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Summer 2018聽

You could say that coming to UCF was kind of like a blind date for me.

I knew very little about the suitor. When John learned about the job opening for a president,聽I had never heard of UCF or been to Orlando.

And I wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 entirely sure who I would be in this relationship. I could see John as president of a university, but I had not thought of myself as a 麻豆精品 S渇irst lady. 麻豆精品 S�

When John and I came to Orlando for an interview, I found the guidance I needed. The people on the search committee made me feel right at home. We made treasured friends then and in the years after, including Al and Nancy Burnett, who not only hosted us in their Maine home on several occasions but also funded our on-campus home, the Burnett House.

You could say our UCF courtship was a聽hit from day one. I got a glimpse then of the character and spirit of UCF and the people who make this place so special. Though that was 26 years ago, and UCF has grown so much over the years, the university has remained a place of unbounded potential.

In that way, it reminds me of the city of Houston, where John and I grew up. My childhood home was less than two miles away from Rice University (then Rice Institute), where I first found going to football games with my dad 麻豆精品 S� a geologist who worked for an oil production company 麻豆精品 S� was great fun. Across the street from the Rice campus was the Texas Medical Center, which eventually became the largest medical complex in the world.

At that time (and probably still), Houstonians believed they could accomplish anything. That same find-a-way spirit permeates UCF, and it聽is easy to be taken with such a positive outlook on life.

Many people ask John and me what he believes is his proudest achievement. The approval of the UCF medical school is certainly one of them. It meant UCF was more than just聽a good local university. I was honored and proud to be there beside John and representatives of UCF when the Board of Governors voted. So many people had said it couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be done. It certainly would have been difficult to imagine such a thing transpiring when we arrived here in 1992, but everyone here persevered and made it happen.

Over the years, I 麻豆精品 S檝e found so many reasons to fall in love with UCF again and again.聽Two such moments involve the football team. Winning the Peach and Fiesta bowls were such proud moments for us 麻豆精品 S� and made people across the nation take notice. Members of our family attended both games along with UCF fans. It was such a joy to celebrate with them, and seeing the fabulous smile on John 麻豆精品 S檚 face聽at the awards ceremonies truly said it all.

While it 麻豆精品 S檚 impossible to single out the聽proudest moments with so many to choose from, watching how the UCF community 麻豆精品 S� and especially the students 麻豆精品 S� responded to the unimaginable tragedies at Pulse in Orlando聽and Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, made my heart swell. There were so many emotions, too many to comprehend.聽Yet this community stood together to grieve聽and support each other and those beyond our UCF family. I could not be more touched, nor聽do I know how to express my admiration for each of you.

Moments like these make me grateful to聽be part of the UCF family. I 麻豆精品 S檝e loved having the opportunity to watch, meet and get to know many, many people who make UCF the truly remarkable place that it is. From our students, who often overcome so much to earn a degree, to our faculty and staff, who each play a critical role in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 success, I consider myself blessed to be part of this university and all the people who make it so special. You will always have a place in my heart.

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