Hi my name is Anabelle Manriquez‐Mendoza and my current major is Civil Engineering. I will be a junior this 2017‐2018 school year. I graduated from Tampa Bay Technical High School within the Architecture program. One of my favorite classes I took at UCF was, shockingly, American History. I have never been a huge fan of history but when I took this class with Professor MacDonald she made the class interesting. She was the sweetest and kindest professor I have ever had at UCF. We would watch videos throughout the whole lecture and would explain things straight to the point. Another one of my favorite professors was Professor Pyle, I had her for Pre‐Calculus and Calculus I. She explains step‐by‐step for every problem to make sure the class understood and would write down all the things she said was important for tests. I am glad I joined the GEMS program and will be a mentor. The GEMS program really reaches out to STEM girls to get involved with the campus, to network and gain knowledge of the variety of STEM careers. I hope all the girls in GEMS get to know each other and gain friendship because you will be with these people for the upcoming four years. We can all succeed and support each other throughout your UCF experience. But with the entire UCF campus, go out and meet new people, you'll be surprise with the number of close friendships you will make along the way that will support you. Last but not least, always keep in mind: school comes first!