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 Student Accomplishments

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National Awards and Recognitions

• Honors in the Major student Roy Pérez has been awarded a prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies.
• Honors student Ankur Datta and Honors in the Major student Rebecca Hayman, have been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship for 2004.
• Two Honors students, Katie Daniels and Jessica Maykrantz received an Honors Summer Internship with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
• Honors in the Major student Jesse Urban was recognized as a 2004 Astronaut’s Scholar.
• Honors and Honors in the Major Student Sara Marti was recognized as a 2004 Ronald E. McNair Scholar.

State and Regional Awards and Recognitions

• An Honors student, Alexis Teicher was recognized as a Florida Gubernatorial Fellow for 2004.
• In Spring 2004, Florida Leader Magazine announced its15th annual "Best of Florida Schools." In this competition, Honors Educational Reach Out (HERO) Program was recognized as the "Best Volunteer Program for 2004" in the State of Florida.
• In this state-wide competition promoted by Florida Leader Magazine, two Honors students, Kimberly Rughe and Marianne Howe received Honorable Mentions as “Florida Student of the Year for 2004.”

Local Awards and Recognitions

• For 2003 Homecoming, Honors Congress won the coveted Spirit Cup, 1st Place Overall, 2nd Place for their parade float; 3rd place for Skit Knight, and 3rd Place for the Spirit Sign.
• Five of the ten undergraduate Order of Pegasus awardees in 2004 were Honors students: Marshal Blessing, Anne Cecil, Helen Gleber, Barry Kudrowitz, and Charlie Reuter.
• Ten Honors students were named to the President's Leadership Council for 2004: Jaeann Bollinger, Sri Cherumkilli, Kit Fuhrman, Annie Howe, and Stacy McCord, Jennifer Hartzler, Trent Scott, Sara Marti, Kelly Simonz, and Ross Chafin.
• Ten Honors students were recognized as inaugural UCF’s President’s Scholars in 2004: Katrina Reiniers, Haritha Katakam, Leah Ammerman, and Dawnielle Johnson, Crystal Espinosa, Tracy Fischler, Greg Faris, Nathan Mitchell, Constance Katsafanas, and Katie Lang.

Several Honors and Honors in the Major students were recognized at the Founders’ Day Convocation in April 2004:

Three students received Founders’ Day Honors in the Major Awards.

• Teresa Jackson ( 1st Place Award in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Category) for her thesis "Designing a Standards-based, Eclectic, Elaborated, and Synergistic Year-long Theme Cycle."
• Dirk Pohlers (Runner-up in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Category) for this thesis "Participatory versus Authoritative Management in Times of Transformation--Where does East Germany Fit In?"
• Elayne Reiss ( 1st Place Award in the Science, Engineering, and Technology Category for her thesis"Comparative Rankings: Ascertaining Pre- and Post-test Differences in a Survey Instrument."

The top 1% of the students in each college were recognized as Founders’ Scholars for Excellence in Academic Performance:

• In the College of Arts and Sciences, 18 of the 43 recipients were Honors students.
• In the College of Business Administration, 4 of the 31 recipients were Honors students.
• In the College of Education, 1 of the 12 recipients was an Honors student.
• In the College of Engineering and Computer Science, 14 of the 17 recipients were Honors students.
• In the College of Health and Public Affairs, 5 of the 21 recipients were Honors students.
• In the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, 1 of the 5 was an Honors student.

Each College recognized a student with a Founders’ Award for Exceptional Ability and Performance in a Particular Area of Study. The four Honors students who achieved this distinction were from the College of Arts and Sciences; College of Education; College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Three Honors in the Major students won awards at UCF’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research (SURE):

• Sri Cherukumilli ( 2nd Place) for "Expression of Human Interferon in Transgenic Tobacco Chloroplasts."
• Chantale Fontaine ( 3rd Place) for “ Florida’s Roots and Rhizomes: Art Online.”
• Lisa Durrance (Honorable Mention) for "Proficiency as a Predictor of Lexical Representation in English Speakers Learning German.”

A team of three Honors students, Mark Colbert, Erik Harte and Tyler Hunt, won the 1st Place Award at UCF’s 2004 inaugural Service-Learning Showcase for their project with the Pinellas Park Boys & Girls Club.

There were 14 Honors Students and four HIM students were among UCF's Who's Who for 2004. Excluding the Athletic Category, a total of 75 UCF students received this recognition. In the Academic Category, eight Honors and two Honors in the Major students were recognized. In the Leadership Category, two Honors and one Honors in the Major student were recognized. In the Service Category, four Honors and one Honors in the Major student were recognized.

Honors Alumna, Abigail McCracken was the recipient of the Rising Star Award on behalf of The Burnett Honors College’s Alumni Chapter.

The title of Knights Templar (2003) was bestowed upon Tyler Fisher who is an Honors and Honors in the Major alum (only four awards are made annually).

Honors Congress Vice President Crystal Espinosa and Honors Congress Executive Board member Cassandra Long were the winners of UCF’s Emerging Student Leader Award.

Honors student Anne Cecil was the recipient of the Progressive Student Leader Award.

Honors student Christine Cooper was named Miss UCF for 2004.

Honors student Charlie Reuter was named Mr. UCF for 2004.

Other Academic Years

• Sophia Abdulhai - Student Government Senator
• Andrew Berland - UCF Cheerleading Squad which just placed 2nd in the nation!
• Jaeann Bollinger - 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Trevor Brewer - Trevor is on the Executive Committee of our Honors Alumni Chapter. He just received the Rising Star Award from the UCF Alumni Association.
• Sri Cherukumilli - Student Government Senator
• Alexia Cox - President's Leadership Council
• Ti'eshia Daniels - receipient of the Katherine Keller scholarship; 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Ankur Datta - will be presenting his research at a National Conference for Undergraduate Research in April
• Jeremy Dilmore - President's Leadership Council
• Bethany Ensor - Team Leader; runner up for the Pegasus Seal Essay contest; coordinator for HERO program; 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council; on ison the Florida Youth Advisory Council (FYAC) for the Florida Commission on Community Service
• Tyler Fisher - running for Student Government President; chosen as a nominee for the Truman Scholarship; Team Leader; will be presenting his research at a National Conference for Undergraduate Research in April; HERO Volunteer; 4.0 GPA; Resident Assistant; Mentor & LEAD Scholar; volunteers weekly at the Bridge Assisted Living Care Center where he teaches a creative writing class; Tyler developed a strong new type of paper from the pondweed Hydrilla Verticillata; wrote and translated a manual on tropical agriculture in developing nations for the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. UCF's first Rhodes Scholar.
• Dan Foster - Team Leader; received a flying license
• Christopher Fuhrman- 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Jason Gauci - will compete in the Topcoder Collegiate Championship. He has been in 20 competitions!
• Nicole Gelfert - 2002 O-Team member
• Claudine Hawthorne - Honors Alumni; Recently landed a job with the American International Health Alliance
• Sara Holladay - UCF Trial Team; an officer (the Knight of the Round Table) for the Law Fraternity here on campus, Phi Alpha Delta; Team leader
• Honors Congress - won a trophy at Homecoming 2001 for their spirit sign; overall winner for small organizatins at Homecoming 2002.
• Wesley Hotchkiss - Student Government Senator
• Rob Hunter - National Merit Scholar; Ex-pro Fighter who took 6th place in a Best of the Best world street-fighting tournament in Japan. Also a 4th degree black belt in aikijujutsu
• Rachel Russo - Received honorable mention as a Florida Student of the Year nominee.
• Ashley Jones - Student Government Senator
• Christian Marlin - Honors Alum; Founding President of the Honors Alumni Chapter, presently General Counsel to Knight Images, an Orlando advertising agency
• Theresa McGovern - will be presenting his research at a National Conference for Undergraduate Research in April 2002
• Sayde Paez (graduated)- 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Amy Palmer - Team Leader; co-host with Rob MacCuspie and Rick Lugo (current Honors student) for the UCF radio show Hard to Follow every Wednesday and Saturday on Knightcast.org
• Phanessa Pappas - O-Team 2002
• Sarika Patel - 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Chris Pennington - chosen as a nominee for the prestigious Truman Scholarship
• Charlie Reuter - performs for the Orlando Opera Company; will be in Barber of Seville
• Julie Ruth - appeared as a guest performer on the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" when she filmed the show in Orlando -- she sang the song "Someone Like You" from the Broadway musical "Jekyll and Hyde" and after that filmed an episode with Rosie and *NSync at Islands of Adventure; This past December, she performed as a featured soloist in the East Room of the White House. In memory of the tragedies of Sept. 11th, she sang on the three-month anniversary (Dec. 11th) for a special open house attended by Senators, Congressmen, and NY police and fire department personnel directly involved with the events of 9-11. In addition to this performance at the White House, she also received a tour of the Capitol from our Congressman John Mica, and at the close of the tour, he was to meet with 4 high-ranking NYPD officers who had just been honored by the President. She sang "God Bless America" on the steps of the Capitol for Congressman Mica and these 4 officers. She said, "It was such an amazing (and emotional) experience!"; She has just been hired by Disney to be Cinderella in the "Cinderella's Surprise Celebration" show performed on the Castle Stage at the Magic Kingdom; She has been very involved in the Theatre Department at UCF, and has had starring roles in several productions, including "Side By Side By Sondheim," "Anything Goes," and "Crazy For You." Currently, she is starring as Meg in "Damn Yankees"; She has sung the National Anthem for numerous professional sports teams, including the Orlando Magic, the Orlando Rays, the Orlando Solar Bears, and the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Stacey Samball - Student Government Senator
• Sandra Schall - UCF Homecoming Queen
• Katrina Schroeder - going up to UF College of Dentistry
• Michael Schwirtz - UCF's first Truman Finalist; landed an internship in D.C.
• Heather Stevens - Team Leader; 2002-2003 Presidents Leadership Council
• Adrian Summers - 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council
• Sean Szumlanski - Marching Knights Drum Major 2000 - 2001
• Kimberly Watts - Team Leader; won 1st place in the Critical Thinking Essay Category for the FCHC 2002 Contest
• Andrea Wesser - running for Student Government Vice President; President of the Lake Claire Council
• Anne-Marie Wolff - running for Student Government Vice President. Recently started the Organization for Future Public Administrators & is serving as President.
• Ashley Zysko - 2002-2003 President's Leadership Council

Founders' Day Scholar Awards for Excellence in Academic Perfomance

• College of Arts & Science - Jesse Bond, Brandy Christman, Tyler Fisher, Joy Griffin, Michael Scwirtz, Arista Sims, & Sarah Walden
• College of Business Administration - Matthew Crawford, Leslie Hall, Deborah Kalapati, Matthew Overberger, Timothy Stahl, & Lauren Thornton.
• College of Education - Alexa Barraclough, Andrea DiBartolomeo, Michelle Lynch, & Olivia Vega.
• College of Engineering and Computer Science - Raul Agrait, Mark Billman, Marshal Blessing, Kevin Burkholder, William Frost, Christopher Hellkamp, Amit Kapadia, Alfred Levy III, Jesse Rome, Richard Russo, James Secretan, Sunil Shukla, & Christopher Subich.
• College of Health & Public Affairs - Nathan Jones & Sarika Pate
• Rosen School of Hospitality Management - Louise Hoy
• Founders' Award for Exceptional Ability & Performance in a Particular Area of Study - Tyler Fisher and Michael Schwirtz
• Honors in the Major Awards for Outstanding Thesis - Jose Soloman - First Place; Clara Rivero - Second Place; Jennifer White - Third Place