UCF in the News

A time-honored tradition at the University of Central Florida had thousands of students rushing into the Reflection Pond for Spirit Splash. Students gathered for a pep rally on Friday in the rainy, stormy weather to splash into one of UCF's most notable landmarks to celebrate the university's homecoming week.

Sharon Park graduated from UCF with her bachelor’s degree in engineering in 2019 and her master’s in material science in 2020, and she’s returning to her alma mater this weekend. Park and 1,700 other alumni are participating in a makeup graduation on Friday after in-person ceremonies got canceled due to COVID last year. WMFE spoke with Park about what the ceremony means to her and to her family, who emigrated from South Korea to Orlando.

A combination of art and nature may be used to protect astronauts as they return to the moon later this decade. Doctoral graduate students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are undertaking the project as part of NASA’s 2021 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge. The space agency chose seven university teams to participate and awarded nearly $1 million to develop solutions to the problem of protecting spacesuits from lunar dust.

Body camera footage from Monday night shows UCF police saving a young man's life by giving him two doses of Narcan. His friends called 911 after they couldn't find a hospital. DISPATCHER: “Tell me exactly what happened sir?” CALLER: “My friend just stopped breathing. I don't know exactly what happened to him. I'm driving right now to UCF. He took an Oxycodone.” UCF police shared the video to help raise awareness about what to do in the event of an overdose. On the body cam video you can hear the officer say: "This thing right here saved his life."

A documentary by a University of Central Florida filmmaker focusing on the contributions of Black-owned breweries in America’s craft beer industry is coming to the Orlando Film Festival. One Pint at a Time follows Black craft brewery owners, who make up less than 1% of the white-dominated billion-dollar industry and customer base, according to the film.

Tourism experts are surprised by how fast Orlando’s theme parks are rebounding from the pandemic’s economic crisis as Universal parks posted another strong financial quarter Thursday. University of Central Florida assistant professor Carissa Baker, who follows theme parks, said she had expected the parks’ attendance and revenues to rebound by 2022 or 2023.

A new study of more than 2,000 undergrads found that nearly half of students can’t identify a single mentor, defined as someone who was not already a friend or family member who was available to give advice on navigating college and planning for after college. Kerry Welch of the University of Central Florida values how his institution provides a broad range of opportunities for students to connect with someone.

This semester, the University of Central Florida launched an online platform for students to connect with their peers during these challenging times for their mental health. The anonymous platform is called “TogetherAll,” allowing students at universities around the world to talk to each other and spot resources.

Having a professor, adviser or other mentor can greatly help in navigating college and launching a career, but many students aren’t seeking out such relationships. Fifty-five percent of students surveyed have had one or more mentors, and about two-thirds of those who have not say they would definitely or maybe like one. Theodorea Regina Berry, vice provost for student learning and academic success and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies, and Kerry Welch, associate vice president for student engagement and leadership development, were quoted prominently within the article.