Jennifer and William Dunn

Our love story began in 2004. Our paths had briefly crossed a few times on campus, but it wasn’t until we were both selected for UCF’s 2004 Orientation Team that we really hit it off. We spent that entire summer together, ushering in thousands of students and teaching them why, like us, they should proudly bleed black and gold; but more than that, we discovered a connection that has been going strong for nearly 16 years. People often asked me why I decided to go to UCF, and in my heart of hearts, I truly believe it was to meet Will. Although accepted to a few different schools, UCF being one of them, my family didn’t have the means for me to make campus visits prior to making my decision. I was left with some pamphlets and the very scarce amount of information that was available online in the early 2000s to help me decide. After what felt like endless deliberation, I woke up one day with an overwhelming feeling of contentment about accepting my offer to UCF. And so I did — on a complete whim. And it remains one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. After graduating from UCF, our paths led us to a long-distance relationship for several years, but eventually led us to Tampa, Florida, where we planted our roots. Here, we adopted our sweet pup, Jackson; got engaged at Raymond James Stadium during the halftime show of the Bucs vs. Bills game in 2013; got married in 2015 (with black and gold as our wedding colors, of course!); and welcomed our beautiful daughter, Hazel, into the world in 2017. Through it all, UCF has been — and will always be — a common thread in the fabric of our life together. Thank you, UCF, for not only helping us reach for the stars, but allowing us the opportunity to find our one true north.