{"id":155561,"date":"2026-09-28T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=155561"},"modified":"2026-09-24T21:20:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T01:20:40","slug":"award-winning-advisor-shaping-ucfs-brightest-engineering-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/award-winning-advisor-shaping-ucfs-brightest-engineering-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Award-Winning Advisor Shaping UCF\u2019s Brightest Engineering Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr>\n<p>Engineering students are constantly told that grueling workloads, sleepless nights and brutal exams will eventually pay off with lucrative careers. But <strong>Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM<\/strong> wants them to know something far more important: they are not alone.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI\u2019m providing evidence that somebody cares. That\u2019s important to students \u2014 knowing that somebody is listening.\u201d \u2014 <strong>Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM<\/strong>, CECS special instructor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m providing evidence that somebody cares,\u201d says Ferrante, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/engineering-management-ms\/\">engineering management<\/a> graduate and a special instructor in UCF\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/engineering-computer-science\/\">College of Engineering and Computer Science<\/a> (CECS) who has championed student success for over 50 years. \u201cThat\u2019s important to students \u2014 knowing that somebody is listening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His peers at the Florida Engineering Society have tuned in as well, naming Ferrante their 2026 Engineering Faculty Member of the Year. The recognition came as a surprise to Ferrante, who does not teach full-time. Instead, he wears many other hats, all displaying an unwavering devotion to expanding engineering opportunities<br>\nat UCF.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen a student comes back to me years later and says, \u2018Hey, I got my Ph.D., I am working where I want to work and I\u2019m enjoying life,\u2019 that\u2019s what matters,\u201d Ferrante says. \u201cI may have given them advice and steered them in the right direction, but they did the heavy lifting. They earned the grades and they put in the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155567\" style=\"max-width: 1200px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"642\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155567 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1.jpg\" alt=\"Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCF&apos;s-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-748x400.jpg 748w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-360x193.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"642\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155567 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20642%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCF&apos;s-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20642%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-748x400.jpg 748w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1-360x193.jpg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/Michael-Ferrante_Members-of-UCFs-student-chapter-of-the-Florida-Engineering-Society-1.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">College of Engineering and Computer Science Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM (second from right) with members of UCF&#8217;s student chapter of the Florida Engineering Society. (Photo courtesy of <strong>Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM<\/strong>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Tau Beta Pi Is In His DNA<\/h2>\n<p>Ferrante&#8217;s legacy began in the 1970s when he helped record UCF courses on Betamax tape for traveling engineers. Since then, he has been deeply embedded in campus engineering organizations. He is the chief advisor for Tau Beta Pi \u2014 the National Engineering Honor Society \u2014 and has served on numerous leadership committees, including the CECS Alumni Council, the Engineering Leadership and Innovation Institute (eli2) and the UCF student chapter of the Florida Engineering Society.<\/p>\n<p>When he is not running between the engineering buildings, Ferrante is networking on behalf of students at national conferences, securing scholarships and bringing industry leaders to campus for recruitment events.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing I\u2019m most proud of involves Tau Beta Pi,\u201d Ferrante says. \u201cThese students are the cream of the crop. When I began advising the UCF chapter 12 years ago, we had just three students. Today, our chapter has grown to more than 100 students and we regularly initiate dozens of new members each semester.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Until Ferrante secured approval at a Tau Beta Pi national convention several years ago, computer science majors at UCF were ineligible to join the prestigious engineering honor society. Today, UCF stands as one of only an elite number of colleges nationwide permitted to induct computer science students into the organization.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMr. Ferrante is the kind of person who is always around and has his hands in everything. Nothing is too much for him. He\u2019ll make the time for it.\u201d \u2014 Julia Moras, computer science student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/computer-science-bs\/\">Computer science<\/a> major Julia Moras is one of those select members. Since being initiated during her first year, Moras has spent the past two years leading the UCF chapter as its president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Ferrante is the kind of person who is always around and has his hands in everything,\u201d says Moras, who has taken on the role of student advisor for the UCF chapter. \u201cNothing is too much for him. He\u2019ll make the time for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next year, the Florida Delta chapter of Tau Beta Pi will celebrate its 50th anniversary at UCF. As the chapter prepares to host the District 5 conference for the third time, Ferrante will be busy organizing the landmark event. The numerous chapter awards lining his office walls stand as a testament to his impact \u2014 even if he is quick to deflect credit by insisting he is &#8220;just the advisor.&#8221; Yet, his influence extends far beyond the campus borders.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside four decades of service to the Naval Air Warfare Center, where he worked on simulation and live system development projects, Ferrante served as a weapons expert and test sniper for the U.S. Army\u2019s small arms development program. He also was vice president of a local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees, volunteered for 40 years as a reserve captain with the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office and currently sits on the Zoning and Planning Board for the City of Winter Springs.<\/p>\n<h2>No Slowing Down<\/h2>\n<p>His wife and fellow UCF graduate, <strong>Pamela Ferrante &#8217;85 MEd\u201995 EdS \u201900<\/strong>, insists that retirement is out of the question. Even at 73, slowing down is simply not an option for her husband, a past recipient of the CECS Alumni Night Leadership and Service Award.<\/p>\n<p>As a student advisor, Ferrante believes his job is to show up, listen and help. Sometimes that mentorship means writing letters of recommendation for scholarships or graduate schools, introducing students to prospective employers or providing them with advice. He and his wife also donate food, clothing and supplies to the UCF Knights Pantry, which provides for students\u2019 immediate needs.<\/p>\n<p>There is no telling how deep Ferrante\u2019s campus footprint will grow. With his recent &nbsp;appointment to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/college\/community-innovation-education\/\">College of Community Innovation and Education<\/a> as courtesy professor of practice for engineering integration, Ferrante intends to leverage his five decades of engineering expertise to foster new strategic partnerships and collaborative initiatives across the university and beyond.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWhat really makes me feel good is when students make the effort and get the job of their dreams. All I do is try to direct them.\u201d \u2014 <strong>Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM<\/strong>, CECS special instructor<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cMike has an extraordinary gift for making people feel supported,\u201d says CCIE Interim Dean and Professor <strong>Ross Wolf \u201988 \u201991MPA \u201998EdD<\/strong>, who volunteered with Ferrante in the Orange County Sheriff\u2019s Office. \u201cOver three decades, I watched him dedicate countless hours to mentoring and encouraging others. Whether in law enforcement, engineering or community service, Mike\u2019s true passion has always been helping people reach their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One thing is for sure. Ferrante\u2019s goal remains the same: to pay forward the education and opportunities that UCF provided him and his four children \u2014 <strong>Matthew \u201916<\/strong>, <strong>Aimee \u201917<\/strong>, <strong>Deanna \u201917 <\/strong>and <strong>Jennifer \u201919<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat really makes me feel good is when students make the effort and get the job of their dreams,\u201d Ferrante says. \u201cAll I do is try to direct them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After decades of supporting student success at UCF, College of Engineering and Computer Science special instructor and alum <strong>Michael Ferrante \u201915MSEM\u00a0<\/strong>is recognized as Florida Engineering Society&#8217;s 2026 Engineering Faculty Member of the Year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":155563,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,5,27],"tags":[17177,973,18102,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-155561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-colleges","category-student-life","tag-college-of-community-innovation-and-education","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-student-success","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Award-Winning Advisor Shaping UCF\u2019s Brightest Engineering Minds | University of Central Florida News<\/title>\n<meta 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