SDES Assessment and Planning

UKnighted Newsletter
March 2006

Leadership Opportunities Offered in Programs and Events

Students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to attend various events, programs and workshops during the month of February to enhance and/or experience leadership skills. Many SDES faculty and staff hosted, presented or participated in Leadership Institute, Miss UCF Pageant and the events during Leadership Week.

Leadership Institute – Sponsored by the Office of Diversity Initiatives:
Vice President Maribeth Ehasz, SDES, and Sarah Hill, Academic Services for Student-Athletes, participated on a panel of four at the Leadership Institute to discuss: “The Balancing Act: How to Juggle Family Life with your Professional Career.” The panel discussed the many challenges of finding time alone; the routine changes as children grow older; and the career as many roles, not just work. Germayne Graham, Counseling Center, presented a workshop that explored internal characteristics and external qualities necessary to be professional and successful. DeLaine Priest, Student Success Center, and Rebekah McCloud, Office of Diversity Initiatives, offered tips and techniques for planning, improving and providing leadership abilities in one’s life.

Leadership Week, “Leaders of the New America”– Sponsored by Campus Life and numerous UCF offices and departments:

Leadership Week not only focused on leadership, but community service and awareness. The “Extreme Yard Makeover,” a community service event, kicked-off the week early on a Saturday at the Creative School for Children (CSC). UCF students, faculty, staff and parents worked together to improve the school’s yard by raking sand, sealing wood and doing other maintenance. During Leadership week, volunteers assisted the instructors with story time, gardening, arts and crafts with the children. The “Community Visions Forum,” held at the Fairwinds Alumni Center, brought together UCF and Orlando community leaders to address the issue of “community” and what that word means and entails.

February 20-24 was filled with workshops and educational session with many SDES faculty and staff taking the lead in presentations. “What Are You Waiting For?”–an interactive session regarding behaviors or skills that create opportunities for success–was first on the schedule of the week’s events and was presented by Willie Ehling, Recreation and Wellness Center. Ehling says, “Sometimes the mirror we see ourselves with is not the same that others use.”

“Personal Empowerment” focused on how to set and reach attainable goals that reflect one’s personal mission, strategies for overcoming and coping with obstacles, and ways to increase motivation to accomplish goals. Co-presenters Germayne Graham and Larry Marks, Counseling Center, used discussion and experiential activities to help participants develop personal empowerment.

Several of the SDES staff members used popular movie characters and well-known personalities to assist in the focus of their presentations. “Terrell Owens, Darth Vader & Simon Cowell: How to Deal with Difficult People,” an interactive session, categorized difficult personalities to work with and gave pop-culture examples for each type. It was presented by Adam Schwarz, graduate assistant for Housing and Residence Life. “Campus leaders must realize they will run into many different personalities in life,” said Schwarz. “We think it is important to show them how to be assertive, without being overly aggressive.”

“Harry Potter and the Secrets of Leadership” analyzed the leadership styles of Harry Potter by discussing three main principles found within Dumbledore’s Army (the student organization that he runs): Be Truthful, Be Ready and Be Respectful. Through the medium of popular children’s literature, students cannot only see how simple leadership strategies can be, but also have an example demonstrating how to refocus their energy by incorporating these strategies into their own organizations and personal lives. Presenter Zephyr Wilkins, Academic Development and Retention student assistant, said “I believe that the most difficult component of leadership is how to define yourself within your organization’s dynamics. Once you understand your role in relation to others, becoming a leader within your field is a piece of cake.”

Amanda Ford, graduate assistant for LINK First Year Experience program, provided students information about getting involved in leadership opportunities available at UCF, such as: O-Team, Resident Assistant, Student Conduct Board, Student Senate and President’s Leadership Council. “With so many wonderful leadership positions on campus, students may feel overwhelmed,” says Ford. “We explained some of the opportunities to assist students to make informed decisions.”

Jennifer Wright, Student Academic Resource Center, focused on how students can set themselves apart with classroom etiquette. “Professors have a wealth of information, expertise and connections with students, who come to class, turn in homework on time, participate in class and visit their professors during office hours. Opportunities are more available to students when they develop a working relationship with their professors.”

According to Veronica Livesay, Campus Life, who presented tips on table manners, “Being a leader can fall short if you don’t know proper table manners and dining etiquette. The Leaders’ Guide to Managing Table Manners will assist in polishing skills for emerging leaders by providing a basic review of dining etiquette for participants.”

Career Services and Experiential Learning focused on career-related information, such as: managing personal and professional roles, planning for career success and professional opportunities at UCF.

Student Development and Enrollment Services (SDES) partnered with Undergraduate Studies to bring Neil Howe, best-selling author and national speaker, to UCF as part of “The New America: Mirroring the Present & Mapping the Future,” the latest effort in the Connecting the UCF Community series.

As a staff development initiative, SDES staff and faculty were invited to Howe’s presentation on the insight into generations in America and his latest book, Millennials Rising, The Next Great Generation. Later in the evening, Howe participated in a Town Hall Forum open to the UCF and Orlando communities.

New Miss UCF 2006 Crowned:

Thirteen contestants vied for the title of Miss UCF 2006 in a standing-room only event attended by over 900 people on February 10. Megan Clementi, a 22-year-old junior electrical engineering student walked away with the crown. Clementi is a transfer student from Jupiter and the Miss South Florida Fair titleholder. In addition to her academics at UCF, she is an Orlando Magic dancer, Disney dancer and Dance Captain for the USO Girls Troupe. Her community involvement includes serving as an economics teacher for Junior Achievement and baseball coach for children with disabilities. Clementi’s platform is Helping Children with Life-Threatening Diseases, and she volunteers extensively at Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee. Her career ambition is to work as an electrical engineer and one day dance on Broadway. Evy Tonn was first runner-up; Lauren Meyer, second runner-up; and Sheena Howell, third runner-up. Clementi will represent UCF this summer at the Miss Florida Scholarship Pageant in Miami.

“This year we had 13 top-notch contestants in the Miss UCF Pageant,” says Veronica Livesay, executive director for the Miss UCF Pageant and senior administrative assistant for Campus Life. “They are all academic achievers, leaders and all are heavily involved in community service with their platforms. Their majors include Molecular and Microbiology, Hospitality Management, Nursing, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Elementary Education, to name a few. Anyone of these young women would be excellent ambassadors for UCF, but unfortunately only one could win.”

Summit Offers Students Leadership Workshops

“Even though I’ve attended other leadership conferences, each of them always bring something new to my plate,” says Erin O’Donnell, freshman. “During NorthStar Summit, I was impressed at the great amount of enthusiasm the staff had; the diversity and availability of programs; and most importantly, I was happy that it was open to all UCF students.”

Knights of the RoundTable (KoRT) hosted its second annual NorthStar Summit Leadership Workshop on January 28. One-hundred students (mostly officers from student organizations) attended sessions on topics including: leadership styles, officer transition, diversity, conflict management, Student Government Association funding and motivation.

According to Pamela Nadroff, sophomore and president of the Honors Congress, “The Officer Transition workshop forced me to think of ways to have better continuity with my organization from year to year. Christa Coffey [presenter] gave suggestions that I am definitely going to follow, such as building an officer transition time period in the constitution; having a thorough binder for each position that explains how to perform those specific tasks; and succession planning, picking out promising younger students and showing them how things are done.” Nadroff added, “The Summit allowed us all to get the training we needed, as well as getting to know our fellow leaders and networking.” Office of Student Involvement staff report preliminary feedback has been all positive.

KoRT is an advisory council that serves as an educational resource to all student organizations and as a liaison between the organizations and the UCF community.

Alternative Spring Break is Coming to a City Near you

Alternate Spring Break (ASB) provides 10 week-long, substance-free, community service excursions during Spring Break, sponsored by LINK First Year Experience program and Housing and Residence Life. ASB provides students with a challenging and fun opportunity to learn through service. Participants will learn the importance of reflection, social justice and civic engagement. ASB is about meeting new friends; sharing experiences; having fun; and most importantly, helping others.

Participants will head to New Orleans; Nashville; the Everglades; Eustis; Atlanta; Albany, Georgia; and Tryon, North Carolina. Students will have the opportunity to work with Hurricane Katrina rebuilding; Habitat for Humanity, Boggy Creek Gang Camp, United Cerebral Palsy and other service organizations. One group will stay in Orlando to serve our local community.

The site leaders: Danika Weiss, Faraaz Merchant, Brittany Moscato, Kimeche Carmichael, Nick Clayton, Leslie Rosario, Julie Fox, Rodneisha White, Christina Lopez and Sandra Bednarz will plan pre-trip events, lead reflections and serve as peer mentors.

Trip advisors will be: Gidget Lewis, Laura Carlisle, Amanda Ford, Amanda Gaglio and Matthew Bethon from Housing and Residence Life; Kathleen Connolly, Darren Skinner and Brendali Melgoza from First Year Advising and Exploration; and Paige James, an educational leadership graduate student.

For more information on ASB or LINK, contact Jaclyn Bayer at 407.882.7005.

Fairy Tales Come to Life on Campus at UCF

On February 3-5, UCF became home to students and housing professionals, who visited from 17 schools from all over the State of Florida to take part in the Florida Association of Residence Halls Annual Conference (FARH). The conference, themed FARHy Tales, was hosted by UCF’s Department of Housing and Residence Life’s United Resident Student Association.

The conference was a time to share ideas and learn new programming skills, participate in team building activities and show their spirit for their home school. Students incorporated the fairy tale theme into their skits, program sessions, spirited costumes and cheers.

This year’s FARH Conference had a record-breaking attendance of over 180 delegates and advisors. In addition to the educational
UCF participants in the FARH Conferenceoutcome of the conference, students were able to make a difference right here on UCF’s campus. A total of 475 Box Tops for Education (found on General Mills, Pillsbury, etc. products) were collected from the different schools, which will directly impact UCF’s Creative School for Children on campus.

On Your Mark: Get Ready, Get Set, Go

It was a cloudy and rainy day, but that didn’t stop 29 teams (three members in each team) to participate in the Adventure Race on February 4. The rain posed slippery challenges as the teams raced and biked around the UCF campus scurrying for clues, and while they climbed the high and low obstacle courses. Participants could be seen in canoes paddling across Lake Orion before heading back to the lap pool to the finish line.

The UCF ROTC team won first prize gold medals. In an interview, they said they enjoyed the weather as it cooled them down when running. They also stated their strategy of taking short cuts through campus cut their time in half. The top five teams were awarded T-shirts and a prize was given to the dirtiest team.

SARC Tutors Give Perspective to Documentary

The SARC tutorial staff viewed the PBS documentary Declining by Degrees as a part of their semester “College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA)” tutor training. The purpose was to give the 29 tutors a new perspective and understanding that many students right out of high school are not ready to handle the pressures of college. In viewing the documentary, tutors became aware that many students do not have the appropriate study skills for success at the college level.

“I feel better equipped to meet the academic needs of my students after viewing this documentary,” commented Tiffany Lohman, veteran Biology tutor. “It made me realize the sense of obligation I have to the students whom I tutor. Not only to assist with course content, but also with the proper study skills necessary to be successful in college.”

Center Offers Additional Certification Exams

Recently, the University Testing Center (UTC) announced that three new subject areas for the Florida Teacher Certification Exams (FTCE) became available on the computer. These new exams include Middle Grades General Science 5-9, Middle Grades Mathematics 5-9, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) K-12. With the addition of these tests, UTC now offers 11 subject area examinations, the Professional Education test, and the General Knowledge Reading, English Language Skills and Mathematics sub-tests. As the demand for computer-based FTCE tests increases, the UTC staff expects to see additional tests become available on computer.

“We are pleased to be able to provide these services to UCF students and support professional educators within the community,” commented Rebecca Piety, assistant director for the University Testing Center. For more information, visit: www.testing.sdes.ucf.edu or call 407.823.5109.

UCF Wins Top Awards at Housing Conference

A delegation of 18 students traveled to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to attend the Florida Resident Advisor Seminar (FRAS) Conference on January 20-22. UCF was one of 24 Florida schools in attendance and presented a total of seven programs. “Finding Your Inner Artist” and “Sometimes You Just Gotta Dance” programs received awards, which were accepted by Resident Assistants (RAs) Josh Wheeler, Megan Murphy and Sandi Bednarz. The RAs networked with other institutions exchanging knowledge and skills, which they were able to bring back to their housing areas.

Expert Presents Insight on Women in Leadership

Sally Helgesen, acclaimed leadership writer, presented “Leading 24/7” to faculty, staff and students on February 8. Helgesen referenced what she learned during 15 years of researching the world’s best women leaders and described the qualities and skills that women bring to organizations, such as focusing on relationships throughout the organization; insisting on direct communication; and modeling that they have other responsibilities [family].

Sonia Gonzalez-Smith, First Year Advising and Exploration, who attended the presentation, said she was impressed by Helgesen’s quote, “Women lead from the center to draw people in, a web of inclusion.” Helgesen also identified key trends that are transforming organizations, such as how change has become constant. Jennifer Wright, Student Academic Resource Center, commented on Helgesen’s issue of women’s handling of emotion in the workplace. “I liked the way she described it better as one needs to manage their mood to set the energy tone for the day, the week, and/or the atmosphere of the organization.”

LEAD Scholars Program sponsored the event in collaboration with the Junior League of Greater Orlando, Women’s Research Center, Campus Life, Undergraduate Studies and Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Leadership Week Award Recipients

Leadership Week was created to identify, recognize and develop leadership among students, faculty and staff. The Leadership Week Award recipients are as follows:

Teaching Faculty – Ross Wolf, College of Health and Public Affairs
Administrative Faculty – Jennifer Wright, Student Academic Resource Center
A&P – Greg Schuckman, University Relations
USPS – Vanessa Butts, Registrar’s Office
Distinguished Knights – United Resident Student Association, Housing and Residence Life
Emerging Student – Lindsey Johns and Kristen Kushner
Progressive Student – Meagan Arrastia, Maria Blanchet and Kari Floyd
Rising Star (Alumni)
- Burnett Honors College – Sarah Walden, ‘04
- College of Business – Kevin O’Connell, ‘02
- College of Education – Patricia Shimer, ‘05
- College of Engineering and Computer Science – Darren Phegley, ‘04
- College of Health and Public Affairs – Jose Oscar Rivera, ‘04
- College of Sciences – Heissam Jebailey, ‘00
Order of Pegasus
- Graduate Students – Jennifer Curry and Ravi Todi
- Undergraduate Students – Morgan Cyphers, Melissa Lanzone, Jennifer Hartzler, Kelly Simonz, Maria Blanchet, Amy Schwartz, Alison Valentine, Sohang Gandhi, Trent Scott, Arianne Buchanan and Katherine Brown

Welcome to SDES

Nicole Griffin, office manager, Career Services and Experiential Learning
Michael Hill, custodial worker, Recreation and Wellness Center
Lena Holton, senior clerk, Housing and Residence Life
Harry Jernigan, academic advisor, Multicultural Academic Support Services
Hector Petrolo, maintenance worker, Recreation and Wellness Center
Corrie Scott, coordinator, Academic Support Services, Academic Services for Student-Athletes
Nancy Soletti, associate University Registrar, Registrar’s Office
Ashley Styers, coordinator, Student Affairs, Student Disability Services