From First-Generation Student to First-Time Donor, Anna Dziamalek ’25 Completes the Cycle at UCF

Standing in line to pick up her graduation tickets, Anna Dziamalek ’25 wasn’t planning to become a UCF donor. She was focused on finishing finals, working her serving shifts and preparing for commencement. It was the culmination of a journey she had largely navigated on her own.

Then she noticed a table offering graduating students the opportunity to make a class gift.

“When I saw the first-generation scholarship option, I kind of joked to my friend, ‘I should donate back to the scholarship that helped me,’” Dziamalek says. “But once I really thought about it, it felt right.”

What started as a joke between Anna and her friend led to Anna making her first gift to UCF.

That decision marked Dziamalek’s first-ever gift to UCF, and the beginning of a lifelong connection to the university that helped make her success possible.

Dziamalek, a health sciences graduate and first-generation college student, grew up in South Florida as the daughter of Polish immigrants. While her parents emphasized hard work, they had little familiarity with the American higher education system. College was encouraged but navigating it was something she largely had to figure out herself.

Anna, at center, shares a happy moment with her family following graduation: Anna is the first person in her family to graduate from college and made a gift to the scholarship that helped her along her education journey.

“There wasn’t a roadmap,” she says. “I didn’t really know where to start.”

She began her academic career at Valencia College, balancing coursework with a part-time job and changing majors more than once as she searched for direction. Like many first-generation students, she struggled early; she was learning how college worked while also figuring out who she wanted to become.

After earning her associate degree, she transferred through DirectConnect^® to UCF, drawn by the opportunity to live independently while staying within driving distance of home. Through UCF’s scholarship portal, she applied for financial aid opportunities and was awarded a first-generation scholarship — a pivotal moment in her experience.

“That scholarship helped more than people probably realized,” Dziamalek says. “When you’re juggling school, work and bills, financial support makes a real difference.”

At UCF, Dziamalek found clarity. She settled into the health sciences program in the College of Health Professions and Sciences, drawn to its breadth and connection to the medical field. Courses such as pathophysiology helped her connect concepts across anatomy and physiology, reinforcing her interest in health care and shaping her future career goals.

She credits faculty members, especially Katia Ferdowsi, MD, MPH, who brought real-world experience into the classroom, making complex material practical and engaging. “When professors shared real scenarios from their careers, that’s when things really clicked,” she says.

Outside the classroom, Dziamalek worked 20 to 25 hours a week as a server at Outback Steakhouse — a job she has held for more than three years. During summer and winter breaks, she transferred to a South Florida location to work full time and save money, allowing her to remain financially independent.

“It was a lot,” she says. “But it taught me responsibility and time management. I learned how to make things work.”

That independence became one of the most defining outcomes of her college experience. As a first-generation student, Dziamalek often felt the weight of figuring things out alone — from registering for classes to applying for scholarships to planning life after graduation.

“There were moments when I felt lost,” she says. “But not giving up is what made me stronger. It prepares you for the real world in a way nothing else does.”

She also embraced campus life, attending football and baseball games, building friendships beyond her original circle and gradually gaining confidence in her place at UCF.

As graduation approached, Dziamalek began thinking about what came next. While she plans to pursue a career in medical device sales, she has also applied for a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Poland — an opportunity to reconnect with her heritage while gaining international experience.

No matter where that path leads, Dziamalek knows UCF will remain central to her story.

Making her first gift to the First-Generation Matching Grant Program felt like completing a cycle. The program, which supports students whose parents did not earn a four-year degree, multiplies the impact of private donations through state matching funds, extending support to even more students.

“It felt really good,” she says. “I was able to give back to something that helped me get through college. If it helped me, I know it can help someone else.”

For other first-generation students, her advice is simple: keep going.

“You might feel lost at first, especially if no one around you understands the system,” Dziamalek says. “But don’t give up. In the end, it makes you stronger and sets you up for success.”

As she prepares to walk across the commencement stage, Dziamalek celebrates a series of firsts: first-generation graduate, first Fulbright applicant — and now, first-time donor.

And she doesn’t expect it to be her last.