Hello! My name is Whitney Andersen and I am a sophomore majoring in Industrial Engineering. I lived in Lakeland and graduated from Lakeland Christian School in 2012 and was one of few who chose to come to UCF for school. My favorite class at UCF would be hard to choose because so many of them were fun and informative but I would have to say Calc I because of the classmates and the friendships that were built in that class that have continued even outside of class. My favorite professor was Dr. Pedro Patino because he cared so much about his students. But by far my favorite instructor is John Haussermann because he is so smart and wants his students to succeed. I decided to join the GEMS program mostly because my mentor last year was so wonderful and I wanted to have the opportunity to create relationships with incoming freshman. I am hoping for everyone participating ‐ both mentors and mentees ‐ to give all they can to the program and to just have fun with a lot of the things we do! One major thing I learned this year an would want to share with incoming freshman is do your homework. Even if your professor is not going to collect it ‐ DO IT because it will help you understand all that your professor is teaching. Outside of school I love to read books and listen/sing to music but I also like just hanging out with my friends! I can't wait to meet you all this coming year.