual developments to the smallest painted elements.

“We’ve all had that dream of flying the Millennium Falcon, and meeting those expectations was one of the most exciting and challenging parts of the project,” King says.

King on the new themed experience and ride: The Force Is Strong in her Family While creating Smugglers Run, King’s team became tightknit. Her husband, mechanical engineering grad Gabriel King ’15, also worked on Galaxy’s Edge.

Ultimately, King says for her, Star Wars is all about bonding. “Watching all of those characters come together, they truly become more than friends, they become a family. The Millennium Falcon becomes the home base everyone unites in.”

Traveling Through Hyperspace Seeing Galaxy’s Edge finally come together was a surreal experience for King, and she says your journey through the land will be too. “The amount of detail the entire team put into making you feel like you’ve truly entered a different world is astounding. Our partners worked really hard to take you out of the theme park and into Batuu.”

Fastest Hunk of Junk in the Galaxy For four years, King worked with Disney and the Lucasfilm teams to get every detail of the ride right.

From studying the films to poring over 20-foot drawings of the Falcon, her team was able to create the nearly 110-foot-long spacecraft to scale. “This is the first time anybody has seen the Millennium Falcon as expected from the films. You don’t have to pretend you’re anywhere because you’re truly there.”

More than a Bucket of Bolts Developing the technology behind the ride to deliver real-time feedback was a huge undertaking, King says.

Disney worked with Epic Games to make it happen.

“We had to make sure the game engine could process all of the visuals at the quality we wanted, as well as have six guests control the vehicle and make sure they’re working toward the same goal.”

Let the Wookiee Win While waiting to board the spacecraft, riders pass the iconic location where Chewbacca and R2-D2 played a holographic chess game. “On the ride you can also unlock another Easter egg we call ‘Wookiee Mode.’

It actually allows Chewie to communicate with you throughout the entire mission.”

Stay on Target With about 200 controls in the Millennium Falcon, some riders may feel overwhelmed. King says it’s important to keep in mind the sense of realism behind the ride. “Pilots should make sure they are not hitting objects, gunners should focus on shooting everything coming at you, and engineers should keep reeling in the cargo.”

Class Notes

Stefanie Johnson ’06 ’08MA (left) can add gold medal-winning bowler to her list of accolades. The former Striking Knight, who has been a professional bowler with Team USA for more than a decade, not only qualified for the Pan American Games for the first time this year, but she and her teammate, Shannon O’Keefe, won first place at the international competition held in Lima, Peru, this summer.

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1992

1996

2000

Richard Bennett retired as purchasing manager with Genuine Parts Company in Atlanta.

Vineet Goel ’95PhD was recently promoted to corporate vice president for GPU architecture, graphics, machine learning and mobile platform at Advanced Micro Devices in San Diego.

Darren Gray ’98MPA received the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award in Public Administration from UCF.

JahKiya Bell ’09MNM was promoted to vice president of strategic impact at the Heart of Florida United Way.

Carol (Edwards) Jose ’76MBA co-authored the book You Are Not Forgotten, which was developed into a documentary. The story follows a wife’s search for her husband, captured during the Vietnam War, and her role as a POW/MIA activist.

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1994

LeRoy Henry is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and working as a contractor for the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton.

Cari Branco ’97MPA is the assistant city manager for North Port, FL.

1982 Charles Miller retired after 20 years of civil service. He is now a ham radio operator at KE4QEG.

1987 Frank St. John ’91MS has been named the executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Rotary and Mission Systems division based in Washington, D.C.

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Michelle (Smith) Triano is the coowner of Advanced Pool Specialists.

Scott Cookson was named a 2019 Legal Elite attorney by Florida Trend magazine. He is a partner at ShuffieldLowman.

Elisha González Bonnewitz was named vice president of community relations and government affairs for the Brevard, Volusia and Tampa FAIRWINDS credit unions.

Devin Morrison is an executive officer at the Naval Medical Center San Diego.

1997 Jeff Daniels was named director of industrial internet of things at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, TX. He serves as an advisor to the UCF industrial engineering and management systems department.

1998 Aaron Clevenger ’03MA is the assistant provost and dean of international programs for EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University.

Jayne Lammers ’05MEd received a Fulbright award to study digital literacy at the State University of Semarang in Java, Indonesia. She is an associate professor and associate director of the Center for Learning in the Digital Age at the University of Rochester.

Cassandra Willard is president of the Orlando Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Karen Carstens was promoted to principal of Tritt Elementary School in Marietta, GA.

2002 Gerrard Grant ’04MS was named a Rising Star at the law firm Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman.

Davey (Spicciati) Jay was named among the 2019 Women Who Mean Business by the Orlando Business Journal. She is a partner and vice president at Meehle & Jay.

2003 Jose Coll was named dean of the School of Social Work at Portland State University.

2004 Anthony Casella launched Knightology IT Solutions, which specializes in wireless solutions, managed services and IT consulting.

PEGASUS

Brian Malec was elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

2005 Vanessa Blakeslee wrote Perfect Conditions, which won a Foreword Reviews’ 2018 Indie Book of the Year Award, a 2019 Independent Publisher Book Award, a National Indie Excellence Award, and was a Chicago Tribune “summer reads” pick.

Chris Brown was named the executive director of The Orlando Repertory Theatre.

Aaron LoCascio is co-founder and chief executive officer of Greenlane.

Laurel Norman was promoted to director of events and sponsorships for the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

2006 Josefina Colomar was promoted to partner at the law firm Withersworldwide, where she advises on U.S. and international tax and trust and estate planning.

Greg Downs was named partner and managing director of investment strategy for Cresset Capital in West Palm Beach, FL.

2007 Keri Guilbault ’10EdD was appointed director of science and education for American Mensa. She also received a 2019 American Mensa National Service Award and is an assistant professor of gifted education at Johns Hopkins University.

Ahmad Sadiq is the founder and CEO of Landtrust Title.

2008 Michael Barber founded the Law Office of Michael D. Barber in Orlando.

Aaron Brown is a trial defense attorney stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. Joseph Kovecses Jr. is a partner and litigator at Goldberg Segalla, working in the firm’s global insurance services practice group in Orlando.

Brendan McCay was featured in an episode of Lockheed Martin’s Talk Techy to Me web series.

2010

2013

2017

Genevieve Bonan is an attorney in the Consumer Protection Division of the Florida Attorney General.

Brendan Keeney retired after 25 years of law enforcement and received his master’s degree in criminal justice.

Paige Wilson is the social media specialist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Arielle Crawford is the founder of Arielle, a sustainable clothing line.

Daniel Davis was appointed chair of The Florida Bar Clients’ Security Fund.

Kristina Santiago and her husband Kirby Lavallee ’09 opened The Cake Girl, a bakery in Tampa.

Lisa Kipersztok recently completed her family medicine residency and is now a primary care doctor in Oregon.

Christina Willis was named the 2019–20 Arthur H. Guenther Congressional fellow, which is sponsored by the Optical Society and SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. She will serve a one-year term as a special legislative assistant for members of Congress, providing technical and scientific perspectives to their decision-making process.

2011

2014

Caroline Perkowski completed a pediatric residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network and started a threeyear critical care fellowship program at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital.

Linh Anh Cat earned a Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and is now a postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA.

2012

Dianne Turgeon Richardson was recently named the inaugural poet-in-residence at First United Methodist Church of Orlando. She was also selected to join the Full Sail University creative writing program advisory council.

Jenn Glucklich helped open the Encore Boston Harbor, a Wynn property.

Mannu Harnal is an associate at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in New York.

Kali (Austin) Hammond is the account supervisor at Poston Communications.

Andrew Chang ’14MS is the owner of Swan City and an executive director at Aledade.

Spencer Frank earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and is now an algorithm engineer at Dexcom, a medical device company based in San Diego.

Whitney (McCorvey) Hodge and her husband Jaquan Hodge ’13 are full-time bloggers, have traveled to over 30 countries together and were recently featured on an episode of House Hunters.

Chase Nawrocki was part of a group of 633 scuba divers who set the world record for the largest underwater cleanup in 24 hours.

He personally recovered over 100 pounds of lead fishing weights as well as steel leaders, fishing line and building materials.

Yoliara Ramos Soto is a domestic violence and family unit attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Washington, D.C.

2015 Kyra Nickell earned a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University.

Julia Thorncroft is the digital marketing manager at The Joyce Theater in New York.

Patrick Younkins manages the international affairs program for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Fort Detrick, MD.

2016 Caitlyn (Shield) Waksler earned a J.D. from the University of Florida.

Alanna Wolfe earned a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Rollins College.

2018 Jensly Francisco placed third in the Wicked6 Cyber Games in Las Vegas.

She was part of UCF’s first all-female cybersecurity competition team.

Cavin Gonzalez is the founder-inchief of a new indie book press, Back Patio Press.

Heriberto Rivera-Beltran was elected treasurer for the San Diego chapter of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners.

2019 Jessica Carrion is an electromechanical engineer associate at Lockheed Martin.

Taylor Kennedy runs the sun safety website TannyMangino.com.

Rhiana Raymundo is the social media coordinator for UCF Marketing.

Nickolas Richardson is a photographer for Colorvision.

In Memoriam Elizabeth Hopkinson ’89 died September 27, 2018.

Marlenys Rojas-Reid ’99 ’12MA died September 4, 2019. She worked as a web designer at the UCF Center for Distributed Learning for more than 20 years, and was in the process of completing an MFA. Jenna Reynoso ’11 died May 20, 2019.

Associate Professor Mathilda van Niekerk died August 23, 2019.

The South African joined UCF in 2012, after a career in hospitality that included overseeing marketing, communications and event logistics for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, held in her home country.

Barry Fookes died September 11, 2019. A chemistry professor at UCF from 1997– 2009, Fookes helped develop and lead the forensic sciences program.

U C F. E D U / P E G A S U S | 4 1

Weddings & Births 1

Brian Pernell ’97 and wife Anna welcomed Story Anne on June 17, 2019.

2

Marjorie (Gamboa) ’03 and Ian Phillips ’03 welcomed Lena on October 25, 2018.

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Kevin Skinner ’03 married Elizabeth Anderson on April 21, 2019.

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Lauren (Aiken) ’07 ’09MA and Jonathan Kress ’11 welcomed Elliott Hope on March 7, 2019.

Jennifer (Augarten) Blattner ’07 ’10MS and husband Michael welcomed Jacob Mitchell on February 15, 2019.

Michele Braché ’07 and Geoffrey 8 Agpalo ’08 welcomed Florence Rue on March 12, 2019.

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Ashley Sperry ’05 married Mitchel Dubolsky on January 27, 2019.

Anneliese Kaplinski ’06 and Fredrik 5 Sandstrom ’04 welcomed Anja Olivia on April 15, 2019.

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Lindsey (Johnson) ’07 ’12MSW and Todd Bryant ’07 welcomed Colton Sean on November 15, 2018.

Allison (Gallagher) ’08 and Chris Collings ’06 ’10MS welcomed Callie on February 25, 2019.

Scarleth Garcia ’08 married Steven Artau ’09 on January 25, 2019.

Deana (Kenny) Friedel ’08 and husband Heath welcomed Natalie Rose on March 3, 2019.

Jessica Goldonowicz ’09 and Eric DeSalvo ’09 welcomed Sebastian on May 12, 2019.

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Nika (Nguyen) ’09 and Nicholas Simon ’09 welcomed Adrian on January 3, 2019.

Cynthia (Rizzuto) ’09 and Will Pritchett ’11 welcomed Charlotte on July 24, 2019.

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Shannon Felder ’10 married Chad Brown on November 10, 2018.

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Jessica Ivers ’09 married W Mason on November 3, 2018.

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Denise (Martin) ’10 and husband Donald Beckler welcomed Kasen on October 25, 2018.

Samantha (Nemeroff) ’10 married Keith Diaz ’12 on May 11, 2019.

12

Roberto Sasso ’10 married Jennifer Liesch 22 on October 7, 2018.

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Samantha Steinemann ’10 married Vance Cato on January 27, 2018.

Megan Clancy ’11 and Sebastian Mejia ’12 welcomed Marlee Gale on December 18, 2019.

25

Connie Griesemer ’11 married Jonathan Little on March 16, 2019.

26

Leon Nansaram ’11 married Danielle McNeal on April 6, 2019.

27

Amanda Schofield ’11 married Andrew Vargo ’13 on April 27, 2019.

Nicole Gandolfo ’12 married Jonathan Balva ’13 on March 2, 2019.

13

Amber Lamb ’08 ’10MA and Steve Taylor welcomed Avrie Joy on July 12, 2019.

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14

Michelle Smith ’08 married Nicholas Myers ’15 on April 5, 2019.

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14

Christina (Gibbs) ’12 and Nicholas Perez ’10 ’12MS welcomed Isla Elizabeth on May 4, 2019.

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Robert Hernandez ’12 and wife Elizabeth welcomed Rhett Patrick on January 24, 2019.

30

Courtney Morris ’12 married Jacob Benedict ’13 on April 19, 2019.

Lacy (Page) Martin ’12 and husband Jay welcomed Everleigh Martin on February 20, 2019.

Katie Baxley ’13 married Mina Hanna ’18 on May 4, 2019.

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Kathleen Huber ’13 married Edward Leonard ’13 on February 23, 2019.

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Kaycee (Muehleman) ’13 and Jason Sanford ’11 welcomed Dominic on April 20, 2019.

Julie Stokes ’13 married Austin Montgomery ’14 on March 23, 2019.

Courtney (Thompson) ’13 married 36 Andy Anderson ’12 on March 16, 2019.

37

Yasmine Benlulu ’14 married Derek Cornelius ’13 on January 5, 2019.

38

Alexandra Carson ’14 married Tyler Spink ’14 on November 10, 2018.

39

Nicole Cristiano ’14 married Benjamin Case on October 7, 2018.

40

Caitlin Gilmurray ’14 married John Woodward ’15 on June 28, 2019.

41

Sarah Hudak ’14 married Jesse Stokes ’17 on June 1, 2019.

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Andrea (Zollman) ’14 ’18MA and Bryan Simkanich ’11 ’12MS welcomed twins Katie and Jason on February 15, 2019.

Jessica (Allen) ’16 and Nicholas Mauro ’16 welcomed Rhett Matthew on October 27, 2018.

44

Rachel Martinko ’16 married Ethan Wyckoff ’08 on October 20, 2018.

45

Haleigh Pool ’16 married Zachary Boynton ’16 on May 15, 2019.

46

Caitlyn Shield ’16 married Benjamin Waksler ’17 on December 29, 2018.

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Stephanie (Thomas) ’16 and Tyler 47 Ebner ’15 welcomed Cole David on July 16, 2019.

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PEGASUS Chris Van Dorn ’17 is the real hero Gotham — and Orlando — deserve. The sociology major dons the caped crusader’s suit to save as many dogs, cats and other abandoned animals as he can while bringing awareness to the dire situation many rescue animals face. Today, he does it as part of Batman4Paws, a nonprofit he funded through GoFundMe, which named him a “Hero of the Month” and featured him on their True Stories of Good People podcast.

ALUMNI AUTHORS Jack Weitzel ’73 wrote Looking for My Sister.

Scott George ’84 wrote Grace Multiplied: Discovering the Economy of Mercy.

Bill Cushing ’93 wrote the poetry collection A Former Life.

Jeremy Pirnat ’95, under the name “Jay Magnum,” wrote the graphic novel Astral Evolution.

Nathan Holic ’02 ’07MFA wrote Bright Lights, Medium-sized City.

Rick Hughes ’07 wrote Sterile Processing, Invisible Culture.

SHARE YOUR NEWS Send us your announcements and high-resolution photos (minimum 3 megapixels, 300 dpi).

Submissions are included as space permits. Class notes may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium.

WEB

ucfalumni.com/classnotes

EMAIL

knights@ucfalumni.com

MAIL

Pegasus Class Notes P.O. Box 160046 Orlando, FL 32816-0046

PHONE

407.823.2586 U C F. E D U / P E G A S U S | 4 5

Why We _____________________

BY MIKE HINN ’92 AND JIM HOBART ’91

When you’re young and inexperienced, you often don’t realize there are hurdles between you and success. But it’s often that lack of experience that causes you to sidestep those challenges and keep progressing.

This was the case 25 years ago when this magazine took its first baby steps. And now, we feel like the proud parents whose idea has turned into an award-winning publication that finds its way into the mailboxes of more than 230,000 alumni.

Yes, today we know it’s crazy to think about a world without almost instant access to everyone and everything.

But at the time the vision for Pegasus was born, we just wanted to create a publication that would keep all UCF alumni connected. We knew UCF had a story to tell, but we wanted to go further. We wanted to share stories that reminded us that we were part of something bigger, something special.

UCF connected us — to each other, to memories, to new beginnings and to a world of opportunity.

As students, we were active in several clubs and organizations. Between the two of us, we covered just about every walk of student life, from the orientation team to campus activities to student government to fraternity life with Lambda Chi Alpha. Little did we know at the time that we were meeting future clients, business partners, employees and, most of all, lifelong friends.

When we graduated, we had to stay connected.

We asked Tom Messina ’84, executive director of the UCF Alumni Association at the time, if he could use some volunteers. We jumped in and helped with Homecoming, program ideas and other projects. We discovered we were not alone in our love of our alma mater and that many alumni before us had the same passion. Roger Pynn ’73, Laura Pooser ’75, Michael Candelaria ’83 and others paved the way for alumni communications and created a strong foundation and community to build on.

When Pegasus was created, UCF had more than 60,000 alumni but not a meaningful way to share the community’s news with them.

The UCF Alumni Association loved the idea of a magazine, but had little budget to pull it off. To two naïve upstarts, however, this sounded like a fun challenge.

Things then started to get fast and furious.

With our fresh diplomas in hand, we started Knight Images (now Knight Agency), partnered with Messina and the UCF Alumni Association, sold advertising and launched a self-funded magazine. At the end of that first year in 1994, we introduced some simple websites, which felt very fancy back then. This helped us expand both our agency and Pegasus into the next generation of marketing and communications.

We like to think our shared philosophy of doing well by doing good paid off, and we were now officially “businessmen.” (And if you know us, you know we use that term very loosely.)

Over the next 17 years, alumni from all over contributed and worked on Pegasus. Two key members on the team at the beginning were Michael Dodd Foristall ’94, who started as an intern, and John Speake ’95, who contributed in the earliest days of Pegasus.

When Pegasus grew up and moved in-house to the UCF marketing department at 18 years old, we were very much like proud parents.

As we have watched the magazine flourish the past seven years, we are reminded that Reach for the Stars is more than UCF’s motto — it’s a compass for everyone to follow.

Thank you to all those along the way, especially Messina and the UCF Alumni Association for believing in the magazine’s potential and giving two young entrepreneurs an opportunity to create a future — and stay forever connected with fellow Knights and the university where we spent some of the best years of our lives.

Mike Hinn ’92 is CEO of Knight Agency, and Jim Hobart ’91 is owner of Macbeth Studio.

Both live in Orlando and continue to Reach for the Stars (and cause trouble together).

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NONPROFIT

PEGASUS: The Magazine of the University of Central Florida

ORGANIZATION

P.O. BOX 160090, ORLANDO, FL 32816-0090

US POSTAGE PA I D ORLANDO FL PERMIT 3575

Raised through IGNITE: The Campaign for UCF, thanks to alumni and friends.

Read more on page 18.