UCF Makes Lifelong Imprint on Alumnus

Ted Rassmann and his soccer team.

Ted Rassmann received much more than an education from UCF.

Sure, a mathematics degree set him up for a successful career as an IBM executive. But it takes a special love for your alma mater to set up a charter fishing business after retirement called Old Knight Fishing Charters. Or send your twin sons to UCF for their college experience. Or even travel from Australia back to campus for a football game and an Old Knight soccer tournament.

For Rassmann, UCF means everything.

“It’s so much more than a formal education, it’s the overall experience and personal growth you gain, along with the lifelong friends. It’s just a really special experience to have gone to UCF,” Rassmann said.

A soccer scholarship drew Rassmann from his native New Jersey to what was then Florida Technological University. Practice and games kept him busy, along with academics. Rassmann dedicated himself to learning applied mathematics, and his diligence paid off.

“When you are sitting in class, you don’t really understand how useful UCF’s education is going to be. I used what I learned in those classes every day of my career,” Rassmann said.

That career started at AT&T right out of college in the information technology field. As the company grew and eventually split into separate companies, Rassmann seized an opportunity to work at IBM where he supervised accounts all over the world. IBM would be home for the next 21 years and carry him into retirement. Today, Rassmann enjoys his time fishing, spending time with his wife of 37 years (they met at UCF playing Frisbee), family and grandchildren, and helping UCF with Math career days and special projects like the India Center.

UCF has always been planning for the future, and that preparation has made it into the educational leader it is today, Rassmann said.

“UCF isn’t afraid to embrace change, and that creates a really special environment. Embrace your experience at UCF; it truly is priceless!” Rassmann said.