Pegasus Spring 2014 by University of Central Florida

PEGASUS The Magazine of the University of Central Florida

SPRING 2014

GOLD STANDARD

Hello, UCF. “Those that don’t got it,

can’t SHOW it.

Those that got it, can’t H I D E it.”

Written more than 50 years ago,

ZORA’S WORDS CAPTURE THE SOUL

of this issue of PEGASUS.

READ ON.

IMAGE COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS & PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION, CARL VAN VECHTEN COLLECTION

The Zora Neale Hurston Institute for Documentary Studies at UCF celebrates the life and work of the 20th-century writer, folklorist and anthropologist, and her hometown, Eatonville (Fla.) — the nation’s oldest incorporated African-American municipality.

S CONTEN ECTIONTS (COVER STORY)

VO L . 2 0 • I SS U E 3 • S P R I N G 2 01 4

PEGASUS

MAILBOX

PUBLISHER University of Central Florida

IT WAS WITH GREAT INTEREST that I read the story by Patty Gray Neff, ’74, on the history of the first FTU Homecoming in 1971, as I was her Homecoming queen successor when the event was revived in 1975.

CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Olga Calvet, ’71 UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT John C. Hitt

Like Patty, I was a representative of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. As a freshman that year, I was asked by George Ramsey, ’75, to be his ATO “little sister,” and when candidates were nominated, I was surprised to find my name among them. Jeff Davis, ’76, ATO president, escorted me to the event. Classes were canceled that Friday, and President Millican led a cheer at the pep rally. That evening the Sandy Valley Boys bluegrass band played at the Pegasus Pub. The crowning took place the following evening at halftime during a hotly contested basketball game against our biggest local rival — Rollins College. It was our first-ever win against them. A “Star Trek”-themed dance followed the game, making it a perfect ending to a week filled with Homecoming activities. So to whoever was responsible for bringing back Homecoming, kudos to you! Teri Hinton Yanovitch, ’78

PROVOST AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Tony G. Waldrop VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF John F. Schell

CONGRATULATIONS TO UCF on securing a spot in the American Athletic Conference. The hard work and perseverance is certainly recognized. But now please, someone tell me that those key members of President Hitt's staff and guests of color were sitting to his left. Cindi Burck Alsobrook, ’93 Editor’s response: Cindi, it was an exciting first year as an AAC member. UCF was successful on and off the field. And everyone — students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and family — contributed.

HAVING BEEN THERE when the university changed names and hearing how soft the word “Knights” sounded on TV during the Fiesta Bowl, I wonder: Why didn’t UCF choose the Centaurs as their mascot since the name of the school is the University of Central Florida, and its symbol is the winged horse? What am I missing? Tom Riordan, ’79 Editor’s response: Tom, you stumped us with your question. So we checked with Knightro, but he had no comment.

MAILBOX SUBMISSIONS

Emails to the editor should be sent with the writer’s name, graduation year, address and daytime phone number to pegasus@ucf.edu. After a four-year hiatus, Homecoming was revived in 1975 and Teri Hinton Yanovitch, ’78, was crowned queen.

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.

Cert no. SW-COC-002556

Email pegasus@ucf.edu Mail UCF Marketing P.O. Box 160090 Orlando, FL 32816-0090 Phone 407.823.2621 Fax 407.823.2567

4 / SPRING 2014

Pegasus is published by UCF Marketing in partnership with the UCF Foundation, Inc. and the UCF Alumni Association. Opinions expressed in Pegasus are not necessarily those shared by the University of Central Florida.

VICE PRESIDENTS W. Scott Cole Maribeth Ehasz Deborah C. German Robert J. Holmes Jr. Daniel Holsenbeck William F. Merck II M.J. Soileau Todd Stansbury EDITOR IN CHIEF Terry Helms MANAGING EDITOR Michelle Fuentes CREATIVE DIRECTOR Patrick Burt, ’08 ART DIRECTORS Lauren Haar, ’06 Steve Webb EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Eric Michael, ’96 COPY EDITOR Peg Martin PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Chen Corryn Lytle PRODUCTION MANAGER Sandy Pouliot ONLINE PRODUCER Roger Wolf, ’07 WEB PROGRAMMERS Jo Dickson, ’10 Brandon Groves, ’07 CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Berman David Dadurka, ’12 Regan Dunnick Lea Patrice Fales Mike Foristall, ’94 Jeff Garner, ’89 Danielle (Lillig) Krischik, ’07 Geoff Levy, ’13 Angie Lewis, ’03 Brian Ormiston Emon Reiser Danny Waters, ’05 PEGASUS ADVISORY BOARD Barb Abney, ’03 Chad Binette, ’06 Anne Botteri Richard Brunson, ’84 Cristina Calvet-Harrold, ’01 John Gill, ’86 Michael Griffin, ’84 Mike Hinn, ’92 Zack Lassiter Gerald McGratty Jr., ’71 Tom Messina, ’84 Michael O’Shaughnessy, ’81 Karl Sooder Dan Ward, ’92

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GOLD STANDARD

he gold standard is personal. To Coach George O’Leary, it’s recruiting the right student (p. 18). Good students listen, work hard, persevere and graduate. This year, the UCF football team has the highest graduation rate compared to other teams in The Associated Press’ Top 10. For Theatre UCF Chair Christopher Niess, opening night is the gold standard (p. 29). Niess, his students and his partners at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater worked for more than two years to premiere “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby,” a 6 ½-hour play. For freshman Ben Carpenter, the gold standard requires gauging his on-campus activities so he has enough wheelchair battery life to make it home after classes (p. 14). ON THE COVER: The 2014 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl trophy — nearly 4 feet tall and topped with a gilded football — will reside in the J. Rolfe Davis Recruiting Lounge at Bright House Networks Stadium.

CONTENTS In Focus 6 On Campus 10 Briefs 12 Taking Nothing for Granted 14 The Season 18 Opinion 26 Faculty 28 Work of Art 29 Favorite Things 34 AlumKnights 36 Back in the Day 46 P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 5

EDIT!

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During a visit organized by the Make-a-Wish Foundation, 10-year-old L.J. had his voice, likeness and movements transformed into a video game character using motion capture technology at UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA). PHOTOS BY GEOFF LEVY, ’13

HERO OF THE DAY When Make-a-Wish needed help to realize a young boy’s dream of designing a video game, the collective response from FIEA was “We’re in.” A team of faculty and students used L.J.’s design input and voice recordings to make the game, featuring him as the main character. He played it for the first time on a giant projection screen at his surprise birthday party.

“The tech industry, our faculty and our students are very aware of today’s social surroundings. The chance to make a difference in L.J.’s world was a no-brainer.” — Ben Noel, FIEA executive director P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 7

IN FOCUS

The Flying Horse Big Band celebrated the holidays with a performance of “The Nutcracker Suite” at the home of Benoit Glazer.

LIVING ROOM JAM In his downtown Orlando home, Cirque du Soleil orchestra conductor Benoit Glazer has created a special space where he invites performers to “bring arts and music back into that forgotten venue — the living room.” Since 2000, his Timucua Arts Foundation has hosted hundreds of concerts, which are free and open to the public. UCF’s Flying Horse Big Band, an ensemble of students from the Jazz Studies program, took the stage to perform Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s version of the Tchaikovsky holiday classic.

“The performance was a real honor and a great partnership that helps everyone involved — the students, the presenter and the Orlando cultural community.” — Jeff Rupert, UCF director of Jazz Studies 8 / SPRING 2014

ON CAMPUS and in the community

JAN

Axel Schülzgen, a professor in the College of Optics and Photonics, shows off fiber optics used for high-speed communications during a tour of UCF’s fiber draw tower.

JAN

NOV

UCF’s newest building and headquarters of the ROTC programs, Classroom II, is dedicated during a commemorative Veterans Day ceremony.

Knight fans pack Disney’s Magic Kingdom park to cheer for their football team, spirit squads and marching band during a special victory parade.

FEB

The UCF women’s tennis team bests Bethune-Cookman University to start a seven-game series of home matches that also features Georgia Southern, USF and Missouri.

FEB

JAN

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (left), whose Without Their Permission book tour wasn’t scheduled to stop at UCF until a student-driven social media campaign convinced him otherwise, discusses entrepreneurship with 5by5 founder Dan Benjamin, ’94.

The Gospel & Cultural Choir at UCF, a student group formed in 1979, celebrates Black History Month with a Gospel Time Machine Concert at the Nicholson School of Communication.

NEWS AND NOT ES

Briefs

Cheer Up

For the ninth straight year, UCF Cheerleading has earned a top-five finish at the College Cheerleading National Championships. At the 2014 event, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, the squad placed second in the Division 1A finals. It’s the 19th time that the team has finished in the top 10 in 21 years — including national championships in 2003 and 2007 — under head coach Linda Gooch, ’85.

Also competing at the event was the KnightMoves Dance Team, which placed ninth in the HipHop Dance division. 12 / S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

Reaching for the Stars — and Asteroids and Moons

hanks to a $6 million NASA grant awarded to physics professor Daniel Britt, UCF will be establishing the Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science (CLASS), a hub of research investigating

the physical properties of celestial bodies. Part of NASA’s new Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, CLASS will join eight other research teams around the country in a collaborative partnership to further space science. “This makes UCF a leader in the area of solar system exploration, and CLASS makes Central Florida integral to NASA’s exploration future,” Britt says.

Knights Make Their Trademark UCF ranked among the top 25 universities in the world for patents awarded in 2012. The National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association ranked institutions based on data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which placed UCF 21st with 72 patents.

UCF Tops for Grads’ Success

Florida universities got their report cards back for 2013, and UCF earned an A+ for preparing graduates for the workforce to the tune of a $2.6 million performance bonus. Ranked first out of 11 institutions, UCF recorded 69 percent of its alumni as hired or furthering their degrees one year after graduation. The university also had the lowest cost per undergraduate out of all universities in Florida at $20,281 per student.

The rest of the best ranked as follows: 1. University of South Florida (tied with UCF) 2. Florida Gulf Coast University 3. Florida International University 4. Florida State University 5. University of North Florida 6. Florida Atlantic University 7. University of Florida 8. University of West Florida 9. Florida A&M University 10. New College of Florida

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Star Power Cheryl Hines, ’90, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The two-time Emmy-nominated “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress told Variety magazine that her first paying gig as an actress was as a Janet Leigh stand-in for a recreated “Psycho” shower scene at Universal Studios Florida. She currently stars in the ABC comedy “Suburgatory.”

UCF graduate research professor Peter Kincaid has collected antique writing instruments for more than 30 years, and he’s donated a portion of his collection to create “The Art of Fountain Pens,” a new exhibit at The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, Fla. “I’ve always been interested in the combination of art and technology,” says the co-director of the modeling and simulation graduate program.

“Fountain pens are part of the evolution of technology of writing — and they’re beautiful.”

ILLUSTRATION BY DANNY WATERS, ’05

The exhibition features more than a hundred fountain pens and advertisements dating back to 1875.

Big Catch Winning total catch of fish by Kyle Oliver and Hunter McKamey of the UCF Bass Fishing team to outscore a field of 130 teams at the Bassmaster College Series Regional Tournament at Lake Okeechobee (Fla.)

2,372 F

New Set of Wings Students are riding in style this semester on new UCF shuttle buses. Wrapped in contemporary graphic designs, including a stylized Pegasus motif by art professor Victor Davila, ’97, the new fleet of shuttles serves 60,000 students.

Knights Have the X Factor Sierra Deaton, ’13, and Alex Kinsey, a UCF senior, sang their way to a $1 million recording contract in December on the Fox Network reality show “The X Factor.” The 22-year-old Central Florida natives, who are a couple as well as a singing duo, survived elimination for 25 episodes on their way to the finale, where they earned enough viewer votes to take the title. Their debut album for Sony Music is scheduled for release this summer.

Eat Like an Elite Athlete “The best athletes keep a diary of their food intake,” says UCF Associate Professor Jeffrey Stout, recently named the William J. Kraemer Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The director of the Human Performance Lab at UCF’s Institute of Exercise Physiology and Wellness also advises writing down how you felt after each meal. “Did you have a lot of energy? Did you feel bloated? This is important because you want to identify those foods that agree with you.” And with what type of treats does Stout reward himself and his family? “Fresh fruit — apples, bananas and oranges for adults and children,” he says.

Record High

The record-setting temperature that a new antenna — developed by UCF Associate Professor Xun Gong and Ph.D. student Haitao Cheng — can withstand inside high-tech turbines powering aircraft and electrical generators

P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 13

IMAGE COURTESY OF FOX NETWORKS

BIG TIME

S ECTION (COVER STORY)

14 / S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

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TAKING NOTHING FOR GRANTED Three UCF students overcome obstacles and uncertainty in pursuit of greater independence.

siren interrupted Mary Mann’s diversity class. The fire alarm flashed as students rushed for the second-floor stairwell in the Health and Public Affairs Building. In her motorized wheelchair, Sarah Goldman didn’t move. The elevator — off limits during a fire — offered no escape. “I started to panic,” recalls Goldman, who was born with a form of cerebral palsy called spastic quadriplegia. “I thought everyone would leave me.” Fortunately, a few friends stayed behind. “What do I do?” Goldman asked her instructor. “I don’t know,” said Mann, ’04. In search of an answer, Mann and Goldman headed for the second-floor department office. “We were told that it was just a drill,” says Goldman. Associate Dean Melvin Rogers and a safety officer outlined fire safety protocols. They took Goldman to the stairwell where she would need to wait for emergency responders. When the drill ended, Mann returned to class and posed this question to her students: “Did you even consider how Sarah would get out of the building?” Some students were silent; others broke down in

tears. “It was very powerful for them,” the School of Social Work instructor remembers. “They hadn’t even thought about it.” Goldman, a senior, has found that her college experience has often led to faculty and fellow students learning about what college life is like with a physical disability. Students like her face a range of challenges in higher education, from getting around campus to simply being acknowledged by their teachers and classmates — and even securing the medical care that enables them to stay in school. Goldman and her peers are determined not only to overcome these problems but to help those with similar difficulties succeed. “Until you make people aware of issues,” she says, “nothing can be done.”

INCREASING OPPORTUNITY

Around the country, colleges and universities have provided greater access to higher education to students with disabilities since President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In 2012, UCF’s Student Disability Services (SDS) reported that 131 students with disabilities registered to graduate, a record high. SDS assists about 1,100 students with a wide range of disabilities —

from physical to emotional to cognitive. The most common support includes academic accommodations for classes, such as arranging for sign-language interpreters, recruiting note-takers, and helping students find alternative formats for course materials. Because they aren’t required to register with SDS, keeping track of the number of students with disabilities is a challenge. Sometimes students with hidden disabilities — such as attention deficit disorder, dyslexia or deafness — choose not to disclose their disability. “About 5 percent [of students with disabilities] will contact the office,” says SDS Director Adam Meyer. “We should be working with 2,000, maybe 3,000 students.”

MEET SARAH “People with disabilities are, first and foremost, people. ... Our dreams are not any different.” P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 15

TAKING N OTHING FOR G R A N T ED

MEET BEN “I got halfway [there] and had used half my [wheelchair] battery life.” NAVIGATING OBSTACLES

On move-in day at UCF’s Neptune Community, engineering student Ben Carpenter was told his room wasn’t ready. Workers were still putting the finishing touches on the brand-new building as hundreds of other students set up their rooms. “[The workers] came in, put a handicapped button in the door, and wired it up to the emergency power,” says the freshman, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy and uses a motorized wheelchair. “It’s been a great experience.” Carpenter says that UCF is one of the first places he’s encountered where all of the accessible buttons function on buildings. Despite such accommodations, a university community as large as UCF creates added challenges for students with physical disabilities. During his first semester, Carpenter needed to return a textbook to an off-campus bookstore. “I got 16 / S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

halfway [there] and had used half my [wheelchair] battery life,” he says. “It was the first time I had to account for whether I would have enough battery life for my wheelchair.” In a campus population where most have little comprehension of his everyday challenges, Carpenter feels at home in the classroom. He says that faculty and students have treated him like anybody else. “We were painting in my applied design class,” he recalls. “My hands shake quite a bit, so my paintings take on a more impressionist style.” Carpenter was initially nervous when his instructor offered feedback on the assignment, but surprised by the evaluation. “[My professor] told me that one of the best painters he’d had in class was a kid with cerebral palsy. He said my work is never going to look like anybody else’s, and that was my style.” Still, not all instructors are as accommodating to students with disabilities. “[A student] needed closedcaptioning on a movie, and the professor didn’t know how to do it,” Goldman says. “The professor tried to fidget with YouTube for a few seconds and said, ‘That’s it.’ He walked to the back of the room, sat down and opened a bag of chips.”

Says SDS’s Meyer, “Many faculty want to be inclusive but don’t know how to go about it. There was an external review of SDS operations, and faculty didn’t feel they were receiving enough knowledge.” In response, the department began a series of presentations and outreach events on teaching students with disabilities. “Faculty members want to do the right thing,” says Meyer. “Most often I don’t think they are intentionally trying to frustrate or embarrass a student. It is more of an awareness of how to appropriately engage students with disabilities.”

ACCEPTING DIFFERENCES

Dressed in blue jeans and a beaded shirt, Jordan Stroman sat in her wheelchair at a table at Duow restaurant. A group of about 50 young adults began taking seats for a Sunday night church service, held in the dining room. “Hey Jordan, how are you?” shouted Stroman’s roommate, Heather Hocstedler. To hear her whispered response over the din, Hocstedler picked up a speaker on the table and held it to her ear. Stroman responded to her roommate through a microphone connected to the speaker,

a method she uses to amplify her whispery voice. Sixteen years ago, Stroman was a typical, active 6-year-old. She played soccer and took swimming and ballet lessons. Then her parents noticed something strange about the way she walked and ran. Diagnosed with neuromuscular myopathy — a form of muscular dystrophy — her muscles weakened, and eventually she needed a Bipap, a medical device that pushes air into her lungs. As her condition worsened, she was left with only slight movement of her hands. Today, she uses her left finger to control a computer mouse to type on an on-screen keyboard — one letter at a time. “I went from being able to do everything to watching all my friends do things I couldn’t,” says Stroman. “I used to be very self-conscious of the fact that I look different from those around me. It consumed me and brought me down. Eventually, I reached a point where I realized that my joy doesn’t have to be dependent on my circumstances. I am free to be myself.” Going to college — like a lot of other people her age — was a big part of that transformation. At UCF, Stroman found friends through Campus Crusade for Christ. “Never in my life have I been blessed with such deep and intentional friendships,” she says. But with just three months until her 21st birthday, the college junior learned that Medicaid would reduce her 24-hour, six-days-a-week nursing care to 16 hours per day. Without continued full-time assistance, Stroman would have to abandon her studies and return home. “It was really frustrating to know that everything I’ve been working toward for the past three years could be pulled out from under me because of an illogical policy,” says Stroman. “I knew it was something I was going to fight. Not only would I have been missing out in my education, but I had built a life here in Orlando.” Stroman decided to share her situation. Her friends and classmates Chris DiDonna, ’11, Tanner Hodges, ’13, and Stephanie Gamble helped her build a website, create an online petition and produce video testimonials telling her story. They dubbed the campaign 21 Disabled. “Disabilities and illnesses that once caused hopeless situations are not affecting people in the same way now. Technology has afforded us new solutions,” Stroman wrote on her blog in a plea for support. “Unfortunately, insurance companies, as well as state and federal programs, have not kept pace. We are left fighting to continue

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MEET JORDAN our care … Just because I turn 21 does not mean my need for nursing care services is any less.” When an anonymous visitor to the site posted her video on Reddit, a popular Web content sharing site, support increased. The petition at change.org received more than 6,000 signatures, and the online video was viewed more than 70,000 times. Two weeks into the campaign and a few days before her 21st birthday, Stroman found out that she would receive round-the-clock personal care assistance through Medicaid’s Aged and Disabled Adult Waiver. “When we heard the news from Medicaid, I wanted to cry,” Stroman says. “I was going to be able to finish what I started.” Stroman plans to graduate this semester with a B.A. in digital media. She hopes to find a job in Web or graphic design and wants to continue fighting for disability rights. “Jordan’s one of the most brilliant people I’ve met,” says her friend DiDonna. “With her one finger she designs incredible art. I realize that life is so difficult for her, but she still pushes forward.” “I know that many people face challenges when it comes to getting an education — financially and circumstantially,” says Stroman. “Something I realized throughout this

“Eventually, I reached a point where I realized that my joy doesn’t have to be dependent on my circumstances.” whole process is that the opportunity for education is such a gift. I hope my experience can be a reminder not to take these things for granted.”

ADVOCATING FOR OTHERS

At the front door of the Key West Ballroom in the Student Union, Sarah Goldman greeted attendees for a panel discussion titled “What’s Your Ability?” The event, evolved from a conversation between Goldman and a friend, featured five students with disabilities sharing experiences of barriers and biases they have encountered in college. About 60 university administrators, faculty and students attended. “I would have been happy if five people showed up,” Goldman says. By sharing her personal experiences, Goldman has opened the minds of her fellow students and inspired action. After Goldman spoke to a social work policy class, Mann says that those students jumped on the opportunity to create a coalition to advocate for peers like Goldman.

The resulting campaign, S.A.R.A.H. (Student Advocates Reaching for Awareness and Hope), culminated with a trip to Tallahassee where students spoke with legislators. “It was a great way for the students to learn to create the coalition, how to advocate and understand that change takes time,” says Mann. “And that first of all, you have to understand what the issue is and how you are going to define it depending on the political climate. We can go in there and say, ‘This is wrong and this is unfair,’ but instead they decided to look at it from a fiscal perspective, which was very smart.” “Sarah humanized these issues,” Mann adds. “[Legislators] found it is more lucrative to the state to invest in students who can then give back and be self-sufficient.” “I feel like the voice of people with disabilities is often silenced,” Goldman adds. “I want to be a voice for people in my career.” This semester, she will complete her undergraduate degree in social work with a final internship at United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida. She has been accepted to Florida State University to continue her studies toward a master’s degree in clinical social work. Goldman’s fire drill experience prompted the College of Health and Public Affairs to examine its fire safety procedures for assisting students with disabilities. She hopes that the school will move toward adopting practices already in place at the Student Union, where an evacuation chair was installed to help students with physical disabilities during emergencies. “People with disabilities are, first and foremost, people,” Goldman says. “We want to get jobs and get married and live away from our parents. Our dreams are not any different.”

Senior Sarah Goldman shares her experiences with a fellow student at the “What’s Your Ability?” panel discussion.

P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 17

THE SE ALL SPRING AND SUMMER WE WERE A YOUNG FOOTBALL

EASON TEAM FULL OF PROMISE — THEN THE SEASON STARTED.

“They played as a team, won as a team, and refused to lose.” –John C. Hitt, UCF president

SEPT

9/14 9/28

VS AKRON W, 38-7

REPLAY: UCF recovered its own fumble on the opening play. Blake Bortles then passed to Breshad Perriman for a 91-yard touchdown, the longest play from scrimmage in school history.

–Breshad Perriman, wide receiver

VS S. CAROLINA L, 28-25

REPLAY: Playing before a nationwide TV audience on ABC and the largest home crowd since 2009, UCF led 10-0 at halftime.

9/6

“Every time I touch the ball I want to score. Honestly, I thought somebody was going to tackle me from behind.”

AT FIU W, 38-0

REPLAY: UCF holds FIU to 31 rushing yards and avenges the 2011 loss in Miami.

“You’ve got to stay on top of people and keep your foot on the gas, and I thought we did.” –George O’Leary, coach

SEASON BESTS

AT PENN ST. W, 34-31

REPLAY: Before 92,855 fans, Bortles passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Storm Johnson ran for 117 yards to mark his first career 100-yard game. UCF never trailed.

Season opener record: 23–12

8/29

THE 2013 SEASON IN REVIEW

92,

Most Watched: Home Game: 47,605 (USC) Away Game: 92,855 (PSU) TV Game: 11.2 million (BU)

Most Points, Season: Shawn Moffitt, 112 points, 91.3 FG% (record), 21 FG (record)

All-Purpose Yards, Season: Rannell Hall, 1,696 yards

“For the first half, we were the better team. But they made plays in the second half, and we didn’t make plays until it was too late.” –Terrance Plummer, linebacker

Passing, Game: Blake Bortles, 404 yards (TU) Passing, Season: Blake Bortles, 3,581 yards

Rushing, Game: Storm Johnson, 127 yards (UH) Rushing, Season: Storm Johnson, 1,139 yards

10/5

OCT

REPLAY: UCF earned its first American Athletic Conference victory by scoring two touchdowns in nine seconds late in the fourth quarter. Plummer sealed the victory with an interception in the end zone.

“The other team outplayed us, and we were very fortunate to come out with a win.” –George O’Leary, coach

AP PHOTO/GENE J. PUSKAR

,855

AT MEMPHIS W, 24-17

Largest crowd to watch UCF was at Ohio State (104,745 in 2012)

“It means a lot to us. We wanted to come get our respect, and that’s what we did.” –Storm Johnson, running back

10/18

AP PHOTO/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL/MARK WEBER

AT LOUISVILLE W, 38-35

Largest come from behind wins: 2013 Louisville, 1984 Illinois State (21 points)

JOE ROBBINS/SPORT/GETTY IMAGES

REPLAY: The Knights entered the AP Top 25 following Jeff Godfrey’s TD catch from Bortles with 23 seconds remaining in the game.

AP PHOTO/JOHN RAOUX

“It’s something you dream as a little kid, making the winning catch or throwing the winning touchdown. The dream just came true.”

Receiving, Game: J.J. Worton, 179 yards (TU) Receiving, Season: Rannell Hall, 886 yards

Longest Punt: Caleb Houston, 71 yards (UM) Longest Field Goal: Shawn Moffitt, 50 yards (UCONN)

–Jeff Godfrey, wide receiver

Longest Kickoff Return: Rannell Hall, 69 yards (USF) Longest Run, Game: Storm Johnson, 73 yards (TU)

Tackles, Game: Terrance Plummer, 14 (USC, BU) Tackles, Season: Terrance Plummer, 110

Passes Without an Interception: Blake Bortles, 232

Longest Play from Scrimmage: Blake Bortles to Breshad Perriman (UA), 91 yards (record)

MITCHELL LEFF/ SPORT/GETTY IMAGES

NOV

11/21

Shawn Moffitt (No. 83) made 91.3 percent of his field goals — a UCF record.

10/26

LB Troy Gray (No. 57) celebrates an interception.

VS UCONN W, 62-17

VS RUTGERS W, 41-17

REPLAY: UCF held Rutgers to 69 rushing yards and amassed 452 yards of offense, including William Stanback’s run that was named the No. 1 top play on “SportsCenter.”

“It was a classic lowering your shoulder and running through the guy. ... It was everything you teach.”

REPLAY: Bortles scored five touchdowns and completed 20 of 24 passes for 286 yards. The defense caused four UConn turnovers.

11/9

“We were definitely in sync as a unit, and we moved the ball down the field and executed. We were feeling [great], and we were able to execute what we were doing.” –Blake Bortles, quarterback

VS HOUSTON W, 19-14

“We were able to play UCF football. That is our goal on defense — to play hard. Coach always has us prepare like the game is going to come down to fourth-and-one on the goal line to win the game. That is basically what it came down to.”

–Coach O’Leary said of Stanback’s run

REPLAY: Victory was assured with 14 seconds left in the game when UCF denied Houston a crucial fourth-and-goal opportunity. Storm Johnson finished with a seasonhigh 127 yards on 18 carries.

–E.J. Dunston, defensive lineman

TEAM FIRSTS

American Athletic Conference, Member American Athletic Conference, Champion

Top 10 Ranking Win, Big Ten Team (PSU) Win, Big 12 Team (BU)

BCS Bowl BCS Bowl, Victory BCS Bowl, Youngest School Ever

10 Regular-season Wins 12 Total Wins Nine-game Winning Streak

Seven Wins by Seven Points or Less Undefeated Away Games, Season 38 Wins, Senior Class

DEC

“THE CATCH”

11/29

REPLAY: Shawn Moffitt’s 23-yard field goal as time expired gave UCF the win. J.J. Worton caught 10 passes for a season-high 179 yards and three touchdowns, including the gametying score.

J.J. Worton, winner of the ESPN Sport Science Newton Award for Best Catch

“That’s the best catch I’ve ever had — practice or in a game. All glory to God right now. I’m just lucky I was able to come down with the ball.” –J.J. Worton, wide receiver

VS USF W, 23-20

REPLAY: Jordan Ozerities’ interception at the UCF 26-yard line with 1:20 left in the game secured the win. Rannell Hall had 229 all-purpose yards, while Perriman put UCF on top with a 52-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter.

“When you don’t play very well and have five turnovers, you don’t usually win games like that.”

The black helmets sold out in nine minutes when offered to GKC members and season ticket holders.

12/7

-George O’Leary, coach

AT SMU W, 17-13

AP PHOTO/ALEX MENENDEZ

REPLAY: Fewer than 1,000 fans braved subfreezing temperatures to see Bortles pass for 242 yards and run for two touchdowns. With the victory, UCF won the inaugural American Athletic Conference title and a trip to its first BCS game.

UCF EARNS BERTH IN BCS BOWL GAME

11/16

AT TEMPLE W, 39-36

“It’s unbelievable. Everybody is excited. I know a lot of people haven’t won a championship in their life, me being one of them, but it’s a great feeling. … Everybody goes through adversity, and we’ve been doing that all season. But we always overcome it.” Coldest game in UCF history (24 F at kickoff)

FLASHBACK

In 2003, George O’Leary addressed the media after being named the new head coach for UCF.

–Brandon Alexander, defensive back

“I promise to do what I can do basically to get the football program where it needs to be, the right way, the NCAA way while we’re still graduating our athletes, which is a major concern to me. It’s very important to me that we bring in athletes of great character, great drive in wanting to get an education because I think that carries over onto the athletic field.”

The 2013 player graduation rate of 83 percent ranks second among BCS teams, trailing only Stanford.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, IMAGES COURTESY OF AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE, SCOTT MITCHELL PHOTOGRAPHY, SLINGSHOT PHOTOGRAPHY AND UCF ATHLETICS

FIES

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl • Jan. 1, 2014 • Unive

UCF 52, B

STA

ersity of Phoenix Stadium â&#x20AC;˘ Glendale, Ariz.

Baylor 42

FACULTY OP IN IO N

Opinion DO WE REALLY NEED MORE PHYSICIANS? Professor of Neurology Stephen Berman offers a point-counterpoint comment with himself on modern health care.

ow many doctors are needed for good health care? Few would deny that health care issues incite controversy: The Affordable Care Act has generated much debate. But numerous other issues, including questions about how we should recruit, educate, utilize and pay our health care workforce, are also controversial. When UCF faculty members discuss such matters among themselves, there frequently is much disagreement. In fact, the disagreement has reached such a level that I no longer agree with myself.

WHY WE DON’T NEED MORE DOCTORS

WHY WE NEED MORE DOCTORS

The United States does not need to educate a larger number of doctors. The major factor preventing us from having enough health care services is how doctors and other health care workers are utilized. Today many doctors function inefficiently and are performing services that could be done by nurse practitioners and physician assistants. As determined by Dr. Elliot Fisher, director of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, there is no relationship between the number of doctors in a region or an institution and the quality or quantity of its medical services. For example, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center utilized about 40 physicians to do the equivalent amount of work done by 50 physicians at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. But the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., did the same amount of work with somewhat better outcomes utilizing only 20 physicians.

Our nation has an urgent need for more physicians. Helping to fill this need motivated me to leave the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth to help build a medical school at UCF. Patients are complaining about wait times, and hospitals and clinics are struggling to recruit doctors. Dr. Richard Cooper, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has projected that by the year 2020 the U.S. will have a deficit of 200,000 doctors. In addition, the large number of baby boomers will require an increasing amount of medical care. Add to this the fact that young doctors do not want to work the long hours that their predecessors typically worked, and we have a prescription for a demographic disaster of unmet medical needs. Many other prestigious organizations, including the American Medical Association, support this viewpoint.

Nationally we are closer to Cedars-Sinai statistics. If we deployed our medical personnel as they do at Mayo, we might achieve better care with only 40 percent of the doctors we use today.

Of course, training physicians is time-consuming and expensive. If we really need 200,000 additional doctors by 2020, it’s not feasible. The population of American-educated doctors is now about in equilibrium between retirements and new physicians. To increase by 200,000 in six years would require an additional 35,000 doctors per year, which would require more than 300 new medical schools the size of the UCF College of Medicine. That’s not going to happen. (If we did build that many schools, we would ultimately have a great surplus of doctors.)

And these statistics do not include tests of how much more medical work could be done by professionals other than physicians. For example, the MinuteClinic chain of health care providers uses nurse practitioners at 30 to 40 percent below the typical cost charged by primary care physicians, and their patient satisfaction is extremely high. And future technology will enable nondoctors to make many of the same diagnoses as doctors. Similar systems could be used by primary care physicians to eliminate some of the need for specialty referrals. According to some estimates, it will be possible for us to have better medical care with about 20 percent of the physicians per capita that we now think we need. It will take time, but it is important to implement these strategies rather than rely on the most expensive way of increasing the availability of health care services — increasing the number of physicians.

So we do need to assess our physician organization and deployment, the recruitment of more nurse practitioners and physician assistants, and the use of newer technologies to facilitate efficiency. But just as acquiring 200,000 doctors is untenable, so is the idea that we can just flip a switch and make all of our physicians practice like those at the Minnesota Mayo Clinic. One also must consider that Mayo’s physicians are not typical. Any such grand reorganization is not going to happen by 2020 and probably not even in its entirety by 2030. So at least some of the services gap is going to have to be filled the old-fashioned way — with new medical doctors.

Stephen A. Berman, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of neurology in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the UCF College of Medicine. The board-certified neurologist with a special interest in the neurodegenerative diseases of aging has performed clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, neuropathy and muscular dystrophy.

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ILLUSTRATION BY REGAN DUNNICK

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FACULTY P ROFIL E

Faculty Five (and a Few More) Screenplays I Wish I’d Written

UCF Associate Professor Pat Rushin, whose first feature film, The Zero Theorem, opens this spring, on bringing his story to the big screen and the films that inspired his work

at Rushin wrote the script for The Zero Theorem in only 10 days. But it took 10 years of rewrites to see the final product on a movie screen. While the story is a futuristic fantasy, Rushin said a passage from the Bible was what originally inspired him. Directed by Terry Gilliam (Brazil), the film stars Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) as an antisocial computer hacker on a quest to discover the meaning of life in an unsolvable math problem. Rushin flew to Romania with his wife for a week of production to finally catch a glimpse of his long-labored movie project. Upon their arrival they were sent to wardrobe so they could serve as extras. They shared the set with Waltz and Matt Damon, who also stars in the film. Rushin said meeting the actors was a dream come true.

“Christoph Waltz was a real gentleman and a tireless worker. He was in every scene, and he still made time to talk to everyone on the set. And Matt Damon shook my hand and said, ‘Great script, man!’ So now I can die and go to heaven.” The Zero Theorem is set for release this spring. For an interview with Rushin and a gallery of images from the film, visit pegasus.ucf.edu.

Dr. Strangelove

by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern and Peter George I knew I had to have a Kubrick film on this list, and I was leaning toward 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with the brilliant Arthur C. Clarke, but then I decided on his scathing collaboration with Terry Southern, who also co-wrote Easy Rider, Barbarella, The Magic Christian and End of the Road. Southern could write no matter who the intended audience was.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

I know I should be choosing Goldman’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or even All the President’s Men, but The Princess Bride is simply one of the funniest and most seamlessly structured stories there is. And screenwriters should read Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade, the best intro to the movie biz out there.

Silkwood

by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen The absolutely great Nora Ephron is known more for When Harry Met Sally, but this one is my favorite. Although this is a movie about intrigue in the nuclear industry, the characters end up overshadowing the plot. This script schooled me more than any other on how to build great characters.

Taxi Driver by Paul Schrader

Pat’s Picks Adaptation

by Charlie Kaufman Hands down the smartest screenplay ever written. I’m a sucker for postmodern selfreflexive fiction, and Kaufman managed to make it work on screen. Plus it’s one of the best inside looks at the film industry in this decade.

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Schrader helped define Scorsese with this disturbing and bittersweet story.

And a few more:

Juno, Lost in Translation, Cool Hand Luke, The Verdict, On the Waterfront, Chinatown, Little Miss Sunshine, Wild Strawberries, Annie Hall, Moonrise Kingdom, Lawrence of Arabia, Children of Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Mulholland Drive, Pulp Fiction, Bonnie and Clyde, Sideways and many more.

WORK

Art

Go behind the curtain at the making of Theatre UCF’s most ambitious production ever.

“T

he Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” is a play that strikes fear into the hearts of performers. At 6 ½ hours in length with 150 characters and more than 10,000 lines of dialogue, the dramatic adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 19th-century novel is a theatrical challenge like no other. The story of a penniless youth who struggles to save his family from greed, lechery and corruption in Victorian England is so daunting a production that it has been performed professionally just seven times in the U.S. since its 1980 London premiere. Despite being the vehicle for many Laurence Olivier and Tony awards over the years, there are few theater companies willing to attempt it. But Theatre UCF and Orlando Shakespeare Theater saw opportunities in “Nickleby,” both to create a unique educational experience for students and faculty, and to stage a rare theatrical event to put their partnership on the national stage.

H WORK OF A RT

ow long does it take 10 actors to build a stagecoach out of dining room furniture and oddly shaped suitcases? Just 58 seconds — if all goes according to plan. Onstage at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (OST), five performers are sharing breakfast when one stands and calls for action with a bellow: “Come on boys, let’s bustle!” In an instant, the group breaks rank and rushes the stools, benches and a table to the back of the set. Simultaneously, performers emerge from backstage lugging chairs, hatboxes, a steamer trunk and a door that they wrestle into a growing three-dimensional puzzle. The parts have been modified to fit together securely, because in a few seconds the actors will ride the ramshackle contraption offstage on a rotating platform. As the pieces are worked into place, eight of the actors climb cautiously on board. The play’s scenic designer, three assistant stage managers and two directors — hands on their hips — move closer to inspect the construction. This is the first attempt to move it with people on board. It is the latest test in a yearlong series of challenges that Theatre UCF and OST have tackled in preparing this ambitious project. The scene onstage mirrors the production itself, corralling countless details into a precise, collaborative execution. And it’s crucial that they get it right, because there are precious few rehearsals remaining before opening night. So far the team of actors, directors, costumers, set builders and other crew have overcome each challenge — from orchestrating a complex plan of attack to learning foreign dialects, creating hundreds of costumes, building an elaborate stage and surviving a grueling rehearsal schedule — but a great deal of work remains. “Is anyone else really nervous?” one of the actors asks. “Keep your hands and feet inside the coach at all times,” another quips, trying to diffuse the tension. “Ladies and gentlemen, stand by for the revolve,” announces the stage manager over the public address system. “We’re doing this without music, so if anyone needs to yell ‘Hold!’ we can hear them and hit the emergency stop.” Tense seconds pass before the coach begins to move — without toppling. “Hooray!” someone shouts as applause rises. OST Artistic Director Jim Helsinger smiles. This whole thing — the 6 ½-hour performance and the unprecedented financial investment — was his idea. “You look like a kid in a candy store,” jokes OST Stage Manager Stacy Renee Norwood. “It’s because a tremendous amount of planning went into this scene for more than a year, and now it’s paying off,” he explains. “Now we have to figure out how to take it apart.”

“... a tremendous amount of planning went into this scene for more than a year, and now it’s paying off.” 30 / S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

PLANNING A MONUMENTAL PARTNERSHIP The inspiration for the Theatre UCF/OST production of “Nickleby” was in Helsinger’s mind since he first enjoyed the play on Broadway in 1981. “It was much more than an evening at the theater — it was an event,” he remembers. And one that left an impression. “It was the longest standing ovation I’ve ever given to a show.” But it took more than three decades for the director and UCF visiting assistant professor to find the right opportunity to present it. And the partnership between OST and Theatre UCF — a collaboration that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year —made it possible. “The relationship with UCF was invaluable,” says Helsinger. “ ‘Nickleby’ required a massive cast and crew put together with professionals, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and interns. We couldn’t have done it without them.” “This mammoth production was a real marker both for a professional theater company and for an academic unit,” says Theatre UCF Chair Christopher Niess, who co-directed the play with Helsinger. “Of course it will be judged by the final product, but it puts you at a certain level [of notoriety], and what’s important for both of our companies is the fact that we’ve done it through a partnership.” Including the 27 actors needed to play 150 parts, the company of designers, artists, craftspeople and crew members numbered more than 100 — plus two directors to finesse every detail and bring them all together. “Directing is like being an air traffic controller,” Niess explains. “You have all of these talented people doing great work, and it’s how you coordinate them all to tell a story.” Planning for the show, which ran from Jan. 22 through March 9 at OST’s Margeson Theater, began two years before production. To tackle the 332-page script that weaves two storylines through a hundred scenes, Helsinger and Niess each took one plot and worked closely to achieve cohesion during weekly meetings. “It’s the most complex thing I’ve undertaken,” says Helsinger, who created a giant spreadsheet to coordinate all of the actors, characters and props through each scene. “In those early conversations, we had a meeting of minds,” says Niess. “We always had our focus on telling the story.” On the line for both groups were reputations and an unprecedented financial investment. To fund this venture, OST raised an additional $100,000. “The first thing I asked when I saw the announcement was, ‘How?’ ” says Orlando Sentinel theater critic Matt Palm. “I was excited because very few theatergoers in this country will ever have the chance to see this production.” “It’s a gamble to do something this big in Central Florida,” Helsinger says. “Can we get the community to come to a show that is not well-known — that is not ‘West Side Story’ or ‘Les Misérables’ or ‘Cats’?” According to Niess, “You have to be a little crazy when you are pushing the bar to capture people’s imagination.”

6½

HOURS IN LENGTH OF PERFORMANCE

NUMBER OF TIMES PLAY PERFORMED PROFESSIONALLY IN THE U.S.

YEARS IN THE THEATRE UCF/ ORLANDO SHAKESPEARE THEATER PARTNERSHIP

MONTHS SPENT PLANNING THE PRODUCTION

332 SCRIPT PAGES

$100K

ADDITIONAL FUNDS RAISED TO FINANCE THE PERFORMANCE

PREVIOUS PAGE: Co-directors Jim Helsinger and Christopher Niess rehearse a scene

with Quentin Earl Darrington, Allison McLemore and Bridgette Hoover. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The production’s complex structure required two directors, Christopher Niess (left) and Jim Helsinger (right); Assistant Professor Tara Snyder, ’07, (center) tackled five characters; a scale model of the stage helped directors choreograph 100 scenes; UCF costume shop supervisor Kyla Kazuschyk, ’03, referenced hand-colored sketches to build garments; Associate Professor Katherine Ingram coached UCF student actors in four English dialects.

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NICKLEBY’S JOURNEY TO THE STAGE Charles Dickens publishes • 1838–39 “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” in serial form in monthly installments before releasing it as a novel. The novel is adapted for the • 1980 stage by playwright David Edgar. The 8 ½-hour production, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at the Aldwych Theatre in London, wins multiple Laurence Olivier Awards, including best new play and best director. RSC premieres the play in • 1981 the U.S. at the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway. The production wins the 1982 Tony Award and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for best play. BBC Television films an RSC • 1982 production of the play at London’s Old Vic Theatre, producing four episodes. Great Lakes Theater Festival • 1982 performs the play and revives it in 1983. Kansas City Repertory Theatre • 1983 performs the play. The BBC TV adaptation airs in • 1983 the U.S. on Mobil Showcase Theatre and wins the Emmy Award for outstanding miniseries. RSC revives the play at the • 1986 Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, then tours the production in England before taking it to Los Angeles and New York. California Shakespeare • 2005 Theater performs the play. David Edgar premieres a • 2006 condensed, 6 ½-hour version of the play at the Chichester Festival Theatre in England. RSC performs the play at • 2007–08 the Gielgud Theatre in London. The University of North • 2009 Carolina at Chapel Hill PlayMakers Repertory Company performs the play on campus at the Paul Green Theatre. The Lyric Stage Company of • 2010 Boston performs the play. Orlando Shakespeare Theater • 2012 and Theatre UCF begin “Nickleby” production planning. Orlando Shakespeare Theatre • 2014 and Theatre UCF performance of the play runs Jan. 22 to March 9.

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WORK OF A RT

150 27 8

CHARACTERS

ACTORS

UCF STUDENT ACTORS

DIALECTS LEARNED BY ACTORS

250 TOTAL COSTUMES

215

HAND-COLORED COSTUME DESIGN RENDERINGS

95 45 WIGS

PAIRS OF SHOES

DISCOVERING THE CHARACTERS For an actor, creating a believable character is a process of layering details until the role comes to life. Speech, mannerisms and movements are only a few of the myriad particulars they must assimilate. With 150 characters in “Nickleby,” each cast member was tasked with three, five or even eight roles, each with their own personalities, costumes and accents, including proper British, cockney, Yorkshire and Welsh. “We all think we can do [a British accent] because we’ve watched Monty Python or Ricky Gervais, but it is hard to make it seem natural,” says Associate Professor Katherine Ingram, the dialect coach for “Nickleby.” She continues, “Then the actors run off stage and while they are changing costumes, they have to change their dialect.” For a month before rehearsals began, Ingram helped the actors develop and fine-tune their accents. From past experience and shared advice, each actor found methods to overcome the difficulties of speaking — and thinking — in an uncommon tongue. M.F.A. graduate student Anna Carol, who plays five roles in three dialects, was careful to memorize the dialogue of each character with the correct accent. “How the sounds come out in each voice is as much about muscle memory as it is literal memory,” she says. “The dialect is such a huge part of the character that it wouldn’t feel right to play each without their accent.” “The challenge of this piece is really in memorizing the different physicalities and vocal tones of each character,” says Tara Snyder, ’07, an assistant professor who plays five roles. “Success comes from repetition and practice.” TELLING A STORY WITHOUT WORDS As a period piece set in Victorian England, costumes were essential in creating the “Nickleby” world. And with the actors rotating through multiple roles — often in the same scene — each character needed a strong visual identity. The solution was a design scheme that layered identifying accessories onto basic garments. “Each look had something that put its stamp on the character — like a feather boa, a blue cravat or a tattered schoolboy uniform,” says Carol. “The [costume] changes provided clear meaning to the character being portrayed.” To create more than 250 dresses, smocks, corsets, coats and other accessories was an undertaking too great for a single costume shop to accomplish. “The partnership [between OST and Theatre UCF] enabled us to do something that very few companies have attempted because it is such a massive job,” says Dan Jones, manager of the Theatre UCF costume shop. Working from an oversized binder containing hundreds of hand-colored drawings by costume designer Jack Smith, Jones, shop supervisor Kyla Kazuschyk, ’03, and their student crew began building pieces in the summer of 2013. “At the base level, theater is about telling a story,” Jones says, “and costumes help tell the story without words.”

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: UCF student actor Quentin

Earl Darrington endured numerous costume fittings to play five roles; 2,000 hours were needed to complete construction of the massive set; lighting designers utilized 485 lights to create different moods; moving actors and props through scene changes evolved through rehearsals; labeling shoes and props helped actors change costumes in less than a minute; Niess and his crew considered countless details to prepare for opening night.

BUILDING THE PERFECT PLAYGROUND The story of “Nickleby” covers a great deal of ground — both figuratively and literally. There are 40 location changes and many happen in a matter of seconds. A special set had to be created to accommodate these transitions, plus the troupe of 27 actors who at times simultaneously occupy the stage. “The solution was a large, flexible set with many entrances, exits and acting levels,” says scenic designer Bert Scott, an associate professor at Theatre UCF. But the execution of Scott’s vision required more space and labor than OST could supply, so a portion of the construction duties were delegated to Theatre UCF. Scott contends, “It was an exciting project for the department and a great opportunity for our students to work on a professional-level production.” From brainstorming sessions with Niess and Helsinger, Scott created a design that extended into the audience and incorporated a large portion of the space typically considered backstage. The set, which was the largest ever installed in the OST’s 324-seat Margeson Theater, incorporated three levels with flanking staircases that led to an elevated bridge, plus a computer-controlled, rotating turntable built into the floor. Constructed at UCF, “the doughnut” enabled furniture and actors to be moved offstage quickly and efficiently. “The turntable was fantastic because it allowed the actors to shift time and place rapidly,” says Niess. “It worked like a dream.” And just as accents and costumes assisted the actors’ characterizations, so did the elaborate set. Quentin Earl Darrington, an M.F.A. graduate student, found inspiration in the options it presented. “There were so many different levels to play on that it gave us even more freedom to develop the story,” he says. “It was the perfect playground that added another dimension to the production.” CREATING EVERYTHING OUT OF NOTHING After two years of planning and preparation, “Nickleby” rehearsals began in mid-December, when the cast and crew gathered six days a week to work out the details. The number of scenes and interweaving plotlines required separate sessions to run concurrently by the directors in different spaces. “It’s like hiring two chefs to run one restaurant,” says Niess. “It became complex as scenes evolved separately, so we were constantly refining our navigation.” In small rooms colored tape on the floor outlined set levels and elements, requiring the actors to imagine their way around obstacles. During the first sessions, the directors worked out the complex choreography needed to guide the performers through fast-moving scenes without collision.

336 HOURS OF REHEARSAL

126

POTS OF COFFEE CONSUMED

FEET IN DIAMETER OF ROTATING PLATFORM

127

SHEETS OF PLYWOOD USED TO CREATE ROTATING PLATFORM

750

LIGHT BULBS USED TO ILLUMINATE 23 WINDOWS IN SET BACKGROUND

FAKE MUFFINS THROWN ONSTAGE BY AUDIENCE IN ACT ONE

SECONDS OF STANDING OVATION ON OPENING NIGHT

“The play can never die,” Helsinger explains. “It has to keep going all the time, so we have to work out the traffic beforehand.” The long days often ran from 1 p.m. to past 11 p.m., and many of the UCF actors were teaching and attending classes in the mornings. In addition to memorizing their lines, maintaining their health and stamina became a necessity. “It was a huge undertaking that took a toll on my body,” Darrington says, “but it’s also a high point on my résumé and a huge advancement for my career.” Two weeks before opening night, rehearsals moved onto the recently completed set, and quick costume change tactics became a main focus. Many of the actors had less than a minute to transform characters, and if the process wasn’t seamless, the performance would stall. For Carol, the keys to success were organization, calm and costume assistants with quick hands. “The makeup and wig changes were more stressful than clothes [changes],” she says, “but when there’s a system, it’s true theater magic.” As opening night approached, the pressure mounted. “The things I was most excited for were the things I was most nervous about,” says Olivia Grace Murphy, the only UCF undergraduate in the cast. “The play is an epic, so if it’s not an amazing production you’re going to feel all 6 ½ hours.” Niess was confident, however, as his expectations had been exceeded. “There were several points where I got emotional over what was happening because it really is magical when everything comes together,” he says. “You watch people have a moment and it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness. That came out of nothing.’ ”

“The play is an epic, so if it’s not an amazing production you’re going to feel all 6 ½ hours.”

REACHING THE FINISH LINE — OPENING NIGHT On a Friday evening in January, all 27 actors — fully coifed, costumed and in character — roam the audience inside the Margeson Theater, welcoming patrons before the show. It might seem like this is the finish line, but for most everyone involved in the landmark endeavor, this performance is only the beginning. “There’s a lot more work to be done, tweaks to be made and moments to refine,” says Darrington. “I don’t believe the process will be done until the last show.” “A play develops as it goes through the run,” Niess says. “As we work with it, nuances shift and change the flavor of the production.” Suddenly, the lights dim above the audience and grow brighter on the stage. Music signals the actors to gather on set. Latecomers fill the remaining seats as the packed house quiets. Hours later, the cast crowds the stage to take their closing bow. Gathered tightly together, some performers wear triumphant smiles while others simply look relieved. In the darkness, the audience rises from their seats — one by one — and applause erupts. P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 33

PU BLIC A RT

FAVORITE These are a few of my

CURATED BY LEA PATRICE FALES

THINGS

A School of Visual Arts and Design student surveyed 253 pieces of UCF’s public art collection. Here are five of her favorites.

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For four months, Lea Patrice Fales explored every public building on UCF’s main campus. The senior studio art major documented works from framed paintings to outdoor sculpture, collating her research into a 100-page review that she presented to UCF and the Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs Office. Fales says, “I hope this comprehensive review will aid university leaders in making informed decisions for future installations, artwork maintenance, educational and promotional art programming, and funding for the arts.” For a gallery of more UCF public art, go to pegasus.ucf.edu.

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PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE BISHOP & QUEEN Nita Sunderland, 1980 Location: Education Complex courtyard

“An excellent work created by the timeconsuming process of stone carving, the medieval-inspired figures stand tall and sleek, with facial details that beg for a closer look.”

LARGE SHIELD Barbara Sorensen, 2003 Location: Barbara Ying Center

“This sculpture exhibits great detail in the stoneware and steel that make up its geometric, yet organic, arrangement. Like an archaeological artifact, it is a discovery within its environment.”

MOWRY’S MERIDIAN Don Reynolds, 1998 Location: Barbara Ying Center

REACH FOR THE STARS Barton Rubenstein, 2001 Location: Student Union

“This dynamic piece incorporates running water cascading over a ribbonlike bronze structure, creating a soothing sound and reflections off the walls and terrazzo floor.”

“This floor mosaic is a wonderful testament to the worldly cultures and perspectives that UCF celebrates. It was created with the assistance of UCF Associate Professor Hadi Abbas.”

GENESIS Leonardo Nierman, 1987 Location: John C. Hitt Library

“Although this stained-glass window has a muted impact when viewed from across the Reflecting Pond during the day, it comes to life in the evening. Backlit from inside the library, the colors illuminate the artist’s interpretation of the creation of the world.”

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ALUMKNIGHTS

ALUMKN IGHTS

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Houston, We Have a Solution

How one engineering alumnus’ vision for 3-D printing in space is turning science fiction into reality

elf-described “space nut” Jason Dunn, ’07, is catalyzing a technological advance that he believes will lead humanity to colonize Mars. The company he co-founded, Made in Space, will install the first 3-D printer on the International Space Station (ISS) this fall. If the experiment goes as planned, future astronauts will use his machine to create spare parts, tools and even complex machines like satellites on their way beyond the solar system. Below, Dunn explains his ideas more in depth. We all remember the famous line, ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem.’ We looked at that square filter that [the Apollo 13 astronauts] had to fit into a round hole and joked that if the crew had had a 3-D printer, maybe they would have followed with ‘Houston, we have a solution.’ One of our engineers designed an adapter in an hour, then sent it to the 3-D printer. By the end of the day, we had it printed, had a filter plugged into it, and it was functional. It turned out to be a really good example. And NASA loves it too. My partners and I were focused on problems that the space industry has always had. We recognized that everything we’ve ever put into space came from Earth. That really is the underlying bottleneck — the humongous amount of energy required to get things into space. Recognizing that, we came upon the notion of manufacturing in space.

The idea of manufacturing in space isn’t new. It’s been going on since the ’70s in planning and before that in science fiction. A 3-D printer is basically a robot that can build stuff. What 3-D printing enables is a better supply chain. All you have to do is email the digital blueprint and build it on the spot. We call it emailing hardware to space. A 3-D printer on the ISS may actually be what makes a Mars mission possible. NASA is doing today what it should’ve done a long time ago — become a government agency that helps to commercialize the space industry. NASA realized that a commercial company could do what they were doing in ways that are more affordable and with lower risk. Failure is the Silicon Valley mindset — fail early, fail often. But it’s a new idea for the space industry. Without failure as an option, taking risks isn’t an option. It’s through failure that we learn how to succeed. I’m watching 23-year-olds build multibillion-dollar Internet companies that completely demolish corporations. This is unprecedented. But we can do more than just build apps. We can focus that energy on solving really big problems and making the world a better place. In my lifetime, I want to see people living in space — not in a little metal cylinder 400 km above us like the International Space Station — but really living out there, being multiplanetary. I think it’s possible. Jason Dunn, ’07, chief technical officer, Made in Space

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CLASS NOTES

’70s

Roger Pynn, ’73, named as the Florida Public Relations Association’s 2013 Counselors’ Network chair and honored with the Past President’s Award. Susan Jones Williams, ’75, does freelance on-camera and voice-over talent. Michelle Hanchey, ’76, a member of the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce, placed first in the humorous speech contest at Atlanta MasterCrafters Toastmasters Club. Mike Crumpton, ’78, co-authored the Handbook for Community College Librarians. He also received tenure at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he is the university libraries’ assistant dean for administrative services. Jeff Smith, ’78, elected to the Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court and comptroller for Indian River County, Fla. His wife, Wanda (Peters), ’71, has taught in that same county for more than 25 years. Carol Grubbs-Johnson, ’79, retired from Orange County (Fla.) Government after 31 years and is currently director of sales for Shelby Distributions. Carol has two Knight daughters, Atresa GrubbsHolmes, ’96, an assistant principal with the Orange County (Fla.) School System, and Courtney Johnson, ’12, a teacher with the Hillsborough County (Fla.) School System.

’80s

Kelley (Manuel) Bergholtz, ’81, is a registered nurse at Cornerstone Hospice. Dr. David Grubbs, ’81, is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Optometry and is on staff at the Florida Eye Clinic. Kathe Hypes, ’82, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at the Orlando VA Medical Center, earned her doctor in nursing practice degree from UCF 30 years after earning her B.S. in nursing. Joe Sefcik, ’82, Employment Technologies Corporation co-founder, received the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission’s William C. Schwartz Industry Innovation Award. Adedeji Badiru, ’84, named dean of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Lt. Col. Vicki Hudson, ’84, retired after 33 years of active and reserve service in the Army and was awarded the Legion of Merit. During her career, she commanded two companies and three battalions. Susan Tobin, ’84, earned her M.S. in nursing from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in May. John Gill, ’86, a former UCF Alumni Association president, was named CEO of Quest. Dave Roberts, ’86, is vice president of technology solutions and client CIO for W Squared. Marifrances “Gert” Garman, ’87, joined Valencia College as director of its Collaborative Design Center.

Bobby Olszewski, ’99, is a commissioner for District 3 Chris Gent, ’87, vice president of corporate in the city of Winter Garden, Fla. communications for the Kissimmee Utility Authority, was named president of the Florida Public Relations Elizabeth Timpe, ’99, earned her master’s degree Association. from Florida State University in 2010 and works as an advanced registered nurse practitioner for Community Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

’90s

Ian Rea, ’90, mechanical designer, celebrated 15 years of service at Hanson Professional Services’ Orlando regional office.

’00s

James Carroll, ’91, is a lieutenant with Fort Lauderdale Melody Bostic, ’00, is the editor of eight print and digital publications for travel company Wyndham (Fla.) Fire Rescue. He created the Direct OnVacation Ownership, four of which were awarded Scene Education program for teaching firefighters 2013 MarCom Awards. awareness of infant unsafe sleep environments while on emergency calls. Maj. Shawn Corey, ’00, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for exceptional meritorious service during his Daniel Ferris, ’92; Robert Cargill, ’93; Scott current deployment to Kabul, Afghanistan. Shawn Carter, ’93; and Randy Kuhn, ’94, were suite is currently serving as a joint operations officer in mates at UCF. Daniel and Randy are professors the Security Assistance Office – Afghanistan. He is a at the University of Michigan and the University distinguished graduate of the UCF AFROTC program of South Florida, respectively; Scott is a senior and is married to Meredith (Stowell), ’99. program manager at Harris Corporation; and Robert is president and CEO of Pacific Diabetes Melissa Kelly, ’00, a nurse practitioner, runs her own Technologies. pediatrics office in Tavares, Fla. She served as president of the Florida chapter of the National Deborah Fussell, ’92, promoted to senior vice Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners from president, market commercial credit manager, 2010 to 2012. at TD Bank in Coral Cables, Fla. George Schmid, ’92, and John Schmid, ’92, cofounders of Schmid Construction, ranked the 43rd fastest-growing company in Florida according to Florida Business Journals. Sarah Travelute, ’92, program management and subcontract senior manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, received the Managerial Leadership Award at the 2013 Women of Color STEM Conference. Tammy Wilson, ’92, promoted to director of communications for the Southeastern Conference. Sam Haidle, ’93, an intellectual property attorney at Howard & Howard, named a 2013 Michigan Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. Holly Dorman, ’94, promoted to manager of the Southern Regional Community Corrections Center in Arizona. Editha Ruiz, ’95, a nationally board-certified registered nurse in inpatient obstetrics, named chief of the Maternal Child Nursing Department at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Matthew Hand, ’96, and the 1993 UCF men’s crew team celebrated their 20-year anniversary of winning a bronze medal in the annual National Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. Eric Szymanski, ’96, senior sales manager at Disney Destinations, elected as director at large of the Florida Society of Association Executives. Melissa (Hentges) Lewis, ’97, has a dual career as a wellness coach with Optum/UnitedHealthcare and as a massage therapist at Life Time Fitness in Minneapolis. Craig Chapman, ’99, produces a magazine and TV series called Real Food Real Kitchens, available on Hulu and coming to Create TV. Jessica Davis, ’99, promoted to partner at Roetzel & Andress. She was also named an Ohio Rising Star by Super Lawyers Magazine in 2012 and 2013. Michael Lawrence, ’99, is the new communications officer for Seminole County (Fla.) Public Schools.

Suzanne Robbins, ’00, is director of clinical operations for the Community Health Center of Cape Cod. Neil Schierholz, ’00, is a licensed psychologist with private practices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Toranika Washington, ’00, director of dance for Nova Southeastern University, nominated as Broward County Dance Arts Teacher of the Year for 2013. Nadav Haimberg, ’01, is founder and CEO of Onli Beverages. Alumna Lauren Driscoll, ’12, serves as the company’s marketing coordinator. The beverages are currently available in Florida, Boston and Texas. Sean Marlowe, ’01, partner of Marlowe, Petty & Associates, awarded the 2013 Five Star Wealth Manager Award. Spencer Hawkins, ’02, former chair of the UCF Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter, was promoted to vice president of crisis management at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh. Doug Oberndorf, ’02, created War Fighters The Card Game, which is designed to bridge the gap between games for younger and older children. Jennifer Sparrow, ’02, senior director of networked knowledge ventures and emerging technologies within information technology at Virginia Tech, named a 2013 recipient of the EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award. Donna Waters, ’02, founded Proof of Concept Optical Engineering in 2013 in Boulder, Colo. Jerry Jenkins, ’03, started The Law Office of Jerry Jenkins. William Alt, ’04, selected to serve as a field consultant for Veterans Health Administration Women’s Health Education. Angela Mullis-Ingram, ’04, is the only advanced registered nurse practitioner working for Emergency Physicians of Central Florida at the Dr. Phillips Hospital Emergency Department, where she precepts nurse practitioner students from UCF and the University of Cincinnati.

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ALUMKNIGHTS

In the Name of Love

Lindsey Parry, ’08, founder of clothing company 4Love and the nonprofit Sowing Seeds of Love

CLASS NOTES Layne Stein, ’04, and his singing group, VoicePlay, appeared on NBC’s “The Sing-Off.” Vincent Catalano, ’05, is the slot operations manager at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Dr. Joan Gonzalez, ’05, of the Sacred Heart Hospital/Temple University Family Medicine Residency Program in Allentown, Penn., submitted a winning poster entry at the 2013 GO! Diabetes Summit. Daniel Magro, ’05, established Aclus Engineering as a water/wastewater design firm. He also obtained minority business enterprise certification from Orange County (Fla.).

read a book called Half the Sky that ignited something inside of me. I knew that I wanted to do something to empower women in developing countries. I hoped that one day my idea would come to fruition. In 2011, I moved to Panama. I took a leap of faith, left a job that I loved and followed God’s calling for my life. One day I was sitting in a local church where I was surrounded by indigenous Ngöbe–Buglé women. I was admiring their dresses, called nagua, which use layering of different colors to form a pattern. I was inspired and started sketching ideas for a clothing line. Getting Panamanian women on the team was a process. They are usually seen as the homemakers, and a majority of women don’t have the opportunity to work to contribute to their family. But now I am employing five women, and each one receives fair trade wages and education. Teaching them a trade creates a ripple effect that impacts their children. I rent a little house on the outskirts of Boquete. I painted the walls hot pink and blue to create an atmosphere that was happy and inviting. I have a sewing room where the women have everything they need to create the embellishments that are added to the dresses. There is also a classroom where I run my nonprofit, Sowing Seeds of Love. I have a little library and play area set up for the children so while their mothers work, they can learn to read. One of the best moments is when we teach the women how to write their names. The hanging tag of each dress has the signature of whoever made the embellishment, and often the women — who are in their late 20s — are writing their names for the first time. Sometimes I will call my mom with tears of joy because I can’t believe this is my life. My motivation is love, and I get to experience that every day. That’s the greatest success of all.

Rep. Joe Saunders, ’05, is the current State House Representative for District 49, which represents UCF as well as parts of East Orlando and Union Park.

Christina Caltabiano, ’09, is an elementary school teacher at James Polk Elementary in Alexandria, Va. Temitope “Tope” Leyimu, ’09, joined Motley Rice as an associate lawyer. Jhessye Moore-Thomas, ’09, is the founder of One Love Ride, a bicycle journey to Brazil. As she rides, Jhessye will use social media to engage people to learn about Latin American cultures. Jennifer North, ’09, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at Health First, moved into a new home and started a new career in family practice. Kevin Sternschein, ’09, is a motion graphic artist at CBS Sports Network. Alex Tisdail, ’09, opened a fitness studio in Cocoa Beach, Fla., which offers pole exercise classes, yoga and more.

Elena Smith, ’05, earned her doctor in nursing practice degree in 2011 and joined All About Kids Pediatrics in February 2013.

Jennifer (Lee) Vandermark, ’09, is a registered nurse on the telemetry/PCU floor at Central Florida Regional Hospital.

Mark Eason, ’06, is CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based restaurant chain Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.

Nicole Willis, ’09, accepted a position in the Community Partnerships Program at Google in Chicago.

Chris Hosko, ’06, a financial planner for Ameriprise Financial, received his certified public relations counselor designation. Laura Kern, ’06, launched a social media and communications consultancy in Orlando. Amy Painter, ’06, hired as an aerodigestive nurse practitioner and coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Maria Zanca Perez, ’06, is a Florida-registered paralegal. Tai Phetsanghane, ’06, of Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe, was sworn into the District of Columbia Bar Association Nov. 1. Sarah Dinquel, ’07, and her dog, Abby, won second place at the SPCA of Central Florida’s Wiggle Waggle Walk for her puggle’s UCF cheerleader costume. Chuck Norman, ’07, graduated with his second bachelor’s degree from UCF. He has summited Mount Hood (Ore.), Mount Whitney (Calif.) and Mount Ranier (Wash.), plus several other mountains across the U.S. Jason Ring, ’07, appeared as a contestant on ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Tina Kuhn Williams, ’07, hired as a senior project manager for advertising agency Doner in Los Angeles. Allison Gallagher, ’08, graduated with her M.S. in nursing with a family nurse practitioner concentration from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2013 and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau. She works in occupational health/urgent care in the Washington, D.C. area. Audra Martin, ’08, moved to WKRN-TV in Nashville, Tenn., where she’s anchoring and reporting local sports, including the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. Rita Perez, ’08, earned her accredited cruise counselor designation from the Cruise Line International Association for her travel agency.

38 / F A L L 2 0 1 3

Maria Armstrong, ’09, is a benefits analyst for CVS Caremark. She lives with her husband, Christopher Smith, in Providence, R.I.

’10s

Jessica Almanla, ’10, launched Total Betty Society, her online jewelry boutique. Lyne Chamberlain, ’10, is a professor of nursing at Seminole State College of Florida. She will present at the 2014 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition. Kyle Diamantas, ’10, joined the Orlando office of the law firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. Matthew Goolsby, ’10, an environmental engineer for CDM Smith, traveled to La Nahuaterique, Honduras, with the Jacksonville Chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Julie (Primrose) Hall, ’10, promoted to communications strategist at Curley & Pynn Public Relations. Stephanie Koscielecki, ’10, is a corporate communications specialist at Adventist Health System. Brandon Lojewski, ’10, founder of Mesdi Systems, has developed miniature-spray equipment to douse protective coatings on microbatteries and other tech components, extending battery life. David Raanan, ’10, graduated with his master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He founded Raanan Representation as a personal publicist and talent liaison. Adam Sardinha, ’10, is the marketing and communications specialist for university recreation at North Carolina State University.

PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE

SPIRIT OF THE RADIO

grew up listening to radio voices such as Johnny Most and Marv Albert and wanted to be like them. When I was in college, WUCF employed students to run the radio station. I began my broadcasting career calling UCF baseball games, and I’ll never forget my first one — UCF vs. Seton Hall University. I was scared to death, but I got through it and was soon calling UCF football games. One of my best experiences was traveling with the WUCF crew to Tallahassee to cover the UCF vs. FAMU game. We paid our own way and slept six in a room. To this day, it was the most fun I’ve ever had in the broadcasting field. Making mistakes early in my career was vital for me. Being a cub broadcaster at UCF and learning on the fly helped me to think on my feet and get more comfortable with being on the air. My most memorable on-air moment was a 1998 interview with then-Magic player Penny Hardaway. The Magic had just been ousted in the first round of the playoffs, and Penny vented for a full hour about the Magic organization and the city. When I arrived at Orlando Magic headquarters the next day and they asked for the tape of that interview, I knew Penny’s Orlando days were numbered. Orlando has been very good to me, so I strive to give back. I work with Community Food & Outreach Center, a great organization that was co-founded by Scott George, ’84. I think we were put on this earth to help our fellow man — and there but for the grace of God go I. I can’t tell you how many folks who used to be donors to the organization are now clients of its services. Sports really becomes a connection to your school once you graduate. What Coach O’Leary and the football team did this year not only electrified us alumni — it also electrified the Orlando community. The day after the Fiesta Bowl win over Baylor, my chest was a bit more puffed out and I had an extra bounce in my step. People were calling me on the air to congratulate me on the win. I didn’t play a single down for Coach O this year, but I still felt like a part of it — and that’s a cool feeling.

Scott Anez, ’88, sports radio host for ESPN Orlando and “Inside Magic” on WDBO-FM

BUILT FOR THE FUTURE Gisele (Welch) Bennett, ’87, director of the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute

run an optics and photonics research lab at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). We have an annual budget of $50 million, and our projects range from modeling and simulations of electro-optical systems to building hardware and sensors that are used by the Department of Defense. I also supervise Ph.D. students at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. [What attracted me to GTRI] is wanting to build things that people use and working on applied research activities as opposed to fundamental research activities. My current position gives me the best of both worlds — being in an

academic environment as well as an industry-like environment. Collaboration is significant and important. I oversee 168 people at the research lab, and you can’t conduct research without collaborating with people from other disciplines. One critical element [of the UCF experience] was being involved in professional societies. My adviser at the time, Dr. Ron Phillips, set an example for me as a student that’s been very influential on my career. I learned the importance of getting involved, understanding the diversity of the work and seeing how different research elements come together. I am extremely proud to be one of the first CREOL [Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers] grads, and I was delighted to see UCF push for a College of Optics and Photonics. UCF is one of the top three optics and photonics programs in the country. I’m trying to figure out ways to collaborate with [UCF] colleagues.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH INSTITUTE

P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 39

CLASS NOTES Kate Bartelski, ’11, graduated with her M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington. While there, she received the C.J. and Clara Earle Scholarship and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma. 1st Lt. Dustyn Carroll, ’11, is serving as a mobile operator in the Air Force. Paul Crochet, ’11, and Tyler Egbert, ’11, Stetson University College of Law students, helped their team win the 2013 E. Earle Zehmer National Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition in Orlando. Matthew Philbrick, ’11, works as a Christian missionary assigned to Iai Girls’ High School in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, and teaches English as a second language. Lauren Stockner, ’11, promoted to national sales coordinator for all four Florida radio markets with Cox Media Group. Alexandra Bodytko, ’12, a professional musician based in Orlando, assisted in developing a puzzle/game called Spheroku. Amanda Castro, ’12, promoted at 41 NBC/ WMGT in Macon, Ga., where she is the new co-anchor of the morning newscast “Daybreak.”

Kevin Lopez, ’12, graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

Class Notes

Murray Ludwig, ’12, graduated from navigator school in the Air Force and received his wings.

Send us your announcements and highresolution 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.

Nicole Schoen, ’12, is multimedia news editor at the Osprey Observer in Brandon, Fla. Hilarion Van Sickle, ’12, embarked on a year of full-time service with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.

Web ucfalumni.com/classnotes Email knights@ucfalumni.com Mail Pegasus Class Notes P.O. Box 1600406 Orlando, FL 32816-0046 Phone 800.330.ALUM (2586)

Melinda (Holcombe) Smith, ’12, a registered nurse at St. Mary’s Medical Center, went through the hospital’s critical care program and is now working in the trauma ICU. Lynette Tinsley, ’12, attended UCF orientation with her daughter and is excited and proud that her daughter will also be a Knight.

Moved recently? Changed your email address?

Kevin Lachat, ’13, graduated from Navy Officer Candidate School and was commissioned to his current rank of ensign while assigned at Officer Training Command in Newport, R.I.

Update your contact information at ucfalumni.com/contactupdates.

Tyler Mancuso, ’13, joined Owens Realty Services as a commercial real estate investment analyst.

Dear Fellow Knights, It’s been 30 years since I graduated from UCF, and I grow more proud of my alma mater every day. I’ve watched UCF grow from a small commuter school into the nation’s second-largest university. With more than 230,000 alumni to serve, it’s our job and responsibility to listen and respond to the Knight community, and to provide the services and programs you want. The UCF Alumni Association recently surveyed five decades of graduates. The survey included more than 100 questions, and garnered more than 5,300 responses from the Knight community. Here are samples of the feedback we received and what we are working to improve. With Knight pride,

Tom Messina, ’84 Executive Director, UCF Alumni Association 40 / F A L L 2 0 1 3

WE ASKED:

How valuable would each of the following be to you in making a decision to give to UCF?

YOU SAID: (TOP 5) 1. KNOW HOW GIFTS ARE USED 2. INCREASE PROGRAM QUALITY 3. PROVIDE STUDENT SUPPORT 4. ENJOY LIFELONG LEARNING 5. CAMPUS PRIVILEGES NOT IMPORTANT

WE ASKED:

What do you think about the non-dues strategy of the UCF Alumni Association?

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

YOU SAID:

40%

DIDN'T KNOW

VERY IMPORTANT

URVEY RESULTS

Logan Kriete, ’12, started his new position in development at Amblin/DreamWorks TV in Los Angeles.

CRITICALLY IMPORTANT

60%

WERE AWARE

• Most liked that the association can service all alumni

• A few worried that the association may not be as active without dues-paying members

WE ASKED:

YOU SAID:

How important is it for you and alumni in general to do the following, and how well does UCF do at supporting alumni in doing them?

WE'RE MEETING YOUR NEEDS

WE COULD DO BETTER

SI Attend events SI Provide financial support

VI Identify job prospects VI Serve as ambassadors

SI Attend athletic events SI Volunteer for UCF

SI Network with alumni SI Mentor students

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

SI Participate in social media

VERY IMPORTANT

SI Recruit students SI Serve on boards

PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE

Music for the Masses Rick Wheeler, ’95, and Sean Perry, ’96, founders, Florida Music Festival and Conference SEAN PERRY: When we started the Florida Music Festival and Conference (FMF) in 2002, it was a marriage of the national music business and downtown Orlando. RICK WHEELER: We wanted to have unsigned artists perform and national industry people discover them. Music fans could see an act that they knew, but also discover new artists from around the country. SP: And there’s always been an educational aspect to FMF. Artists and students from UCF, its Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy and Full Sail University learn about the entertainment business from attorneys, agents, promoters and record label people. RW: For the annual FMF, we listen to every submission — which number from 1,000 to 1,500 — and pick the best 300 bands. SP: We don’t focus on headliners; we focus on providing three days of discovery. SP: There are no local music scenes anymore. Thanks to the Internet, every genre of music has a massive scene online. Artists don’t have to go out and play to get exposure.

RW: The digital music trend has helped FMF. It’s the one time of the year where there are 300 bands playing all over downtown Orlando, and people are connecting face to face. SP: Music brought us together. RW: In 1989, Tom Petty had just released “Free Fallin’,” and I was singing it when I heard someone say, “Aw, dude. That’s a great song.” I turned around and it was Sean. SP: We were roommates in college and in the same fraternity. RW: Sean started aXis Magazine when we graduated. I went to work as a representative for Miller Light. SP: We discussed working together for about three years, and it finally made sense for both of us. The key to our 16-year partnership is balancing work and play. We make sure to balance the intense tactical debates with a few pints and equally intense debates about UCF football and pop culture. RW: We have times when we don’t see eye to eye, and that’s when we lean on our friendship. We’re lucky to have different strengths that complement each other.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORIDA MUSIC FESTIVAL AND CONFERENCE

TOP 7 MOMENTS FROM FMF HISTORY

In 2002, I had to ask a sweet, blond 14-year-old acoustic artist to leave a venue after her performance because it was for age 18 and older. I would apologize to Taylor Swift now if she would take my call. — Sean Perry

The reggae rock band Boxelder played the main stage at Wall Street Plaza in downtown Orlando in 2002. They were a local band with a decent following, and I remember looking out at 4,000 people and thinking that we were on to something. — Rick Wheeler

O n a Friday night at Wall Street Plaza in 2005, the band Lit put on a rock show like they were playing a sold-out stadium — chugging Jack Daniels onstage and spitting it on the audience. It was one of FMF’s best performances. — RW

In 2006, I watched a swirling mosh pit of 3,500 crazed Flogging Molly fans scare the hell out of the Wall Street Plaza security and Orlando Police Department. — SP

In 2006, the rock band Black Tide was a group of teenagers who called themselves Radio. They were determined to get a record deal [during FMF] and set up an impromptu showcase at Blue Room. They signed a deal based off that performance and are still touring. — SP

Following the conference seminars in 2010, a band from Scotland — Our Future Glory — handed their demo CD to the president of Universal Republic Records. They traveled thousands of miles for that single interaction. — SP

A rising young band called Big 10-4 showcased at Backbooth in 2012. It was a madhouse with the audience jumping in unison and singing every word. They got a record deal a few months later. — RW

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ALUMKNIGHTS

4 18

3 12

7 13

42 / F A L L 2 0 1 3

PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE

WEDDINGS AND BIRTHS 1. Melodye Hendrix, ’84, married James Flanagan, ’88, Nov. 16 in the Garden Ballroom in Winter Garden, Fla.

2. Courtney (Wood), ’93, and her husband, Stephen Grantham, ’86, welcomed twin daughters, Eva Mixon and Stella Sandine, Oct. 25. 3. John Puchein, ’95, and his wife, Sharon, welcomed their first child, Annalisa Maylin, June 24.

4. J’aime (Arcaini), ’00, and her husband, Rob Settle, welcomed their daughter, Cadence Odell, April 13. 5. Dean Caravelis, ’02, married Marissa Maingot, ’02, June 15 in Winter Park, Fla. The couple honeymooned in Greece. 6. Ann (Perez), ’03, and Wes Allen welcomed their first child, Austin Wesley, July 16. Ann is the assistant director of events and sales for the UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center. 7. Michelle (Walker), ’03, and her husband, Joshua Rosenfield, welcomed their first child, Ethan Michael, July 19. The family resides in Los Angeles.

8. Nicole (Talley), ’03, and her husband, Elijah Morse, welcomed their second child, Daniel Elijah, July 12. 9. Adrienne Bolli, ’04, married 1st Sgt. Daniel Headrick Oct. 26 at the Lake Mary Events Center in Lake Mary, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included bridesmaid Angie Lewis, ’03, and maid of honor LaTonya Holder, ’04. The newlyweds are currently stationed in Oceanside, Calif., where Dan is serving in the Marine Corps. 10. Cory Czyzewski, ’04, and his wife, Cassandra, welcomed their first child, Hudson Daniel, May 9. Joshua Hecht, ’05, and his wife, Laney, welcomed their daughter, Piper Ivy, Sept. 10.

11. Melissa (Mora), ’05, and her husband, Travis Kremer, ’06, welcomed their first child, Liam Wyatt, June 19. The family resides in Duluth, Ga. Rose Beetle, ’07, welcomed her first child, Xander Orion Jones, Sept. 6. 12. Vernon Dickerson, ’06, married Mirella Carneiro, ’12, Feb. 22 in Orlando. Vernon is a senior financial analyst for Darden Restaurants and chairman of the Rollins-Dickerson Foundation. Mirella is the admissions advisor for Kaplan University.

13. Nicole (Mayer), ’06, married Chris Danner Sept. 28 in Boynton Beach, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Deanna (Godfrey) DeFilippo, ’05; Josh Dietrick, ’05; Arthur DeFilippo, ’06; Pamela Gressman, ’06; David Jones, ’07; Carolyn (LeMarquand) Jones, ’07; Mary Mueller, ’07; Lana (Rukin) Peebles, ’07; and Jeremy Lund, ’09. Nicole and Chris currently reside in Boynton Beach, where she is a pharmacist for Walgreens Customer Care Operations. 14. Meghan (Phelan), ’06, a former UCF cheerleader, married Rafael “Ralph” Goicouria II, ’03, a former UCF basketball player, Nov. 3 in Miami Beach, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Lee Rosa, ’01; Maura Antoniazzi, ’06; Jackie Martin, ’06; Melissa Phelan, ’07; and Cortney (Roberts) Hobgood, ’10. The couple resides in Miami and are business owners in home health care and real estate.

15. Chris Merritt, ’07, married Annikki (Laine), ’08, at the Lake Mary Events Center in Lake Mary, Fla., in 2012. Alumni in the wedding party included Josh Gayne, ’07; Lacy Gregory, ’08; Michael McClatchy, ’08; John Wild, ’08; Bryan Festa, ’09; maid of honor Tami Lenz, ’09; Karli Story, ’10; and maid of honor Julie Merritt, ’13. 16. Selena (Ramos), ’07, married David Toback, ’02, Sept. 23 at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando. Alumni in the wedding party included Luigi Frascarelli, ’02; Chris Brown, ’05; Will Hudson, ’05; Jessica Ballock (Gajentan), ’06; Sophie (Davis) Benander, ’07; and Iris (Howell) Wilga, ’07. 17. Erin (Brock), ’08, and her husband, Andrew Irvin, welcomed their daughter, Jane Elizabeth, June 21. 18. Sunni Bruno, ’08, married Javier DeGracia, ’08, July 13 in Hernando Beach, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Alberto Leon, ’07; Sandra Ivens, ’09; and Anthony “A.J.” Bruno, ’11. The couple honeymooned in the Caribbean and now resides in Fort Lauderdale. David Melvin, ’08, married Sara Branham, ’07, Oct. 4 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Jill (Knellinger) Schmidt, ’07; Meghan (Scott) Curren, ’08; Garrett Hyer, ’08; Brian Lyew Kong, ’08; Jordan Coole, ’09; Rory Curren, ’09; Lindsey Branham, ’10; and Ryan Abernethy, ’11, as well as current UCF student Jami Branham. 19. William Lusk, ’09, married Stephanie Piotrowski, ’11, June 29 in Tampa, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Joshua Johnson, ’08; Edgar Robinson, ’08; Justin York, ’10; and Andrea Mize, ’11. William and Stephanie also earned master’s degrees from UCF in 2013 and 2012, respectively. 20. J ohn Martino, ’09, married Elizabeth Albus, ’11. John also passed the Florida Bar Exam and has been working as an attorney intern for the Office of the State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit in Daytona Beach. Chris Morata, ’09, married Lauren Yon, ’09, March 23 at Rocking H Ranch in Lakeland, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Avidahn Levin, ’09; Jennifer (Barry) Weber, ’09; Chad Prezas, ’10; Brian Swanick, ’10; and James Weber, ’11. Alumni from Theta Chi and Kappa Alpha Theta were also in attendance. Nicole (Senkel) Newell, ’09, a registered nurse at Winnie Palmer Hospital, got married in 2012. 21. Katie Hall, ’10, married Brian Hoehn, ’10, March 30 in Apopka, Fla. Alumni in the wedding party included Justin Schaffer, ’09; Erica Harris, ’10; Bailey Hocking, ’10; Kevin Nicola, ’10; Holly Payne, ’10; Kyle Payne, ’10; Casey Schaffer, ’10; and Michael Harris, ’12. The couple resides in DeLand, Fla. 22. Alayna (Rivera), ’10, married Brenton Curry Dec. 1 at the Maitland (Fla.) Art Center. Steven Travis, ’10, and Amy (Chamley), ’11, welcomed their son, Ryan Paul, Jan. 8, 2013. 23. Morgan Earnheart, ’11, married Erwin Rodriguez, ’09, July 5 at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-in-theHills, Fla. P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 43 P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 43

ALUMKNIGHTS

In Memoriam Dorothy Freeman, ’70, passed away Oct. 20. Dot was in the first graduating class of FTU (now UCF), where she was awarded her master’s degree. She was a member of the Orange Audubon Society, the Florida Ornithological Society and the Georgia Ornithological Society. Dot was also a member of First United Methodist Church of Orlando for 48 years.

Raiford “Ray” Ivey Jr., ’71, passed away Sept. 30. He earned a B.S. from UCF and was a marketing representative for IBM, a real estate agent and marketing director for Melaleuca. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Orange County East – Winter Park, Fla., where he had 42 years of perfect attendance. He also was a member of Aloma United Methodist Church in Winter Park. Peggy Wroten, ’71, passed away Sept. 30 from Parkinson’s disease. Larry Dombrowski, ’72, passed away Oct. 14 after an extended illness. He was a veteran of the Navy and a magna cum laude graduate of FTU (now UCF). He lived most of his life in Pleasant Hills, Pa., where he was a deacon of Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church. Larry retired in 2002 from Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory after 27 years. Peggy Weldy, ’72, passed away Oct. 8 after succumbing to cancer. She was an Orlando resident since 1955. Peggy was a 40-year veteran teacher and coach at Westridge and Odyssey middle schools, and a longtime member of Christ the King Episcopal Church. Charles Hollon, ’73, passed away Oct. 12. Betty Jean Hedick, ’74, passed away Nov. 5. She graduated from UCF with a 4.0 GPA. She worked at NASA in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency in Germantown, Md. She returned to Florida in 1979,

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eventually retiring from the Hernando County School System as a teacher. She later became a realtor, earning numerous sales awards. Douglas Jennings, ’75, passed away Oct. 16. After distinguished academic and athletic success in school, he served in the military in Korea. He later became a jewelry salesman, highly regarded by both his colleagues and customers. Capt. A. Roger Pouliot, ’78, U.S. Marines, retired, passed away on Sept. 16. He was a veteran of Korea and two tours in Vietnam, a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, a Marine Corps Mustang and was active in many civic, military and charitable activities.

Dick Rivenbark, ’78, passed away Nov. 14. Betty Jean Mockler, ’80, passed away Oct. 10. She worked as a staff/charge nurse and a licensed practical nursing instructor in West Virginia. In 1970 she was recruited to implement a practical nursing program for Brevard Community College in Florida. She earned her bachelor’s degree at UCF and her master’s degree in psychology and counseling at Nova Southeastern University. Betty was named Florida Practical Teacher of the Year by the Florida Licensed Practical Nursing Association three times. Juanita Montero, ’80, passed away Nov. 10. Richard Petner, ’82, passed away Oct. 8. Samuel Stornelli Sr., ’86, passed away Oct. 13. Kathleen McCarthy Bishop, ’88, passed away Aug. 12 after her battle with breast cancer. She graduated with her juris doctorate degree from the Walter F. George School of Law in 1991 and practiced law as her husband’s partner until 2006,

when she took a position with the Florida Bar as ethics counsel. Kathleen was in the 1987 UCF Homecoming court. Alicia Geib, ’96, passed away Oct. 4. She earned a master’s degree in health care administration from UCF and worked in the health care industry for many years.

Shane Brintnall, ’02, passed away Oct. 26 after collapsing at a UCF football game. Shane played football and baseball at The King’s Academy, and earned his business administration degree at UCF. He was a CPA, employed at Bluegreen Corporation in Boca Raton, Fla. James Cremins III, ’02, passed away Oct. 24 after a long battle with cancer. Jay served honorably as a Marine in Operation Iraqi Freedom and participated in the liberation of Baghdad. Patricia Deneault, ’02, passed away Nov. 11. Warren Cohen, ’04, passed away Sept. 15. Born in England, Warren moved to America with his family in 1986. His real passion was music, and he was a proud member of Sigma Phi Epsilon— MU Chapter at UCF. Warren was a self-taught drummer and guitarist. His brother, Adam, 01, is working to establish a scholarship in Warren’s name. Mónica Spear, ’04, was killed Jan. 6 in Venezuela during an attempted robbery. She studied theater at UCF and was Miss Venezuela in 2004. Spear also starred in the Telemundo telenovelas “Flor Salvaje” and “Pasión Prohibida.” Dwight Kiel, associate professor in the UCF Department of Political Science, passed away Aug. 8. Dwight joined UCF in 1990 as an assistant professor in the department. His research focused on political theory and public policy. He directed the department’s graduate

program for several years and was also a core faculty member in Interdisciplinary Studies. His enthusiasm for teaching and his commitment to his students were recognized with several UCF Excellence in Teaching awards. He was an active participant in The Society for Utopian Studies and the Western Social Science Association. To honor him, a Dwight C. Kiel Memorial Scholarship has been established. Charles M. Lako Jr., Esq. J.D., professor in the College of Business Administration, passed away Jan. 13. He served in the Navy, graduated from Florida Atlantic University and worked on Wall Street as a licensed stock, commodities and futures analyst and broker. Charles then graduated with honors from John Marshall Law School to become a trial lawyer, judge and law professor. In 2004 he joined UCF, where he founded the Res Ipsa Loquitur Law Society, a leadership and service group. A scholarship has been established in his honor. Philip Sciortino Jr., a faculty member in the UCF College of Education and Human Performance, passed away Sept. 3. He joined the Army in 1955 during the Korean War, serving for two years. He moved to Orlando in 1958 and lived between there and Winter Park, Fla., for 55 years. He received his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University in 1954, an M.Ed. and M.B.A. from Rollins College in 1968 and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame in 1971. Beginning his lifelong love of education as a math teacher at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School, Philip touched thousands of lives as he continued teaching at Notre Dame, Rollins College and UCF. Well respected, he received the College of Education’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 1989.

Authors

PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE

A L U M N I

Renee Garrison, ’76, authored Sweet Beams, written for anyone moving, whether it’s a first rental apartment or final retirement home. It celebrates the place we call home with both inspiration and practical tips. Dr. Gloria Bullman, ’81, authored Crossing the Fire Line, a collection of first-person accounts culled from her years as a clinical psychologist riding along with fire, EMS and law enforcement personnel. Marsha (Wait) Hewitt-Barker, ’83, wrote and published The Dachshund Who Sprouted Wings. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a dog that flies? Find out how Henry sprouted wings and join him on an amazing around-the-world adventure. Delores Inniss, ’90, wrote and published A Leader of Integrity, 7 Lessons Learned, her autobiography of her 40 years of experience in education. Within the book are letters from parents, teachers, students and principals who corroborate the effectiveness of the lessons she has learned. Lisa Goldstein-DeMarco, ’92, has published three books. Serving Up Some Funny and Serving Up Some Funny Leftovers are books she has written from her collection of spicy jokes told to her over her 30-year career in the hospitality industry. The Unusual Tales of Matilda Marmalade is the first in a series of children’s books about her older sister growing up with a rare bone disease.

Sandi Lacey, ’94, authored God Still Dreams of Eden, a love story about a Caribbean resort owner whose island home is threatened by the sudden appearance of a runaway bride. Rick Gangraw, ’96, authored Secrets in the Ice, a Royal Palm Literary Award-winning novel. A couple on a romantic winter vacation getaway in upper Michigan are looked at suspiciously by the townspeople when a body is found frozen in the lake. The couple unravels the mystery, and everyone seems to be involved. Jamie Ayres, ’01, released his debut novel, 18 Things, the first in a trilogy. A young girl struggles to live again after a lightning strike kills her best friend. Her therapist suggests she list 18 things to complete the year of her 18th birthday, sending her and her friends on an unexpected journey. The next two books, 18 Truths and 18 Thoughts, were released earlier this year.

Tiffany Pastor, ’04, is publishing Children of the City, a novel about human trafficking in America. When local reporter Kayla Barrington crosses paths with an orphan boy on the streets of Denver, she doesn’t know the world of human trafficking that hides in her city. What starts with one boy leads to a destiny of rescue, hope and redemption. Children of the City will be released in April, and 40 percent of all profits will be donated to freedom-fighting organizations.

Sarah Young, ’04, authored Gasparilla’s Key & the Revenge of the Purple Mermaid, a work of historical fiction set in 1820 America. Grace Shell welcomes an unknown sailor to her inn, only to realize that he has commandeered a ship from famed pirate Jose Gaspar. Grace must choose between the comfortable life she has always known and a faith that defies difficult circumstances. Vanessa Blakeslee, ’05, authored Train Shots, a short-story collection with many of the stories set in Orlando. Rendered in a style both generous and intelligent, the stories are driven by their unusual predicaments. In the title story, a train engineer, after running over a young girl on his tracks, grapples with the pervasive question: What propels a life toward such a disastrous end? Randy Hunt, ’05, authored Product Design for the Web, an introduction to modern online product design that outlines skills, tools, recommended workflows and best practices. Curt Wiser, ’05, authored Box Cutter Killer. Gessica works as a cam girl to pay her way through medical school and provide for her infant daughter. Her double life becomes deadly, and she must come to terms with her past so that she and her daughter can survive.

P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 45

B ACK IN THE DAY

1994: A Year of Firsts The launch of the Internet, the rise of e-commerce and the flight of UCF’s alumni magazine, Pegasus BY DANIELLE (LILLIG) KRISCHIK, ’07 A lot has changed in 20 years. In 1994, the Internet was new to the public and Netscape Navigator had just launched. That same year, the first e-commerce transaction (Pizza Hut), the first banner ad placement (Wired), and the first Web search engine (WebCrawler) were born. Firsts were not limited to the Internet that year. The United States hosted its first World Cup in nine cities across the country, including Orlando, breaking FIFA attendance records. As the Netherlands defeated the Republic of Ireland at the Citrus Bowl, another first was underway just down the street. The inaugural issue of Pegasus magazine had been written, designed and sent to press. A new day had come for the UCF Alumni Association.

Manny Rodriguez, ’75, and Tom Messina, ’84, led the UCF Alumni Association with two staff members and a handful of young volunteers. They believed they could take the association to the next level; they just needed the right big idea. The association had always wanted a magazine that they could send to everyone, but this required money they didn’t have. Your reading this is proof that they found a way. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pegasus, we’ll take a look at how the magazine was started, and get a glimpse of its inaugural year.

Communications committee: Cameron Murray, ’90; Tracey (Lawton) Velt, ’89; Mike Hinn, ’92; Mike Candelaria, ’83; Jim Hobart, ’91; and Laura Pooser, ’75

March

Green Light

The communications committee approves Pegasus magazine, building on the alumni newsletter they helped create. There is still no money, but there is a plan: Create partnerships and sell them advertising to fund the magazine.

Celebrate!

January

Risky Business

After a long lunch at the Knight Out Pub, Tom Messina, executive director of the UCF Alumni Association, takes a chance on two young alumni — Jim Hobart, ’91, and Mike Hinn, ’92 — and agrees to an alumni magazine feasibility study. Volunteering leads to new jobs and Knight Images (now the Knight agency) is born. The only catch is there’s no money.

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The contract signing party takes place at Wally’s at 7 a.m. Yes, Margot was there.

PEGASUS M AGAZ I NE

Pegasus Avenue December

Click and Move

Joining other Internet firsts, Pegasus goes online, and the first UCF Alumni Association website is launched.

July

Liftoff!

The first issue of Pegasus is printed and sent to 59,861 alumni.

June

Our Story

Joanne Griggs, ’76, and Mike Candelaria, ’83, work with the Alumni Association, Knight agency staff and volunteers to finalize the content for the inaugural issue.

September

Bringing It Home

Mike “Dodd” Foristall, ’94, and John Speake, ’95, join the Knight team and take Pegasus and UCF Homecoming to new heights.

May

Alumni to the Rescue

UCF alumni Todd Bowers, ’77, and Peter Cranis, ’84, join the cause and sign the first Pegasus partnership on behalf of SunBank (now SunTrust). Momentum shifts, and sales start to close.

April

The A-List

The selling starts. Hinn and Messina work to close the “definite” yes list. The money total is now up to $0. It’s time for a new list.

Mike Hinn, ’92; Mike “Dodd” Foristall, ’94; Jim Hobart, ’91; and John Speake, ’95

The year 1994 brought several new beginnings. Pegasus helped generate many new programs for the UCF Alumni Association. It also gave young alumni volunteers an opportunity that developed into a thriving marketing agency, appropriately named Knight. DESIGN BY MIKE FORISTALL, ’94

P E G A S U S . U C F. E D U / 47

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