Highlights
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During her journey at UCF, accounting alum Natalie Otero 麻豆精品 S�26 gained industry experience by completing an internship with the Lockheed Martin College Workforce Experience Program and two more with Deloitte.
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This summer, Otero is again interning with Deloitte before pursuing a master 麻豆精品 S檚 in accounting at the University of North Carolina 麻豆精品 S� setting her up for a successful career as an accountant.
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Otero 麻豆精品 S檚 academic experiences, as well as extracurricular involvements computing student organization Knight Hack and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program helped her earn a 2026 Order of Pegasus Award, UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 highest student honor.
Natalie Otero 麻豆精品 S�26 may have missed her graduation ceremony this spring, but she had a good excuse. She 麻豆精品 S檇 just landed in Japan for a long-awaited vacation that was three years in the making. She says the trip 麻豆精品 S� where she discovered new interests (sword-making), traversed a mountain and bonded with friends 麻豆精品 S� symbolized her UCF experience.
麻豆精品 S淏uilding knowledge and strengthening friendships, 麻豆精品 S� Otero says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 my story at UCF. 麻豆精品 S�
Those relationships led her to pivot from pre-med to accounting and opened her up to learn new skills like coding. Friends fueled her drive, brought her joy and encouraged internships, all of which she credits for her induction into the Order of Pegasus, the highest honor for UCF students.
麻豆精品 S淲hen I started at UCF, I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know anyone, 麻豆精品 S� says the Jacksonville, Florida, native. 麻豆精品 S淓verything changed quickly. 麻豆精品 S�
Discovering Her Own Calling
Otero didn 麻豆精品 S檛 really want to be a doctor. She just heard she was supposed to be a doctor.
麻豆精品 S淲hen you do well in high school, people say, 麻豆精品 S極h, be a doctor and cure cancer. 麻豆精品 S� That 麻豆精品 S檚 where my mind was when I arrived as a freshman, 麻豆精品 S� says Otero, who began her UCF journey studying biomedical sciences.
Then an elective class, Principles of Financial Accounting, intervened.
麻豆精品 S淭he professor, Jeff Reinking 麻豆精品 S�13PhD, broke the mold of what it means to be an accountant, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭he concepts made such perfect sense that I switched my major to accounting and saw a clear path ahead. For a freshman, that 麻豆精品 S檚 exciting. 麻豆精品 S�
That same year, Otero 麻豆精品 S檚 friends introduced her to KnightHacks, a student organization that hosts UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 biggest software-building marathon annually for hundreds of students from throughout the nation.
麻豆精品 S淚 said I 麻豆精品 S檇 go for fun. Only one girl in our group was a computer science major, but we were able to use basic coding theories to build a program from scratch in 36 hours, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淲e didn 麻豆精品 S檛 need to win. Learning and becoming closer, those were our awards. 麻豆精品 S�
A Powerful Cycle for Success
Otero needed no push but says her friends at UCF became like iron sharpening iron. They 麻豆精品 S檇 talk about work experiences, which made Otero feel as if she needed to catch up. As a sophomore, she applied for the (CWEP), a year-long paid opportunity that enables undergraduate and graduate students to gain real-world work skills and abilities relevant to their academic and career goals.
麻豆精品 S淚 guess they sensed something genuine because they offered the position to me, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
A few months later, she was chosen for another internship, this one with Deloitte. By the time she started her junior year, she had experience with two corporations, had become a hackathon regular and developed a hunger for accounting coursework.
麻豆精品 S淚t all comes full circle. The instructors bring business experiences to the lessons, and we take lessons into businesses, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檇 leave [Associate Professor] Sean Dennis 麻豆精品 S檚 class and think auditing must be the most exciting subject ever. All along, my friends and I kept encouraging each other. 麻豆精品 S�
Her True Inspiration
Word about Otero 麻豆精品 S檚 accounting skills spread until people began asking her to help with their taxes. She routinely gives her time and skillset to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, where she serves people limited by income, language and disabilities.
麻豆精品 S淢y dad walked me through financial knowledge, and with VITA I have the privilege of doing the same for others, 麻豆精品 S� she says.
Otero has drawn more than financial knowledge from her family. Her paternal grandparents came to the U.S. from Cuba at young ages as part of Opera莽ion Pedro Pan, an agreement of cooperation between the U.S. State Department and Catholic Charities of Miami in the 1960s that saw more than 14,000 unaccompanied children sent by their parents to Miami, away from the growing communist regime in Cuba.
麻豆精品 S淭his has been so much better than I imagined when I came to UCF and didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know anyone. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Natalie Otero ’26
麻豆精品 S淚t was hard, but my grandparents talk about how happy they were to be in the U.S., even with limited resources and not knowing when they 麻豆精品 S檇 see their parents again, 麻豆精品 S� Otero says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檝e always been optimistic because they know the value of opportunities and they worked hard to make the most of them. 麻豆精品 S�
Otero 麻豆精品 S檚 own optimism engages friends, and her work ethic has led to the Order of Pegasus award, another internship with Deloitte this summer and graduate school in the fall at UNC Chapel Hill.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 hard to believe, 麻豆精品 S� Otero says. 麻豆精品 S淭his has been so much better than I imagined when I came to UCF and didn 麻豆精品 S檛 know anyone. Everything is more rewarding, too, because of all the people who have made it possible. 麻豆精品 S�
