Alumni Shout-Out!

Our Alumni Shout-Out for this month is Traci Blue!  Traci was one of our panelists this Spring for Knight of Success.  She graduated from UCF in 1990 with a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Communications.  She did not originally plan to come to UCF and did so because she received a National Merit Scholarship, but once she came here she never wanted to leave.

Traci has worked in the field of Volunteer Management/ Community relations for over 20 years, and her current occupation is as the Volunteer Manager at A Gift for Teaching.  She has been a volunteer for this organization for many years, prior to becoming a member of the staff.  She has a strong passion for volunteerism in both her professional and personal lives.  She spends a good deal of her time serving on several non-profit boards, including the UCF Alumni Association Board of Directors, as well as volunteering. She also tries to include her children in her volunteering as often as possible.

Traci strongly believes in leaving a legacy of service and making a difference.  She feels that it is unwise to complain about the way things are and not do anything to make them better.  When asked what she would say to students, Traci said, "One of the most important things that I try to teach students, inlcuding those as young as middle school and all the way through college, is to learn as much as you can about your chosen profession and try to get as much experience in it as possible before totally committing to it.  I encourage students to volunteer within your field, do internships, job shadow, interview people who work in the field that you are interested in.  This will help you eliminate jobs that are not exactly what you expected and help you find what you are passionate about.  Based on the amount of time that we spend at work, you ought to do something that you love."