Adler Dehner ’12 and Monica Cortez ’17 Launch Into Marriage

For Adler Dehner ’12 and Monica Cortez ’17, UCF has always been more than a place where classes were taken and degrees were earned. It has been a constant presence, shaping their ambitions, their communities and, ultimately, the love story that will bring them together for one of the most meaningful moments of their lives.

On March 21, Dehner and Cortez, will be married, marking a milestone that reflects both their shared history and the values that have guided them since their student days. The date, 3-2-1, reflects the couple’s shared love of space and intentionality — themes that have long shaped their relationship and careers.

“Everything we do has meaning,” Cortez says. “UCF has been part of our story for so long that there was never really another option.”

Cortez, a Space Coast native, grew up with UCF woven into her family’s history. Her mother, Jennifer Cortez ’98, earned a degree in mathematics and passed along a deep sense of pride in the university. That legacy helped guide Cortez’s own decision to attend UCF, where she initially pursued a pre-med track before discovering her passion for chemistry and biochemistry.

As a student, Cortez immersed herself in research and campus life. She served on UCF’s Gold Team, the football recruiting organization that supports home games and hosts prospective student-athletes and their families.

“I loved being able to represent UCF,” Cortez says. “Especially talking to parents. You could really show them what makes this place special.”

Her academic experiences proved equally formative. Cortez worked as an associate chemist at a startup in UCF’s Research Park, contributing to a joint patent between the company and the university involving nano aluminum composite rocket propellants. The work helped clarify her long-term goals and reinforced her desire to pursue advanced research.

“That experience showed me what was possible,” she said. “It also helped me understand where my interests truly were.”

Today, Cortez is completing her doctorate in biochemistry at Emory University, focusing on infectious diseases. She credits UCF faculty, including former professor Eda Koculi, with encouraging her confidence as a researcher and leader.

Dehner’s journey to UCF began just north of Orlando. Raised in Volusia County, he started his college career at Seminole State College through the DirectConnect to UCF program before transferring to earn his business degree. At UCF, he president and involved in Alpha Kappa Psi, eventually serving as president, and embraced the leadership opportunities that came with a growing campus and an ambitious student body.

Like Cortez’s mother, Dehner’s mother, Mary ’85, is also a UCF alumna who earned her degree in journalism — another example of how deeply the university runs through both families.

“UCF gave me access,” Dehner says. “To mentors, to leadership roles and to figuring out who I wanted to be.”

After graduation, Dehner moved to Atlanta and built a successful career in the automotive industry, including managing luxury vehicle fleets and working as a Ferrari driving instructor. Despite the excitement of the role, he began to seek a more stable, long-term path. Encouraged by a close friend and fellow UCF alumnus, he returned to school for law, navigating the challenges of graduate education during the pandemic.

Today, Dehner serves as a director at Waffle House’s corporate office in Georgia.

“It wasn’t a straight line,” he says. “But every step taught me something.”

Though both are proud UCF alumni, Dehner, a College of Business alumnus, and Cortez, College of Sciences, did not meet on campus. Their paths crossed years later in Atlanta, connected through Cortez’s sister — also a UCF graduate — and Dehner’s fraternity network. What began as a cautious friendship during a demanding season of graduate school eventually grew into something deeper.

“We bonded over UCF before anything else,” Cortez said. “That shared identity mattered more than we realized at the time.”

Their relationship was shaped during a period marked by academic pressure, career transitions and the uncertainty of the pandemic. Through it all, they found stability in shared values, mutual support and a deep sense of home rooted in Central Florida.

For Dehner and Cortez, their upcoming marriage is not about spectacle or tradition alone. It is about honoring the community that shaped them, the families who came before them and the shared foundation that brought them together.

“UCF connects people in ways you don’t always expect,” Cortez says. “Starting this next chapter as Knights just feels right.”