FALL 2013 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 2
miss ucf’s crowning achievement: being herself athlete inked with memory of fallen friend
death becomes her ucf artist makes the living dead look pretty Centric | 1
Photos by Ana Cuello
contents Integrity
Uniting Central Florida
3
Life of the Party
4
Scholarship Grading Rate My 6 Professors
Community Gamer Culture
8
The Might Behind 10 the Knights
19
L etter from the E ditor : A ndy Z unz
Creativity Creating Nightmares
12
Solar Spinner
15
Excellence Fulfilling Disney Dreams
16
Out in the Field
18
Managing Editor
Balancing Act
19
Visuals Editor
Mentor’s Mark
20
Shattering Stereotypes
22
On the Cover: Self-portrait of UCF makeup artist Kelly Zak.
Centric Fall 2013 Staff Andy Zunz Ana Cuello Digital Editor
Marina Guerges Jennifer Kline
Marelena Cruz Visuals Veronica Brezina
2 | Table of Contents
Whitney Celestin
Marketing Director
youtube.com/user/centricmagazine
flickr.com/photos/centricmagazine
Melissa Catalanotto
Ajeeta Khanna
Shannon Anderson
twitter.com/centricmagazine
Tyler Breaman
Jennifer DiDomenico
centric.cos.ucf.edu
facebook.com/centricmagazine
Editorial
Ernest Duffoo Kayla Hernandez Pam Wanderley
Jake Lamb Anna-Michelle Lavandier Tyler Vazquez Adviser Rick Brunson Nicholson School Director Dr. Robert Chandler
When you’re dealing with more than 60,000 people, you never know what kind of stories you can find. Take a stroll around campus. You may never realize that the eyes you look into as you pass by a girl have seen living nightmares. The hands you touch as you accept a handout at Market Day have helped transform a community. The arms that perform slam dunks for the UCF basketball team are inked with a mark of mourning. Look inside, and you’ll read these stories. They may not all be pretty, but they are UCF at its core. Centric’s mission is simple. “The mission of Centric is to spotlight interesting, innovative and inspiring people in the UCF community who are making an impact and to give our readers and users original stories that they cannot get anywhere else.’’ The Centric staff has worked hard to bring you UCF from a different angle through storytelling, visuals and information. That’s exactly what you’ll find inside, along with a little perspective. Walk up to anyone on campus and start talking. You’ll find that everyone has a story.
Integrity
Uniting Central Florida Crossing party lines to transform the nearby town of Bithlo
The UCF Reflecting Pond served as a background for Anna Eskamani’s childhood adventures at UCF. Since childhood, Anna Eskamani made UCF her personal playground. From playing near the Reflecting Pond with her twin sister, Ida, to roaming the John C. Hitt Library, Eskamani knew that she was born to bleed black and gold. “I applied to FSU, but when I got my acceptance letter from UCF, I didn’t finish their application,” Eskamani said. “We used to come here on campus before it looked like this and just play.” The two girls aimed for UCF after their father graduated in the class of 1993 and their older brother graduated in 1999. Lately, Eskamani has garnered attention for her work with Project Bithlo, an initiative to transform the poor rural community, which is less than 10 miles to the southeast of UCF. The project includes opening a school and a clinic, providing dental care and offering healthy living classes, among other things. Eskamani brought together UCF’s College Democrats and Republicans to work on the project. There may be gridlock in Washington, but Eskamani is bringing people who are political opposites together to move a community forward. Said College Democrats member Allyson Grant, “[This project] has really opened up my eyes like, ‘Wow, the government’s not working, but maybe we can work together.’ Nothing would get done if it wasn’t bi-partisan.” While these organizations strive to forward the interests of their respective political parties, Project Bithlo has brought
these unlikely allies together for the greater good of helping the community. “It is hard when you stand on such opposite sides of things, but when it comes to your community you stand together because it’s one of your own,” said Anna Taylor, member of the College Republicans. “I feel like it starts with us, so if we don’t take the initiative to do it, what encourages [Congress] to?” Project Bithlo was born from a conversation between Eskamani and Tim McKinney of United Global Outreach during a League of Women Voters luncheon while she was vice president of the College Democrats. “She seemed to resonate with the idea and started to talk to her club and really birthed out Project Bithlo,” McKinney said. Eskamani graduated from UCF in 2012, earning degrees in interdisciplinary studies-women’s studies track and political science and received the prestigious honor of the Order of Pegasus. “My mom passed away when I was 13 from cancer and we lived in this region so [my sister and I] would go to UCF,” Eskamani said. “Every day I do what I think would make my mom proud … and I know the work that I’m doing is something that she would really be supportive of. “I want to make sure that every student has a voice, every student has an opportunity and if I could even impact one person in that way, then what I do is totally worth it.” By Anna-Michelle Lavandier Photo by Ana Cuello
Centric | 3
Life of the Party Students stay sober amid college atmosphere
Briana LeTourneau generally arrives to a party as late as possible — a fashionable half hour is what her punctual self will allow. She walks into a room of gentle murmur and idle chatting, searching for a familiar face. Everyone is casually sipping from a red Solo cup. LeTourneau fills hers with Coke. She finds the speakers to put on something other than the bass-ridden monotony of typical party music. She chooses
4 | Integrity
some ’80s pop. Others begin to dance alongside — she is not the only one who appreciates the change in music. A crowd accumulates as the night goes on, and soon that one kid shows up, and over the tumult of noise he erupts with, “Who wants to play flip cup?” She can sense the blood-alcohol content of the room rise exponentially. It’s been about two hours since the party began, and most people have lost ability to sustain intellectual conversation. This is her cue to leave. LeTourneau does her rounds of saying goodbye, making sure no one needs a ride home. She makes it home before midnight, and calls the night a success.
Briana LeTourneau made the personal decision to stay sober through college.
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They think it’s going to be hard... but the reality is there are a lot of students that don’t drink. Thomas Hall
LeTourneau is different among the crowd she leaves — she’s a sober student. The first and last time LeTourneau drank alcohol was when she was 4 years old. “I accidentally had a sip of wine that I thought was Coke on the counter. I was really upset about it,” she said with a laugh. With alcoholism running on her father’s side of the family, she learned the negative effects at a young age. Also, having a Muslim background means it’s against LeTourneau’s beliefs to drink alcohol. Religion served as a reason for her sobriety as a youth, but as an adult she has a different thought.
“I don’t understand,” LeTourneau said. “Most people don’t like the taste of alcohol, they’re like, ‘Oh, well you have to get used to it.’ Well, why would l want to get used to something I don’t like to affect my brain in a negative way?” For LeTourneau, it’s important to her that her boyfriend chooses not to drink for reasons similar to hers. “I know a couple of guys who don’t drink because of their religion, and for me it’s not the same thing,” LeTourneau said. “You had to have the same root. My boyfriend and I do share that same root. It makes it a lot easier for me because at least I always know there’s somebody there that always understands.” For Brett Parbus, LeTourneau’s boyfriend, it was not a requirement for LeTourneau to be sober. “It is an admirable trait, and one that I value highly, but it was not something that I was avidly searching out,” Parbus said. “I happened upon someone who, by chance, didn’t drink, and that was, at the very least, a core value that we shared.” Alcoholism comes in many shapes and sizes, according to Thomas Hall, director of alcohol and other drug programs at UCF. “We have ideas about what addiction looks like generally and what people think about addicts,” Hall said. But LeTourneau and Parbus are not alone. According to Hall, approximately 20 percent of students on college campuses are heavy drinkers and are at risk of becoming alcoholics. About 50 percent do not drink at all, or drink very little. Not only are there students suffering with addiction, but those who are in recovery. “How do we support those students is the question,” Hall said. According to PartyTutor.com, a website that provides college students with local drink specials, there are 14 major bars and clubs around UCF that have various happy hours throughout the week. “I talk to students every day who stop drinking and they think they’re not the norm. They think it’s going to be hard because they think they’re going to be the only ones that aren’t drinking,” Hall said. “But the reality is there are a lot of students that don’t drink.” For students who have issues with drugs or alcohol, UCF provides Pegasus Group of Alcoholics Anonymous. LeTourneau’s friends support her decision and do not pressure her to drink. With a Shirley Temple in hand, she takes advantage of her clear judgment when she is at parties. “I’m usually the one who is the most energetic at parties, cause everyone else is a little too fixated on getting alcohol, so I pick out great music and start dancing around.” There has never been a moment that LeTourneau regrets being sober. “I’m never upset that I don’t drink, but sometimes I’m upset that other people do,” LeTourneau said. Being 20 years old, LeTourneau plans on celebrating her 21st birthday the only way she knows how—sober. “We’re planning a big party of mocktails,” she said, with a laugh. By Whitney Celestin Photo illustration by Ernest Duffoo
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Scholarship
Grading Rate My Pr Feet propped up on his trash bin, leaning back in his swivel chair, anthropology lecturer Peter Sinelli scanned through his Rate My Professors comments. Half way down the first page he stopped on one he finds funny. “‘Worst professor in the world,’ and I got a good [rating] from this person, even though I’m the ‘worst professor in the world,’” Sinelli said. He read on, “‘His class is absolutely horrible, he hasn’t given notes out in over 10 years, and he makes you handwrite them.’ “Oh God, can you imagine the horror of having to come to college and actually write out notes?” Sinelli said. “This is a great example of the kind of lack-wit that is in the back row sitting on his computer, farting around doing whatever. He gets a lousy grade, and it’s my fault because I don’t spoon-feed him the material.” RateMyProfessors.com is the go-to site for students who are looking to research a professor for a particular class. Comments from previous students are supposed to shed light on what students are getting themselves into. But, should students take comments with a grain of salt? “I go through all the comments and I try to ascertain the
attitude and the personality of the person writing them,” senior graphic design major Tina Gardiakos said. “If somebody sounds like they are a conscientious student and care very much about learning, I tend to put more weight on those comments.” Some professors will tell you that they check their Rate My Professors profile a few times a year; however, chemistry lecturer Donovan Dixon is not one of those people. Sinelli “I have never visited the site, and I have no intention of ever visiting the site,” Dixon said. Others will go just to see what their students are saying about them. “I usually check it at the beginning and end of each semester,” Sinelli said. Professors seem to agree that the students who post tend to be the ones who were moved monumentally, either in one way or another. “I feel like people don’t tend to comment on things unless
what students have to say about rate my professo
45%
have rated a professor
68%
use RMP 3 or more times a semester
95%
use RMP to look up professors
80%
say they believe RMP is fair to professors * This survey was conducted by Centric. ** Not every question was applicable to each of the 21 students surveyed in this limited sample.
6 | Scholarship
rofessors they feel like there is a real need to,” computer sciences associate instructor Arup Guha said. “When you read most of the comments, they tend to be very strong comments.” Senior digital media major David Berry has left good and bad reviews on Rate My Professors. “[Students] should really try and scope out as many reports as they can so they can get a full understanding of who the professor would be,” Berry said. Some instructors, like astronomy lecturer Michele Montgomery, say that the majority of the students who rate a professor are the ones who left a class unhappy. “Generally the people that go to Rate My Professor, and cite anything, are the unhappy customers,” Montgomery said. “Regardless of the situation … they are unhappy, and so this is one way they take it out.” Regardless of her feelings, Montgomery says that Rate My Professors is a positive forum for students. “This is a forum that’s for stuMontgomery
rofessors
dents to actually vent in a positive way,” Montgomery said. “They’ve got to get their frustrations and anger out somehow, so this is one way for them to do it that’s very constructive.” Said Guha: “We are competing with the very best schools, and I like that. I like the fact that some of our students make six figures when they are 22. And I don’t think that would be possible if we just gave them really Guha easy classes. “I think the hard workers are working harder, and I think the lazy kids are being lazier.” By Jake Lamb | Photos by Jake lamb | Infographic by Kayla Hernandez
most-rated professors at ucf
797 469 429 429 355
Dr. Charles Negy Psychology George Long Anthropology Nazih Abdallah Computer Science Dr. James Brophy-Elison Psychology Dr. Charles Lako Accounting
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Community
Gamer Culture
Gaming groups foster new friendships on different levels More than 2,000 people came from all over the country to witness one moment. All eyes were glued to the scene in front of them as two people locked in combat for the title of national champion. Suddenly, the audience roared into cheers and applause after witnessing a very close fight. But the championship wasn’t held in the realm of boxing, tennis or golf — it was for Super Smash Bros. Brawl at Evolution Championship Series, a gaming tournament held in Las Vegas. “The hype that comes with [gaming tournaments] is unmatched by anything else I’ve seen,” senior radio-television major Alex Chiricosta said. There is a variety of gaming clubs on campus, including D20 Knights and Gaming Knights, which can make a gaming experience worthwhile for those looking for a community. But what exactly is a gamer? “I think a lot of people assume all gamers are guys in their moms’ basements, covered in cheesy [puffs] and wearing sweatpants. Thank you, South Park. That’s simply not true,” UCF alumna Andrea Zimmerman said. “The worldwide gaming community is made up of every kind of person imaginable from celebrities — The Rock plays Dungeons & Dragons — to scientists, from kids to grown-ups, from librarians to police officers. The thing I love most about gaming is that there is no definition because anyone can be a gamer.” Zimmerman is in the process of opening The Cloak & Blaster, a tabletop gaming pub expected to open Spring 2014. Senior film major Anthony Sosa has been playing video games since he was 4 years old. He created an extensive gaming library on Steam, an online cloud platform, with hopes to introduce his future children to the gaming community. “[Gaming] was really the only thing that was consistent in my life because, growing up, my parents were divorced. So the one thing I had when I went to each of their houses were the video games that were there,” Sosa said. However, card games, board games and other kinds of tabletop games can also influence a person’s life. Eric Robinett, 34, is a UCF alumnus and the owner of Campus Cards and Games, a card shop in University Commons Plaza. “[UCF was] missing a gaming destination, so I wanted to Name: Alex Chiricosta Major: Radio-Television (Production track-Pending) Favorite Game: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Super Smash Bros.
8 | Community
UCF students battle at a Gaming Knights tournament in the Pegasus Ballroom add that to the area and improve UCF as a whole. We offer a place for people to meet, a place for people to play,” Robinett said. “It’s a very open and friendly community. It’s probably difficult for me to go into some random place and just start talking with a stranger. But at a game shop, you can just go in, start playing a game and start talking with your opponent.” Chiricosta is president and founder of Gaming Knights. Knowing that gamers stand better together, Chiricosta’s new club offers events and tournaments giving both PC and console gamers the chance to bond over their favorite games. “One thing I love about the community more than anything is that everyone respects each other as a gamer. Once I started seeing the competitive scene, I just wanted to be more involved,” Chiricosta said. “I like going to watch fighters. Name: Anthony Sosa Major: Film Favorite Game: Dark Souls and Dota 2
m. I’m not good at fighters but watching them is just… there’s nothing like it. I’m not a good competitor for fighting games, but I’ll go to every fighting tournament just to support the community.” Chemistry major Nyekiah Deshazor, 20, has counted herself among the ranks since she was 11 years old. The copy of Kingdom Hearts that she picked up at a local Blockbuster kick-started her involvement in the gaming community. “It piques my interest to see the artwork of games and what new styles and ideas that developers come out with depending on what the title is and what the genre is,” Deshazor said. “That’s why I like [role-playing games] a lot, because certain developers put a lot of work into designing characters and backgrounds and the worlds that they make in games.” Name: Andrea Zimmerman Major: Journalism Grad year: 2010 Favorite Game: Dragon Age: Origins
Whether it’s hearing PC gamers joke about being the “Master Race” of gaming or console-gaming fans speculating about the implied “Console Wars” between Sony and Microsoft, these conversations bring different niche gamers closer together for the love of gaming. “Unfortunately, a lot of pop culture in the past has only furthered this negative image of the gamer. We are seeing now that gaming and being a geek is becoming more accepted as Hollywood is starting to get on board,” Zimmerman said. “Again, most gamers and geeks don’t care what the rest of the world thinks; we’ve always walked our own, unique paths.” By Anna-Michelle Lavandier | Photo by Shannon Anderson Name: Nyekiah Deshazor Major: Chemistry Favorite Game: Kingdom Hearts series
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Peter Ng, Ryan Francis, Kyle Pulford, Mark Cr
The Might Behind th Student superfans push opponents to the edge
Breathing down opponents’ necks from the UCF student section stands a group determined to give its school an edge. The Gauntlet, known for messing with visiting players’ psyches and sporting outrageous signs or attire — like an Angry Bird costume or Duck Dynasty-like beards — packs the rows closest to the playing surface and attends anything from women’s soccer to club hockey. The group ranges from 15 to 30 people, depending on the importance of the game. The group didn’t just start up at a match or game, though. It came to life on Facebook. After noticing the same students commenting on the UCF Nation page, former student Mike Baker created a chat that eventually led to The Gauntlet’s development and its eight founders: Baker, Dan Compte, Mark Crowe, Sam Ehling,
Ryan Francis, Peter Ng, Kyle Pulford and Neal Surrena. While The Gauntlet continues to fill space in the stands and grow on Facebook, dating back to its inception during the 2012-2013 basketball season, Surrena still remembers that UCF lacked something at games not too long ago — the students. “My first like two years, there’s probably two or three football games where it was like awesome and the rest of them maybe like six kids in the student section,” Surrena said. “That’s exaggerating, obviously, but it was pretty bad, so definitely needed some change.” That change soon would come in the form of noise and memories. “What we do is try to get people louder by being rowdier ourselves,” Pulford said. In turn, this kind of rowdiness has led to intense encounters with players in various sports. Pulford recalls one instance where he and other members of The Gauntlet were on the first-base side of the baseball
We’re there to support the
Peter Ng, Ryan Francis, Kyle Pulford, Mark Crowe and Neal Surrena spend a lot of their time cheering on the Knights.
10 | Community
rowe and Neal Surrena spend a lot of their time cheering on the Knights at Brighthouse Stadium.
he
Knights
field, heckling an opposing player for wearing eye black during a night game. Eventually fed up with these antics, the player told Pulford to “Shut the [expletive] up.” For Pulford, this situation was nothing out of the ordinary. “We get cursed at a lot,” he said, laughing. This kind of fanfare has caught the attention of those in athletics, including volleyball head coach Todd Dagenais. For him, groups like The Gauntlet not only act in place of cheer squads or bands that help make a college sports atmosphere, but they provide something special for his players. “I think the energy that they get from students in attendance is even greater than if their own families are in attendance,” Dagenais said. Junior middle blocker DeLaina Sarden has experienced that liveliness and credits The Gauntlet for giving her and the volleyball team a boost. “I love the energy that they provide and how much they
get our team going,” Sarden said. “I look at The Gauntlet when we’re struggling and that’s where I get my energy from.” The group’s effects are felt away from the court, too. Zack Lassiter, UCF Athletics’ senior associate athletics director for external operations, has been at the school less than two years but is encouraged by what he sees from the student body and likes how The Gauntlet allows students to support their school. “I think it’s great,” Lassiter said. “I think it’s a group of guys that are really passionate about the athletic program here, and you know, we support what they’re doing.” Francis just wants to be there for something The Gauntlet cares so much about. “We’re there to support the school that we love,” Francis said. As for Crowe, he hopes this support for UCF will be alive for years to come. “I wanna come back and say ‘Oh, there’s The Gauntlet in the student section,’” Crowe said. “‘We started that.’”
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By Tyler Breaman Left photo by Ana Cuello | Right photo by Ernest Duffoo
school that we love. Ryan Francis
Members of The Gauntlet camped out in front of Bright House Networks Stadium the night before UCF played South Carolina.
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Creativity 12 | Creativity
Creating Nightmares A little blood here and there, a sway of the brush creating a dramatic effect, and the living become the undead.
What you fear most is created by mold and
paint from the hands of special effects artist and UCF film student Kelly Zak.
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“As soon as I picked up a camera I was like, ‘What is this? This is fun,’” Zak said, smiling. Growing up in the Tampa Bay area, she began exploring more with photography with her friends and had a tendency to go toward darker concepts. That’s when Zak started messing with special effects makeup. Her parents didn’t completely support her pursuing art as a career, so Zak proved to them how serious she was by entering and winning photography competitions throughout high school. Working at Orlando’s AEO Studios, which sells makeup supply products and features a design and production lab, has taught Zak more advance skills in molding and sculpting compared to her skills and knowledge she’s obtained through the Internet. She began interning at AEO Studios Kelly Zak helped create the angel in armor for photographer Benjamin Von Wong’s latest photoshoot in St. Cloud. her freshman year, and after one semester they offered her a job. She is currently working on short and feature length films at UCF, but is also doing a photo project for artist Benjamin Von Wong. Zak reached out to Von Wong in Canada and persuaded him to fly down for a photoshoot with the wings she created. She made wings with the concept of a fallen angel with Chelsea Sarbach, a junior theatre student. They created a second angel that was covered in armor and tree creatures for a shoot at Lake Runnymede Conservation Area in St. Cloud. Frances Perry, a senior film student at the Special effects makeup isn’t all this young artist has to offer. university, helped Zak with the project. She does work in photography, cinematography, body painting Zak is set to graduate this spring, and has plans of moving to and enjoys making steampunk jewelry. One of the films Zak Los Angeles with Kelly Zak works out of AEO Studios in Orlando. directed was Patient Zero, the story of a girl who believes she’s hopes of workdelusional and has bizarre symptoms of an unknown disease ing for KNB EFX that is all in her head. She seeks out psychological help, but the Group. The group disease is real. Zak had planned this for years and finally got to has worked on produce it in college. the special effects “Kelly is somebody really skilled. She’s somebody you’d makeup for The pay to have. She makes student movies professional,” said Walking Dead and Charles Sutter, a graduate teaching associate in the film departmovies such as ment. Django Unchained Sutter met Zak two months prior to filming The Tailor’s and TransformApprentice, a UCF film directed by Sutter. Zak was the assisers: Revenge of tant photographer and helped with production design. Zak the Fallen. first struck him as nervous and shy, but now is confident in her For Zak, creabilities. ating nightmares Tatiana Paris, an actress and model who played the lead would be a dream character in Patient Zero, said that Zak would do anything for come true. anyone. Money isn’t a concern of hers, but the art of making a good film is. By Veronica Brezina Zak’s grandmother, Shirlie Zak, was an artist and a photogPhotos by Shannon raphy teacher. When she died, Zak inherited her equipment. Anderson When Zak got to high school, she was taking a film-based phoCollage photos tography class, developing film in the dark room. courtesy Kelly Zak
She’s created zombies, demonic clowns and can make a model look like he or she just came out of a fire with third-degree burns.
14 | Creativity
DJ Chill Will spins away in his backyard using solar energy.
Solar Spinner Tackling global issues one gig at a time
Will Chorvat became an environmentalist when he went to the Florida Keys and witnessed reef depletion, water pollution and animals killed by littering. “I had the fortune to go out to the wilderness, 30 miles offshore, 75 miles away from civilization. I had to witness a lot of devastating effects of humankind,” senior environmental studies major Chorvat said. The heart-wrenching scenes led Chorvat to ask himself, “Why do these things happen? What can I do to prevent this?” He combined his innate passion for music and the environment by becoming a solar-powered disc jockey — DJ Chill Will. “Once solar and wind are installed, the most one has to do is service the panels and turbines every 30 years. And what better place to develop solar than the Sunshine State?” Chorvat said. In 2011, he joined the student group I.D.E.A.S. for UCF — Intellectual Decisions on Environmental Awareness Solutions — which works to advance sustainability and environmental awareness through action. The club has provided Chorvat an avenue for some of his initiatives. According to Chorvat, he didn’t know he wanted to become a DJ until he was a bodyguard for one. He served as protection for his friend, known as DJ Dragonz. At a gig one night, Chorvat took it upon himself to fill in for his friend in order to keep the party alive. “I loved the possibilities of endless music so I kept practicing with him and eventually bought my own setup,” Chorvat said. The idea for solar-powered DJ equipment came from Chorvat’s friend, Terry Hershner, a North Carolina State
alumnus, who ran his own company called “Gas Free Earth,” which converted cars to run on vegetable oil. “Will is extremely concerned about the environment. He really likes to do the right thing and will go out of his way to do so,” Hershner said. Hershner’s house was powered entirely by solar and wind power. Chorvat DJ’ed an event there and was hooked on clean-energy entertainment. “There was no coal providing the electricity for the music I just played. After that experience, I wanted all the music I played to be powered by renewable energy,” Chorvat said. Because of his environmental efforts, Chorvat earned an invite to the Clinton Global Initiative University. Chorvat received praise from former President Bill Clinton during his 2013 commencement address at UCF. Samantha Ruiz, an alumnae who has worked with Chorvat, saw the same things Clinton touted. “Throughout my time spent with him, I truly believe that Will will continue to serve as a groundbreaking change agent to the environmental issues we face today,” Ruiz said. “His charisma, enthusiasm and pure love for what he does will constantly serve as a springboard for impactful change.” Although Chorvat is working to graduate this spring, he will still continue to do what he was always destined to change. “If we, as a nation, can start reversing our terrible impacts on Earth so humankind and other organisms can survive, I don’t care what I do for the rest of my life,” Chorvat said. By Marina Guerges | Photo courtesy Will Chorvat
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Excellence
Fulfilling Disney Dreams Students seek out their inner princess
As little girls they wished upon stars. Now, as busy college students with classes, volunteer work and other responsibilities, they’ve taken steps to make a dream they share come true: be a Disney princess. Danielle Duffoo, who graduated from UCF this summer with a degree in biomedical sciences, lived that dream in the summer of 2010, when she was given the chance to step into Princess Aurora’s shoes. She saw excited little girls every day, but one who left a lasting memory for Duffoo was a little girl dressed as Belle named Melanie, who had Down syndrome. “I felt so good making her so happy,” Duffoo said. “I remember when I told her ‘[Belle is] a really good friend of mine, could you tell her I say hi?’ and she was like, ‘You know her?’ She was so excited.” Duffoo didn’t initially seek out to be a character at Walt Disney World. She interviewed for a job as a slide operator and was asked if she’d consider being a face character. Maddie Osborn, however, has had her heart set on being a princess her whole life. She has a background in acting, singing and dancing. She’s got a background in Disney, too. Osborn, a UCF sophomore double majoring in fine arts education and art history, was a monkey in a traveling performance of The Lion King when she was 3 years old. “It’s so cliché, but it really is the happiest place on earth,” Osborn said. “I feel more at home at Disney than I do at my actual house sometimes.” She plans to audition at Disney in the spring for Cinderella and Rapunzel, and knows exactly what to expect in the daylong process. Marissa de los Reyes, a UCF junior majoring in legal studies, has been through it already. She had to dance and flail around acting as a full-costumed character. “I think I picked Happy, and I would literally try and move my little cart full of jewels and swing my pick at the
16 | Excellence
walls and pretend like I would pull out a jewel out of the wall,” de los Reyes said. “You can go up right to the people that are auditioning you and kind of get in their face.” She was hired as two characters: Mulan in the winter, when her skin was lighter, and Pocahontas in the summer, when her skin was darker. De los Reyes never actually worked at the park, however, because her schedule distracted her from getting drug tested in time, something she said Disney is very particular about. For Duffoo, meanwhile, the long audition wasn’t the end of it. “They said I had an accent which I didn’t know I had until they told me, so they wanted me to take diction courses in order to get rid of it,” Duffoo said. She doesn’t have an
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Maddie Osborn applies her makeup at the studio in the Nicholson School of Communication. Osborn is auditioning for Cinderella and Rapunzel.
I feel more at home at Disney than I do at my actual house sometimes. Maddie Osborn
accent today. Duffoo left after two months to take a job at a hospital, where she occasionally worked in pediatrics. She was more involved with the parents there, but the jobs had their similarities. “Both jobs have an amazing sense of gratification just because you feel like you’re kind of making a difference in both,” Duffoo said. Duffoo worked long shifts at both jobs, often working 12 hours. At Disney, however, she had 30- to 60-minute breaks to get out of the heat. She also said it was easy to keep a smile on her face as Princess Aurora, even if she was having a bad day. “It was rare for me to go in and be like ‘Ugh, I don’t want
to do this,’” Duffoo said. “You just see the little kids and how happy they get and it’s contagious.” Osborn said she loves working with kids, which is part of why she wants to be an education major — and a princess. “I like making people happy and I like changing people’s lives, and I know that sounds silly talking about being a Disney princess,” Osborn said. “[But] I don’t think there’s more happiness in any moment than in that one little moment with that kid meeting that princess, and I want to be that person that gives that moment.” By Melissa Catalanotto | Photo by Shannon Anderson
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Out in the Field
Dr. Sandra Wheeler and Dr. Lana Williams went on a research expedition to an ancient Roman fort in Egypt.
Professors foster relationship that began at the university Dr. Sandra Wheeler and Dr. Lana Williams are both anthropology professors at UCF. They’re a couple who first met as graduate students at the university more than a decade ago. They’re also both mothers to a newborn baby girl. “We had one undergrad class together, but we didn’t really get to know each other until we started our graduate program,” Wheeler said. After 14 years together, Wheeler gave birth to the couple’s first baby on Oct. 16. Dr. Wheeler says they’re hardly the first openly gay couple teaching at UCF. She feels lucky for the level of acceptance that comes with an academic atmosphere – an acceptance they might not have found elsewhere. “It also helps that we’re in the anthropology department. Anthropology is about studying human diversity. It would be weird if we had any kind of discrimination from our department,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said that there are other gay faculty couples at the university, but not all are open. Some fear discrimination. That doesn’t mean there aren’t resources like the UCF Pride Faculty & Staff Association, a group that was formed in 2012 to promote diversity and inclusiveness among professors and students alike. Even as society becomes more tolerant of homosexuality, the couple still faces certain hurdles. Williams must go through the process of adopting her own newborn daughter, an issue that doesn’t affect straight couples who are the biological parents of the child.
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Not only are the two partners professors, but they have also gone on anthropological digs overseas together. One significant trip took place in Egypt, where they worked on a team that made a groundbreaking discovery of the 2,000-year-old remains of a child who had been physically abused. They also actively mentor students, especially through their work with the anthropology club Hominids Anonymous and the volunteer work they do at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula. The CGA is a reserve where chimpanzees and orangutans go after they’ve been rescued from irresponsible owners and the entertainment industry. Casey Taylor, the development manager at the center, praised Wheeler and Williams and their team of anthropology students. “They make wish-list drives, and they raise money for us,” Taylor said. She added that Wheeler got Hominids Anonymous to come out every month for a volunteer day and help with projects such as the ape garden that serves as a supermarket for the animals that live at the center. While working with the apes is primarily Wheeler’s passion, Williams affectionately said she’s “cheap labor,” helping with what she can at the sanctuary. Williams said that their work with the apes has shaken her position on the pedestal of human exceptionalism. “I think when I go down there and see them, I realize I’m not so unique anymore,” Williams said. But as two celebrated female researchers in an open lesbian relationship at one of the largest universities in the country, maybe they’re more unique than they realize. By Tyler Vazquez Photo courtesy Sandra Wheeler
From left: Serenity, Sally, Felicity,Travis and Tristan Hereim sit on their porch after a busy day of school.
Balancing Act Couple struggles to balance child care with schoolwork
“When are you going to stop having homework? I want to play outside!” 4-year-old Tristan Hereim asked his mom, Sally Hereim. Only days before, Tristan’s sister Felicity asked, “Mommy, when are you going to stop going to school and get a real job?” In this household of two parents and three children — Tristan, 5-year-old Felicity and 2-year-old Serenity — homework often takes the place of family time. But, for Sally and Travis Hereim, that’s part of being full-time students at UCF and full-time parents at home. A 2008 Institute for Women’s Policy Research study found that 23 percent of college students had children before or during their enrollment. “The hardest part is when the kids are sick,” Travis Hereim said. “We have to choose which one of us will stay home from school.” Sally Hereim’s mother, Marilyn Perry, said she overlooks the conflict, believing it’s better for the couple to focus on its own schooling “before the kids are older and their schooling gets harder.” Travis Hereim proposed to Sally only two weeks after meeting. Sally joked, “Plus it was April Fools’ Day... everyone thought we were kidding.” But the couple tied the knot in September 2007, and bought their first house together the following February. Soon after, the economy took a turn for the worse, and the couple became two of the 2.6 million Americans who lost their jobs.
“Outside stress made [simple] things harder than they should have been,” Travis explained. Sally agreed: “It just sucked.” Together, they watched their house go through the spiraling stages of foreclosure, and were forced to begin a hopeful search for another job. With slim opportunity, and a few inspiring words from his now deceased father, Travis made the decision to go back to school on a creative writing track. Soon after his enrollment, Sally chose to follow her husband’s lead, but on a humanities track at the university. Between two full-time schedules and three children, the couple plays each week by ear. They agree that, “the kids come first, but it depends on the week’s [workload]. They have a lot of sleepovers with their grandparents.” Joe Perry, Sally’s father, doesn’t mind helping out. “I just hope that with their degrees they will be able to get jobs to help support their family,” Perry said. Their motivation derives from their combined positive mentality: “We’ll figure it out. We’ll make it work. We’ll get through.” Their circumstances stand out in a sea of 20-somethings taking classes. “This might be my last semester,” Travis said. “It’s hard to keep an even balance.” When asked if further schooling is in Sally’s future after graduation, she said, “I don’t need someone to say ‘You’re a master in humanities.’ “I just need a career.” By Jennifer DiDomenico Photo by Ana Cuello
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Mentor’s Mark UCF forward Kasey Wilson carries a permanent reminder of his fallen friend 20 | Excellence
The dark, bold tattoo on Kasey Wilson’s right arm serves as a daily reminder of a high school friend he mentored: Marcus Alan Freeman.
“I knew him when he was in middle school,” said Wilson, 21. “He used to write to me, asking me different stuff. “That’s when MySpace was in,” he added with a chuckle. “I went back on not too long ago, just going through messages to see who I talked to [back] then. I actually saw messages from him and he was just asking me stuff about basketball, trying to get tips from me. That’s the kind of person he was. He was just trying to get better.” On March 15, 2011, Freeman lost control of his two-door Ford Ranger on the way back home from a dentist appointment with his girlfriend, crashing it off Interstate 75 in North Port, south of Sarasota. He was only a sophomore, destined to be North Port High School’s starting quarterback the next season. “It was hard for all the kids, and it was a close group [of friends] Kasey’s senior year, but Kasey was especially close to Marcus,” said Brenda Wilson, Kasey’s mother. Wilson gestured to his arm emblazoned with the letters “M.A.F.” “Every time I look at this, which is every day, I do think about him,” Wilson said. The last conversation Wilson had with his high school friend was on Monday, the day before the accident. Freeman and Wilson were walking in separate buildings in school, each with his own set of friends. “He’s never done this. He just yelled my name for the last time and said, ‘What’s up?’ to me,
and that was the last time I saw him,” Wilson said. “He went out of his way to yell my name when everyone else was there; he could have been talking to his friends or said hi to anyone else.” There was a peaceful look in Wilson’s eyes as he talked about Freeman and how his friend’s memory has helped him grow into a leader for the underclassmen on the men’s basketball team. “No matter what, he was always smiling and always had a good attitude towards things,” Wilson said. “To look in someone younger than me and still be inspired by someone like that is a blessing. “I look up to the guys here, and that’s how Marcus looked up to me. That’s really going to help me with the younger guys on this team. No matter who you are, you can always look up to somebody else.” This isn’t the first time that tragedy has propelled Wilson to become a better person and player. “Dealing with the loss of his grandfather, he’s been through it before,” said Brenda Wilson. Kasey’s grandfather passed away in 2005 and, according to Wilson, the two were inseparable when he was younger. Kasey’s parents said his grandfather is where the junior gets his height and his ambidexterity – the elder Wilson was a left-handed player and a huge basketball fan. “We had an airplane, and we always joked that my dad would fly to every one of Kasey’s games if he was still alive today,” said Brett Wilson, Kasey’s father. Kasey Wilson finished last season averaging 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He specialized beyond the three-point line, where he shot 50 percent. This season, Wilson will be a junior — his expectations rising with his class rank. Wilson is a family man. He finds motivation to excel academically, athletically and spiritually from his family, Freeman’s memory and his high school coach Curt Allen. “Seeing that they were all a part of the journey with me and knowing they’re excited about it, knowing that I’m playing for my support system, makes missing those family holidays worth it,” Wilson said. “I’m trying to do the right thing for myself and do all that I can.” He glanced at his tattoo. “They’ve given up a lot to see me play and they’ve given up a lot to get me to this position I’m in,” Wilson said. “When I wake up and want to get better, I think of them because I know they’ve done a lot for me to be where I’m at.” By Ana Cuello | Photo by Ana Cuello
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You have to finally be honest with yourself and accept who you are. Erin O’Flaherty
Erin O’Flaherty poses for a photo shoot after being crowned UCF. O’Flaherty is a strong advocate 22 | EMiss xcellence for suicide prevention in teens and young adults.
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Miss UCF speaks out on coming out, preventing suicide Erin O’Flaherty became Miss UCF after winning the 2013 pageant. She is the first open lesbian to hold the title. O’Flaherty works closely with organizations and the local community to promote her platform: “Suicide Prevention: We’re All Responsible.” O’Flaherty spoke to Centric writer Jennifer Kline about her experience coming out and utilizing her platform. Centric: Why did you wait until college to come out? EF: I was raised in rural Ohio—there’s not too much diversity there—and then later moved to South Carolina, right in the Bible Belt. That sort of explains why I didn’t come out as being gay until college. My family knew, and they were super accepting and supportive, and they taught me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me and that there are all different walks of life. Centric: Did the support of your family make the coming-out process easier? EF: Even with such an accepting family, coming out is still the scariest thing—you’re not only coming out to all of these people, but to yourself too. You have to finally be honest with yourself and accept who you are. Centric: Who was the first person you told here at UCF? EF: The first person I came out to was my roommate. It was very casual—we were walking around Memory Mall late one night, and I knew I could trust her. I said, “This may be no surprise to you whatsoever, but I’m gay.” It was a shock to nobody. Centric: Your campaign platform is suicide prevention. Can you explain for pageant outsiders what that means? EF: For the Miss UCF pageant, each girl has to have a platform, a cause she really cares about and wants to work for throughout the year. Because of what happened in eighth grade, I had been working with suicide prevention organizations for years. I already had a platform and I didn’t even know it.
Centric: Why do you feel such a connection to suicide prevention? EF: When I was in eighth grade, I lost my best friend. I was 13 years old and he was 14. It completely changed my life. It was my first funeral, and I was burying my best friend. I always thought my first funeral would be for a distant relative from a peaceful passing, but it ended up being life shattering. Centric: Can you share what happened? EF: My best friend killed himself. He had talked about it before, and at 13 years old, you don’t know how to handle that — everybody is going through puberty and their awkward stages, and you just think everybody is dramatic, that there’s no way somebody could really want to take his own life. Unfortunately, he was serious and desperately crying for help. Centric: What do people most need to know about suicide? EF: Suicide kills more people than homicide and car accidents combined, and it’s a preventable death, so why would we not try to prevent it? Once people know the warning signs, if they ever come across anybody who demonstrates them, they can give that person the correct resources to get help. Centric: In the past few years, a significant number of LGBT teens have committed suicide. Do you think gay teens are more prone to suicide? EF: My coming out was very easy, but I can’t say I haven’t dealt with depression at some times. I’m not surprised that for many LGBT teens, the emotional struggle can lead to suicidal thoughts, especially when they don’t feel any love and support from people around them. Centric: What message do you have for young people struggling with their sexuality or feelings of depression? EF: For teens that may be dealing with types of depression, my advice is to know that you’re being yourself. Have the courage and love for yourself to truly love who you are. Coming out might be the scariest thing you ever do, but it will also be the best thing because you’ll finally have freedom. By Jennifer Kline | Photo courtesy UCF
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