UCF in the News

Filling industry needs and partnering with local companies on training programs are top of mind for Orlando colleges and universities. University of Central Florida Provost Michael Johnson has seen more companies sponsor educational programs. For instance, UCF teamed with Amazon.com Inc.’s Career Choice program in March, which allows the e-commerce giant to pay employees' tuition at the school. Also launching this summer is the UCF Downtown Scholars Initiative, an effort to sponsor education for students in historically underserved communities, via a $3.25 million partnership with the Helios Education Foundation.

Nearly three years ago, Orange County’s biggest employer and its biggest university started working together to make education more accessible. Disney announced it was paying tuition upfront for hourly employees who enrolled at the University of Central Florida as part of its Disney Aspire program. UCF disclosed the latest results: More than 250 Disney World workers have already earned degrees as Knights and another 800 are currently taking classes this spring semester. “We’re over 1,000 students in a short period of time… and we know that this is only the beginning,” said UCF Vice Provost Theodorea Regina Berry.

At 21 years old, Ashley Ortiz Rosario was a year away from graduating from the University of Puerto Rico’s Rio Piedras campus, but in September 2017, Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico. Ortiz Rosario enrolled and eventually graduated from Valencia College, then the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

A local educational nonprofit has donated $2 million dollars to support the college dreams of Jones high school seniors and eventually, Evans and Oak Ridge High School students. The $2 million dollar grant from the Helios Education Foundation along with funds from the University of Central Florida will be used to set up the UCF Downtown Scholars Initiative or DSI. Its goal is to increase enrollment among first-generation and other underrepresented college students on campus.

Major League Baseball recently teamed up with the the University of Central Florida Research Hub to provide students with a unique opportunity to learn more than just a game. Together, they hosted a baseball day for families in Central Florida last month.“Any activity that recognizes the Puerto Rican community, I think it brings up all that validity to the community of the good contributions that we’re making here in Central Florida and in Florida,” said Fernando Rivera, a professor of sociology and director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida.

Jeanette-Marie Reynoso stepped onto her first college campus in fall 2006, with a garbage bag full of clothes and her personal documents. While Reynoso settled into Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, she watched as parents showered their children with hugs, kisses and brand-new everythings. Her imposter syndrome birthed a sea of insecurities – she was a foster kid who aged out of the system with no guidance in life, let alone about college. In her first year, Reynoso was failing. She withdrew from classes, joined AmeriCorps to teach for a year and life soon followed. The New Jersey resident became a wife and mother to three. Reynoso, who is 35, returned to school four years ago. She transferred to the University of Central Florida in January 2020. Three weeks into her first semester, the global pandemic hit. She remained involved. She became a Ronald McNair Scholar, joined summer research programs at Vanderbilt University, accepted a full-time internship at an elementary school and received a job offer as a teacher. Her greatest achievement is breaking the generational cycle, she said. As she accepted the top honors from her college at UCF, her own children, wearing Knight merch, fantasized about going to college. “I realized in that moment, ‘Oh my gosh, I broke the cycle for them’,” she said. “When they come to UCF, they’re not going to be first-gen students.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Central Florida opened an on-campus food pantry to help students struggling to eat. Now, workers at the pantry say they’re helping in record numbers because of rising inflation. Lincy Antoine says she relied on the food pantry as a freshman. Antoine says she was so impressed with their services, she became a volunteer herself. “It’s just an amazing resource,” Antoine said. The pantry relies primarily on volunteers and donations, so they’re asking the community for help. “We want to help as many students as possible,” Knights Pantry Assistant Manager Nicholas Aixala said. “So definitely, we want to spread the word that the pantry’s here and ready to help.

As Florida schools work diligently to fulfill thousands of teacher vacancies across the state, Orange County Public Schools had a "signing day" Wednesday for future teachers, reminiscent of the athletic Signing Day. It’s all about teacher recruitment. Wednesday’s Teacher Quality Partnership is a partnership with Orange County Public Schools and the University of Central Florida. The mission is to recruit, prepare and retain teachers.

University of Central Florida Biomedical Science Major Alexis Holmes says her new service dog, Eada, has become a key part of her journey as a college student. The Black Lab comes from a funded organization called Step at UCF. It pairs UCF students like Holmes up with a service dog totally free of charge to help them navigate campus.