Bucky Boaz, ’94, is passionate about health care. In the age of HMOs, managed care and harried doctors rushing from room to room, he realized that one very important group was getting left out: the patients.

'You can communicate with them for 30 minutes and tell them everything in detail, but if they’re under stress, they aren’t hearing anything you’re saying," Boaz explains. "You give them follow-up instructions — go see this physician or go to this place to get your follow-up [exam] — and they’re not understanding it or remembering it, which is why they end up falling through the cracks or coming back."

His solution? In 2007, after raising more than $1 million, he established the miniER Corporation Adult and Pediatric Urgent Care Center, which has helped to decrease the load on the emergency departments in Orlando. And, given the need, he plans to open additional facilities in the future. "The whole philosophy behind the miniER was to take health care to the level that we thought it should have been from the beginning." Watch Bucky's Video

Henry Davis, ’70, always knew he wanted to pursue a career in law. Davis’ family didn’t have the money for college, but that didn’t stop him. With the help of loans and scholarships, Davis was among the first students to graduate from Florida Technological University (now UCF).

After serving in the U.S. Navy and graduating from the Florida State University College of Law, Davis was admitted to the Florida Bar and began his career as a trial attorney. Soon after, he started his own private practice, where he specialized in general civil and criminal law. In 1992, former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed Davis as a circuit judge — a position he has held ever since. Davis strives for justice and to make life better for those who still struggle the way his own family did. "My interest is in bringing about change and helping individuals because of the way I was raised," he explains. "The Civil Rights Movement was one of the major events taking place at the time, and when you come from that, you just really want to be able to help other people." Watch Judge Davis' Video

Richard Ellenburg, ’78, was going to be a lawyer. "But while I was working in a church with some 5-year-olds, one of them threw a block across the room and I caught it," he says. "I thought, ‘You know, this is a lot of fun.’"

Twice honored as Orange County Teacher of the Year and now the Florida Department of Education/Macy’s 2008 Teacher of the Year, Ellenburg now can’t imagine being anything else. From the locally rescued lizards, snakes and turtles in his classroom at Camelot Elementary to the award-winning, student-tended garden just outside it, there are many examples of his unconventional and personal approach to teaching science. "If I can get kids excited about saving the environment and making positive changes in our planet, then maybe I’m falling back to that old hippiness of changing the world, and that’s a real important thing to me." Watch Richard's Video

When Ron Ellis, ’95, came to UCF, he was ready to do anything — as long as music was a part of it. Ellis explains. "I enjoyed being involved — whether it was band directing, orchestral conducting, performing or even closing the piano down after the rehearsal was over," he says.

Now, as director of the Marching Knights, music still flows through him. When Ellis isn’t leading the band, he’s behind the scenes of almost everything else that’s related to music and UCF. He has served as the musical director of many UCF Theatre performances and has been the voice of the Marching Knights since 1992. He has also directed music for Disney and arranged music for countless high schools across the nation. But he always has time to teach his students about what’s really important. "Be on time, be responsible for your part, listen to others, work with others, teamwork, all of those things.Those are attributes we can give them in our couple of hours a week that they can transfer to all of their activities and professional lives." Watch Ron's Video

Carlos Gittens, ’98, may have been born to his trade. His natural technical aptitude showed up early, and he set his sights on a career in engineering. Always strong in math and science, Gittens was attracted to civil engineering and decided to get into transportation specifically.

"It’s one of the few careers where you have a tangible product when you’ve completed it," he says. "Being able to drive down the road with my 5-year-old son and say, ‘Daddy helped to build that,’ is pretty neat." As if that wasn’t reward enough, Gittens has become an awards collector of sorts, most recently being named the Florida Engineering Society Young Engineer of the Year.

As Central Florida drives to work on the fruits of his labor, he looks forward to the continued growth of his community and his career. "I like meeting new clients, potential clients, and trying to win the work. I’d like to be running my own office in the next seven years. It’s a lofty goal, but you’ve got to have goals if you’ve got somewhere to go." Watch Carlos' Video

As president of her youth group in high school, Alinda Ramos, ’96, discovered a real knack for organizing events. "I managed things such as spaghetti dinners, fundraisers and bake sales," she explains. "I really enjoyed that. I did a pretty good job planning events and thought, maybe, when I grew up, I’d be a wedding planner.’"

At UCF she got serious about event management, serving as a director of the Hospitality Association and later interning for Premiere Show Group. Before long, she was working on one of the biggest hair and beauty shows in the nation. Today, she is vice president and director of operations for the company, and the Orlando beauty show she produces hosts some 1,200 vendors and more than 45,000 attendees. Ramos frequently returns to UCF as a guest speaker for hospitality management classes. "I love talking to the students and sharing my excitement for event planning and the hospitality industry, and I love answering their questions. They’re definitely eager to be part of this." Watch Alinda's Video

When Jose Rodriguez, ’74, attended FTU (now UCF), he wasn’t sure where life would take him. As he excelled on the university’s debate team, he realized that his mental agility was well suited for the study and practice of law.

"What debate did for me was to make sure I was a good advocate when I was a lawyer and to teach me to think on my feet," he explains.

After years in private practice, Rodriguez was appointed to the bench in 1987. He has since served numerous judicial assignments around Central Florida and gained national attention for his innovative juvenile and drug court programs. His devotion to the law is second only to his love for his family. Rodriguez says his wife, Ana, ’75, is his inspiration, and he credits his children with teaching him invaluable life lessons that he applies daily in his work. "My children have taught me patience. If it hadn’t been for them, I know I wouldn’t have developed the patience that’s necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the judiciary." Watch Judge Rodriguez's Video

Andy Schwalb, ’84, loves his job. Every day, he puts his UCF education to work in a dynamic environment as chief technology officer for Walt Disney theme parks and resorts worldwide.

Schwalb is responsible for the technical strategy, design and security of the company’s IT systems. He’s also in charge of new technologies and figuring out how to leverage them to enable guests to have a better time. His driving focus is the constant growth and improvement of the technological infrastructure and enhancing the Disney experience for all ages. "It’s about great people, great leadership and a single-minded mission of providing great guest service. It’s how you can enable them to have more fun on their vacations and go home with the best memories possible. I couldn’t think of anything better in the world than making people happy. That’s my job." Watch Andy's Video

Judy Thames, ’73, came to UCF as an older student looking for her next step. Her advisors saw a lot of potential in this tenacious, charismatic woman.

"They said, ‘Why don’t you try social work with your background’ So I went over to the School of Sociology and Social Work [the name at that time], and I absolutely loved it." Thames quickly found a natural fit designing assistance programs for the elderly. And as she saw the effectiveness of fledgling efforts like Meals on Wheels, she began to see just how big a difference she could make in the lives of older citizens. Her work over the years has been deeply influential to state and local governments, as well as groups like AARP, for which she is currently Florida’s president. She may be retired, but she has yet to slow down, knowing the importance of sound social policy. "I think that it’s going to make a difference in how you age and what is available. It’s going to build the kind of society that is not how it is, but how it should be." Watch Judy's Video

For as far back as she can recall, Brittany Moscato has wanted to be a doctor. "I remember being 12 years old and seeing the first live open-heart surgery on TV," the senior explains. In sixth grade, she did her exhibition project on orthopedic surgery. In seventh grade, she started volunteering at the doctor’s office where her mom worked as a nurse.

Moscato wasted no time getting involved at UCF — putting in more than 100 hours of community service her freshmen year and fundraising for the Pre-Professional Medical Society. She also challenged herself to find academic experiences that would make her a well-rounded professional — getting involved with Lead Scholars and the Burnett Honors College, and later, the President’s Leadership Council and Hercules Area Council. She went on to serve as director of fundraising for the Pre-Professional Medical Society and was its president in 2007. Now, the double major (molecular biology and microbiology and Spanish) is preparing for medical school. Watch Brittany's Video

Growing up, Larry Tobin, ’83, always saw his parents helping out in the community. His dad helped anyone in need, and his mom volunteered at church.

Today,Tobin lives a life of service, which includes his choice of career. With a finance degree from UCF, he first went to work for FAIRWINDS Credit Union in 1981. "It’s nice to work for an organization that’s not interested in necessarily making a buck, but in actually helping people improve their lives," he says. Tobin now serves as FAIRWINDS’ president and CEO, where maintaining the company’s commitment to service means leading by example. In addition to the time he spends on the UCF Foundation Board and Finance Committee, he serves on the advisory board of the House of Hope and on the steering committee of the Central Florida American Diabetes Association. He’s also extremely active with the Rotary Club and his church.

In the free time his professional and community work afford him, one of his favorite projects is mentoring at-risk high school students for COMPACT, where he sees that a little personal attention goes a long way. Watch Larry's Video

JoAnne Puglisi, ’73, is one of UCF’s longest-standing champions. That’s only appropriate: She was there at the very beginning. "I came out one day with my parents, and there were a lot of big holes in the ground," she recalls.

"It was a nice, small school at the time. By the time I enrolled as a freshman, there were only about 1,600 students — so we’ve come a long way in 35 years."

She knew at once that she wanted to give back. But when a school is so young that it has no alumni association, what do you do? Well, you start one. "I graduated in ’73, and there was a group of us a couple of years after that who sat down and said we needed to start an alumni association. It was less than a hundred people right out of the gate, and you can look at where we are now — it’s just amazing the growth that’s happened." Watch JoAnne's Video

Michelle Akers
Women's Soccer: 1984, 1986-88
Hall of Fame: Class of 1998

Kevin Beary
Sheriff
Orange County (Florida)

John C. Bersia
Pulitzer Prize winning writer
Orlando Sentinel

Lee Constantine
Florida State Senator

Daunte Culpepper
Football: 1995-98
Hall of Fame: Class of 2002

Toby Crabel
World-Renowned Fund Manager

Phil Dalhausser
Olympic Gold Medalist (Volleyball)

Robert Damron
Golf: 1991-94
Hall of Fame: Class of 2002

Ericka Dunlap
Miss America 2004

Tyler M. Fisher
UCF's First Rhodes Scholar

Angelo Garcia
Singer/Songwriter
'80s pop band Menudo

Alan Gooch
President & General Manager
Orlando Predators

Mike Gruttadauria
Football: 1991-94
Hall of Fame: Class of 2004

John Hart
Former Major League Baseball General Manager
Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers

Cheryl Hines
Actress
HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm

R. Glenn Hubbard
Dean
Columbia University Graduate School of Business

Gregg Hubbard
Singer/Songwriter
Country music band Sawyer Brown

Shawn Jefferson
Football: 1988-90
Hall of Fame: Class of 2002

Mike Maroth
Major League Baseball Player

Mark Miller
Singer/Songwriter
Country music band Sawyer Brown

William W. Parsons Jr.
Director
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center

Tari Phillips
Basketball: 1990-91
Hall of Fame: Class of 2003

Angel Ruiz
President and CEO
Ericsson North America

Eduardo Sanchez
Screenwriter/Director
The Blair Witch Project

Marquette Smith
Football: 1994-95
Hall of Fame: Class of 2005

Monica Spear
Model/Miss Venezuela 2004

Daniel Tosh
Standup Comedian

Allen Weiss
President of Worldwide Operations
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts