Quinoa ’26: Raised With Purpose, Released With Love
By Rachel Schaefer ’18MNM
Quinoa ’26, a happy, wiggly yellow Labrador-golden retriever cross, came into our lives through my long-standing involvement with Canine Companions, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing expertly trained service dogs to people with disabilities free of charge. Before arriving in Orlando, Quinoa spent nine months at Gadsden Correctional Facility in the Florida Panhandle, where he was introduced to nearly 40 training commands through a puppy-raising program. Those early months helped shape the calm, steady and affectionate presence we see in him today, qualities that will one day help him change a life.
For the past six months, Quinoa has continued his training at UCF, joining me throughout the day in my role as chief of staff and campaign director for the Advancement and Partnerships Division. From navigating busy hallways to settling quietly during meetings and greeting new faces with confidence, each experience has helped him build the real-world skills required of a service dog. It has been joyful to watch people light up when he enters a room, but every interaction also serves a larger purpose. Even in the smallest moments, he is learning how to be steady, observant and responsive to the needs of others.
Quinoa is part of a much bigger story at UCF, one rooted in access, compassion and opportunity. Nearly a decade ago, UCF became the first public university in Florida to allow service dogs in training to live in residence halls. Today, more than a dozen puppies are being raised by students through the Service Dog Training Program (STEP@UCF), an initiative that blends leadership development, disability awareness and service. Supported in part by the John S. McConnell Endowed Memorial Scholarship, these students balance rigorous academics with the daily responsibility of puppy raising, modeling what it means to lead with empathy and intention.
On Feb. 13, Quinoa will matriculate, leaving campus to begin the next phase of his journey: six to nine months of intensive professional training that will prepare him to be matched with a person whose independence and confidence will be transformed by their partnership. While his time at UCF represents just one chapter in that journey, the paw prints he leaves behind will linger in classrooms, hallways and hearts across campus.
As the second puppy I’ve had the joy of raising, Quinoa is a reminder of why this work matters so much (even if my popularity around the office is going to plummet when he leaves!). There will be an empty space in my heart when he matriculates, but I’ll be cheering him on, knowing he’s in the best hands and on his way to change someone’s life.
Quinoa is a reminder that some of the most meaningful love stories at UCF are built quietly through service, generosity and trust. They unfold not in grand gestures, but in the steady, daily commitment to making life better for someone else, and they endure long after the leash is passed to its next caring hand.
