Centric Magazine Fall 2022

GROWING GOLDEN

Photo Courtesy of Alexandra Sullivan

zarella and Parmes

Photos courtesy of pet owners

Born To Drag

How a UCF Film alumni defeated the odds in drag.

BY VALERIE GALARZA

Right: Photo Courtesy of Trey Jackson

CENTRIC MAGAZINE

Golden Hour Hotspots

With more than 1,400 acres in the hearth of Central Florida, UCF is guaranteed to have amazing areas to enjoy sunrises and sunsets.

BY GRAYSON KEGLOVIC

BY ALEXA FUENTES

An outfit can be a window into someone’s personality. When walking around campus, it won’t take long to find an eye-catching outfit. From trends like 90s midi skirts and styles like “dark academia” and “contemporary goth,” there are endless amounts of variety throughout the campus community. While walking through UCF, I spoke to students about their outfits, their favorite trends and inspiration, and what fashion meant to them.

PHOTOS BY ALEXA FUENTES

Let's Go Out to Eat

The way to a happy stomach and a healthy mind could be found in your UCF backyard.

BY CARLEIGH COSTA

1. Pricky Pear Cactus: With the skin removed, this cacti’s delicate meat is a great snack.

2. Florida Pennyroyal: This wildflower that can be used to brew tea or to flavor soup blooms during the winter and spring months.

3. American Beautyberry: This shrub produces rich clusters of purple berries that can be used to make jelly or wine.

4. Bidens Alba: Foragers can harvest the leaves and cook them like spinach, or use the flowers to decorate a salad.

5. Wild Blueberry: Also known as the shiny blueberry, this variety is the most widespread species of blueberries in Florida.

Tips for safe foraging from Emily Ruff:

RIGHT: DESIGN BY REGAN ADRE. PHOTO COURTESY OF MANUELA ARANGO LEFT: ILLUSTRATION BY ARIANNA O'ROURKE.

The Little Marine Biologist

UCF student becomes an international mermaid while studying marine biology..

BY KAYLA GAYLE

LEFT: PHOTO BY KAYLA GAYLE RIGHT: PHOTO COURTESY OF INFLUENCERS

Behind The Screen

Five UCF students-turned social media influencers share how they make an impact in the virtual world.

BY SHAYNE WATSON

How Do You Become an Influencer?

How Do You Become an Influencer?

It’s really all about finding the niche in your personality.

—Erin Purcell

Be authentically you. Don’t try to copy others’ content just because you see it’s working for them.

—Breanna Sorensen

Do you, show up, post often, and hope for the best.

—Lena Daniels

Try your best not to compare yourself to others cause that is a whirlwind to bad mental health.

—Kathy Li

BY GABBY MACOGAY

CENTRIC STAFF PICKS

When you think of the word ‘golden,’ what comes to mind?

(Other than “Golden” by Harry Styles!) If you’re looking for some other fun tracks to check out-here are some of our staff’s ‘golden’ songs - songs for if you’re looking to cheer up on a cloudy day, to complete your “Perks of Being a Wallflower” tunnel scene moment with friends or if you just want to listen to some tunes that hold a special place in our staff’s heart!

“Vines” - Hippo Campus

“Float On” - Modest Mouse

“Robbers” - The 1975

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” - Tears for Fears

“Evergreen” - Omar Apollo

“Dogs” - Magic Sugar Coffee

“Long Flight” - Taeyong

“My Favorite Part” - Mac Miller ft. Ariana Grande

“Oak and Ash” - Fellowship

“Only If” - Steve Lacy

“Indigo Puff” - Sundara Karma

“Dreams” - Fleetwood Mac “November” - Tyler, the Creator

DESIGN BY MADISON POLLOCK

“

I’m just cultivating an environment where people can heal. ”

—Aaron Evans

Photos courtesy of Aaron Evans. Scan to view more of Aaron's work!

Intercepting and Illustrating

BY MELANIE MORALES

Former UCF offensive lineman Aaron Evans traded his football helmet for a set of paintbrushes and a canvas to heal others through art.

PASSIONATELY PURPOSEFUL

Four UCF entrepreneurs who are making a difference.

An idea stems from a purpose—and without that purpose, what is the point? Four members from the UCF community serve as proof of this, sharing one thing in common: They have all built businesses based on a purpose-driven idea.

From a beauty bar that empowers Black women to socks that showcase the life of the person who wears them, these young UCF entrepreneurs have found success in putting ideas into motion and finding fulfillment in pursuing their purposes.

Rob Starkman

Rock 'Em Socks: A sock for every story

BY ASHLEY VANDUREN

Women are starting to say, ‘Hey, I can do it and I can do it better.

—Jani'ah McCray

Stacey Grant-Lewis

Culture X Co: From passion to purpose

BY AUDREY LIPTON

The whole idea of Culture x Co is that we’re not just teaching people about race, we want them to learn a different way of being.

—Stacey Grant-Lewis

Umar Qasmi

Frutaq: Juice concentrates that will fight global poverty

BY MARIA PANICHEVA

—Umar Qasmi

A SEVERE PRODUCTION

Photo courtesy of Kayla Gayle

PRODUCTION

Storyboards and sketches developed for the making of "DormBnB" by Henry Severe

Preliminary storyboards and story notes provided by Henry Severe

Premiere Pro. He learned color correction as he worked on the film and gained experience through his job at the Student Union. Severe

Morgan Christie, the second assistant camera said. "We all just bounced [ideas] off of each other and made the best shot happen.”

For instance, Covey Washington proposed the inclusion of an air fryer into the plot and to have his character, Miles’ suitemate Jayden, play the popular game “Fireboy and Watergirl” on his computer, while Joy Hickman put a durag on a teddy bear her character, Ari, holds. Small nudges to Black culture such as that were important to Severe-who also hung a Haitian flag in Miles’ suitemate’s room.

“Henry had a vision but he was really open to collaboration. He was like, ‘I want

also utilized Adobe After Effects for a small VFX shot. While editing, he noticed that when the character “DormBnB Guest 2” was in the doorway, the colors looked “really weird,” so he masked and tracked the door to color correct the shot.

When it came to audio mixing, Severe mixed the recording from the camera with the boom mic stating the echo made it sound like “you’re really in this place.” With

this to be a celebration of our culture and stuff that’s not centered around Black trauma,’” Wilson said.

There were many scenes that the crew finally got on the seventh take, making seven a lucky number for them. But it didn’t help that filming was done right before finals week and just two weeks before Severe’s designated move-out date, leaving barely any time for possible reshoots.

After each day of shooting, Severe would stay up and create a rough cut of what the crew had just filmed. By the end of the week, he had a first draft of the short film.

the style of the short film being a student mockumentary, it felt best that the audio wasn’t completely clear to Severe.

Severe also used Adobe Audition to add a voiceover of Mo’s lines a week before the film was set to release because he thought his original delivery wasn’t done well.

Preliminary storyboards and story notes provided by Henry Severe

invitation to an early watch party in the caption. The cast, crew and friends of those

WHAT’S NEXT

“DormBnB” was a finalist in Bassett House Picture’s #ScreenDatNight Short Film Competition led by, Jean Elie. This is one of the many competitions Severe plans on submitting “DormBnB” to, in addition to local and national film festivals.

involved with the film met at the Student Union on Sept. 2 to watch the film.

“It was so fun to see our work completely done because Henry was being mean and wouldn’t show us anything until the end,” Wilson joked. “It's really cool to see a final project that you worked on for a while and then be able to sit down and appreciate all of that hard work that went into something, and just see that people enjoyed it.”

“It was very scary. I was shaking. The whole time I was watching, I was analyzing the vibe of the room,” Severe said. “But it was nice to finally show it to people.”

With Severe’s love of mockumentary-style filmmaking, his main goal is to create a trilogy that revolves around Black and brown students of the unnamed fictional university. He is aiming for the sequel to be filmed and released next spring semester.

Preliminary storyboards and story notes provided by Henry Severe Scan the QR code to check out “DormBNB” for yourself.

Connected at the Root

A community finds power in what connects them—their hair

BY SARAH HARWELL

Seeing a lack in Black owned beauty supply stores, All Things Beauty Supply sought to serve their community. Co-owner and former UCF student Kendia Williams said before spending a dollar, customers will ask if the store is Black-owned. They seek out these Black-owned stores specifically to avoid uncomfortable experiences and poor treatment felt when shopping with their non-Black owned counterparts. This treatment can come from the knowledge that these stores provide a necessity that is few and far between.

Being from the Bahamas, Williams was taught to help others when she can. With All Things Beauty Supply now having booths for hair stylists and other techs, they are able to use their space to help Black women in their community. As a former member of the Caribbean Student Association at UCF, she also extends this helping hand by giving a discount to UCF students in Black organizations. It’s her belief that to continue

to have thriving Black spaces, Black people should stick together and support each other in these endeavors.

Hiring Aalycia Gaitor, a second year nursing major, was one way of doing this. Gaitor rents a space from All Things Beauty Supply to braid hair there. She believes hair care is self-care and that Black women can nurture their image through how they treat their hair. Having black stylists and Black owned beauty supply stores or salons ensures there’s a place to do this with a level of care not commonly found elsewhere. “Confidence is one of the main factors in helping us get through this world because it’s already hard for us,” Gaitor said.

India Anderson, braider and senior integrated business major, starts her customer service from the moment clients book a service all the way to the end of the appointment. Even as a stylist, she believes that Black women can sometimes place too much value in their hair, to their own detriment. She gives the example of her

friend who suffers from alopecia, one day having hair down to her back and the next day having none.

“Sometimes we might think that we need our hair done a certain way or we need something done a certain way, but honestly, if we’re confident, I feel like we look beautiful regardless,” Anderson said. “To me, Black beauty is being confident in your skin and knowing that you’re already beautiful.”

Dr. Reshawna Chapple, a professor at UCF, teaches cultural diversity to social workers, specializes in culturally competent therapy and holds a Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy, Justice and Social Inquiry . Speaking on the internalized feelings Black women have toward their hair, she says it’s all about the norm formulated as they are growing up. She said, "having straight hair or not being natural has been used as a vessel to soften up the angry, mean image black women have been given, even amongst the rich and famous."

“People who aren’t from the quote

unquote norm or majority … are subjected usually to question, critique, comparison or ridicule, instead of just allowing people to be people,” Dr. Chapple said.

As a consultant with a large online therapy company, Dr. Chapple has seen many cases where clients specifically seek Black therapists. Many times she has to explain to non-Black therapists who are offended by this that there’s a difference between being black and being “Black adjacent.” Proximity does not equate to a personal understanding of Black culture, a concept mirrored earlier in the desire to have more Black stylists, Black owned beauty supply stores and salons, Dr. Chapple said.

Halle-Nicole Lodge, current health sciences major, started doing her own wig installs during the beginning of the pandemic. This past August, she started doing other people's hair, wanting them to feel good when they leave her chair, a feeling she can understand first-hand. Growing up,

she remembers always seeing her mom’s hair done; now, she finds herself seeking the same to feel confident in her appearance. Being able to give other Black women this confidence puts a smile on her face, as if she’s the one with the fresh install.

“Hair is very powerful, I 100% believe that. Even if you’ve seen someone get a haircut or trim, they cry. If you’ve ever seen somebody shave their head bald, they’re letting go of a lot of trauma, a lot of stress, all that stuff,” Lodge said. “I feel like taking care of your hair is super important. Keeping up with your hair but making sure you feel good about it.”

Sometimes we might think that we need our hair done a certain way ... but honestly, if we’re confident, I feel like we look beautiful regardless.

—India Anderson

CENTRIC AND GOLD

By Grayson Keglovic and Staff

Becoming part of the University of Central Florida community made us golden by default. Without UCF, we wouldn’t be who we are after graduation. Whether you are an alumni, a student, a professor, or simply a Knights football fan, gold bleeds through our hearts. As both the staff of Centric Magazine and students of UCF, we have had a variety of “golden” moments and opportunities during our time in Orlando, Florida.

Centric Staff’s Golden Moments:

“My first UCF football game and felt the atmosphere of the student section.”

—Amanda Turko, Staff Writer

“When I joined Strike Magazine Orlando during my freshman year at UCF.”

—Grayson Keglovic, Editor-in-Chief

“When I first arrived at UCF…I get to pursue my true passion: journalism.

—Valerie Galarza, Digital Director

“When I was able to submit my artwork to the healing art exhibit.”

—Daniel Santiago, Creative Director

“When I was exploring Orlando with my friends freshman year.”

Alexa Fuentes, Staff Writer

“When I proved to myself that I can be a good journalist even though English is my second language.”

—Maria Panicheva, Staff Writer

“At the end of my first semester when a professor I admired reached out to me and said I show ‘incredibly bright promise and potential as a journalist.”

—Kayla Gayle, Staff Writer

“When my first article got published.”

Shayne Watson, Staff Writer

“When I made it through my first semester as a journalism major.”

Reanna Haase, Staff Writer

“Doing what I love! Whether that be writing articles for Strike Orlando or Centric, hanging with friends, or walking around campus.”

Gabby Macogay, Copy Chief

“When I run around UCF as the sun begins to rise.”

Madison Pollock, Design Assistant

“Sitting in the kitchen during COVID and finding out I was going to be a future knight.”

Melanie Morales, Staff Writer

“Getting to see the amazing sunset view over the Arboretum.”

—Sarah Harwell, Brand Engagement Director

“When I began joining different RSO’s on campus.”

Kristen Boxhorn, Staff Writer

“During a yoga class at the RWC at Knights Plaza.”

Carleigh Costa, Staff Writer