2012 College of Sciences Rising Star Award

The 2012 College of Sciences Rising Star Award winner is Lauren Black, ’09, who was honored at the Black and Gold Gala hosted by the UCF Alumni Association during the 2012 Homecoming week. 

Black runs the popular website Country Music is Love, which she started when she was still finishing her Radio-Television classes in the Nicholson School of Communication. The site has taken off and Black was selected by the organizers of this year’s Grammy Awards to be one of the official blogs covering the awards.

Since Black resides in Orlando, she makes an effort to keep in touch with her alma mater. Recently she was the keynote speaker for the annual Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) Fall Workshop that the Nicholson School of Communication hosts annually.

“Everything that I learned in high school and here at the Nicholson School – news writing and interviewing – helped me do something nontraditional with my journalism,’’ Black told the students during the opening session.

The rising star award recognizes a recent graduate of UCF who displays promise and excellence in his or her career. Recipients are honored in the fall during Homecoming week annually at UCF.