My name is Gabriela and I'm a Biology and Biomedical Sciences major. I graduated from West Orange High School. This is my junior year at UCF. My favorite class thus far at UCF has been Calculus, granted it also was my most challenging but that is why I enjoyed it so much; the course put my brain to the test and thankfully all the hard work paid off (I got an A in the course!). My favorite professor was Dr. Tatulian, my Physics professor. Not only did I enjoy his class and his teaching style, I was also able to do undergraduate research in his lab and learn so much more than what I could've learn in a classroom setting. I decided to get involved in the GEMS because I recognized the impact GEMS had in my own life, especially in my first year at UCF. My GEMS mentor aided me in developing good study habits and provided me with helpful hints for doing well in my STEM major. This year, as a mentor, I expect to pass that advice on and through my experiences assist my mentees to best of my capability as they embark on this exciting journey through a STEM major. I hope that through out various gatherings, my mentees will get to know one another as well as mentees from other groups and build lasting friendships through their common interest in STEM. Some advice I would give to the incoming EXCEL freshmen this year would be to get to know the STEM community around campus, that includes going to your professor's office hours, joining clubs, and doing research, because the more involved you are, the more opportunities you will have to learn valuable lessons in STEM. Finally, a little bit about myself, I enjoy cooking and baking and I am also a huge music fanatic, I love any kind of music, from Kendrick Lamar to Frank Sinatra to Bon Iver to Ramones to The Kingston Trio and everything in between; so I spend a lot of my free time going to different concerts and looking into different bands.