UCF BURNETT HONORS COLLEGE

2019-20
ANNUAL REPORT
OUR MISSION
Cultivating Talent. Inspiring Excellence.

OUR VISION
To provide a transformative, vibrant community that
fosters academic excellence, interdisciplinary inquiry,
and personal growth. To empower creative problem-
solvers who use their talent and passion to address
the dynamic challenges of the present and future.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

This year was a time of record-setting achievement for our college. UCF students received 45 nationally and
internationally recognized scholarships and fellowships; that number includes 16 BHC Scholars.

The future looks bright. This year, we welcomed a class of 517 first-year students from 29 states, who speak 29 different
languages, and have an average SAT of 1465. We truly have much to be proud of.

As part of “America’s Partnership University,” we are working to develop relationships with graduate programs,
professional programs, and employers in the state and region, so that our BHC Scholars may reap the benefits. Through
our TALENT (Transforming Aspiring Leaders Through Experience, Networking, and Training) initiative, we connect
scholars with internship and job opportunities. ORANGE (Orlando Regional Alliance for Nonprofit Grant-Writing
Experience) provides service-learning experiences with nonprofit organizations. Our CARES (Clinical Activity, Research
Experience, and Shadowing) initiative connects our pre-health BHC Scholars with valuable healthcare opportunities. And
finally, with WINGS (Wise Investment iN Graduate Success), we encourage our undergraduates to take graduate-level
coursework, and connect them with graduate and professional schools for the next steps on their journeys.

The Burnett Honors College is consistently ranked among the top honors colleges at public universities in Florida, and
across the nation. That prestige flows from the accomplishments of our BHC Scholars, who constantly inspire us to reach
for the stars.

Together, we are committed to fulfilling our mission: “Cultivating Talent. Inspiring Excellence.”

Go Knights! Charge On!

Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, Ph.D.

Dean, UCF Burnett Honors College
 BY THE NUMBERS

4
Who our scholars are, and what they
do after graduation.

CULTIVATING TALENT
A look at the success of our

6
University Honors and Honors
Undergraduate Thesis programs.

DEVELOPING
PARTNERSHIPS

8
Creating community connections that
provide value for our BHC Scholars.

INSPIRING EXCELLENCE

10
A record year of recognition
by national and international
scholarship and fellowship programs.

ASPIRATIONS FOR
THE FUTURE

12
Where we go from here.

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BY THE NUMBERS
FALL 2019 INCOMING CLASS FALL 2020 INCOMING CLASS*

517 ATTENDING 542 ATTENDING

(1,625 APPLIED; 1,017 ADMITTED) (1,610 APPLIED; 1,140 ADMITTED)
1465 SAT 1465 SAT
32.7 ACT 32.5 ACT

4.458 GPA 4.4431 GPA

74.7% STEM 71.7% STEM

39.2% MINORITY 45.5% MINORITY

87 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS 80 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARS

174 PROVOST SCHOLARS 210 PROVOST SCHOLARS

23 NATIONAL HISPANIC SCHOLARS 24 NATIONAL HISPANIC SCHOLARS

*Preliminary Data as of June 16, 2020

BHC POPULATION

15 365
SECOND-YEAR ENTRY
33 (UNIVERSITY HONORS)
HONORS
TRANSFER AA HONORS UNDERGRADUATE
(UNIVERSITY HONORS) THESIS

1,349
CONTINUING
(UNIVERSITY HONORS)

517
FTIC
(UNIVERSITY HONORS)

TOTAL ENROLLMENT (FALL 2019)

2,279
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 GRADUATE OUTCOMES
EMPLOYERS

AdventHealth Amazon Apple

Blue Origin BNY Mellon Deloitte
Embraer Ernst & Young Exxon Mobil
Foreign Service Institute GEICO Google
Harris Corporation JPMorgan Chase Kennedy Space Center
KPMG Lockheed Martin Los Alamos National Laboratory
Microsoft Northrop Grumman Orlando Health
Raytheon Sandia National Laboratories Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Siemens Texas Instruments Tompkins Robotics
Universal Studios Orlando Walt Disney Imagineering Verizon

GRADUATE PROGRAMS PUBLIC SERVICE

Bard Graduate Center Caltech Carnegie Mellon AmeriCorps

Cornell Emory Georgetown U.S. Foreign Service
Georgia Tech Harvard Johns Hopkins U.S. Military Service
London School of NYU Grossman School U.S. Peace Corps
MIT
Economics of Medicine
University of California,
Oxford (UK) Stanford
Santa Barbara
University of Chicago University of Maryland University of Michigan
University of the University of Virginia
University of Pittsburgh
Arts London School of Medicine

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 CULTIVATING
TALENT
Our students consistently rank among UCF’s best and brightest. This year, nearly half of all UCF students who received
the Order of Pegasus — the university’s most distinguished student award — were BHC Scholars.

The college creates a diverse learning community that cultivates talent and inspires excellence. From “Hacks” workshops
that are devoted to student wellness, academic success, and career readiness, to workshops that share the best apps for
making research more efficient, we are actively engaged in helping our students succeed.

UNIVERSITY HONORS
Honors advisors assist BHC Scholars in the University Honors program via appointment and through weekly walk-
in hours, mapping out their academic journey, from honors requirements and major exploration to graduate and
professional school admission planning.

In addition, student peer advisors reach out to freshmen or students who may be on academic probation to encourage
them to register for classes, make regular advising appointments, and stay aware of approaching academic deadlines. As
a result of this dedicated attention, our four-year graduation rates and retention rates consistently exceed those of UCF
as a whole.

FOUR-YEAR GRADUATION RATE

2017-18 61.9%

2018-19 67.9%
96.3%
retention rate in 2018-19 UCF 44.0%
(+5.4% compared to UCF)

+6.0%
year-over-year
(+23.9% compared to UCF)

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 HONORS UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
The Honors Undergraduate Thesis (HUT) is a two to four semester program that allows all motivated and talented juniors
and seniors to carry out an original research project or creative activity. Students who successfully complete an honors
thesis in their academic major earn the Honors in the Major distinction. They may also choose to write an honors thesis
in another discipline, earning Honors in Research or Honors in Creative Inquiry. Research is published through the UCF
Libraries and is available to researchers worldwide through an electronic database.

From the moment they enter the program, we provide our undergraduate researchers with personalized attention, from
providing support groups and workshops to creating tailored solutions to the challenges they face in their thesis journey.
In doing so, we help to increase their likelihood of successfully completing and defending their thesis.

Research Match Day

BHC Scholars from all majors connect with active
researchers at this event, which is now in its
second year. Research Match Day allows students
to find out more about innovative projects, and
potentially find a spot on UCF research teams.

57 Faculty 138 BHC Scholars

(89 attended in person)

Opportunities to Build a Network

From sharing research with legislators at the
Capitol building in Tallahassee to being funded to
participate in conferences, our BHC Scholars have
many chances to connect with other researchers
who may become future mentors or collaborators.

A record 41 BHC Scholars

presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research
Conference (FURC).

TOTAL ENROLLMENT RETENTION RATE NUMBER OF GRADUATES

2018-19 450 2018-19 83.5% 2018-19 181

2019-20 498 2019-20 88.0% 2019-20 211

+10.7% +4.5% +16.6%

year-over-year year-over-year year-over-year

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 DEVELOPING
PARTNERSHIPS
The Burnett Honors College is committed to empowering our BHC Scholars to cultivate their optimal self — one that will
fully prepare them to take on real-world challenges, no matter their career path. To that end, BHC leadership takes an active
role in creating and nurturing relationships with employers, graduate schools, and professional schools in the state and
region to broaden the range of opportunities that will make a positive impact on our BHC Scholars’ careers and futures.

COLLEGE INITIATIVE: DESCRIPTION: MET WITH:

CARES Helping our pre-health BHC Scholars

Clinical Activity, Research Orlando Health
build valuable connections in the
Experience, and
healthcare field
Shadowing

WINGS
Wise Investment iN
Graduate Success
Emory University
School of Law
Developing partnerships that will
provide our BHC Scholars preferential Georgia Institute of
admission to graduate programs Technology (Georgia Tech)

Nova Southeastern
University

General Dynamics
Mission Systems
TALENT
Transforming Aspiring Providing meaningful internship and
Home Depot
Leaders Through work experiences for BHC Scholars
Experience, Networking,
Juvare
and Training
Siemens

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 BUILDING COMMUNITY AWARENESS

Careers in STEM
Dean Sheila Piñeres and College of
Engineering & Computer Science Dean
Michael Georgiopoulos had a “fireside chat”
conversation with South Florida business
leaders. They discussed how to promote STEM
employment opportunities, save in talent
acquisition, and provide quality internships.
The event was hosted by Akerman LLP and
moderated by Chris Marlin ’94, president of
Lennar International. The Burnett Honors
College is a key STEM pipeline for Florida and
the southeastern United States.

BHC Business Leaders Luncheon

At the second-annual BHC Business Leaders
Luncheon, hosted by Akerman LLP, we shared
details of our new InSpire Scholars program,
a collaboration with Elevation Scholars.
We expect the InSpire Scholars program,
which seeks to engage high-performing
but economically disadvantaged students
from Orange County’s Title I high schools,
to create unparalleled educational mobility
opportunities. In Fall 2020, we will welcome
our first cohort of BHC InSpire Scholars.

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

Nearly three-quarters of
University Honors (UH) JOB OFFER GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL
students report receiving
UH 67.19% UH 67.14%
a job offer or successfully
applying to a graduate or NON-UH 59.97% NON-UH 41.34%
professional school
after graduation.

Source: Calculations from data provided by UCF’s office of Operational Excellence

and Assessment Support (OEAS) First Destination Survey, 2018-19

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 INSPIRING
EXCELLENCE
Through the UCF Office of Prestigious Awards, we assist students in identifying national and international scholarships
and fellowships that truly align with their academic and professional goals, so that they can optimally tailor their
application to satisfy that award’s unique conditions.

As these awards are highly competitive, we prepare students to apply through an extensive process that can begin as
early as their first year. We do this through a variety of touchpoints throughout the application process, including:

• organizing individual meetings with students via phone, Skype, Zoom, or in person;
• hosting workshops and information sessions that answer student questions about specific awards and that
provide steps to apply;
• coordinating mock interviews, reviewing applicant essays, and hosting group and individual meetings.

A RECORD YEAR

2
Goldwater Scholars
45 (1 BHC Scholar)
15
In addition, there
were a record
Prestigious National
and International
NSF Graduate 21
Awards Received 11 Research Fellows
(7 BHC Scholars)
Fulbright
Semi-Finalists
(16 BHC Scholars) Fulbright Grantees
(5 BHC Scholars)

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 PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WINNERS
Gary Hoppenworth, Goldwater Scholar,
plans to conduct theoretical and applied
computer science research at a national
research lab after graduation.
Abigail Weisse ’20, Fulbright
grantee, will be tutoring students at
the University of Málaga in Spain,
and will pursue a career in medicine.
Emily Bom ’20, Fulbright grantee, will be
teaching English in Bulgaria. She plans to
pursue a career in speech pathology or
teaching after graduation.
Emma Shafer, Astronaut Scholar, plans to
attend graduate school and research space
exploration with either NASA or Blue Origin.
Adam Searles ’19, NSF Graduate Research
Fellow, plans to become a professor
of marine ecology at a top research
institution.
Lindsay Martin ’20, NSF Graduate
Research Fellow, will pursue her Ph.D. in
biological sciences at Vanderbilt, studying
how mosquitoes transmit diseases.
Bridget Vincent ’19, NSF Graduate
Research Fellow, is pursuing her Ph.D. in
marine biology at UC Santa Barbara.
Bethany Salas, SCUSA Fellow, is currently
interning at the U.S. State Department. She
plans to be part of the U.S. Foreign Service
before going to graduate school, and will
ultimately work in international security.
Rayner Seavey ’20, Fulbright grantee,
will be teaching English in South Korea,
and plans to become a
physical therapist.
Zachary Stein ’20, Fulbright grantee, is
studying aircraft engines at the German
Aerospace Center in Cologne, and will
conduct space research after graduation.
Irene Tanner ’20, Fulbright grantee and
NSF Graduate Research Fellow, will be
pursuing her Ph.D. in computer science
at UCF, and plans to work in healthcare
informatics or data science.
Rishi Basdeo, Astronaut Scholar, will
pursue a graduate degree in biomedical
or rehabilitation engineering, and plans to
become a prosthetics engineer.
Angelina Leary ’19, NSF Graduate
Research Fellow, is pursuing her Ph.D. in
clinical psychology at UCF, with the aim
of becoming a faculty member at a top
research university.
Isaac Valdiviezo ’20, NSF Graduate
Research Fellow, will be entering UCF’s
conservation and integrative biology
Ph.D. program, with plans to go into
academic research.
Carla Garcia ’20, NSF Graduate Research
Fellow and APSA Minority Fellow, plans
to pursue her Ph.D. in political science
and work in academia after graduation.
Heidi Waite ’17, Ford Diversity Fellow, is
studying for her Ph.D. in marine biology
at UC Santa Barbara, and plans to pursue
a career in conservation research or
science communication.
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ASPIRATIONS FOR
THE FUTURE
1
Creating inclusionary pathways for
extraordinary and exemplary students to
engage through an honors education;

Focusing not only on lifelong learning

2 but also on the professional and personal

wellbeing of scholars to ensure they reach
their potential;

Reshaping the national conversation surrounding the

3
value proposition of an honors education and honors
college by redefining metrics in terms of student
success and outcomes rather than simply GPA and
SAT scores;

Recalibrating the value of an honors education for

students from being defined in terms of perks for

4 smart students to one of providing scholars who have

the passion and potential, with the experiences and
development that is necessary to not only tackle the
future, but also fundamentally change it;

Enhancing what it means to be a partner and

5 collaborator in the region, state, and nation to include

being a pipeline of outstanding talent and contributing
to engines of growth.

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P.O. Box 161800
Orlando, FL 32816
honors.ucf.edu

CULTIVATING TALENT. INSPIRING EXCELLENCE.