Meet the alumni, leadership and faculty singled out in various industries.

Education

Degrees: Bachelor of Science in elementary education; Master of Educational Leadership; Doctorate of Educational Leadership

UCF president

Tourism and Transportation

2019 UCF Honorary Alumni Award recipient, member of dean �鶹��Ʒ S�s advisory board of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and a charter member of the UCF Board of Trustees

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in journalism

Politics and Government

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies;��Master of Nonprofit Management; Master of Public Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in marketing

Entertainment, Sports and the Arts

Degree: Master of Business Administration

UCF School of Performing Arts faculty

Business

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in accounting

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in computer science

The Ones to Watch

Bachelor of Science in finance

Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice

“I lost nearly every penny I had flipping homes in Nashville back in 2008 when the housing market crashed, so I’m most excited about getting my redemption in the real estate world and rewriting that negative chapter of my life into a positive one,” says Brian Kleinschmidt, who earned a bachelor’s degree in the radio-television with a minor in marketing.

Kleinschmidt �鶹��Ʒ S� just half of an ambitious husband-wife team along with his wife Mika �鶹��Ʒ S� is rewriting that chapter with a new HGTV series “100 Day Dream Home,” which premiered Feb. 16 at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes will air Sundays at 10 p.m.

The thought is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any homebuyer: The Kleinschmidts conceptualize, build and personalize homes from the ground up to be move-in ready in 100 days.

“There’s always unexpected challenges in construction, but the most frustrating challenges are the ones that we have no control over like the weather,” says Brian Kleinschmidt. “We can usually overcome minor hiccups in our timeline but when a hurricane or tropical storm comes through and delays us by a week, that timeline goes right out the window.”

“Every single episode/build comes down to the wire, but we do whatever it takes to get the homes completed in 100 days or less,” he says. “It’s very stressful, but also very rewarding when we see the smiles and excitement on our clients’ faces when they see their dream home for the first time.”

The Tampa, Florida-based couple’s pilot premiered in April under the title “90 Day Dream Home,” but this Sunday marks the start of a series.

�鶹��Ʒ S�I couldn �鶹��Ʒ S�t believe our margin, �鶹��Ʒ S� says Johnson, who majored in criminal justice and earned a master �鶹��Ʒ S�s in communication from UCF. �鶹��Ʒ S�I wasn �鶹��Ʒ S�t even aware it was that large until the judges notified me once the games ended. I was shocked, excited and incredibly proud. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Johnson �鶹��Ʒ S�s journey to July �鶹��Ʒ S�s Pan American games in Lima, Peru, started when she was just six. She continued playing for fun throughout her adolescent years. And by the time high school graduation came around, she knew that bowling was her calling. Johnson, who grew up in Miami, had bowling friends from around the state who were heading to Orlando to play on UCF �鶹��Ʒ S�s new bowling team, the Striking Knights.

�鶹��Ʒ S�[Striking Knights was] like a little family, and we were good at what we did. Bowling fueled us, and in turn we fueled each other. �鶹��Ʒ S� �鶹��Ʒ S� Stefanie Johnson �鶹��Ʒ S�06 �鶹��Ʒ S�08MA

�鶹��Ʒ S�I joined the Striking Knights when they were brand new, �鶹��Ʒ S� says Johnson. �鶹��Ʒ S�We were like a little family, and we were good at what we did. Bowling fueled us, and in turn we fueled each other. �鶹��Ʒ S�

After graduating from UCF in 2006, she began her career on Team USA as a professional bowler. It took more than a decade of hard work and practice to qualify for the Pan American Games, but 2019 was the year she not only qualified, but emerged the No. 1 qualifier in the U.S. This was a dream come true for Johnson. who never wavered in her faith that she �鶹��Ʒ S�d one day play in the games.

�鶹��Ʒ S�This is the greatest opportunity to be given, �鶹��Ʒ S� Johnson says. �鶹��Ʒ S�The accumulation of hard work, love for the game, and remaining positive is what has pushed me forward. It is what inspires me to represent our country in Lima. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Earlier this summer, Johnson and O �鶹��Ʒ S�Keefe set off for Peru, where they played 12 games over two days. Johnson handily beat the other teams with an individual record for the highest six-game block.

Since the Pan American Games, Johnson has competed in a number of Professional Women �鶹��Ʒ S�s Bowling Association events, including the recent World Championship games in Las Vegas.

�鶹��Ʒ S�This has been a huge year for me and Team USA, �鶹��Ʒ S� says Johnson. �鶹��Ʒ S�UCF helped facilitate the love I have for bowling. I look back and am glad to see how much I �鶹��Ʒ S�ve grown as an athlete. �鶹��Ʒ S�

�鶹��Ʒ S�It was difficult setting up a memorial for my husband, making sure my son was OK, getting my assignments in on time and figuring out my own health, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�There was a lot going on at the time. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Overcoming Obstacles

For the past two years, Catron has experienced back pain and fatigue and was preparing to have surgery this year. In 2011, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and when she became ill at the end of 2017, Catron moved her mother in her home to help care for her. Her mother �鶹��Ʒ S�s condition became worse in November 2018 and she passed away weeks later. Catron wouldn �鶹��Ʒ S�t know until five months later during her mother �鶹��Ʒ S�s final months she too had breast cancer.

�鶹��Ʒ S�It was a little tough taking care of my mom and going to school, but your parents are there to take care of you when you �鶹��Ʒ S�re born, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�Why wouldn �鶹��Ʒ S�t I take care of my mom when she needed to be taken care of? �鶹��Ʒ S�

But by the end of this past spring �鶹��Ʒ S�s semester, Catron managed to meet all of her graduation requirements except completing her thesis, which focused on how military families dealing with loss viewed media coverage of casualties from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. With uncertainty surrounding her health, Admissions Specialist Kelsey Loftus and Professors Sally Hastings and Ann Miller stepped in to help make sure she could meet her goal. They helped Catron switch her degree to the non-thesis option and turn her work into the required applied project instead.

�鶹��Ʒ S�I needed a way to graduate that wasn �鶹��Ʒ S�t the traditional way. I was very fortunate to have professors that understood I needed help and guidance, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�If it wasn �鶹��Ʒ S�t for them I wouldn �鶹��Ʒ S�t be here. It was their dedication to this university that allowed me to complete my education at a level that I �鶹��Ʒ S�m satisfied with. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Dedicated Listener

Since she was a teenager, Catron had worked in radio under the name Erica Kay. The Boston native remembers her interest in the field started when she was about 5.

�鶹��Ʒ S�I had a recorder and I would record myself talking into it and I would listen to myself talking back. I would call into radio shows in Boston when I was 10, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says.

Throughout her years of working in the Top 40 format, she always loved interacting with listeners and hearing their stories, understanding why they would request certain songs. Eventually her work would bring her to Florida �鶹��Ʒ S�s panhandle, where she met Roger, who became her husband for eight years.She says he encouraged her to go back to school and pursue a master �鶹��Ʒ S�s degree.

�鶹��Ʒ S�I �鶹��Ʒ S�m glad I went back to school because venturing into interpersonal relationships was what I needed to change careers, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�I knew I wanted to work with bereaved military families. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Studying Grief

This shift in focus came after years of seeing how the death of a childhood friend, Jared Monti, would impact his parents. Monti was an Army soldier who died during a 2006 battle in Afghanistan and posthumously was awarded a Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama years later. Near Memorial Day in 2011, Monti �鶹��Ʒ S�s dad spoke on NPR about his son �鶹��Ʒ S�s death and how he would drive his sons �鶹��Ʒ S� truck every day to feel connect to him. This broadcast would later inspire a No.1 Billboard hit titled I Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice. With the release of the song, more members of military families spoke out about similar habits motivated by maintaining a connection to their lost loved ones.

�鶹��Ʒ S�In my research I wanted to understand why these people are referred to as life-long grievers. �鶹��Ʒ S�

�鶹��Ʒ S�In my research I wanted to understand why these people are referred to as life-long grievers because it always seemed like they were sad, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�I wanted to figure out what it was in their daily routines that triggered that sadness over and over and over again. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Catron suspected part of the grief came from the media �鶹��Ʒ S�s portrayal of war casualties, so she explored this topic within some of her studies. In her final project, she worked with Hastings to conduct a study on why family members of the deceased choose to listen to certain music, an interest that tied back to her days in radio.

Looking Ahead

When Catron started pursuing her degree in 2016, she envisioned working for an outreach program at Veterans Affairs or at a national cemetery. Now her focus is spending quality time with her 10-year-old son, Turner, and doing everything she can to have more of it, including taking chemotherapy medication.

�鶹��Ʒ S�When you have Stage 4 cancer and are not given a time frame … you feel like you have to shove life-long lessons into an undetermined amount of time. �鶹��Ʒ S�

�鶹��Ʒ S�It �鶹��Ʒ S�s hard when you have Stage 4 cancer and are not given a time frame. You feel like you have to shove life-long lessons into an undetermined amount of time, �鶹��Ʒ S� Catron says. �鶹��Ʒ S�I don �鶹��Ʒ S�t want to overwhelm [my son], but there are certain things I want him to walk away with �鶹��Ʒ S� �鶹��Ʒ S� one of them being empathy. �鶹��Ʒ S� I want my son to also see the importance of seeking continuous education, no matter what field you �鶹��Ʒ S�re in. �鶹��Ʒ S�

Although it has been a difficult time for Catron and her son, she emphasizes that this challenging time serves the purpose of building his character as a strong person. She hopes he can offer a sympathetic ear and just be there for people, like she has tried to do throughout her life.