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<\/p>\nRep. Amber Mariano<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Amber Mariano<\/a><\/u>\u00a0\u201917<\/strong>, a Republican, was re-elected in District 36 in New Port Richey two years after becoming the youngest person elected to Florida\u2019s House of Representatives. She will begin her second term in the Legislature at age 23.<\/p>\n Mariano says her father\u2019s hard work as a Pasco County commissioner planted a seed for a career in politics. She says she was also inspired in 2008 when Sen. John McCain chose former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his presidential running mate.<\/p>\n When Mariano studied\u00a0political science<\/a>\u00a0at UCF as a Burnett Honors Scholar, she became politically involved on and off campus. She interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and participated in UCF\u2019s\u00a0Legislative Scholars Internship program<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n After her internship, Mariano joined UCF\u2019s Student Government Association, which she says was her favorite part of her college experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned so much and met so many different people. The stakes aren\u2019t as high, but it\u2019s still the same atmosphere,\u201d Mariano says. \u201cIt was a good stepping stone to learning how that process would work in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n Mariano was first elected to her seat in 2016. She says the opportunities she seized while at UCF helped her follow her dreams and can help current students if they have the passion to find them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s so cool about UCF is that it\u2019s so big and there are so many opportunities,\u201d Mariano says. \u201cBut since it\u2019s so big you have to go after those opportunities yourself. You have to work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Anna Eskamani<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Anna Eskamani<\/a><\/u>\u00a0\u201912 \u201915MNM \u201915MPA<\/strong>, a Democrat and first-time candidate, was elected in District 47 in Orange County.<\/p>\n Eskamani began harnessing the power of activism at the age of 10 when she presented her principal with a petition to share a lunch period with a friend. The Burnett Honors Scholar\u2019s interest in politics grew from there, but she says it was really her mother\u2019s death from cancer in 2004 that motivated her to stay in the community and attend UCF.<\/p>\n UCF was already a family tradition. She remembers playing by the Reflecting Pond with her twin sister,\u00a0Ida Eskamani \u201912 \u201916MPA,<\/strong>\u00a0while their father, an Iranian immigrant, studied for a degree in electrical engineering. Eskamani majored in\u00a0interdisciplinary studies<\/a>\u00a0with a minor in\u00a0women\u2019s studies<\/a>, and received master\u2019s degrees in\u00a0nonprofit management<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0public administration.<\/a>\u00a0She is pursuing a doctoral degree in UCF\u2019s\u00a0public affairs<\/a>\u00a0program.<\/p>\n Eskamani says student organizations at UCF helped her become a better leader on campus and in the Orlando community. She was the women\u2019s caucus chair and eventually the state women\u2019s caucus chair for the College Democrats at UCF.\u00a0She was also a member of the Iranian Student Organization and the Political Science Honor Society.<\/p>\n \u201cI always want to be humble and kind and never forget where I come from, and UCF is part of that\u201d says Eskamani, who was featured with other women as first-time candidates on the cover of\u00a0Time<\/em>\u00a0magazine in January.<\/p>\n Eskamani led the Keep PBS in Orlando campaign in 2011 to support educational programing, and she planned a rally called Rise Up UCF at a legislation meeting in front of the UCF\u00a0FAIRWINDS<\/em>Alumni Center.<\/p>\n Eskamani says the best advice she has for current students is to find out what drives them, commit to it and follow through.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s an issue, candidate, nonprofit to volunteer with\u2026 figure out your passion,\u201d Eskamani says. \u201cAnd if there is none, start your own.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Carlos Guillermo Smith \u201903<\/strong>, a Democrat, was re-elected in District 49 in Orange County for a second term.<\/p>\n When he was first elected in 2016, Smith became Florida\u2019s first openly LGBTQ Latino lawmaker. Since then, he co-founded and has served as the chair of the Legislative Progressive Caucus.<\/p>\n He also co-sponsored legislation that provided $2.5 million in funding for UCF Restores, a clinical research center in the university\u2019s Department of Psychology that uses virtual reality to help veterans, active-duty service members, and first-responders overcome post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n A\u00a0marketing<\/a>\u00a0graduate, he was instrumental in the creation of the\u00a0Pulse mural<\/a>\u00a0on UCF\u2019s Student Union in honor of UCF student Juan Ramon Guerrero and alumnus Christopher Andrew \u201cDrew\u201d Leinonen, who were two of the 49 shooting victims at the Orlando nightclub.<\/p>\n Rep. Chris Latvala<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Chris Latvala \u201904,\u00a0<\/strong>a Republican, was re-elected in District 67 (areas of Largo and Clearwater), where he has held the seat since 2014. He serves on several subcommittees, including criminal justice, education and highway and waterway safety.<\/p>\n The son of a former Florida senator, Latvala lives in Clearwater and is vice president of GCI Printing Services.<\/p>\n He first studied at Valencia Community College and transferred through\u00a0DirectConnect<\/a>\u00a0to UCF where he graduated with his bachelor\u2019s degree in\u00a0history<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sen. Randolph Bracy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Randolph Bracy \u201907MBA \u201908MSBM<\/strong>, a Democrat, represents the District 11 in Orange County in the Florida Senate. He served in the District 45 of the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 16 before he was elected senator in 2016.<\/p>\n Rep. Rene Plasencia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rene Plasencia \u201996<\/strong>, a Republican, won his bid for re-election in District 50 in East Orlando and Brevard County.<\/p>\n The Orlando native works for Orange County Public Schools and\u00a0first won election to the Florida House in 2014. He initially represented District 49.<\/p>\n He serves as vice chair of the Health Quality Subcommittee and PreK-12 Quality Subcommittee.<\/p>\n He studied\u00a0psychology<\/a>\u00a0at UCF and ran track for the men\u2019s program, which has since been discontinued. He served as president of UCF Athletics\u2019 student-athlete advisory board and went on to become a coach for track and cross country at Colonial High School.<\/p>\n Rep. Tom Leek \u201992 (left)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tom Leek \u201992<\/strong>, a Republican, was re-elected in District 25 in Port Orange, Daytona and New Smryna Beach for a second term.<\/p>\n Leek was first elected in 2016 and serves as chair of the Select Subcommittee on Member Conduct and vice chair of the Public Integrity and Ethics Committee.<\/p>\n After earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in\u00a0history<\/a>\u00a0at UCF, he studied law at Stetson University and went on to become a managing partner of Cobb Cole, a law firm in Daytona Beach. Before assuming his role in the Legislature, Leek was appointed by the UCF Board of Trustees to a select strategic planning committee in 2015 to help shape the university\u2019s strategic plan,\u00a0Collective Impact<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c[My wife] Michelle and I wake up today incredibly humbled and honored for the opportunity to continue to serve our community,\u201d Leek said in a Facebook post Wednesday. \u201cWe are so grateful to all of you for your support and the many hours you gave to our effort. I hope to make you proud.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY: RACHEL STAMFORD and JENNA MARINA LEE Seven UCF alumni who were running for the Florida Legislature won their districts in Tuesday\u2019s election. Although they don\u2019t necessarily agree on political issues, pursued different careers and attended UCF at different times, they clearly share a passion for politics. Rep. Amber Mariano Amber Mariano\u00a0\u201917, a Republican, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":23815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5962,31,20,16,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-science-alumni","category-alumni-news","category-psaclassnotes","category-political-science-departments","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/today.ucf.edu\/files\/2018\/11\/ucf-anna-eskamani.jpg\")
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