Personal health experiences — and opportunities UCF has provided through its DirectConnect program — have culminated in academic success, undergraduate research experience and exciting futures for three Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences students.
Zaima Aline, Arlette Morcelo and Nicole Stevens, who all graduate with honors from UCF on May 2, say support from UCF faculty mentors and caring physicians inspired them to follow their dreams to improve healthcare for all.
“These three undergraduate students each have a remarkable story of academic achievement, resilience and scientific curiosity that drove them during their undergraduate careers,” says William Self, who leads undergraduate education at the Burnett School. “They benefited from outstanding faculty mentoring and an integrated student community to help them achieve their goals. We are so proud to support transfer students who help UCF stand for academic excellence while offering opportunities to ensure access in our community.”
Since 2006, UCF has increased opportunities for student success through the DirectConnect program, which guarantees admission to students who complete an associate degree in the Florida College System. More than 8,200 students transfer to UCF through this program each year. As of Fall 2024, the program has awarded 77,900 UCF degrees. DirectConnect students save more than $6,500 in tuition as they work toward their college degree.
Here’s a closer look at the graduating DirectConnect students and aspiring doctors’ stories:
Nicole Stevens
Stevens is the oldest daughter of 10 children in her family. Homeschooled, she finished high school, got married and had three children. She always loved science.
“One day I was thinking about my future and asked, ‘What do I know about myself?’” she says. “And it came to me that the science I loved could be used in medicine to alleviate suffering.”
She was 26 when she enrolled at Valencia College. Two years later, she transferred to UCF and pursued a major in biomedical sciences while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. She volunteered at Nemours Children’s Health, where she was named Volunteer of the Month for being what she calls the “Santa Claus of the ER,” helping children and parents seeking emergency care at the hospital.
At UCF, Stevens has conducted and presented research on improving care for children with asthma, including those whose families don’t have reliable access to internet, through which they could learn more about the condition. Stevens has won numerous UCF research and academic awards, such as the Order of Pegasus — the university’s most prestigious student honor.
In August, she will join the UCF College of Medicine’s Class of 2029. She is considering becoming a pediatrician but is open to other specialties.
“As the oldest daughter, I took care of a lot of boo-boos and I always wanted to learn more about how to do it better,” she says. “As a mother I think I have a unique perspective to see parents and children where they are.”
Her children, who are 7, 10 and 11, accompanied Stevens to the Order of Pegasus celebration. Her husband is a store manager at Publix who says he is thrilled watching her fulfilling her dreams.
“I’m not a traditional student at all,” Stevens says. “But I want people to know they can do it. You just have to take that first step. Pursue your dreams and get the best out of life. I am living proof of the UCF [spirit of] unleashing the possible and reaching for the stars.”
Zaima Aline
Aline’s passion for medical research was sparked by a heartbreaking personal experience. During her senior year of high school, a cousin was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that attacks soft tissue.
“Before then I didn’t really study that much, I mainly played video games,” she says. “Witnessing his diagnosis and treatment made me realize what truly mattered to me and I completely changed the direction of my life.”
Before transferring to UCF, Aline began her studies at Valencia. The COVID-19 pandemic hit while she was at Valencia, and she saw the physical and mental health impacts that social distancing and isolation caused. So she conducted a research project, including a campus-wide survey to document the effects of the disease.
“COVID-19 took away a lot of what I had hoped to experience at Valencia,” she says. “So, when I got to UCF, I made a promise to myself — I wasn’t going to waste a single moment.”Aline immersed herself in opportunities at UCF, diving into research at the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences and quickly discovering a passion for scientific inquiry. Her honors undergraduate thesis explored the role of a protease (enzyme) called prostasin and its effects on angiogenesis — the process by which the body uses chemical signals to trigger the formation of new blood vessels.
Beyond the lab, she co-founded It Takes A Village, a student-led organization dedicated to helping transfer and nontraditional students build a stronger sense of community on campus. Aline also volunteered with Hearts for the Homeless, an initiative that offers health services, such as blood pressure screenings, to individuals receiving care at Orlando’s Christian Service Center.
Her academic and research accomplishments led to two Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. There, she studied the genetic mutations that drive brain cancer and contribute to its resistance against therapies. She says she was inspired by how Mayo physicians balanced cutting-edge research with a deep compassion for their patients.
“What struck me most was that, at Mayo, the patient always came first, before anything else,” she says. “It made me realize that I don’t want to choose between science and people. I want to be the kind of physician-scientist who can do both — [one] who listens, who investigates and who shows up for their patients every step of the way.”
Another Order of Pegasus honoree, Aline will take a gap year after graduation to conduct cancer research at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center before applying to medical school to pursue an M.D./Ph.D.
“Everything I’ve done so far has been building toward this,” she says. “I don’t just want to study cancer — I want to find better ways to treat it. I just hope I can make a difference in my lifetime.”
Arlette Morcelo
Morcelo became fascinated with science, especially genetics, at age 16 after learning she was conceived through IVF. After completing her associate degree at Valencia, she transferred to UCF, where she met Ken Teter, a professor at the Burnett School.
“I didn’t even know what a Ph.D. was,” she says, “But I went into the lab and said, ‘Oh, my God, I love this.’ ”
Morcelo says Teter encouraged her to “go for it,” when it came to scientific discovery and taught her that failure was just a learning experience.
She served on the board of UCF’s Undergraduate Research Council, working with students and faculty to increase research opportunities for students earlier in their college careers. Among her academic and research honors, she became a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, which is a prestigious federal program that prepares students for graduate school. She became a peer mentor to help other students achieve success and served on the executive board of Transfer Knights, which organizes programs for transfer students.
And through it all, she kept researching. In Teter’s lab, Morcelo focused on cholera, a potentially deadly disease caused by drinking contaminated water. The disease affects up to 4 million people a year worldwide. As she advanced in her undergraduate degree — with a major in biomedical sciences and a minor in genomics and bioinformatics — Morcelo says she became fascinated with the brain.
Morcelo leaves UCF as the 2025 Founders’ Day student honoree for the College of Medicine and will do a two-year postbaccalaureate research experience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Next year, she will apply to medical school to become an M.D./Ph.D.
“My aspiration to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. reflects my commitment to merging scientific inquiry with clinical practice,” Morcelo says. “As a future surgeon-scientist, I aim to lead advancements in treating neurovascular malformations through pioneering surgical techniques and gene therapy. This path allows me to innovate treatments that directly enhance patient care and outcomes.”
