{"id":150198,"date":"2025-12-08T09:36:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T14:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=150198"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:09:16","slug":"first-generation-ucf-grad-leverages-ai-to-boost-nonprofits-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/first-generation-ucf-grad-leverages-ai-to-boost-nonprofits-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Generation UCF Grad Leverages AI to Boost Nonprofits\u2019 Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was once a time when Ketty Dones \u201923 <\/strong>believed college was an unattainable reality.<\/p>\n

Today, the 24-year-old is on the cusp of earning two graduate degrees simultaneously, having elevated UCF\u2019s reputation as a community and society changemaker along the way with the AI for Nonprofits course she helped develop. These milestones aren\u2019t just personal. They\u2019re also serving her biggest passion: helping others.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the thing about opportunity. Sometimes all you need is a chance, a dash of inspiration and someone who believes in you.<\/p>\n

Charting Her Own Path<\/h2>\n

Dones, who was born in Cuba, was just 2 years old when her family immigrated to Miami. Growing up, she viewed attending college as a somewhat unattainable goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember discussions with my parents where they would say that college is for the wealthy, or that we’d cross that bridge when we get there,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn’t have anyone to rely on for mentorship because my parents didn’t know anyone that had been to college before, and all of our family was in Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n

In high school, she joined the International Baccalaureate program and learned about financial aid opportunities such as Bright Futures scholarships. A teacher encouraged her to seek out more scholarship opportunities from Miami-based nonprofits and foundations. That\u2019s when she realized college was<\/em> within her reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018If everyone around me is doing this, what’s stopping me?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Dones connected with the Key Biscayne Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps students achieve their educational goals like the ones of her own. With assistance from the foundation and other nonprofits, Dones ended up receiving $20,000 in scholarships to attend UCF.<\/p>\n

The support not only sparked her academic career; it also inspired a calling to give back to others.<\/p>\n

She pulled up others with her along the way as an undergrad, serving as a mentor for local high school students and impressed upon them the importance of internships. She realized how much she loved positively impacting them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when her own mentor, Josefina Rosario \u2014 assistant director for access and student support at UCF\u2019s Ginsburg Center for Inclusion and Community Engagement<\/a> \u2014 suggested enrolling in the public administration and nonprofit management dual-degree<\/a> graduate program next. It was a decision that would further fuel her passion for helping others.<\/p>\n

Through the program, housed in UCF\u2019s College of Community Innovation and Education<\/a>, Dones has engaged in real-world experiences that simulate what it\u2019s like to work in the nonprofit and public sectors. Through service-learning, she evaluated and helped develop a strategic fundraising plan for a local nonprofit. She\u2019s also created budgets for the City of Orlando and analyzed how both the city and Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office use social media. She attended her first professional conference.<\/p>\n

Perhaps some of the most invaluable experience she has gained involves the industry\u2019s intersection with artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n