UCF’s 2024 Order of Pegasus, Other Distinguished Student Honors
UCF’s extraordinary students honored on Wednesday for Founders’ Day have unleashed their potential and excelled in colleges and disciplines across the university.
Among the undergraduate and graduate students are groundbreaking national and global scholarship winners, researchers, athletes, teaching assistants, residence assistants and leaders in campus organizations such as Student Government, LEAD Scholars and the President’s Leadership Council.
The honorees include students in the Burnett Honors College, transfer students, and those from first-generation and international backgrounds.
Aside from focusing on academics and campus causes, many of the student honorees volunteered at hospitals, food banks, schools, parks, shelters, clinics, youth clubs and with many community service organizations — at times as organizers and coordinators for support drives and campaigns.
The Student Honors Celebration is Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom. The annual event is part of a Founders’ Day celebration with separate staff, faculty and student ceremonies at the same place. The campus community is invited to all the celebrations.
Student award categories highlight inductees of the Order of Pegasus, UCF’s highest student honor; graduate awards for outstanding master’s thesis and outstanding dissertation; undergraduate awards for honors undergraduate thesis; and individual college awardees as chosen by the respective college deans. All honorees earned financial awards.
The Order of Pegasus features 31 inductees with exceptional achievements as undergraduate or graduate students. The group includes National Merit Scholars, Burnett Medical Scholars and earners of prestigious honors such as the Astronaut Scholarship, Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, McKnight Doctoral Fellowship and the Newman Civic Engagement Fellow. Some of the students have worked with national organizations, such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
They conducted, presented and published research on many subjects, including simulation training, asteroid surface science, cardiovascular health, experimental game design, nanoparticles treatments for illnesses and diseases, mathematics education, quality of life for those with ALS and limb differences, wetland systems, health impacts of pickleball, and bridging the gap between art and STEM-based studies.
Each student aspires to make a difference in the world in their own way with dreams of become educators, doctors, a lawyer, a professional athlete, a hospitality leader, a foreign service officer, a dentist, an accountant, an engineer and an advocate for corrections reform.
Here are the students being honored.
Order of Pegasus Inductees
Jida Awa ’23, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Leah Basaria, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
PS Berge, College of Arts and Humanities
Olivia Bitcon, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Jada Cody, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Nathalia Cordero Rodriguez, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Akhila Damarla, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Justin Davis, College of Sciences, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Yasmine Ghattas, College of Medicine
Brandon Greenaway, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Taylor Haycock, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Katherine Johnsen, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Alejandro Lopez Zelaya, College of Optics and Photonics
Calvin MacDonald, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Nisha Phillip-Malahoo ’21MEd, College of Community Innovation and Education
Sydney Martinez ’23, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Rebekah May, College of Nursing, Burnett Honors College
Aadith Menon, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Charlotte Moore, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Keidra Daniels Navaroli, College of Arts and Humanities
Mai Ly Nguyen-Luu, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Ishaan Patel, College of Health Professions and Sciences, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Lauren Ray, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Paola Rivera, College of Health Professions and Sciences
James Rujimora, College of Community Innovation and Education
Mariana Sorroza Aguilar, College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Samantha Stoltz, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Darya Sulkouskaya, College of Medicine, College of Arts and Humanities, Burnett Honors College
Isabeau Tyndall, College of Sciences, Burnett Honors College
Lucas Vieira, College of Medicine, Burnett Honors College
Gianna Wegman ’23, College of Business
Graduate Awards
Award for Outstanding Creative Work
Anne Njeri Kinuthia, College of Arts and Humanities
Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis
Tajnuba Hasan ’23MS, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Jason Pagan ’21 ’23MS, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Award for Outstanding Dissertation
Ce Zheng ’23PhD, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Corey Seavey ’15 ’21MS ’23PhD, College of Medicine
Undergraduate Awards
Founders’ Day College Awards
Shreya Pawar, College of Medicine
Thomas Robertson, College of Community Innovation and Education
Rebekah May, College of Nursing
Eduin Rodriguez, Rosen College of Hospitality Management
Emily Padden
Christine Bui, College of Sciences
Catherine Gregorius, Burnett Honors College
Isabella Moreno, College of Arts and Humanities
Natalie Longtin, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Calvin MacDonald, College of Health Professions and Sciences
Isabelle Lebron, College of Optics and Photonics
Trey Abrahams, College of Business
Award for Honors Undergraduate Thesis
Raj Patel ’23, College of Medicine
Kevin Hanekom ’23, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Nefertari Elshiekh ’23, College of Community innovation and Education
Alyssa Bent ’23, College of Arts and Humanities