UCF Political Science Alumnus Created Successful Multi-Media Company

As a college freshman, UCF alumnus Brad Gans, ’01, envisioned studying in the UCF film program. But after taking a political science class, his eyes were opened to different ideas and he eagerly switched his major to political science. His double major in political science and criminal science has taken Gans from working for England’s National Health Service to starting his own multi-media technology company.

After graduating from UCF, Gans traveled overseas to the University of Manchester to earn his master’s degree in social policy and welfare. Gans worked hands-on as a foster father in a group home in Florida, a substance abuse researcher for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and then as a compliance and legal representative in New York. But throughout all his experience working on the front-line, Gans knew that he had a passion for spreading worthwhile ideas and shaping issues. His desire to spread awareness and educate led Gans to create ‘Three Knights Media.’ With its name stemming from Gans’ alma mater, 3Knightsmedia is a multi-media technology company that produces many types of technology and marketing applications connecting the physical and digital world. The company’s diverse accomplishments range from working with large brands such as LVMH and Brown Forman, to networking with powerful politicians through a video aggregation platform called ACT T.V.

Gans continues to grow Three Knights Media in New York. He shared his expectations for the future:

“I’m hoping as I go forward that I’m able to take what I’ve learned about research and about the world and mix it with the media and the arts in order to change paradigms and break through certain frameworks that we have in our world.”

Here are a few “get to know you” questions we asked Brad.

• Were you involved in any extracurricular activities at UCF?

I was in the model United Nations club and I also played as much intramural sports as possible.

• What is your best UCF memory?

My most fun memory at UCF was when my intramural sports team played seven games in about a ten day period. Every other night was a softball game, a hockey game, a soccer game. The memories I have playing intramural are some of my best at UCF.

• What piece of advice would you give to current students as well as UCF alumni?

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you don’t run your race at your pace you’re not going to finish. Just because you’re not the right fit at age 18 doesn’t mean you won’t be the right fit at age 21 or 26.

• What is your most memorable experience on the job?

Back when we first started our company we created a website and an initiative called ‘I support the public option.’ It was a video petition platform aimed to promote the idea of a single payer health care option (like Medicare) back in 2010. The platform allowed people to upload their video petition about the public option. John Congress Jr. was the Michigan State representative, his office found the website and called us up and thanked us. They said it was one of the coolest things they’ve seen in a long time that was aimed at a change to public policy and supposedly it was talked about to a lot of politicians in a meeting during the health care reform meetings. We also worked with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, inventing a “twitter-buster” that was featured in the investigative magazine, Mother Jones.

• What is the happiest or proudest moment of your life?

The happiest moment of my life was the moment I knew I was going to get married to my wife. And the proudest moment was when I worked at the foster home and after many months of working with these kids, I was able to have a magnificent day with them. These kids had some severe behavioral issues. For many months I worked with them trying to help them overcome those issues. One of the last days I was able to hang out with the them, I took them out to a movie and then to a really fancy dinner. It was a perfect day.

• Where is the farthest you have ever traveled?

I have been to Eastern Turkey. I took a bus ride from Venice Italy to Ankara and other parts of Eastern Turkey.

• If you could learn to do anything, what would you learn to do?

Right now I’m learning to play the piano and I’m hoping to I will be able to play a song or two.