UCF’s annual Employee Honors Celebration thanked and congratulated more than 350 employees for choosing the university as their professional home and advancing UCF’s impact as the University for the Future.

UCF honored employees for reaching 5, 10, 15, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service; recognized recent retirees; and presented the Florida TaxWatch Productivity Awards for saving or maximizing tax dollars and promoting innovation. UCF also debuted the inaugural Employee Excellence awards, which highlighted A&P, USPS and OPS-non-student employees who made exceptional contributions to the campus community.

“Today we get the opportunity to show you our gratitude and to celebrate the difference you make — every day of the year — at our university, in our community and in the lives of our students and their families,” UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright said during the event. “We are so grateful that each of you chooses UCF as your professional home, and for the impact you have on our community every day.”

Past Founders’ Day ceremonies celebrated the excellence of UCF’s students and faculty. This year, the university included the annual staff employee recognition event — previously known as the Knight Star Awards — to make Founders’ Day a day-long celebration of all who contribute to the institution’s growing excellence. And more than just the employee event offered something new.

For instance, at the afternoon Faculty Honors Celebration, a surprise inaugural Champion of Student Success Award went to Paige Borden ’95MBA ’00EdD, UCF’s chief analytics officer. The honor from the Division of Student Success and Well-Being recognizes a person, team, department or college for exemplary support of faculty and university-wide student success initiatives.

Surprises at the employee event included the unveiling of the winners of the Employee Excellence Awards. More than 100 nominees came from members of the President’s Cabinet, the provost’s leadership team and college deans.

The excellence awards recognized honorees in five categories:

Employee Excellence Awards for Community Well-being

  • Jurnee Luke, victim specialist, UCF Victim Services
  • Ryan Iocco, director of Student Care Services, Division of Student Success and Well-Being

Employee Excellence Awards for Student Success

  • Vanessa Gonzalez, academic advisor II, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
  • Christin Saro, academic advisor III, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, College of Engineering and Computer Science

Employee Excellence Awards for Service Excellence

  • Matt Winstel, lead school certifying official, Department of Military and Veteran Student Success
  • Seth Dwyer, library technical supervisor, UCF Libraries

Employee Excellence Awards for Discovery and Innovation

  • Josh Roney, director of Research Development, Office of Research
  • Sandra Hick, chemical safety officer, Office of Environmental Health and Safety

Employee Excellence Awards for Operational Excellence

  • Jordan Castillo, payroll specialist III, UCF Human Resources
  • Seresa Cruz, budget director III, College of Sciences

Additional 2023 employee honorees include:

TaxWatch Productivity Awards

Administration & Finance

  • Shelly King, Dale Lance, Saul Santiago and Duane Siemen, Department of Utilities and Engineering Services

Adaptive Planning Phase One Project Team

    • Regino Besana, Varsha Das, John Gyory, Sean Simmons and Elena Wilson

Steven Freund, UCF Department of Security

Employee Service Awards

40 Years of Service

  • Jim Ennis
  • Lee Kirkpatrick

35 Years of Service

  • Tamara Jones

30 Years of Service

  • Dore Carter
  • William Harding
  • David Healy
  • Stephon Lewis
  • Peter Mitchell
  • Christine Suleski
  • James Wilkening

25 Years of Service

  • Seresa Cruz
  • Mark Darty
  • Melisa Grzanich
  • Grissel Guzman-David
  • Dawn Herrod
  • Tanya Hicks
  • Sandra Jaggernauth
  • Jacqueline Johnson
  • Suzi Katz
  • Kate Knowles
  • Gloria Martinez Mangual
  • Traci Milbuta
  • Jesus Munoz
  • Ana Petkov
  • Juanita Sembrano
  • James Smith Jr.
  • Derrick Stockdreher
  • Samuel Waters
  • Eric Wayte
  • Valeska Wilson-Cathcart
  • Cathy Woolwine

20 Years of Service

  • Barbara Antonisen
  • Regino Besana
  • Karen Black
  • Gary Cahen
  • Chantel Carter
  • Michael Charles
  • Youndy Cook
  • Mireya Cortes
  • Matthew Cronan
  • Jose Cruz-Morales
  • Page Curry
  • Cynthia Dancel
  • Son Do
  • Karen Du
  • Carol Ann Dykes Logue
  • Paul Edlen
  • Francisco Espaillat
  • Delia Garcia
  • Nancy Gayton
  • Lucia Gorajuria
  • Pauline Heinz Strauss
  • Felipe Hernandez
  • Denise Hiatt
  • Karen Hofmann
  • Martin Malpica
  • David Merrill
  • Donald Merritt
  • Jorge Milanes
  • John Miner
  • Christine Mouton
  • Dorann Mullins
  • Arlene Ollivierre
  • Vivian Ortiz
  • Cheryl Padgett
  • Hetal Patel
  • Scottie Pausal
  • Richard Payne
  • Rosario Pizarro
  • Rebecca Pluguez
  • James Schaus
  • Gladys Serrano
  • Kimberly Snoeblen
  • Dan Stanchina
  • Karen Tinsley-Kim
  • Debra Urban
  • Rebecca Vilsack
  • Vicki Vitale
  • Andre Watts
  • Terry Wheeler
  • Elena Wilson
  • Jennifer Wright

15 Years of Service

  • Matthew Ahearn
  • Josefina Aleman
  • Debra Barnes
  • Carol Bartley
  • Nathalia Bauer
  • Lashanda Brown-Neal
  • Miriam Cabrera
  • Yolanda Carmona
  • Laurie Carroll
  • Mariana Chao
  • Margie Chusmir
  • Katherine Compton
  • Shameika Daye
  • Javier De Jesus Garcia
  • Jessica X. Dong
  • Millicent Downer
  • Jacqueline Dunston
  • Alan Elliot
  • Kelly Fernandez
  • Traci Fisher
  • David Gallucci
  • Doreen Gomez-Ramos
  • Christie Hasegawa
  • Ordella Hawkins
  • Ana Hernandez
  • Maritza Hernandez-Feliciano
  • Lynell Hodge
  • Christopher Holt
  • Andrew Hosler
  • Kevin Hurst
  • Bunnie Jackson
  • Wayne Jackson
  • Katie Korkosz
  • Jason Kuhns
  • Greg Larkin
  • Bethany Larson
  • Rodrigo Lenartowicz
  • Fanny Lopez
  • Felipe Mendez Rivera
  • Jaime Morales
  • Rebecca Morales Magsino
  • Angela Moten
  • Marcia Munroe
  • Molly Myers
  • Niranjanaben Nayee
  • Angela Neri
  • Lisa Newberry
  • Eric Nielsen
  • Holly Oleske
  • Shelly Osborne
  • Michael Palmer
  • Jenny Pan
  • Sheri Pearson
  • Geysha Perez
  • Alicia Pineiro
  • Hector Polit
  • Maria Reina
  • Karen Reinemund
  • Charles Roberts
  • Jacqueline Rodriguez
  • Jerry Ross
  • Eileen Ryan
  • Osvel Sarduy Rodriguez
  • Tracie Saunders
  • Mary Schmidt-Owens
  • Steven Sesit
  • Misty Shepherd
  • Tish Sheppard
  • Aaron Spies
  • Rachel Straney
  • Jorge Talavera
  • Carmen Ternette
  • Jessica Torres
  • Kim Tuorto
  • Pamela Turlington
  • Luke Van Blaricom
  • Maribel Villanueva
  • Lady Virviescas
  • Larry Walker
  • Lauren Waters
  • Joel Witherspoon
  • Suhtling Wong-Vienneau

10 Years of Service

  • Gian-Karlo Alvarez
  • Jim Barnes
  • Brian Becht
  • Philip Bellew
  • Susan Bethel
  • Erin Blackwell
  • Glenda Brown
  • Priscilla Camp
  • Jenna Capp
  • Shafaq Chaudhry
  • Robert Ciullo
  • Melissa Cowan
  • Alex Davila
  • Marta De Corral
  • Karen Dlhosh
  • Philomene Dorlus
  • Debbie Doyle
  • Seth Dwyer
  • Rita Echeverria
  • Brian Ecle
  • Robert Eller
  • Lorie Elrod
  • Jennifer Fetterly
  • Jeanette Galloway
  • Catherine Gholson
  • Megan Giddens
  • Kendra Gilbertson
  • Courtney Gilmartin
  • Cissy Glowth
  • Cesar Gomez
  • Nika Gooding
  • Erin Grainger
  • John Gyory
  • Annie Hackler
  • Megan Haught
  • Stephania Hayes
  • Jonathan Hendricker
  • Wdermis Hernandez Saldana
  • Michael Herring
  • Sandra Hick
  • Kristal Holmes
  • Tiffany Hughes
  • Kate Hurt
  • Ashley Ittersagen
  • Jasmin Johnson
  • Steven Keith
  • Sandor Kelly
  • Patricia Kentish
  • Ariasari Lair
  • Albert Lambright
  • Shane Land
  • Amanda Leite
  • Ann Leonard
  • Amanda Lindsay
  • Stacy Little
  • Philip Magyar
  • Bill Marani
  • Stan Marko
  • Chris Martineau
  • Scott Mauro
  • Errol McIntosh
  • Allison McKee
  • Shawn McKinney
  • Melanie Meisner
  • Deidre Miles
  • Jennifer Millikan
  • Sara Monroe
  • Carey Ann Morales
  • Sean Mulligan
  • Cyndia Muniz
  • Elizabeth Nemec
  • Douglas Nevel
  • Jodie Nichols
  • Jamie Owen
  • Robinson Pamplona
  • Nita Patel
  • Ginny Pellam
  • Wendy Perez
  • Debbie Pope
  • Rafael E. M. Pratts
  • Kelli Prebyl-Gatzey
  • Joey Raditch
  • Sandra Rivera
  • Ally Rodriguez
  • Marcial Romero
  • Joshua Roney
  • Josefina Rosario
  • Mercedes Salcedo-Gonzalez
  • Ricardo Scuotto
  • Scott Sedlak
  • Daniel Sierra
  • Andrea Smith-Brown
  • Felecia Sookhoo
  • Maricel Soto
  • Fabiana Staton
  • Laura Stephenson
  • Brandon Stull
  • Ricardo Suarez
  • Simone Teel
  • Chris Tellez
  • Joseph Thalheimer
  • Christopher Thompson
  • April Torre
  • Andres Torres
  • Chanda Torres
  • Darryl Tucker
  • Erin Turner
  • Jonathan Villadolid
  • Eddie Villarrubia
  • Lance Watkins
  • Michael Weiss
  • Alaina West
  • Kyler Wilson
  • Robert Wynn
  • Ka Yam

5 Years of Service

  • April Abreu
  • Gordon Adams
  • Theresa Alaniz
  • Jessica Alves
  • Tiffany Ambrose
  • Doris Arlotta
  • Mikala Armioia
  • Shannon Ashworth
  • Pamela Barkman
  • Maria Barreto
  • Bianca Becker
  • Gillian Bernal
  • Colleen Bickenbach
  • Edward Blatzheim, III
  • Francesca Botteri
  • Courtney Bowles
  • Jay Brethouwer
  • Catherine Brown
  • Eric Bryant
  • Bridgett Burk
  • Jimmy Burlison
  • Nikitta Campbell
  • Debbie Capone
  • Monique Carter
  • Dawn Castro
  • Sary Chardon Micheli
  • David Claus
  • Carmen Colon
  • Barbara Dahlstrom
  • Carol Davella
  • Amanda Dever
  • Ryan Dickerson
  • Sean Donovan
  • Jessica Dorfman
  • Paulina Dovali
  • Michelle DuCharme
  • Rene Dunoyer
  • Khue Duong-Rymer
  • Raymond Eccleston
  • Daniel Eilen
  • Suzanne Ekelund
  • Bonnie Esparza
  • Sarah Evans
  • Jennifer Fazal
  • Melvin Felton
  • Eva Fernandez
  • John Flannigan
  • Adrienne Frame
  • Kyle Fuchs
  • Tamiko Fukuda
  • Victor Gaytan
  • Jamie Giller
  • Jose Gomez
  • George Gonzalez
  • Leticia Gonzalez
  • Vanessa Gonzalez
  • Ashley Gonzalez Montanez
  • Stephanie Gravell
  • Andrew Green
  • Carla Gripp
  • Christina Grosso
  • Ashley Guritza
  • Efraín Guzman-Carreras
  • Billy Hand
  • Shannon Harmon
  • Christopher Harris
  • Lori Heinis
  • Kathleen Herring
  • Lyndsey Holland
  • Randy Huckaba
  • Nagy Ibrahim
  • Alexia Ikpe
  • Luevenia Jackson
  • Drexler James
  • Wen Jiang
  • Kelsie Johnson
  • Jonathan Jones
  • ToCarra Jordan
  • Laurie Kemper
  • Joel Kennedy
  • Erick Kepfer
  • Marsha Kernica
  • Diana Kerrison
  • Daniel Kidder
  • Wayneeta King
  • Kerry Knapp
  • Elena Kovkin Chidester
  • Jasmine Koyapathodi
  • Benjamin Kreiter
  • Rebecca Kuerbitz
  • Avra Kundu
  • Thomas Lancione
  • Stephanie Layton
  • Thierry Lechler
  • Tedra Lyte
  • Tameria Mace
  • Jawahar Madineni
  • James Makowski
  • Marie Malazarte
  • David Maldonado
  • Samantha Mason
  • Zachary McCarty
  • Jayson McCluskey
  • Cora McCormack
  • Jennifer McKay
  • Erika Menna
  • Naomi Michelin
  • Carlo Milanese
  • Grant Mohi
  • Brittany Moore
  • Darlenny Mora
  • Mary Moss
  • Christopher Nault
  • Diana Negron Reyes
  • Douglas Osborne
  • Saima Owens
  • Kaushal Patel
  • Alexandra Patteson
  • Margaret Payne
  • Monica Pollard
  • Garrett Preisser
  • Taylor Puentes
  • Andrew Quigley
  • Amanda Ramos
  • Ashli Ransome
  • Ian Rea
  • Felix Rivera
  • Robert Rivera
  • Alexandra Rizzo
  • Daniel Roberts
  • Elfido Rodriguez
  • Abigail Ruoss
  • Lisa Ruscigno
  • Aida Santana
  • Johanny Santana
  • Maria Saucedo
  • Theresa Scipione
  • Michael Setzer
  • Asha Sharma
  • James Shepard
  • Marcus Silver
  • James Smith
  • Kenneth Smith
  • John Sparkman
  • Cheyenne St. Julian
  • David Stoneburner
  • Mihaela Tamasan
  • Alfonso Tejeira
  • Cynthia Teti
  • Amber Thorne
  • Maya Tolentino
  • Katherine Torres
  • Thuong Tran-Thuong
  • Suzette Turner
  • Edwin Vargas
  • Hiroko Vargas
  • Kate Verret
  • Mykhael Walker
  • Shirley Wang
  • Derek Warden
  • Terrell Wells
  • Tasha Williams
  • Eric Williamson
  • Malvin Williams-Tyson
  • Michael Wray-Facey

Recognition of Retirees

  • Maureen Abou Waked
  • Peggy Allen
  • Raymond Anadio
  • Billy Anderson
  • Sherry Andrews
  • Evelyne Azer
  • Tracy Balkham
  • Connie Bristow
  • Eulalia Brown
  • Richard Caldwell
  • Teal Campbell
  • Betty Carol
  • Ida Cerezo
  • Gordon Chavis
  • James Clarke
  • Laura Cleaver
  • Kelly Cody
  • Robin Collins
  • Donald Colvin
  • Eliseo Cromartie
  • Pauline Davis
  • Anthony Fannin
  • Celeste Ferguson
  • Anthony Flores
  • Arlene Flores
  • Alan Frantz
  • Edward Freeman
  • Sheryl Gamble
  • Mike Hakemian
  • Julian Hale
  • Ronald Hitchcock
  • Debbie Holcombe
  • Alan Holtz
  • Earnestine Jackson
  • Margaret Jarrell-Cole
  • Eileen Kelly
  • Cheryll Kinlaw
  • Susan Laden
  • Erik Lashinsky
  • Gerri Leviston
  • Cathy Lewis
  • Gregory Lof
  • Kim Maclennan
  • Duilio Mariola
  • Donald Mcelvain
  • Vickie McLeod
  • Lillian McMahon
  • Laura Mendoza
  • Douglas Meuser
  • Kathy Mitchell
  • Christine Mucha
  • Dao Nguyen
  • Orlando Paniza
  • Robert Parker
  • Mary Perdomo
  • Hector Petrolo
  • Patricia Ramsey
  • Mildred Rios
  • Linda Perez-Rodriguez
  • Mark Romans
  • Lisa Roney
  • Edgar Sanclemente Rodriguez
  • Margarita Santiago
  • Faith Schafer-Moody
  • Jennifer Shambrook
  • Sandy Smith
  • Sue Sorensen
  • Liz Stalvey
  • Judith Stout
  • Christopher Takach
  • Brenda Thompson
  • Barbara Thompson
  • Joanna Thompson
  • Abigail Troche
  • Fran Uddo
  • Zaida Valentin
  • Manuel Velez
  • Brad Waldo
  • Eric Walton
  • Kay West
  • Ami Zuclich