Jason Hendren ’96 ’00MBA

 Tell us a little about yourself! 

Retired business owner and UCF Alum who mostly travels, surfs, and fishes. Sometimes, I get to help business owners sell their businesses. 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

After going through the second equity sale of my business, I felt like I needed to document all of my experiences and share them with other owners. I started building an outline of lessons. In late 2019, I transitioned out of the operation with big plans to travel the world, and then we got Covid. Since I had a lot of time on my hands, I started writing! 

What’s your writing process? What inspires your writing? 

I started with an outline, then a rough manuscript. I worked with a book planner to build a more cohesive framework. Then I worked with a writing coach who helped me with format, and flow. 

What was the biggest thing you learned during your time as a Knight that you apply to your life today? 

Business ownership is the key to freedom. 

What was a class or club at UCF that helped you grow as a writer? 

Senior design in the Industrial Engineering program was my first journey into learning how to write. It has been a long journey since then. 

If UCF had a time machine, what moment on campus would you go back to? 

Saturday afternoons sitting in the endzone of the citrus bowl watching the early 1990s version of UCF football. 

If your UCF experience were a meme, what would it be? 

One person can make a difference, but together we can change the world. This is taken from the main Scorpions and Turtles book by Dr. Bill Singer. 

What are you currently working on right now? 

Balance. 

Anything else you want to share? 

You don’t need to be a writer to publish. You just need to have a message that you want to share and the energy, or resources, to find the people to help you get there. It can be a solitary exercise but, it does not have to be.