Gems

Hi everyone! My name is Alyssa Ryan, and I am majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a Health Science minor. This will be my third year at UCF. In 2022, I graduated from Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa, Florida. My favorite class that I have taken so far is Anatomy, specifically the Lab section.…

Hello, my name is Samantha Signorella (but you can call me Sam), and I am a Civil Engineering Major. This is my second year at UCF. I am originally from Naperville, Illinois (which is roughly 40 minutes west of Chicago), and I graduated from Naperville Central High School in May of 2023. One of my…

My name is Teagan Steagall and I am a Mechanical Engineering Major, and I’m in my second year at UCF. In 2023, I graduated from both Gibbs High School and St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. While my true favorite college class I’ve taken wasn’t here at UCF, my favorite class I’ve taken here…

Hello! My name is Paola Munkel, I am a third-year Biomedical Sciences major minoring in Medical Sociology and this is my second year mentoring. In 2022, I graduated from Jose Marti Mast 6-12 Academy in Hialeah, Florida. One of my favorite classes at UCF is Biology with Professor Thomas. She is a truly knowledgeable professor…

My name is Cameron Hojecki, and I am a Biomedical Sciences major with a Medical Sociology minor. This will be my fourth year at UCF. I graduated from Montville Township High School in Montville, New Jersey in 2021. My favorite class at UCF that I’ve taken is Medical Sociology. I think the material is fascinating…

Hi all! My name is Kay, and I am the GEMS lead mentor for this year! This will be my fifth year at UCF, and I am majoring in Industrial Engineering with minors in Computer Science and Mathematics. I graduated from P.K. Yonge in Gainesville Florida in 2020, however I have lived in Kansas, Ohio,…

Hi! My name is Catalina Caramaschi Ratto and I am a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering at UCF. I am from the South Florida area and graduated from College Academy at Broward College in Davie, Florida. My favorite class so far has been Intro to C Programming with Professor Leinecker because we did a lot…

My name is Bree Donley, and I’m a Forensic Science major and Chemistry minor. This will be my fourth year at UCF. I graduated from Western High School in 2018 in Davie, FL. One of my favorite classes at UCF is Forensic Microscopy because we got to analyze things like hairs and fibers under a…

My name is Gabriela Gagno, and I am a Biomedical Sciences major with a Medical Sociology minor. This will be my fourth year at UCF and my second year as a GEMS Mentor. I graduated from Jupiter High School in Jupiter, Florida in 2018. My favorite class at UCF was Microbiology Lab. I found myself…

My name is Tati Gary. I am majoring in Aerospace Engineering and am a sophomore at UCF. I graduated from Sunlake High School which is in Land O Lakes, FL in 2020. One of my favorite classes at UCF is Calculus II. I like it because while calculus may be confusing or convoluted at first,…

Hey everyone, my name is Rhondra. I am a junior majoring in Material Sciences and Engineering. Originally from Miramar, FL, I came to UCF after graduating from Miramar High School. Within my two years here, my favorite class by far would be STA 2023, Statistics, with Daniel Ingram. I would say that Professor Ingram has…

My name is Bailey Glidden, and I am a Civil Engineering major.  This will be my second year at UCF. In 2020, I graduated from Fleming Island High School near Jacksonville. My favorite classes so far at UCF are my engineering lab or my survey of rock class. I love my lab because I love…

My name is Brittney Gray and I am a fifth year UCF student and a fourth year GEMS mentor. I am a forensic science major with a focus on the biochemistry track, and I am also working to obtain a certificate in crime scene investigation. I went to Middleton high school in Tampa, Florida. One…

My name is Anastasia Green, and I am an Aerospace Engineering major. This will be my third year at UCF. In 2019 I finished my high school career in a homeschool program through FLVS. So far some of my favorite classes have been Engineering Methods and Concepts. This is a course that is required for…

My name is Lacy Hayes, and I am a sophomore majoring in Computer Science. I graduated in 2020 from Gulf Breeze High School in Gulf Breeze, Florida. A fun fact about me is that I graduated high school in three years by taking additional courses through the Florida Virtual School. One of my favorite classes…

Hello! I’m Kayla, and I am a sophomore majoring in Industrial Engineering and minoring in Mathematics and Computer Science. I was born in Kansas, spent many years in Illinois, and graduated from P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Florida. My favorite classes this year have been Intro to Programming in C (Dr. Szumlanski) and…

Hello! My name is Trinity Johnson. I’m a second-year forensic science student at UCF pursuing a minor in chemistry and certificates in crime scene investigation and professional writing. In 2020, I graduated from Circle Christian School in Winter Park, Florida, and I’ve lived in the UCF area my whole life. So far, my favorite course…

Hi! My name is Amber Lett, and I am a Computer Engineering major and Electrical Engineering minor. This will be my second year at UCF. In 2020, I graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School. One of my favorite classes at the university was LEAD Scholars 2001. In order to take this course, you have…

My name is Emma Macedo, and I am a second year Biology major at UCF. I graduated from Leon High School in my hometown Tallahassee, Florida in 2020. So far, my favorite class has been Intro to Humanities, which I took during my first semester. I went in with virtually no understanding of what the…

My name is Jamie Mihelich. I am a sophomore in an Aerospace Engineering Major here at UCF. I graduated high school all the way in Colorado Springs, Colorado at Coronado Highschool in 2020. My favorite class has actually been the Intro to Engineering course we are mandated to take. It’s not particularly difficult, but it’s…