Wrangling All Corners of Education

Armani A. Diaz

In my service-learning project, I went straight to the classrooms filled with students with special needs and helped them gain equal access to the quality education of their peers. I specifically went into intensive reading classes, and gave the students space to learn with my assistance in guiding them through not just their classwork but self-worth as well. They go through many struggles and being present for them, is one of my most gratifying experiences in my life thus far.
Shepherd's Hope

Rory J. Fall

I did my service learning project at a nonprofit called Shepherd’s Hope. Shepherd’s Hope works to provide free healthcare to uninsured individuals. During my time there I fulfilled the roles of the front desk. This involved me checking in and checking out patients into the online patient manager. I also helped discharge patients, giving them their paper prescriptions and notes from the doctor. While there I learned about the impact of having no insurance can have on a family, or an individual, and how stressful that can be. I also witnessed the wide range of patients that came into the clinic from as young as 1 year old, to as old as 80 years old.
Nemours Children's Health Child Life Volunteering

Cooper R. Foxman

Nemours Childrens Health is one of the nation’s largest pediatric hospital systems. Their goal is to enrich children‘s lives and get them effective treatment. The Child Life department is one of Nemours’ many volunteer departments, and it specifically focuses on helping child patients heal through play, education, and expression. I‘ve had the pleasure of serving the hospital as a volunteer within the Child Life Department. The volunteers in this department work as bodies to help alleviate the stress that comes with being in the hospital environment that the patients and their families are feeling. This department of the hospital plays a pivotal role in the environment and wellness that the patients can experience. Volunteers in the Child Life department work with Child Life Specialists, who are trained professionals that work to make sure that all of the volunteers are knowledgeable on the children’s safety and needs.
Do You Detest Organic Chemistry? Experiences of an Organic Chemistry Learning Assistant

Esther R. Francom

This project is a report of my service as an Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA) for Organic Chemistry I. Since there tends to be a negative stigma surrounding the course, I decided to focus on ways to help my students feel more comfortable with the course content. Specifically, I tried to make myself seem approachable by using student-centered learning strategies. Some of the ways I did this was by being present during my office hours and assigned class section, welcoming students, and praising student questions. Over the course of the semester, I saw an increase in my office hour attendance and participation, an increase in students calling me by name, and a decrease in student question apprehension. Through my service as a ULA, I have learned the importance of reflecting on my own teaching as well as the effectiveness of certain teaching strategies (such as praising questions). I plan to put this knowledge to good use as I peruse a graduate degree and conduct research in chemistry education.
Knights Of The Hill: How Volunteering Can Change The Future

Howard M. Franklin IV, Seth C. Griffin, Jacob R. Weinthal, and Matthew A. Turman

We as a group have all been volunteering with UCP Bailes Community Academy (BCA), specifically within their "21st Century" aftercare program. As volunteers we do everything to helping with some of the 21st century aftercare plans to simply playing with the kids that happen to be alone at that time. This video presentation is us informing the viewer about a few of our experiences and explaining what we learned and how it connects to our course, LDR 3215.
Addressing Women's Issues with Period. UCF

Erin Fuchs

In my Advanced Leadership Class, LDR 3215, we were instructed to choose a social issue that we felt passionately about. Women’s rights issues have been a topic of interest for me for a very long time, so I chose to research and address the topic of period poverty, which is an overlooked subject, despite its prevalence in our society. In my research, I found some very interesting, but heartbreaking information that sparked me to work with an organization called Period. UCF, a local RSO that provides period products to the local homeless population and supports The Menstrual Movement, designed to destigmatize periods and encourage equity.
ePortfolio of Haley Galvis

Haley Galvis

This ePortfolio is aimed to help me be set apart from other applicants when pursuing my path following graduation. This unique method of showcasing my undergraduate experiences helps to generate a more personal view. Through this course, I made an elevator pitch, which can be found in the "about" page. Additionally, I learned a lot about time management, while balancing this major project with the other responsibilities of this course and my other commitments. Further, I learned how important it is to reflect on an experience and connect what I learned to how I can apply it in the future.
Leadership Journey: Knights Helping Knights Pantry

Anna A. Garibashvily, Adithi Jayaraman, and Olivia Ricca

During the Fall 2023 semester, we volunteered at Knights Helping Knights Pantry (KHKP). KHKP is UCF’s on-campus food pantry, which provides food, clothing, and supplies to the students and staff. Their goal is to battle food insecurity within UCF’s community and de-stigmatize the use of food pantries.
Memory and Community through Brain Wellness

Jack T. Gilbride, Joshua Borenstein, Eryn Proano, Ariah Todriff, and Christopher Maraj

For our project we worked with a group called brain wellness in Oviedo. Their purpose is to provide fun brain enriching activities to older individuals suffering from dementia. We assisted in activities such as word matching games, rearranging popsicle sticks in order to make certain patterns that were displayed on a screen, and even card games like go fish. Some key things that we learned was how to address some issues that surround dementia such as trying to convince someone that they shouldn’t be driving at their age and not make that person feel upset. We also learned some more information about which age group we feel like we might to best with in the medical field.
Mysticism and Medieval Society: Stories and Their Impact

Gabriella P. Gomes and Lexi Schwartzberg

The Middle Ages was a time when mysticism often overtook reality. Creatures such as witches, dragons, and sciapods were thought to be real, and people took precautions against them. While tales of these creatures entertain us today, their presence in the minds of the medieval society in which they developed had dangerous consequences. The myth of witches allowed for the persecution of people who defied the social order and committed innocent acts that were rebranded as heresy. The myth of dragons was used to alienate supposed enemies of the Christian religion. These myths were so influential that their images have come to pervade modern day popular culture, where they have been depicted as both good and evil figures and have inspired many well-known characters. This study considers the way in which these myths developed, particularly during the Middle Ages, and how they have come to influence the world of today, while taking care to understand the power such tales can have.
Behind the Scenes of Disability

John S. Gotschall, Megan R. Laffey, and Bradley Hok

The goal of our service learning project is to understand how to approach people with disabilities at the elementary and middle school, Unlocking Children’s Potential or UCP. Their mission is to empower children with and without disabilities to achieve their potential by providing individual support, education, and therapy services in an inclusive environment. During the time we have spent at UCP, we worked in the cafeteria where we were able to engage in conversations and get involved with student activities as we worked alongside the faculty members Mr. Ed, Miss. Theresa, and Miss. Julia.
Second Chance Animal Rescue Service Learning Project

Chloe Greenbaum, Lily Cring, Lucas Wozniak, Katherine Marshall, and Hala Hafez

For this course, were were presented the amazing opportunity to focus our service learning project on Animal Rights and issues that involved Animal culture. From this overarching topic, we were given the amazing opportunity to focus our service learning project on providing our services to Second Chance Animal Rescue. Second Chance Animal Rescue is a animal clinic and adoption center that rehabilitates and provides to animals off most domestic species and breeds such as dogs, cats, rodents, and birds. For our presentation, we focused primarily on what services we have provided to Second Chance as well as reflect on the obstacles faced and how leadership played a major roll into turning our events into a reality.
Flags and Friends

Lindsay E. Grohs, Spencer Friedberg, and Alexa Magnani

Our team worked with Orange County’s Special Olympics Flag Football team. We helped coach practices, organized drills, and supported the team at games/tournaments. Through this experience we got the chance to get further involved in our community through doing something we were passionate about. We learned how to apply the different principles of leadership to our mission of fostering an environment that drives inclusion and skill-building. These principles include loving others, extending ourselves, and leading with authority. We went into this experience viewing it as a school project. However, after a few practices, we started developing individual connections with players and coaches and found enjoyment in the overall process. Over the course of our time with the team, we watched their skills improve and friendships strengthen.
The Moreno Lab and its Impact

Rosa Guzman

The purpose of my project was to help out behind the scenes of medical care, at its root, research. Cholera in specific is important to understand because it’s so deadly, and tends to target less fortunate communities. So far, I’ve generally been going through training, learning about different laboratory techniques and processes. The largest things I’ve done are two serial dilutions, in order to find out the number of colony forming units in the original concentration. But I’ve also learned about what some of the other projects going on in the laboratory, like testing out antibiotics, or finding out what conditions the bacteria prefers.
Providing Access To Healthcare For The Uninsured Via Shepherd's Hope

Azeem Hakim

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2021, the population of uninsured individuals from the ages of zero to sixty-four in Orange County had a slight upward trend when compared to the two prior years, with roughly 182,054 uninsured patients living within Orange County in 2021. If so many of Orlando’s citizens in Orange County don’t have health insurance, and thus, are barred from being able to access quality healthcare, how could sustaining the vibrancy of our local community be possible, especially when many of these uninsured patients help keep the Orlando area functioning day to day? This is where my service-learning project comes into play. I wanted to find a way to be able to help uninsured patients get access to healthcare without having to worry about paying exorbitant amounts of money. Luckily, I found a community partner that was already acting on the mission I set out to do: Shepherd’s Hope.
Memorial Hospital Miramar: My Service Learning Journey

Allison M. Hernandez

With my Service Learning Project, I volunteered for 25 hours over the course of the Fall semester at the Pediatric Emergency Department at Memorial Hospital Miramar in South Florida. I helped the nurses and technicians obtain vital signs, apply splints, and perform EKGs. I also helped the patients and their families by delivering drinks, blankets, tissues, etc., by changing their sheets, and by sanitizing the exam rooms in between patients. Throughout my time volunteering in the Pediatric ED, my desire to work in the medical field was solidified. Helping others receive the best care possible and making a change in the world is what I really want to do in life.
Empowering Futures: Matthew's Knights of Distinction Leadership E-Portfolio in Academic Excellence

Matthew A. Hernandez

My presentation centers on my E-Portfolio, seamlessly incorporating three key milestones from the Knights of Distinction program into significant events. Beginning with a brief personal introduction, I shared why I became a physics major, and explored the roots of my passion for space. Utilizing a visual aid, my poster board, I elucidated each focus area and its relevance to my aspirations and societal contributions. The first focus area was Citizenship and how I attended an “Industry BBQ” with the hopes of gaining valuable information to share it with other engineers. The second focus area was about leadership and my role as leader for a complex Java project. My third focus area was about my high-impact learning in my time in NASA’s L’SPACE academy where I gained many valuable skills and experiences through teamwork and the provided resources. To conclude, I reflected on the course's impact while talking about creating reflective essays and a professional E-Portfolio, underscoring the pivotal role my E-Portfolio plays in shaping my future—an emblem of personal growth and professional significance.
Low-Dose Prednisone or Methylprednisolone in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Acute GVHD

Dillon C. Hill, Melanie Obsina, Juan Sanchez, Jordan Genco, and Vihan Yalamanchili

Graft Versus Host Disease affects less than 20,000 cases per year and our project aims to give those who experience this terrible disease a better outcome and more manageable pain. The clinical trial that this data is collected from analyzes low-dose prednisone versus the standard dose and how that affects both morbidity and progression of the disease to Stage III-IV. This clinical trial has many clinical implications as it shows that reducing the dosage of commonly used treatment methods can sometimes have positive effects even though it is the standard to use a certain dose. This clinical trial found that when reducing the dose of the steroid from 1.0 mg/kg to .5mg/kg the progression rates in the patients participating was nearly half (13% compared to 6%). We made clinical recommendations for this new treatment for different clinical settings based on this information which allowed us to utilize all of the education we have received thus far and apply it to clinical situations. We have learned how to better differentiate treatment options based on the current condition and environment of patients. We have also learned how to communicate our recommendations through presenting detailed histories of a disease, mechanisms of actions of medications or treatments, and by providing an in-depth analysis of clinical trial data to an audience that will provide recommendations of treatment based on our presentation.
Camp Boggy Creek Service Impact

Madeleine E. Hoffman and Elle M. Bouffard

Our service learning project focused on working with children who have special needs. Our volunteer work was completed at Camp Boggy Creek, a non-profit camp devoted to providing a “typical” camp experience for children with medical issues or disabilities. We completed 35 hours of service while supporting children and their families as they came to camp and stayed for a weekend of fun activities and relaxation. This experience has allowed us to realize the impact that special needs can have on a child and their families. The difficulties these families may face (whether it be emotionally, physically, or monetarily) can take a large toll on their wellbeing. We were able to help ease some of these difficulties through our service at Camp Boggy Creek by: talking with parents and allowing them to share their stories, taking the children in the family to participate in activities that may not normally be accommodated to their needs, and helping to run the day to day camp operations that allow it to remain free for the families that spend their time there.
Combating Invasive Species Through the Removal of Pollution

Sarah J. Howell

The purpose of my project is to bring awareness to the issues of pollution on campus as well as encourage others to be more involved on campus through volunteerism. My time with the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) and the Arboretum was very valuable. Not only was I able to learn how to identify/properly remove invasive species from an environment as well as how to generally help maintain the gardens at UCF but I was also able to learn about the value of community and working towards a common goal such as cleaning up Greek road. A Key activity that i was involved in when collaborating with NRHH was cleaning up Greek road which allowed me to foster connections with members of the RSO as well as get first hand experience in removing plastic debris among various trash. In addition some Key activities when volunteering with the Arboretum involved raking, weeding, removing invasive plants, mulching, and in general helping maintain the overall biodiversity within UCF's gardens.
Supercharging Learning with Schoolhouse

Jackson Huff

When the COVID-19 virus struck the world in early 2020, it immediately disrupted education. Classes which occurred in-person now had to transition to an online regimen. Unfortunately, for students, this change resulted in significantly lessened academic performance as well as increased rates of mental health disorders.

Observing this drastic change, Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, a website which hosts free educational video series, founded a new project called Schoolhouse to help alleviate students' struggles during the change to online education. Schoolhouse would provide free online tutoring in STEM subjects to anyone who desired it. Today, Schoolhouse hosts hundreds of tutoring sessions each week in subjects ranging from STEM to the humanities.

This poster showcases my own work in the Schoolhouse organization as a session peer reviewer and as a tutor of math found in higher education.
Educational Opportunity and It's Role in College

Noah Isaacson

Educational inequality is an often-overlooked topic and frequently victims of educational inequality aren’t aware they’re victims to begin with, making it difficult to identify as a problem. At the collegiate level, educational inequality becomes less prevalent as many victims of educational inequality don’t reach college, however it is still present through numerous facets. The facets are of educational inequality are however similar at a collegiate level to their counterparts in K-12 education, they tend to be factors such as socioeconomic status, implicit bias via race or ethnicity, and local government policies along with school policies.

Many of the aforementioned factors tend to be directly linked together and take place together, however not always. Government policy and politics are then often influenced by more macroscopic factors such as political affiliation, the nearby area’s wealth, and population demographics. Allowing education to be influenced significantly by these factors systematically introduces oppression that can be hard to recognize and can be detrimental to a student’s educational success and interest.
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

Alissa Johnson

The purpose of my project is to explain my point-of-view of how 4310 Service-Learning: Marine Conservation & Restoration has changed my outlook of this career field and how its influenced me to want to continue in this major. I discuss how three amazing women teach me about oysters (Katherine Harris, Tara Blanchard, and Kelsey Mack) and how they found their voice in a male heavy career field. I also touch on the opportunities I took like mangrove gardening, trail camera footage of Cape Canaveral, and a beach clean-up, just to name a few and how the community plays a huge role on the outcome of the success of each research project. The two key things I learned is the importance of engaging in the community and supporting scientist and the impact conservation/restoration has on the environment.
Poverty and the Environment: A Symbiotic Disaster

Markel T. Jones

This presentation focuses on the dual impact that poverty and the environment not only has on each other, but the entire planet around them. There are many factors at play in these issues, stretching all the way from pure wealth to the usage of natural land. A discussion of how people must band together to see a significant change will take place, and that it first takes realizing the issues to make a difference. By exploring the different realms of each respective problem, this project aims to broaden the scope of listeners to the truly larger issues surrounding us now.
Crossing the Bridge

Vivyana C. Joseph

The purpose of my project was to discover the meaning of service leadership first-hand in my hometown community. I chose to do so by working with my former high school's graduating class in order to help prepare them for possible post-grad. options. I did so by giving workshops, sharing my own experiences, and giving a tour of the UCF main campus, a possible route some of them may take. While leading these students through the college prep. process, I learned that providing them with various resources was much more useful and "necessary" than I had origionally thought. I was glad to see my aid could make such an impact and give the students the confidence they needed to navigate this often overwhelming process. By prioritizing the specifc needs of these students above any credit I could've given myself after going through the process myself not too long ago, I saw the value in taking the time to focues on others versus my own personal gain. The best reward was to know I made a positive impact on these student's college prep. experiences so they too could one day be a guide and mentor to their peers as well.