This year, 11 exceptional community members representing the best and brightest of Knight Nation will highlight UCF’s Homecoming Week at the 2024 Shining Knights Alumni Awards. Through demonstrable actions these individuals have proven their unwavering support to their alma mater and have enshrined their legacy as loyal alumni.
The 2024 Shining Knights Award celebration will take place on Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Pegasus Grand Ballroom at the UCF Student Union. The Shining Knights Alumni Awards have been recognizing outstanding UCF alumni and community leaders since 2017. The awards were first presented to former UCF President John C. Hitt and his wife, Martha Hitt, who became UCF’s first Honorary Alumni.
Among the various awards, the Michelle Akers Award is the most distinguished, given to a UCF alum who has achieved notable international success. Named after Michelle Akers ’89, an Olympic gold medalist and celebrated soccer player, this award highlights those who have brought significant recognition to UCF through their achievements. Previous recipients include Darin Edwards ’97 ’10MS ’11PhD, who received the honor in 2022 for his pivotal role in developing and evaluating Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
This year’s ceremony will continue the tradition of honoring excellence and celebrating the remarkable accomplishments of our Shining Knights.
Distinguished Alumni Award
Patricia Celano ’10MS
Early in her career, Celano began working in insurance, where she became interested in the complexities of healthcare. This inspired her to go back to school to become a registered nurse, earning a master’s in nursing from UCF. She has since catapulted to the C-suite of one of the country’s largest healthcare organizations.
As the system chief nurse executive and senior vice president associate chief clinical officer for AdventHealth, Celano supports 52 hospitals across nine states. She was instrumental in helping her hospital (then Florida Hospital for Children), to achieve one of the first magnet designations in Florida.
In leading the organization, Celano also inspired her nursing team to aim higher for the good of their patients. The love of bedside nursing is never far from Celano’s heart, and she aims to make the path clearer for nurses interested in other positions in the field, such as administration, she says.
“I still love my job,” says Celano, of her 30-year career. “I loved it when it was me and one patient, and I love it now because of the challenges I’ve had over the years that have allowed me to continue helping nurses and our patients.”
Diane Lee Eriksson ’77
For 31 years, elementary education alum Diane Eriksson was an “influencer” before the term became popular. She was a schoolteacher at Longwood Elementary School, where she molded the futures of hundreds of children and also mentored many student-interns who would go on to teach their own classes. She realized the hardships that many of these future teachers had and wanted to make their path a little easier, Lee Eriksson says.
When her first husband, Lynnwood A. Lee ’78 passed away, she and their children honored his legacy by creating the L.A. Lee Family Endowed Scholarship at UCF to help ease the financial burden of students who wanted to become elementary school teachers. When Diane Lee married Lars Eriksson, the two joined forces and created two more endowed scholarships, one in Tennessee, one at UCF; both were established to help teachers earn a graduate degree in the STEM fields.
Eriksson says philanthropy is the legacy that she envisions for her family. She also notes she is so proud that her oldest grandson is a student-athlete at UCF.
Chris ’93 and Melissa Tomasso ’94
The Tomassos are known as the “UCF people” in their Sarasota, Florida, community. The journalism alums earned that moniker by opening their home each summer to local, incoming UCF students and their families to provide an opportunity for them to learn more about their beloved alma mater. Their service as unofficial UCF ambassadors is just one of the many ways they have joyfully supported UCF.
More than 30 years ago, the Tomassos began giving back to UCF. Their history of philanthropy and support has touched many areas of the university, including the College of Arts and Humanities; the College of Sciences; UCF Advancement and Partnerships, UCF Athletics; and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. They are often among the first alumni to raise their hands to serve on a committee or participate in engagement opportunities, such as inspiring grads as a commencement address speaker (Melissa) or serving on a committee to design one of UCF Athletics’ early logos (Chris).
Despite living more than 130 miles away, the Tomassos are regularly seen on campus and are unabashed vocal fans courtside, in the stadium and wherever else the Knights are playing. Naturally, their two children — an alumnus and a current student — are continuing their parents’ legacy.
Honorary Alumni Award
William Callarman (Posthumous)
Associate Professor Emeritus William Callarman joined UCF (then Florida Technological University) in 1972 and retired in 2005 after 24 years of service to UCF and the Orlando community. His many accomplishments were celebrated at his memorial service earlier this year by his many friends and family. Callarman created the UCF College of Business’ Cornerstone class, a requirement for seniors and a demonstration of service and leadership.
Since 1992, Callarman served as the faculty advisor to UCF’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, the nation’s oldest and largest co-ed business fraternity. His community involvement went far beyond that, says his son, Michael Callarman. “When his students didn’t have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving or Christmas, he would invite them all to come over for family dinners,” Michael Callarman says. “He just really cared about people, and not just the students. He was involved with his church and various club soccer teams he coached over the years.”
The elder Callarman continued his mission of showing the next generation the possibilities of higher education and would often take them on field trips to UCF. Opening doors and encouraging upward mobility were just two of his community-building passions, says his son.
“My dad always told me that the best time he spent were the times he invested in people,” Michael Callarman says.
Joseph Conte
Early next year, Conte will complete his second gubernatorial appointment as a UCF Board of Trustee member. Since 1995, the healthcare entrepreneur has dedicated his life to investing in the care of others and has been influential in the development of UCF’s College of Medicine.
While in graduate school in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a research assistant for a U.S. senator on Capitol Hill. His work focused on issues related to healthcare needs of the elderly, which led him to take a greater interest in this area. That interest led him to work for — and eventually create — two national providers of post-acute senior health services. After selling his second company, Consulate Health Care, in 2015, he turned his focus to supporting UCF’s College of Medicine. He shared his industry expertise, particularly on how physicians should care for older demographics, with COM’s founding Dean Deborah German. Conte was also one of the first community members to contribute a four-year scholarship to the COM’s charter class, and he remains deeply committed to the college’s mission and vision.
Conte demonstrates the UCF Creed of integrity, scholarship, community, creativity and excellence beyond the campus community. In 2024, he was inducted into the Constantinian Order of St. George and the Royal Order of Francis I — making him an official Knight.
Margaret LeClair
When LeClair applied to Florida Technological University in 1974, she was offered three jobs. The one that appealed to her most was in what was then the Department of Communication, now UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media, she says.
LeClair was instrumental in helping build the popular program and, from time to time, went above and beyond to bring enriching experiences to campus, even enlisting one of her horses to make an appearance on “C-Day,” one of her department’s annual events. She is a historian of UCF’s rich past. But her passion is helping students, many of whom depended on financial support to attend the school.
Through her leadership with the UCF Women’s Club and Town and Gown, LeClair tirelessly drove many scholarship campaigns and is still connected to raising funds for students in need. She also has worked with the Florida Public Relations Association on its Roast and Toast scholarship program, which provides eight to 10 scholarships each year to UCF students. She is a generous philanthropist and continues to give because of her love for UCF and its students, she says.
As she looks back at five decades of her involvement, she says, “I just want people to know that UCF has given me so much more than I could ever give back.”
Dan and Kendrah Schiappa
When computer science student Dan met Kendrah at UCF in 1988, she was not only taken with his intellect and humor, but also intrigued that he was probably the only student on campus who had his own personal computer. Because Kendrah had also taken computer science courses, Dan proposed by printing out the big question via a dot-matrix printer and posted it up all around her apartment.
As Dan, who is now the chief product officer for cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf, and Kendrah got married and started a family, their love for UCF — and collection of Knights memorabilia — grew because it is the place that brought them together. The Schiappas have been involved with UCF for over 20 years through their generous gifts of service and philanthropy, two qualities they also instill in their children.
Dan is a vital member of the UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Dean’s Advisory Board, serving as chair. He and Kendrah are often found courtside at UCF basketball games and on the sidelines at UCF football games cheering on their beloved Knights. Their philanthropic support also includes First Generation Scholarships, Limbitless Solutions and UCF Athletics.
Young Alumni Award
Marly Mentor ’16
Mentor emigrated with her family from Haiti to the United States at a time when large-scale political unrest, economic stagnation and repeated eruptions of violence made living there untenable.
Because of the widespread mistreatment of Haitian citizens she witnessed while living there, Mentor knew from an early age that she wanted to become an attorney, she says. Now based in New York City, the finance alum is passionate about guiding aspiring law students and sharing her own journey as a lawyer. She supports students in the ChargeOn Mentorship program and advises Burnett Honors College students on the Honors in the Undergraduate Thesis program. She also stays connected to UCF through the New York UCF Knights Community and active involvement in Knights Give Back.
Her pro bono work includes aiding individuals with immigration issues — often including people from Haiti — and assisting small nonprofits with intellectual property rights. She also volunteers her time with nonprofit organizations who advocate for babies and children. Through nonprofit Legal Outreach, Mentor empowers youth to pursue their professional dreams.
Her resilience drives her to overcome obstacles in her field, she says. As a Black woman in corporate law, Marley notes she aims to inspire others. Her dedication to service underscores her commitment to both UCF and society.
Distinguished Student Award
Brooke Johnson
With stellar grades, test scores and extracurriculars, Johnson would have applied to many renowned colleges. However, she only applied to UCF because she knew she could pursue a great program in kinesiology while carrying on a family legacy. Her mom, legal studies alumna Denise Marsters ’92, started bringing Johnson to football games as a young child, which is when she first felt the pull to UCF, she says.
Johnson quickly became even more involved during her first year as a Knight by joining the orientation team, and then serving as a PeerKnight for her classmates. She was part of the Homecoming Court last year, and has served as a 4Ever Knight, an elite group of students who assist UCF Alumni with events and projects and build the education of student philanthropy on campus. Johnson says she plans to become a double Knight after earning her bachelor’s by pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy through UCF’s highly ranked program.
