{"id":22650,"date":"2022-03-02T14:29:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=22650&post_type=story"},"modified":"2022-03-09T20:21:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T20:21:21","slug":"not-your-average-students","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/not-your-average-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Your Average Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to following your dreams, it\u2019s never too early or too late\u00a0to accomplish them. Achieving a college degree is the goal of many. It\u00a0paves the way to opportunity, a better future and embraces a growth\u00a0mindset.<\/p>\n

Meet two students who have embraced the adage that learning\u00a0happens at any age. And while they\u2019re decades apart, they share the\u00a0same ambition: completing a degree. One is a future cosmetic surgeon\u00a0who finished high school before she could even get a driver\u2019s license; the\u00a0other is working toward completing her third UCF degree this May and\u00a0is passionate about exploring new subjects.<\/p>\n

Get a glimpse into their lives, their college experiences and what\u00a0comes next.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Jamie Gunera Amador<\/h2>\n

AGE:<\/strong> 15<\/p>\n

MAJOR:<\/strong> Biotechnology<\/a> with a\u00a0minor in biology<\/a><\/p>\n

ANTICIPATED GRADUATION:<\/strong>\u00a02025<\/p>\n

COURSE MODALITY:<\/strong> On\u00a0campus. I like seeing the campus\u00a0\u2014 it\u2019s really pretty. Plus, I prefer\u00a0being in a classroom setting.\u00a0I tend to learn better that way.<\/p>\n

WHY UCF:<\/strong> Growing up, I\u00a0had always heard of UCF \u2014\u00a0especially from teachers who\u00a0were alumni<\/a>. They would talk\u00a0about the university and the\u00a0opportunities available, like the\u00a0different programs, the faculty\u00a0and campus life.<\/p>\n

FAVORITE CLASS AND\u00a0PROFESSOR:<\/strong> Biology with\u00a0(assistant research scientist)\u00a0Melinda Donnelly. She\u2019s a\u00a0great teacher.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S IT LIKE BEING A\u00a0YOUNGER STUDENT?<\/strong>: I\u2019ve been\u00a0taking college classes since eighth\u00a0grade, so I\u2019ve learned to adapt.\u00a0But the pandemic has helped\u00a0me acclimate myself to UCF,\u00a0especially by wearing a mask.\u00a0No one can see how young I am,\u00a0so that really helps.<\/p>\n

FUN FACT:<\/strong> Since first grade,\u00a0I told my older sister that I was\u00a0going to graduate high school\u00a0with her \u2014 she\u2019s three years older\u00a0than me. I started doing high\u00a0school classes in second grade.\u00a0Then I saw my sister start dual\u00a0enrollment. I thought it would be\u00a0fun, so I followed in her footsteps\u00a0and enrolled in classes at Valencia\u00a0College. In May 2020, both my\u00a0sister and I graduated high school,\u00a0and now we\u2019re at UCF together.<\/p>\n

PIECE OF ADVICE:<\/strong> Check out\u00a0campus and RateMyProfessor.com before signing up for\u00a0classes. Also, while education\u00a0is important, there\u2019s more to life\u00a0than just studying. Try to balance\u00a0out your personal life with your\u00a0studies.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT?:<\/strong> Medical school.\u00a0I\u2019ve always wanted to be a doctor.\u00a0And now that I\u2019ve had some\u00a0time to explore the different\u00a0professions, I decided\u00a0on becoming a plastic surgeon.\u00a0I\u2019d also love to stay around the\u00a0area and be close to family.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mary Franke ’12 ’17MBA<\/strong><\/h2>\n

AGE:<\/strong> 75<\/p>\n

MAJOR:<\/strong> Psychology<\/a><\/p>\n

ANTICIPATED GRADUATION:\u00a0<\/strong>May 2022<\/p>\n

COURSE MODALITY:<\/strong> I prefer\u00a0being around the other students\u00a0and faculty. But since the\u00a0pandemic, I\u2019ve been primarily\u00a0taking classes online. And while\u00a0it\u2019s been great, I\u2019m looking\u00a0forward to the day I can go back\u00a0to campus.<\/p>\n

WHY UCF:<\/strong> After completing my\u00a0associate of applied science in\u00a0paralegal studies from Valencia\u00a0College, I wanted to finish my\u00a0bachelor\u2019s degree<\/a> to complement\u00a0my work as a paralegal. Several\u00a0years later, I came back and earned\u00a0my MBA<\/a>. Achieving a master\u2019s\u00a0degree<\/a> was an opportunity to\u00a0prove to myself that I could do it.\u00a0My current program, psychology,\u00a0is something I\u2019ve been interested\u00a0in, and I thought, \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

FAVORITE CLASS AND\u00a0PROFESSOR<\/strong>: Every time I have a\u00a0class, I think it\u2019s my favorite \u2014 so\u00a0I\u2019d say I just really like them all.\u00a0I like learning a little bit about\u00a0everything.<\/p>\n

My favorite professor is\u00a0someone I never had class\u00a0with \u2014 retired Accounting\u00a0Professor Marcye Hampton.\u00a0We just started talking one day,\u00a0and we became friends.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S IT LIKE BEING\u00a0AN OLDER STUDENT?:<\/strong> I like\u00a0interacting with younger\u00a0students \u2014 it keeps me young.\u00a0I enjoy the opportunity to be in\u00a0study groups with students of all\u00a0ages and hear their side of things\u00a0\u2014 why they\u2019re going to school and\u00a0getting a degree in a certain field.\u00a0I\u2019ve met so many people during\u00a0my time here.<\/p>\n

FUN FACT:<\/strong> My family is full\u00a0of Knights. My brother went\u00a0to school when it was Florida\u00a0Technological University. My\u00a0daughter has a master\u2019s degree\u00a0in computer science from UCF<\/a>,\u00a0and her husband is also a UCF\u00a0grad. Hopefully my grandson\u00a0will become a Knight soon, too.<\/p>\n

PIECE OF ADVICE:<\/strong> Appreciate\u00a0what you\u2019re learning. College is\u00a0more than just getting through\u00a0the class to move on to the next\u00a0thing. Enjoy the journey, and\u00a0take the time to grasp what you\u2019re\u00a0taught \u2014 and use it through life.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S NEXT?:<\/strong> I\u2019m already\u00a0plotting my next degree. My\u00a0daughter says to go into the\u00a0computer field, but I\u2019m not sure\u00a0about that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22693,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[324,654,287,1452],"class_list":["post-22650","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-of-business","tag-college-of-medicine","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-ucf-alumni","issues-1575","issues-spring-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Importance of Education for Individuals of All Ages<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Education is a lifelong endeavor, as evidenced by this comparison of two of the oldest and youngest students at the University of Central Florida.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/not-your-average-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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