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, and Illinois! My favorite classes that I have taken are Systems Simulation and Introduction to Discrete Structures. These courses allowed me to truly visualize what my future profession could be. By far, my favorite professor is Dr. Phil within the Industrial Engineering department. He is one of the most caring professors out there, and has a great sense of humor!

This will be my second year as the lead mentor, however I have been involved with GEMS since my freshman year. As lead mentor, my goal is to be a friendly face to all mentors and mentees! Always feel free to stop by my office to chat or ask advice. My best advice for freshman is to start preparing early. It is never too early to go to office hours or tutoring, that way when hard concepts come up, you already have a built relationship.

Outside of mentoring, I LOVE theme parks, so much so that I interned with Disney Industrial Engineering in Spring 2023 and Summer 2024. I also enjoy listening to Billy Joel, cooking, and playing dungeons and dragons with friends.