My name is William Castillo and I’m an Aerospace Engineering major. This will be my second year attending UCF. I graduated from Celebration High School located in Celebration, Florida. Currently my favorite class happens to be Calculus II, which is in large part due to my favorite professor teaching the class, Professor Reed. Despite having gone through rough period of personal matters, Professor Reed has been highly encouraging and supportive with assignments and exams. Also, her teaching style and ability to break down complex topics have played a major part in helping understand the content. Additionally, I really appreciate what’s included in the GEMS program such as the down-to-earth mentor, conveniently small sized group of similar majored students, and fun social events. Going forward, I expect this program to continue to grow and prosper by spreading positivity, sharing struggles, developing success in STEM courses, building lasting friendships, and creating meaningful experiences. A few words of wisdom for incoming students joining the program are to have an open mind and enjoy your time in the program because tuition isn’t just for the courses, it’s also for the entire college experience. During my free time I play volleyball with my friends in the men’s indoor volleyball club, hop on discord after a long day with my friends to play some games, and also hang out with my friends.