United States
I am a junior journalism student at the University of Central Florida with a passion for storytelling.
Zachary Harriott's first toy box was filled with instruments. Trains, legos and teddy bears were replaced with drums, recorders, flutes and tin whistles. In his early years, Harriott hated the flute - it was the only instrument he couldn't master. The toy box was a magical treat.
Although UCF students still have class on Feb. 18, public school students in Orange County Public Schools will have Presidents Day off even though many of them have no idea why. Contradictory to some UCF students' beliefs, Presidents Day, also known as Washington's Birthday, is an official holiday and does still exist.
Passionate. Committed. Curious. Reliable. These are all words used by UCF faculty and friends of alumna Victoria Eve Capdeville to describe the 22 year old's commitment to the arts. Before graduating in fall 2018 with a bachelor's in theater, Capdeville left her mark on the School of Performing Arts with performances in UCF's "Boy Gets Girl" and Project Spotlight's "The Force of Gravity."
Thirteen girls stood at the very edge of the stage. A single blue spotlight sliced through the darkness, illuminating their faces, as they utilized their harmonizing voices as their only instrument. All-female UCF a cappella group KeyHarmony performed at its rehearsal for SoJam 2018, an a cappella festival in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The first-ever #MeToo panel at UCF, hosted by the Women's and Gender Studies program and Victim Services, took place in the Barbara Ying Center Thursday. The panel was designed to create an open and safe space that not only informs but uses activation to stand for "justice, knowledge and action," according to the program's mission.
At 18 years old, UCF student Alexander Lewis tried heroin for the first time, although he had already started using other drugs at the young age of 14. "One of the guys lived in my neighborhood, and we would smoke pot and drink [alcohol] together," Lewis said.
Before she knew she was transgender, UCF student Alaric Frinzi said she knew three things: hand holding was terrifying, loud singing was good singing and bow ties were impossible. When she was told by her director of "The Emperor's New Clothes" she was to hold hands with the her longtime crush - the princess - at the end of their duet, it came as quite the shock.
In the aftermath of personal tragedy, senior studio art major Jenny Nguyen turned to photography to capture the feelings of unforeseen loss she experienced when her grandfather died. Nguyen's most valued art collection, "Expired," focuses on her emotions throughout the process of losing a loved one, as well as her internal struggle with religion.