UCF’s extraordinary students honored on Wednesday for Founders’ Day have unleashed their potential and excelled in colleges and disciplines across the university.

Among the undergraduate and graduate students are groundbreaking national and global scholarship winners, researchers, athletes, teaching assistants, residence assistants and leaders in campus organizations such as Student Government, LEAD Scholars and the President’s Leadership Council.

The honorees include students in the Burnett Honors College, transfer students, and those from first-generation and international backgrounds.

Aside from focusing on academics and campus causes, many of the student honorees volunteered at hospitals, food banks, schools, parks, shelters, clinics, youth clubs and with many community service organizations — at times as organizers and coordinators for support drives and campaigns.

The Student Honors Celebration is Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom. The annual event is part of a Founders’ Day celebration with separate staff, faculty and student ceremonies at the same place. The campus community is invited to all the celebrations.

Student award categories highlight inductees of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s highest student honor; graduate awards for outstanding master’s thesis and outstanding dissertation; undergraduate awards for honors undergraduate thesis; and individual college awardees as chosen by the respective college deans. All honorees earned financial awards.

The Order of Pegasus features 31 inductees with exceptional achievements as undergraduate or graduate students. The group includes National Merit Scholars, Burnett Medical Scholars and earners of prestigious honors such as the Astronaut Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, McKnight Doctoral Fellowship and the Newman Civic Engagement Fellow. Some of the students have worked with national organizations, such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

They conducted, presented and published research on many subjects, including simulation training, asteroid surface science, cardiovascular health, experimental game design, nanoparticles treatments for illnesses and diseases, mathematics education, quality of life for those with ALS and limb differences, wetland systems, health impacts of pickleball, and bridging the gap between art and STEM-based studies.

Each student aspires to make a difference in the world in their own way with dreams of become educators, doctors, a lawyer, a professional athlete, a hospitality leader, a foreign service officer, a dentist, an accountant, an engineer and an advocate for corrections reform.

Here are the students being honored.

Order of Pegasus Inductees

  • Jida Awa ’23, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
  • Leah Basaria, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • PS Berge, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Olivia Bitcon, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Jada Cody, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Nathalia Cordero Rodriguez, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Akhila Damarla, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Justin Davis, College of Sciences, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Yasmine Ghattas, College of Medicine
  • Brandon Greenaway, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Taylor Haycock, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Katherine Johnsen, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Alejandro Lopez Zelaya, College of Optics and Photonics, Burnett Honors College
  • Calvin MacDonald, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Nisha Phillip-Malahoo ’21MEd, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Sydney Martinez ’23, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • Rebekah May, College of Nursing, Burnett Honors College
  • Aadith Menon, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Charlotte Moore, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Keidra Daniels Navaroli, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Mai Ly Nguyen-Luu, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Ishaan Patel, College of Health Professions and Sciences, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Lauren Ray, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Paola Rivera, College of Health Professions and Sciences
  • James Rujimora, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Mariana Sorroza Aguilar, College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Samantha Stoltz, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Darya Sulkouskaya, College of Medicine, College of Arts and Humanities, Burnett Honors College
  • Isabeau Tyndall, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
  • Lucas Vieira, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Gianna Wegman ’23, College of Business

Graduate Awards

Award for Outstanding Creative Work

  • Anne Njeri Kinuthia, College of Arts and Humanities

Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis

  • Tajnuba Hasan ’23MS, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Jason Pagan ’21 ’23MS, College of Health Professions and Sciences

Award for Outstanding Dissertation 

  • Ce Zheng ’23PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Corey Seavey ’15 ’21MS ’23PhD, College of Medicine

Undergraduate Awards

Founders’ Day College Awards 

  • Shreya Pawar, College of Medicine (also a Burnett Honors College Scholar)
  • Thomas Robertson, College of Community Innovation and Education
  • Rebekah May, College of Nursing (also a Burnett Honors College Scholar)
  • Eduin Rodriguez, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
  • Emily Padden, College of Undergraduate Studies
  • Christine Bui, College of Sciences (also a Burnett Honors College Scholar)
  • Catherine Gregorius, Burnett Honors College
  • Isabella Moreno, College of Arts and Humanities
  • Natalie Longtin, College of Engineering and Computer Science (also a Burnett Honors College Scholar)
  • Calvin MacDonald, College of Health Professions and Sciences (also a Burnett Honors College Scholar)
  • Isabelle Lebron, College of Optics and Photonics
  • Trey Abrahams, College of Business

Award for Honors Undergraduate Thesis

  • Raj Patel ’23, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
  • Kevin Hanekom ’23, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Burnett Honors College
  • Nefertari Elshiekh ’23, College of Business Administration, College of Sciences and Burnett Honors College
  • Alyssa Bent ’23, College of Arts and Humanities, Burnett Honors College