Hey 4EKers!
Come out and join us for Knight of Success on November 3, at 6 p.m.  When you attend the event you can enter to win a pair of tickets to the UCF vs. UF basketball game!  Here are some of the speakers who will be present at the event:

Todd Woodard: Entrepreneurship

Todd Woodard is the president and founder of Mosaic Wealth Management

Group, Inc. Todd is a 1995 graduate of the University of Central Florida College of

Business. He presently serves as Chairman for the UCF Alumni Association

Board of Directors, is on the Board of Directors for the Walt Disney

Florida Children’s Hospital, the CEO Council for the Florida Baptist

Children's Home and he and his wife volunteer their time with various

nonprofit organizations.

Todd currently resides in Winter Springs with his wife Ashley, daughter

Morgan (12) and son T.J. (10). He enjoys spending his spare time with

family, playing golf, reading and anything/everything UCF!

Trace Trylko: Networking

Trace Trylko graduated from UCF in 1994 with a degree in Radio/TV and has

highlighted his resume with experiences in newspaper, radio, television, media relations and marketing. He currently works as the Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator for Longwood-based NDI Recognition Systems.

In his spare time, Trace proudly serves on the Board of Directors for the UCF Alumni

Association and is the immediate past Chair of that organization's Community Volunteers Chapter. Trace is active at All Souls Catholic Church and is a Board Member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Further, Trace is Chair of the Seminole Action Coalition Serving Our Needy (SACSON) and was just named to the Citizens Advisory Board for the City of Sanford. Trace writes a column for The Sanford Herald and is a proud member of the Golden Knights Club and has season tickets to UCF football, basketball and baseball.

Mark Nation: Ethics

Mark A. Nation is a civil trial lawyer who limits his practice to wrongful death, personal injury, and insurance cases. Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Nation was a police officer and a deputy sheriff. Mr. Nation graduated with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law where he was an editor of the Law Review.

Mr. Nation is married with four children. Over the years, he has served on the board of directors of many organizations, including: Ronald McDonald House, Seminole County Bar Association, Volie Williams Inns of Court (a national organization dedicated to professionalism and ethics in the practice of law).

In 2009, Mr. Nation was selected as one of the University of Central Florida’s recipients of its Alumni Professional Achievement Awards. Mr. and Mrs. Nation support Hospice of the Comforter, Christian Help, and Orlando Union Rescue Mission.

Joseph Mera: Presenter

Joseph Mera graduated from UCF in 2003, with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. Upon leaving UCF, Joseph worked for the Bank of New York, but is now back in Central Florida and is currently the associate director of accounting and financial management services for the UCF Foundation. Joseph was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, and has enjoyed watching the city evolve.  When he is not working, he is heavily involved in tennis, participating in a doubles league and playing tournaments.  He also maintains a close relationship to UCF through the Alumni Association.  He was the Chair Elect, and then Chair for Fiscal Years 08 and 09 for the UCF Young Alumni Chapter.  He has also been inducted as a member of the Alumni Association Board.  Aside from that, he likes to get involved with smaller foundations and volunteering efforts and is a member of the University Club of Orlando.

A message from Nicole Cruz, our Vice Chair of Campus and Community Involvement, about Homecoming!

Hi 4EKers!

Homecoming week has been such a blast! I hope you've all been attending all the fun events this week! We've been really busy competing in several homecoming events to show our UCF spirit and pride, such as fountain guard and spirit banner painting, making a UCF commercial, and even collecting aluminum cans for the campus-wide drive last week. Thanks to a fellow 4EK member, Chris Robinson, our spirit banner and fountain guard are looking pretty awesome with Knightro clobbering Sammy the owl with a dodgeball to go along with our homecoming theme: DodgeBall- A True 4EK Story! Be sure to check out the fountain guard at this Friday's Spirit Splash--UCF's best tradition starting at noon! Also, be sure to go to our Facebook page to see our movie commercial that shows exactly how things are going to go down at Saturday's homecoming game against the Rice Owls!!! Last but not least, come walk with us in Saturday's traditional Homecoming Parade and help us pass out UCF inspired silly bands!!! Afterwards, head on over to the Fairwinds Alumni Center where we will be hosting an indoor tailgate that you and a friend can enter with your 4EK keyring!

Hope to see you all there! Let me know if you have any questions at ncruz@knights.ucf.edu.

GOOOOO KNIGHTS!!! :)

Vote for Ambassador Sasha Dookhoo for Homecoming Queen!

Sasha Dookhoo is a senior, Advertising/Public Relations major with minors in Marketing and English Writing. Sasha chose to attend UCF because she enjoyed the diversity on campus and the scholastic atmosphere it provided. During her tenure at UCF, Sasha has been involved with numerous cultural, academic and service organizations.

Sasha began her campus involvement by serving as the Public Relations Officer for Sangam – The Indian Student Association during her freshman year. This was a life-changing experience for Sasha as she realized her passion for public relations and decided to change her major from Marketing to Advertising/Public Relations. Sasha also served as Secretary and Executive Vice President of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and is currently the President of the society.

Sasha is also a very active member of the Caribbean Students’ Association and even founded an Indian-Caribbean dance team called the Masala Ladkis. She previously sat on the Multicultural Student Center’s Funding Board and the Student Development and Enrollment Services (SDES) Advisory Board.

Sasha is proud to serve as a 4EVER KNIGHTS Ambassador and currently works as the Marketing and Alumni Services intern for the UCF Alumni Association.

Sasha was born and raised in Guyana, South America and moved to Florida five years ago. She enjoys reading, shopping, dancing, listening to music and meeting new people.



4EK Superstar!

Our second 4EK Superstar for 2010 is Ambassador Tom Whitcomb. Tom is a senior at UCF and is currently in his last semester, majoring in Economics. This is Tom's second year as an Ambassador and already every member of the team as well as the staff at the Fairwinds Alumni Center know exactly who he is. Tom's dedication and passion towards 4EK shine through the amount of time and energy he puts into the organization. Tom tends to always be in the running for the "Most Hours" award each semester. Last Spring, he took home the trophy with over 100 hours for the semester. His relaxed and laid back personality tends to bring a sense of calmness to stressful situations. Tom likes to think of himself as the mood lightener. He certainly is great at making every situation a lasting memory, bringing fun and smiles every where he goes. Tom has many passions in life, one at the top of his list being his family. He originally began his college career at Florida Gulf Coast University; however, after his third semester he received word that his older brother whom he has looked up to for so many years, had become ill. From that moment forward, Tom made it his mission to transfer to UCF where his brother was in order to be there for him. Now, here we are two years later, Tom a senior and his brother, Chris, still fighting but stronger than ever. Many who know the two brothers feel that their strong bond and heavy faith is what brought them to where they are today. As a past Ambassador for 4EK, Chris encouraged Tom to join the organization and now here Tom is making his family and friends very proud. Tom is a huge asset to the organization and we are exceptionally greatful to have him on board.

Fun Facts about Tom:

-4EK Ambassador for 2 years
-Volunteered with Junior Achievement & Relay for Life
-UBS Financial Services Intern
-Co-chair of Membership & Oozefest for 4EK
-Die hard fanatic for the Buffalo Bills & the Boston Red Sox

Alumni Shout Out!

Joe Mera graduated from UCF in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Accounting.  His current position is the Associate Director of Accounting and Financial Management Services.  There are three primary roles in this position:  manage the Endowments for the foundation, manage five pools of investments valued at $138 Million, and serve as the Liaison between the Finance and IT departments. Shortly After graduating UCF, he worked for the Bank of New York.  There he worked with many UCF graduates.  Joe later moved on to work for CFI Westgate as a senior financial analyst and was contacted by a former co-worker of the bank who was currently working for the UCF Foundation.  She informed him of the position at UCF and when the position was presented to him, he thought there would be no better way to give back to his alma mater than to work for them.  It was one of the best decisions he has made.  "Being a fiduciary of the endowments for UCF is a very gratifying experience.  I see firsthand the meaningful impact of donors’ gifts on UCF students, faculty, and programs."

General information about Joe Mera: 

• Joe was born and raised in Orlando, Florida.  When talking about Orlando, he says, "I have seen the city’s evolution from the many orange groves that dotted the area to the new downtown skyline and neighborhoods that now dominate the area.  It is also wonderful to have seen how UCF has grown in the small time since I graduated 7 years ago."
• When Joe is not working, he is heavily involved in tennis, participating in a doubles league and playing tournaments.  He also maintains a close relationship to UCF through the Alumni Association.  Joe was the Chair Elect, and then Chair for Fiscal Years 08 and 09 for the UCF Young Alumni Chapter.  He has also been inducted as a member of the Alumni Association Board.  Aside from that, Joe likes to get involved with smaller foundations and volunteering efforts and is a member of the University Club of Orlando.  

When asked what advice he would give to students, Joe said:

 Networking is very important!  Ten years ago the phrase, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” rang true.  Today, with social media, it is very easy to connect with just about anyone, so if I could modify that quote, it would be, “it’s not who you know, but rather, it’s who you know that will advocate for you.” In today’s world, connecting with someone is as easy as poking them on Facebook or following them on Twitter.  There are plenty of people on Facebook that have a million friends.  But, out of those millions of “friends," how many of them can you reach out to in order to move forward with an initiative?  How many of those friends can influence you getting hired when you have been downsized?  It isn’t a bad thing to know everyone in the world, but it might serve your professional career better to know a few key individuals that can advocate on your behalf and make an actual impact.