Biology student comes to UCF with impressive credentials

UCF Biology major Brianna Hollins comes to the university with an impressive list of credentials.

Hollins was one of the founders of Rise and Shine, a community food distribution program created and run by students through the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County. The program provides economically disadvantaged families with healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Families pay for either a $30 or $15 package and are guaranteed the packages will be worth at least twice the purchase price.

Teens like Hollins who work in the co-op are paid $8 an hour and the rest of the money goes back into the business, she said. “Sometimes we sponsor families who can’t afford to pay but need the food,” she said.

The Palm Beach County Medical Society was so impressed with Hollins’ efforts, that it gave her the 2012 Heroes in Medicine Student Award at a ceremony at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion.

Hollins, who is working as a junior counselor at the Boys and Girls Club this summer, is still president of the Rise and Shine program, although she is training younger teens to take the reins.

Read more about Hollins here.