NSM.today • 25th November 2023

UCF Latin clubs join together to host first-ever "Field Day"

The Florida sun beat down on students in Memory Mall as two clubs tug on an old twine rope on Sunday. “¡Vamos!,” one team yelled as they worked together to pull their opponents to the ground, while the other team franticly shuffled their feet through the dirt.

On each end of the rope were a handful of members from the UCF Colombian Student Association and the UCF Cuban-American Student Association. The two clubs joined together to host their first-ever “Field Day,” where each club competed agai

NSM.today • 25th October 2023

The Improv Academy hosts a ghostly good 'Improv Spooktacular'

An interview with a vampire, an overly generous Chick-fil-A employee, a trumpet-playing squid that lives under the sea–- anything can happen at a show from UCF’s The Improv Academy, especially when it’s Halloween-themed.

The Improv Academy at UCF hosted an “Improv Spooktacular” in the Visual Arts Building auditorium on Friday.

Casey Berkery, The Improv Academy president, said that the Halloween-themed event was a showcase of the methods that have been taught this semester but with a hauntingly

NSM.today • 16th October 2023

UCF Bhakti Yoga Club brings unity to the Pegasus Ballroom

The Pegasus Ballroom was filled with Hindu and Indian culture as the UCF Bhakti Yoga Club hosted the Festival of Chariots, on Wednesday.

The Festival of Chariots, also known as Ratha Yatra, is an ancient tradition that originated in Puri, India but can be found on a smaller scale in the heart of the UCF campus. A typical Festival of Chariots gathers thousands of community members to fill the streets of India, celebrating both Hindu and Indian culture, according to the festival's website.

“The

NSM.today • 6th April 2022

'Fire and desire': UCF athletic training student works to bring the field to U.S. Virgin Islands

Growing up as a student athlete in the United States Virgin Islands, athletic training graduate student Isis Collier was used to a "walk it off" mentality when she or her teammates got injured.

While playing on the U.S. Virgin Islands national women’s soccer team, Collier found herself filling a position that was uncommon to her island: an athletic trainer.

Through taping ankles and monitoring suspected concussions on her team, Collier knew she had to leave behind her goal of being a personal

NSM.today • 5th March 2022

UCF IEPRS second annual conference hosts first-ever holographic speech

The second annual Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science conference was among the first in the world to give a speech via live hologram technologies on Feb. 25 and 26, said Dr. Bari Hoffman, associate dean of Clinical Affairs.

The yearly conference was held at the Fairwinds Alumni Center and brought students, practitioners and researchers together to discuss new medical advancements, such as exercise oncology, knee rehabilitation and nutrition. The conference consisted of 1

NSM.today • 27th February 2022

UCF's College of Health Professions and Sciences announces its first Ph.D. program

The College of Health Professions and Sciences announced its first Ph.D. program since being established in 2018, according to its website.

The new kinesiology Ph.D. program will be in full effect in the fall 2022 semester and set up students for careers in research and education, said David H. Fukuda, the program’s founding director. The new program was approved by the Florida Board of Governors in November 2021.

Students pursuing the research doctorate must complete at least 63 credit hours

NSM.today • 26th February 2022

Go Baby Go! UCF chapter partners with elementary robotics club to help immobilized kids

Crowds roared and checkered racing flags waved during a UCF Go Baby Go! event at Sabal Point Elementary School.

The UCF chapter and the elementary school's Robotics Club collaborated to host a "kids building for kids" workshop on Jan. 21, where students came together to finish modifying ride-on cars for immobilized children.

Before students began working on the toy cars, Founder and Director of UCF’S Go Baby Go! chapter Jennifer Tucker said she starts every workshop the same way - making the y

NSM.today • 5th February 2022

'Links in a chain': new 911 dispatcher training is critical for finding missing persons with autism

Florida Department of Law Enforcement inspector Chad Hoffman said that the most critical component when attempting to recover a missing child with autism is to identify that the missing child has autism.

Autism awareness telecommunicator training is a new virtual course designed for 911 dispatchers to quickly identify that a missing person has autism spectrum disorder, according to an FDLE announcement Jan. 22.

The course consists of several in-depth modules that train dispatchers how to prope

NSM.today • 2nd February 2022

Take care of yourself to take care of others: yoga’s benefits for patient caretakers

A Yoga Alliance certified instructor hosted “Recharge to Charge On” for faculty and staff of the Colleges of Health Professions and Sciences on Thursday.

Beth Stone, who has been teaching yoga for over a decade, said the goal for this class is to bring balance into the workload.

Stone said “Recharge to Charge On” is a 40-minute yoga class designed for UCF faculty and staff to come to during their lunch breaks and step away from the day’s stressors. It is taught in the Education Complex and Gym

NSM.today • 27th January 2022

‘Learn by doing’: new Global Medical Training chapter comes to UCF

A non-profit and newly approved registered student organization at UCF, Global Medical Training, plans to travel to the Dominican Republic on June 9 to give basic medical treatment to patients living in poverty.

Patients in these communities can go months without treatment, many not receiving treatment at all, said Marisol Freytes, UCF GMT's director of photography, videography and social media.

The student-centered teaching program was designed with a "learn by doing" philosophy, providing pa

NSM.today • 5th December 2021

A face to the data: Research team explores human side of medicine in UCF study

Patient 63 was 55 years old when she died of acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19, which also happened to be the day before junior Maireni Nunez’s birthday.

“Reading that this patient was slowly declining and that her daughters were in the room when she was passing away was really sad,” said Nunez, an undergraduate research assistant.

Nunez said she's working on a new UCF study that examines the mental health of critical illness survivors in post-intensive care units. After reading

NSM.today • 21st October 2021

Altruistic and artistic: clubs paint portraits to help animal shelter

A fire on Sept. 15 devastated the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, according to the Pet Alliance website. This disaster caused the UCF Art Club and Knights of the Paw to team up Friday, hoping to raise enough money for the shelter to rebuild and recover.

The fire caused 17 cat fatalities and led to "near total loss" of both the shelter and clinic, leaving the organization in need, according to the Pet Alliance website. Rescue personnel were able to rescue 45 cats and 26 dogs, the website stated

NSM.today • 1st October 2021

Surf's up: UCF club attends 'surfing Woodstock' in North Carolina

UCF junior Zack Sjuggerud, treasurer of Surfing Club at UCF, said the Kings of Clubs Classic is like a "surfing Woodstock."

Members of the Surfing Club at UCF traveled to Carolina Beach, North Carolina, to compete in Saturday’s Classic, which also marked the fifth installment in the competition's run.

Junior Katia Babitzke finished in seventh place in the semifinals; Sjuggerud placed fifth in men’s shortboard; and junior Jonathan Wallhauser placed third in longboard and fourth in men’s shortbo