Gems

Hi there! My name is Maren Tomcsak and I am a junior here at the University of Central Florida. I am majoring in forensic science and minoring in chemistry. I graduated from Olympia High School, which is only about 40 minutes away from UCF. As of right now, my favorite class at UCF has been…

My name is Maggie LaFratta and I'm a biomedical sciences major. I am currently a sophomore at UCF, and I graduated from Niceville High School. I really wanted to get involved with the GEMS program because I benefited a lot from having a mentor over my first year of college, and I'm hopeful that I'll…

Hello! My name is Madeline Sinclair, and I'm a sophomore at UCF studying Industrial Engineering. I attended Chiles High School in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated in 2015. My favorite class in college so far was Calculus with Analytic Geometry II, taught by Professor Lori Dunlop‐Pyle. Although the class was hard, studying the material made a…

Hello! My name is Lavine Von and I'm a sophomore currently majoring in Computer Engineering. I consider myself a bit of a jack‐of‐all trades, master of none. I graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 2015 with AP and Honors. While I was in high school, I was the co‐captain for percussion, and the orchestra…

Hello everyone! My name is Kristin Synnott and I am so excited to be your mentor this upcoming year! I'm an Industrial Engineering major, soon to (hopefully) have a minor in Spanish as well! One of my goals for this upcoming year is to get an internship with a company such as Lockheed Martin or…

My name is Krizia Santiago and I am a Sophomore majoring in Computer Science. I graduated from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida. Fun Fact: I am a Diploma recipient of the International Baccalaureate Program. One of my favorite classes that I have taken so far would have to be Intro to C Programming…

My name is Kelsey Arthur and I'm a senior double majoring in Mathematics and Statistics. My favorite class at UCF so far has been Numerical Calculus, a statistics class where you take concepts you learned from Calc 1 and incorporate them into computer programs in C. One of my favorite professors I've had has been…

Hello! My name is Keira Medina, but many people call me Kiki instead. I am majoring in Civil Engineering and will be going into my second year here at UCF. In 2015 I graduated from Sebring High School, which is in a very small town south of Orlando called Sebring. One of my favorite classes…

Hello! My name is Kayla Bitner and I am a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. I graduated from Rockledge High School in Rockledge, Florida in 2014. My favorite class taken at UCF was statics. The professor was great and always kept the class engaged in group discussions. He made tons of jokes which lightened the…

My name is Kati Ward and I am a senior, majoring in Forensic Science. I aspire to become a forensic serologist. I graduated from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida in 2013. One of my favorite classes at UCF has been Introduction to Forensic Science because the class had guest speakers from many different…

Hi guys! My name is Katelan Yap, and I am a senior majoring in Biomedical Sciences. I graduated from Bishop Moore High School that's in the great city of Orlando, Florida, in 2013. I've lived in the Orlando area for about 12 years now, so know of all the fun places to go and see…

My name is Jenna Thomas and I am a Biomedical Sciences major. This will be my second year at UCF (it goes by so fast.) In 2015, I graduated from University High School in Orange City, Florida. So far my favorite class has been Biology, which was taught by Dr. Thomas. The chapter about genetics…

Hi everyone! My name is Jillian Hersh and I am a biology major. This year, I will be a sophomore at UCF. In 2015, I graduated from Park Vista Community High School‐a high school in Lake Worth, Florida. My favorite class, thus far, has definitely been Biology 1. As an aspiring veterinarian, I find learning…

Hi mentee! My name is Jasmine Lopez and I am a fourth year undergraduate majoring in Biomedical Sciences. In 2013, I graduated from University High School, which is actually only a mere few minutes away from UCF so I luckily didn't have to travel very far. My favorite class thus far at UCF was General…

My name is Emily Lyn and I am a Mechanical Engineering major. I am in my sophomore year here at UCF. I graduated in 2015 from Olympic Heights Community High School located in Boca Raton, Florida. My favorite class that I have taken so far here at UCF is Introduction to Engineering. The class is…

My name is Emily Hopman and I am a Senior majoring in Biomedical Sciences and minoring in Dance. I graduated from Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School in Merritt Island, Florida in 2013. My favorite class so far in college was Quantitative Biological Methods because I got to see how to apply everything I have been learning…

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Warner (you can call me Eliza) and I am a sophomore at UCF studying Industrial Engineering. I graduated from University High School in Orlando FL, which is actually right down the street from UCF! So far, my favorite classes at UCF have been the intro to engineering classes, because I…

Hi I am Elizabeth Nogues, I am a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering. In 2015 I graduated from Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami. My favorite class so far has been part 2 of intro to engineering the reason it has been my favorite is because at the end we got to build a boat…

My name is Chelsea Malone, and I am a Biomedical Sciences major. This will be my fourth year at UCF. In 2013, I graduated as valedictorian from Summerlin Military Academy, located in Bartow, Florida. One of my favorite classes at UCF has been the lab component of Microbiology. Without the pressure of daily quizzes and…

Hi Mentees! My name is Angelica Perez and I am a sophomore here at UCF as a Biomedical Sciences major. I graduated Top 20 from Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida in 2015. One of my favorite classes at UCF was Theatre Survey with Professor John Shafer. I enjoyed this class because the class…