Highlights

Photography Student respresents UCF at ACA's University Student Exhibition 2009

June 2009

Jennifer Surgent, B.S. photography program student at Daytona, will represent UCF at the Atlantic Center for the Arts University Student Exhibition 2009. Jennifer was one of four undergraduate students selected from twenty nominees to participate in the exhibition. The exhibits juror, John F. Simon Jr., says of Jennifer: "She is drawn by personal specters in her night wanderings but renders the mysterious darkness vibrant with color." The exhibition was established 20 years ago to benefit young artists from Florida universities.

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M.F.A. Student Robert LaWarre III to show work at the Ceramics Multiplex 2009 in Croatia

January 2009

M.F.A. student Robert LaWarre III has been selected to show his work at "the greatest and most important ceramic manifestation," Ceramics Multiplex 2009, at the Third Internation Festival of Postmodern Ceramics 2009 in Croatia. The exhibition will be held from April 11 to May 3, 2009 in the City Museum in Varazdin. LaWarre is one of 14 artists selected from the United States.
Visit Ceramics Multiplex 2009 to see a list of participating artists.

CAH Graduate Student Award winners

March 2009

The College of Arts & Humanities proudly congratulates the following recipients of 2008-09 Graduate Student Awards:

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Digital Media students debut animated short

May 2009

Atlas’ Revenge, an animated short film by 25 undergraduate Digital Media students and one graduate student director, premieres at the UCF Center for Emerging Media on May 5. Nearly a year-and-a-half in the making, faculty member Darlene Hadrika oversaw the film’s production, while composer and UCF professor Stella Sung wrote the soundtrack. In the six-minute short, a goldfish must protect his home from a mechanical invader. More information is available at www.atlasrevenge.com.

• Darlene Hadrika is a research associate in the Department of Digital Media
• Stella Sung is the director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology and Entertainment

Master’s and Undergraduate Students Present at International Conference

May 2009

Master’s in Literature alumna Mandy Mahaffey, Master’s in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies student Jessica Masri, and undergraduate English student Corrinne Woods, formed a panel entitled “Time/lessness in The Last Unicorn” at the 30th International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts (International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts), March 18–21, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. Their presentations were, respectively: "Time is of the Essence!: Time and Identity-Formation in The Last Unicorn"; "The Broken Clock and the Eternal Sign: The Severance of Signified from Signifier in Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn," and "The Timelessness of The Last Unicorn as a Mirror of Oral Tradition."

Master’s in Literature Alumna Joins Ph.D. Program at University of Maryland

May 2009

Master’s in Literature Alumna Ucheche Okereke-Beshel has been accepted into University of Maryland’s English Ph.D. Program and offered a $20,000 fellowship. She joins her new program in fall 2009

Master’s Students Present at Children’s Literature Conference

May 2009

Master’s in Literature alumna Mandy Mahaffey and Master’s in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies student Jeannina Perez presented at the Girls’ Culture & Girls’ Studies: Surviving, Reviving, Celebrating Girlhood Conference, October 16–18, 2008 in New Haven, Connecticut. Their papers were, respectively: “Gender Performativity, Sexual Orientation, Body, and the ‘I Kiss Girls’ Phenomenon in Music Videos: Empowering, Objectifying, or a Bit of Both?” and “Teaching Girls to Be Bratz.”

Kelle Groom wins Outstanding Master's Thesis award

March 2009

Kelle Groom has won the UCF College of Graduate Studies award for Outstanding Master's Thesis. Groom received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing in December 2008. Her thesis, Five Kingdoms, is a poetry collection. Her poems and nonfiction have appeared in AGNI, Gettysburg Review, The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Poetry, and Witness, among others. Her awards include fellowships and scholarships from Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Millay Colony for the Arts, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and the Sewanee Writers Conference, and grants from the State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs, Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, United Arts of Central Florida, Volusia County Cultural Council, and New Forms Florida, as well as a Florida Book Award. Her work was recognized as notable in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, and this year her work has been nominated for four Pushcart Prizes in both poetry and nonfiction.

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T&T Ph.D. student to serve on the Bedford/St. Martins TA Advisory Board

March 2009

Rochelle (Chelle) Becker-Bernstein, a third-year student in the T&T Ph.D. program, was selected as one of ten composition teaching assistants from around the country to serve on the Bedford/St. Martin's TA Advisory Board for 2009. Ms. Bernstein, who is currently completing her coursework and looking forward to beginning her comprehensive examinations during the summer, was nominated by T&T faculty member, Elizabeth Wardle, for the honor. She submitted a CV and other materials, completed an interview with Bedford personnel, and was selected for the board. She will receive a $1000 stipend and travel expenses to a board meeting in Boston. Chelle's research focuses on mixed-mode instruction in composition, and her work with this organization will allow her to share her findings with and learn from her colleagues around the country through the Bedford blog and other outlets.

MFA Student Dino Gallino and his film Red Tide Reaches Post-production Stage

October 2009

Red Tide, Dino Gallino’s final project for the MFA Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program, has reached the post-production stage. The program requires students to create a feature-length film and raise $50,000 to complete the project. Gallino has accomplished this task despite a rough economy. MovieMaker spoke with Gallino about his experience at UCF and about the film which he plans to promote upon graduation. For more information about Dino Gallino and Red Tide, Read the MovieMaker interview.

UCF Film Alum Starts Iraq's First Independent Film Festival

July 2009

UCF Film Alum Miguel Lima graduated in 2005 and joined the Army; but he promised to continue his film studies. After being deployed, Lima continued to talk with professor Lisa Cook. It wasn't long before he received a package of UCF student films he would use to create the first Independent Film Festival in Iraq. On July 3rd, over thirty military personnel witnessed the event. Lieutenant Thorell said, "I thought the screening was very well done, and as a UCF graduate, I was proud to see my fellow alumni's hard work providing entertainment for my fellow Soldiers here in Iraq." The show was a hit, and Lima summed up the event: "it was truly an honor to play the films for a deployed group of folks that are working hard every day." Read the entire article.

Film student Cipolla hits the big time

July 2009

Former UCF Film student Lee Cipolla is featured in an article by Orlando Sentinel movie critic Roger Moore. Cipolla's independently-produced films Harder they Fall and Know Thy Enemy were recently released on DVD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Know Thy Enemy has been a hit in Blockbuster video stores and Best Buys since its May release. Cipolla has cut his teeth on major Hollywood productions including roles as Production Assistant on Marley & Me and Fast & Furious along with numerous music videos for high profile artists.

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M.F.A. Graduate's Film Screened at Chinese Movie Festival

June 2009

Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema M.F.A. graduate Laura Lopez directed, wrote, and produced "Acts of Mercy" which is being screened at the Chinese film festival from June 13th - June 21st. First time producer Erica Harrell and Lopez met in 2004 as undergraduates at UCF. "Acts of Mercy" boasts an up-and-coming cast and was shot in Orlando at the abandoned Sunland Mental Hospital. Find out more about "Act's of Mercy" in the UCF Newsroom or visit www.actsofmercymovie.com.

Graduate Student Films Feature-Length Movie

June 2009

Dino J. Gallina, graduate student in the Film & Digital Media/Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program, began filming his first feature-length film Red Tide. Gallina describes movie as "a slice of life about things around us." The film will be shot in Tarpon Springs and Orlando and is expected to be finished by summer 2010. For more information about the film, read the St. Pete Times article.

Robert Thompson one of OBJ's "10 Businessmen to Watch"

October 2009

Orlando Business Journal names Robert Thompson among its "10 Businessmen to Watch." Thompson graduated from UCF in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and went on to become a founding partner at local marketing and public relations firm Thompson Wesley Wolfe.

UCF Graduate Wins Governor LeRoy Collins Award

April 2009

Deborah L. Bauer, a UCF graduate student, won the Governor LeRoy Collins Award for the most outstanding essay or research paper on Florida history produced by a postgraduate student in a master's or doctoral program at a college or university in the United States. Her paper was titled "'_in a strange place_': The Experiences of Colonial Women in the British Floridas, 1763-1784."

UCF Graduate Wins Herman and Celia Chapin Award

April 2009

Julio Raul Firpo, a UCF graduate student, was awarded the Herman and Celia Chapin Award and given the opportunity to present his paper at the Florida Historical Society Annual Meeting. His paper is titled "The Origins of Orlando's Puerto Rican Community."

Hunter Shaw receives UCF Graduate Travel Award

February 2009

Hunter Shaw received a UCF Graduate Travel Award to present a paper at the Fifth Annual North Carolina Graduate Student History Conference at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. The title of his paper is "For Home and Country: Confederate Loyalty in Western North Carolina," and it examines the concept of loyalty as it relates to North Carolinians in the Confederacy.

Music Grad Student wins American Viola Society's David Dalton Research Competition

July 2009

Jennifer Mueller, a graduate student in UCF's College of Music, recently won first prize in the American Viola Society's annual David Dalton Research Competition. Her paper is entitled, “Finding Emotion in Bartok’s Viola Concerto,” and investigates emotional responses to music as a way to analyze musical form. The paper will be published in the Journal of the American Viola Society.

UCF Music's Presser Foundation Award

April 2009

At the UCF Music Department's annual Honors Convocation, department chair Johnny Pherigo presented the Presser Foundation Award to Allessandro Bonotto.

UCF Wind Ensemble Composition Award

April 2009

At the UCF Music Department's annual Honors Convocation, Jay Batzner presented the UCF Wind Ensemble Composition Competition Award to Brandon Clinton.

UCF Flute Ensemble tours Guatemala

March 2009

The UCF Flute Ensemble will tour Guatemala under the direction of Nora Lee García-Velázquez from March 6 to 13. The ensemble will appear in Guatemala City and Antigua, performing music by American, French and Latin American composers.

• Nora Lee García-Velázquez is an associate professor in the Department of Music

UCF Theatre alum on Survivor: Samoa

October 2009

UCF Theatre alum Monica Padilla will appear on Survivor: Samoa. Survivor: Samoa is the nineteenth season of the CBS competitive reality television series. The season premiered on Thursday, September 17, 2009. Monica was selected from more than 800 interviews and approximately 48 semi-finalists.

UCF Grad Student Born To Be On Stage

July 2009

Graduate student Trent Fucci will star as Prince Hal in The Arboretum's Summerfest production of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part One July 8th-12th. Fucci will have the opportunity to play the role of Prince Hal for the next three summers if the play is well received. Read more about Fucci's career and future on stage.

CAH Graduate Student Researcher of the Year

April 2009

Liz Brendel receives CAH Graduate Student Researcher of the Year award for 2008/2009. A M.F.A. student in the Theatre Department, Ms. Brendel's research titled "Aphra Behn's The Rover A study of Feminism and Class" won top honors at the 2008 Graduate Research Forum.

Theatre for Young Audiences/USA spotlights UCF Theatre grad

April 2009

Rebecca Podsednik, a graduate of the Theatre for Young Audiences M.F.A. Program, has been spotlighted by the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People's United States Chapter. She is currently Tour Coordinator in the Theater for Young Audiences program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

UCF students and faculty perform at Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center event

April 2009

Theatre students Luke Bernard and Erika Lyon performed at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida Tribute dinner for John and Rita Lowndes. The students were well received as they performed pieces from the recent Theatre Department production of West Side Story. Theatre faculty member Be Boyd also performed on behalf of the university's partnership organization The Orlando Shakespear Theatre. Other UCF departments involved in the event include Music, Film, Digital Media and UCF CREATE.