{"id":19454,"date":"2020-05-21T16:24:26","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T16:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=19454&post_type=story"},"modified":"2020-06-24T20:20:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T20:20:21","slug":"1on1-then-now","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/1on1-then-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Then and Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

Brandon Aliberti<\/strong>: What was it like\u00a0to attend UCF back when you were in\u00a0school, Papa?<\/p>\n

Gary Wright \u201970<\/strong>: When [then\u00a0Florida Technological University]\u00a0opened, I had just graduated from\u00a0Brevard Junior College. I was working\u00a0third shift at Kennedy Space Center\u00a0as a heavy equipment operator, so I\u00a0could go to school during the daytime.\u00a0They didn’t have night classes then.\u00a0I would get off at 7 a.m. and drive to\u00a0Orlando for an 8 a.m. class. It was\u00a0hard to get classes scheduled back\u00a0to back, so my favorite place to spend\u00a0time was sitting in my car under\u00a0the shade trees outside the library\u00a0because that’s where everyone\u00a0parked.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: With web courses and our\u00a0schedules now, there’s a class time\u00a0like every 10 minutes for me to\u00a0choose from.<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: We obviously didn’t have\u00a0computers back then. I registered\u00a0for classes in person. You’d schedule\u00a0a time to register, stand in line and\u00a0hope your classes were still available\u00a0by the time you got to the front of the\u00a0line. Especially when you were close\u00a0to graduating, and you needed just\u00a0certain classes \u2014 you were always\u00a0sweating blood.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: Did you know immediately that\u00a0you wanted to go to UCF when it\u00a0opened?<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: I played baseball and football in\u00a0high school, and I had an invitation\u00a0to try out as a walk-on for the football\u00a0team for Memphis State [now\u00a0University of Memphis]. If I made the\u00a0team, they were going to give me a full\u00a0scholarship. I was packing my bags\u00a0to ride a bus all the way to Memphis\u00a0when I got a call from the Brevard\u00a0Junior College baseball coach, who\u00a0offered me a baseball scholarship.\u00a0I got to thinking maybe that might\u00a0not be too bad \u2014 I could stay close\u00a0to home, and I planned on getting\u00a0married to your grandma. I played\u00a0baseball for two years and then UCF\u00a0opened up.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: What do you remember about\u00a0your graduation ceremony?<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: It’s been 50 years now, so my\u00a0memories are not as sharp as they\u00a0used to be. I remember it was at the\u00a0Bob Carr Theater [then the Orlando\u00a0Municipal Auditorium]. I was\u00a0thankful I was graduating and getting\u00a0my diploma. When I was working\u00a0third shift that first year during\u00a0school, it was really tough trying to\u00a0balance everything. My grades slid\u00a0that first quarter. To finally graduate\u00a0and make the dean’s list the last six\u00a0quarters \u2014 for me, that was amazing.\u00a0The only way I made it through that\u00a0was with your grandma’s support. I\u00a0hope I’m around long enough to see\u00a0all you grandkids graduate.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: I’m really looking forward to\u00a0reaching that peak of the mountain\u00a0and finally accomplishing my goal of\u00a0earning my degree. When you chose\u00a0to go to UCF, did you have any idea\u00a0you were going to be starting our\u00a0family legacy of UCF graduates?<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: No, I really couldn’t have\u00a0predicted this. Your grandma [Ann Wright \u201984]<\/strong> graduated, and from\u00a0then on it’s been an amazing run\u00a0of watching the college grow and\u00a0seeing our two children, Jeff [\u201996] <\/strong>and Jill [Aliberti \u201992]<\/strong>, graduate.\u00a0They married UCF graduates,\u00a0Matt [Aliberti \u201992] <\/strong>and Natalie [(Malits) \u201902]<\/strong>, and now you’re\u00a0about to graduate. Your sister,\u00a0Brooke, is registered to start as a\u00a0freshman this summer. My three\u00a0other granddaughters have UCF on\u00a0their radar big time. It’s really been\u00a0a blessing that UCF is our family\u00a0school. It’s given us a lot of wonderful\u00a0memories.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: I think about all our tailgates\u00a0and the trips we’ve taken to watch the football team. I’ve only missed one\u00a0home game my entire life. Game days\u00a0are like national holidays for us. What\u00a0are some of your favorite memories?<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: You’ve been going with us to\u00a0football games pretty much as soon\u00a0as you were born. Your mom and dad\u00a0dressed you up as Charlie Brown for\u00a0your first game \u2014 the Halloween game\u00a0in 1998 against Youngstown State. We\u00a0had to cover your ears with everyone\u00a0screaming. Obviously, all the bowl\u00a0wins have been a lot of fun. And J.J. Worton [\u201914]\u2019<\/strong>s catch against Temple\u00a0happened right in front of us. One of\u00a0the most memorable games with you\u00a0was the “Marshall Monsoon” game [in\u00a02011]. [The rain] came straight down in buckets, but we stood there and\u00a0watched that game and hooted and\u00a0hollered and laughed. And waking up\u00a0at 3:30 a.m. to go with you to College\u00a0GameDay<\/em><\/a> on campus, that was a lot\u00a0of fun.<\/p>\n

BA<\/strong>: To be a student during\u00a0the winning streak and the\u00a0championships was amazing. What\u00a0has made it even more special is\u00a0getting to intern in the athletic\u00a0department with the content team.\u00a0They took a chance on me \u2014 I\u00a0came into that with very limited\u00a0experience. I’ve learned so much\u00a0about the inner workings of social\u00a0media, what type of content to\u00a0produce, engagement. It’s one of\u00a0the things I’m most proud of during\u00a0my time as a student, and to get this\u00a0experience while working for a team\u00a0I love \u2014 it doesn’t get better than that.<\/p>\n

UCF is the only school I applied to.\u00a0It was a no-brainer that I wanted to go\u00a0here. I think we’re one of few families\u00a0with three generations of Knights,\u00a0and I feel really lucky to have a family\u00a0like ours who is so passionate about\u00a0UCF. And I have you to thank for that.<\/p>\n

GW<\/strong>: I’m real thankful that you’re my\u00a0grandson.<\/p>\n

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