Hello ladies! My name is Angela Rodriguez and I graduated from Wharton High School in Tampa, Florida. Currently, I am a sophomore at UCF studying Environmental Engineering. That being said, so far my favorite class has been calculus 2 with Dr. Swanson, which I took last spring. It was a tough class, but I really enjoyed it and learned a ton. Dr. Swanson and Dr. Weishampel are my two favorite professors here at UCF. Dr. Swanson is one of the two Calculus professors for the EXCEL students, and he does an amazing job at it. On the other hand, Dr. Weishampel taught Biology and the Environment my first semester at UCF, which further reinforced my decision of becoming an environmental engineer. They are some of the best professor's here at UCF from my experience and they truly care about their students. If you happen to have them as your professors, don't be afraid to talk to them, they are really nice! I was lucky enough to be a mentee last year, and it helped me in ways I never thought possible. Now that I am a mentor, I want to do the same for the incoming freshmen girls as well as add my own experiences and wisdom to GEMS and make this coming year a great experience for our entire group. I have a lovely little dog named Obi, and I enjoy spending my free time playing video games or hanging out with my friends. I never turn down a chance to get some frozen yogurt and I love to watch movies, whether it's at the theater or on Netflix. Words of advice for the GEMS freshman students: To all the new mentees, my best advice for you is to work hard and to take pride in what you are accomplishing. Get to know your fellow EXCEL students, create study groups to help you in those tough classes, and don't be afraid to talk to the professors or approach them during office hours. Getting a degree is no easy task, and you do need to put in a lot of effort and time, but don't forget to have fun every once in a while. There are tons and tons of fun activities here at UCF that will help you deal with the stress of college. The EXCEL and GEMS staff and faculty are a great resource, and we will be here to help you and support you in any way we can.