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UCF Students Team Up With ESPN+ for Game Day Coverage
Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) students gain real-world broadcast experience on the field. Written by: Emily Dougherty | September 26, 2025 When Knight Nation tunes into ESPN+ before a football game, they’re watching more than the countdown to kickoff. They’re watching students’ career ambitions unfold. Hitting the Field, UCF’s student-run sports broadcast network, […]
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UCF Students Gain Hollywood Experience as Interns on Shark Tank
Nicholson School of Communication and Media students swam with the sharks behind the scenes of a popular show. Written by: Emily Dougherty | Published: August 28, 2025 Sophia Squiccirini, a senior studying media production and management, and Payton Lewandrowski ’25, a recent Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM) alumna, were selected for the competitive internships on […]
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Journalism Student Accelerates a Career in Sports Media with NASCAR
Allyson Castillo, a senior at UCF studying broadcast journalism in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media (NSCM), spent ten weeks this summer as an intern for NASCAR’s content team, where she’s working on influencer relations, trend analysis and digital storytelling that brings the energy of the race track to its audiences. Castillo was only […]
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UCF Student Selected for Prestigious Internship at The New York Times
This summer UCF student Kendal Asbury will embark on an exciting journey as one of four interns at The New York Times through the prestigious Dow Jones News Fund (DJNF) summer internship program. For more than 60 years, the Dow Jones News Fund has placed top journalism students in internships at media outlets across the […]
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UCF Named as One of Four National Finalists in Competitive Coca-Cola Refreshing Films Program
For the first time, the UCF film students in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media in the College of Sciences have been selected as finalists in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program. Cinemark Fan Favorite voting launches today and the public can vote for their favorite of the four entries through April 30. (Note: Every […]
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Celebrating a Career at UCF: College of Sciences Staff Member Reflects on 35-year career
James McCully’s career maps growth at UCF, a time of dedication and innovation. By: Emily Dougherty | January 10, 2025 Over the course of his 35-year career at the University of Central Florida, broadcast technician James McCully has seen and supported the remarkable innovation that has taken place and how those changes enhance the work […]
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UCF Projects Win 5 Emmys, Breaking Last Year’s Record
UCF’s Center for Distributed Learning has garnered national acclaim for its groundbreaking docuseries, A Break for Impact, and its latest short documentary, Beneath the Same Sky. Both projects have transformed classrooms at UCF and achieved remarkable recognition, including a record-breaking 10 Suncoast Emmy nominations and a world premiere at DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival. At the […]
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UCF College of Sciences Hosts Annual Scholarship Dinner
Annual event acknowledges scholarship recipients across the College and the supporting donors By: Sultana Ali | December 3, 2024 Recently, the College of Sciences celebrated more than 90 student scholarship recipients and the donors who support them. Austin Wilson, Manager of Public Affairs, emceed the event and welcomed guests. Provost Michael D. Johnson provided remarks […]
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Nicholson Students Gain National Sports Media Experience at Big Noon Kickoff
“Hitting the Field” members contribute to major national Pre-Game show By Emily Dougherty | October 29, 2024 FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff came to UCF for the first time to watch the Knights take on the University of Colorado Rams. While the game may not have had the outcome that UCF fans wanted, students with an […]
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UCF Video Game Design Programs Among the Best in the World for 2023
The University of Central Florida excels as one of the nation’s top talent pipelines for a rapidly growing gaming industry that fuels Central Florida’s economy and is projected to be worth more than $300 billion worldwide by 2026. In UCF’s undergraduate and graduate game design programs, talented students learn from world-class faculty with strong industry […]
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M.F.A Grad Selected for CBS Writing Mentorship
By IULIA POPESCU Nicholson M.F.A graduate Mike Diaz received a momentous opportunity when he became one of only six to participate in the esteemed CBS 2019-2020 Writers Mentoring Program, selected from a pool of more than 1,500 applicants. The eight-month mentoring program pairs writers with CBS executive mentors. The mentors then help the writers develop a new […]
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2018 NFL Draft: Brought To You By UCF Alumni
While four Knights fulfilled lifelong dreams of hearing their names called during the 2018 NFL Draft, a pair of other Knights were working behind the scenes to capture every moment. Alumni Eric DeSalvo ’09 and Brandon Naidus ’12 are the maestros of the social media accounts for their respective teams. DeSalvo, who majored in interpersonal/organizational […]
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Alumna Publishes Book During Perfect Season
Lori Levoy is UCF’s self-proclaimed biggest fan. She graduated from the Nicholson School of Communication in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. A former UCF student athlete, Levoy has maintained her love for UCF for more than 15 years. In 2017, during UCF’s perfect football season, that love motivated her to write and publish her own children’s […]
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Alumna Overcomes Eating Disorders to Help Others
by Jenna Lee On the surface, Kaitlyn Chana ’13 had it all together. In fact, she basically owned life. The former straight-A student at Lake Brantley High School started her own non-profit as a teenager that sent cards of kindness to hospitalized children. She was a member of UCF’s President’s Leadership Council, LEAD Scholars and […]
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The India Center Helps Send Debate Team Around the World
The weather in Orlando was chilly during the winter break, but the UCF Debate Team continued to heat up. Not only did the team compete at the Hurricane Debates hosted by the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, some of the team also traveled to India and participated in Calcutta’s Festival of the Spoken […]
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UCF Alumnus’ Drive to Champion Orlando Leads to NFL Pro Bowl
By Jenna Marina Lee During last year’s NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports Steve Hogan ’91 had a unique perspective of the game. From the sidelines, he watched as New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ children played catch with Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell […]
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Students Shift Goals to Help Others
Milka Derisma and her team, Cynthia Nnagboro and Kelly Merrill Jr., are all completing their master’s degrees in the Nicholson School of Communication, while simultaneously working to enact change in their community—starting with local college students. They created an initiative, BYG (Build Your Goals) Shift, focused on helping students transfer from two-year community colleges to […]
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Student Stories: When Your Apartment Floods due to a Hurricane
We’ve featured journalism student Isabelle D’Antonio’s first-hand account of what happened to her during Hurricane Irma. Her story was first published on the NSM Today website. by Isabelle D’Antonio I’ve lived in Florida for more than 11 years and I’ve never taken hurricanes seriously. They were always just an excuse to get out of school, eat […]
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From UCF to the White House
UCF alumna Jessica Fredericks ’07 is helping preserve American history as the new director of communications for the White House Historical Association. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy started the nonprofit association in 1961 to protect, preserve and provide public access to the rich history of America’s executive mansion. Fredericks said it is a dream job for her. […]
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Knight Charges On to Graduation Despite Cancer Diagnosis
By Rachel Williams At 63 years old and after years of hard work, Cherie Carr had finally achieved her goal of earning a bachelor’s degree. She couldn’t wait to walk the stage at graduation. Then, everything changed. In the hospital three weeks ago for splitting headaches, shortness of breath and stomach pain, Carr got news […]
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COSmic Knight Took a Risk That Paid $5K
Funding your college career may be difficult, but Cristobal Reyes-Rios took a chance that won himself a scholarship. With a double major in journalism and political science, Reyes has a lot on his plate. He became interested in journalism in ninth grade when he took a journalism class and showed promise in news writing. He […]
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Video Games Takes Student to South Korea
This COSmic Knight took an opportunity that landed him halfway across the globe. Radio and television major, Justin Wilson, got his big breakthrough playing video games. He played video games professionally while at UCF from 2010-2012 and frequently participated in tournaments and competitions. In 2012, he retired from playing professionally but kept up with the […]
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COSmic Knight Gianna Mascaro is in Tune with her Passions
Gianna Mascaro’s ear for music blossomed on long car rides with her parents listening to Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones. Since then, the ambitious digital news journalism major has joined numerous organizations to continue her career. She worked for Knight News as an entertainment writer, where she met new connections, experienced events and fine-tuned […]
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UCF Continues to Stand for Opportunity for AlumKnight Joan McCain
UCF attracts students for many different reasons: Spirit Splash, the luxurious pool, a state-of- the-art gym and tailgates at Memory Mall before football games. But when Outstanding AlumKnight Joan McCain chose UCF, none of that existed. She knew UCF would provide the opportunity, experiences and internships to launch her career in marketing and communications. “Instinct […]
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Content Creation Abroad
Story by Rachel Williams The University of Central Florida’s Nicholson School of Communication has earned a $25,000 grant that will enable students to study abroad and produce a multimedia communication project in Cuba next summer. The grant is from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund that aims to help create university partnerships to […]
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Alumna’s ‘Black in Brazil’ Expands Horizons
Story by Nicholson News Representation and diversity are two terms that are becoming increasingly important in various environments today. Yohanna Reis understands this need firsthand. Reis, a 2016 alumna of the Nicholson School of Communication, created a multimedia project that showcases a demographic many people do not know about – Afro-Brazilians. “I believe a true […]
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NSC Professor’s Long-Term Research Earns National Recognition
Story by Nicholson News Melissa Dodd, Ph.D., has blazed the trail for research in corporate activism, a term that she has coined. Corporate activism, previously known as corporate social responsibility, takes an in-depth look at how corporations and businesses become engaged in social conversations and activism. Dodd’s research sheds light on the relationships between business, government […]
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UCF Student Named PR Pro of the Year
Story by Nicholson News Kena Lewis, APR, has been recognized by the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Orlando Chapter as the 2017 PR Pro of the Year. Lewis graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1982. Now a UCF graduate student studying communication with an emphasis in […]
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NSC Shines at Suncoast Emmy Awards
Story by UCF Nicholson School of Communication News Nicholson School of Communication alumni, students and adjuncts were in the spotlight quite a bit at the 2016 Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards on Dec. 3. Five alumni won regional Emmy awards of excellence for their work in television this past year, with one of them bringing home […]
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Communication Grad Provides Limbitless Solutions
Thirty University of Central Florida students who are earning their degrees this weekend have one very special bond: They all created bionic arms for children in their spare time while attending the university. One of the students, Alyssa Anderson, is a Nicholson School of Communication student who will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in human […]