On October 7, 2015 the Office of Diversity and Inclusion

successfully launched its first ever Rally for Respect. Over 400 members of our UCF family gathered around the Reflection Pond to listen to President Hitt, SGA Diversity Initiatives

Specialist Jessica Momorie, graduate student Swaran Nandini, Dr. Carolyn Walker Hopp, and CDO Karen Morrison discuss relevant points about what it means to regard our fellow c l a s s m a t e s , professors, and

co-workers with the utmost level of respect, an open mind, and an open heart.

After Dr. Hitt’s welcome message, Dr. Walker Hopp shared her personal experiences, and the challenges she overcame that allowed her to reach her personal, academic, and professional goals. Dr. Walker Hopp has seen decades of change, and has a willingness to share her story to motivate and inspire our students. Ph.D. candidate, Swaran Nandini, shared her story of how she came to attend UCF, and the myriad of kindness she has been embraced with as an international student during her time here.

Unity StarNewsletter Spring 2016

Distribution: All Without OPS and F

# R E S P E C T U C F

Visit www.diversity.ucf.edu

@UCFODI

Photos by Maria Reardon Morrison

MORE ON PAGE 4

ODI Spotlight

Photo courtesy of Milka Derisma (Center), Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, UCF.

By: Barmel Denisha Lyons

The following story was featured in KnightNews.com in December.

We are proud to share that the student featured, Milka Dersima, and the student writer, Barmel Lyons, are members of the LEGACY Leadership and Mentoring Program, sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Both women have come a long way during their time in the program, and we are proud to share their accomplishments as they begin to plan for life outside of UCF.

UCF Student Goes From 1.8 GPA to CEO and Founder of Her Own Company

University of Central Florida stu-dent Milka Derisma, a 25-year-old hu-man communications major, started at the bottom with a 1.8 GPA; now she’s here, in a position as a CEO in her own formulated company: Build Your Goals Shift.

As a transfer student, Derisma explains how the UCF Blackstone LaunchPad acted as the foundation of her academic success supplying her with the knowledge to formulate her own company BYG Shift.

Derisma transferred to UCF in fall 2014. She chose UCF because of the op-portunities UCF offered, in particular, the Blackstone LaunchPad. The Black-stone LaunchPad is a student-serving organization which provides mentor-ing and support on the creation of in-novative products and ideas.

Derisma’s background significant-ly impacted her initial academic suc-cess. “I am an advocate for the ghetto. It was a struggle growing up on Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, a place where people were automatically perceived as criminals, but in reality those same skills they are using to commit crimes just aren’t being cultivated,” Derisma said.

When it comes down to inner cit-ies, Derisma explains that yes there is crime, but there are also talented peo-ple who rise from these rough situa-tions who get over-looked. With this in mind, Derisma said UCF was her opportunity to do better than what was expected of her.

In 2009, Derisma attended Valencia College, East Campus.

“I wasn’t as focused as I should have been… Academically it was great if I could even get C’s or D’s,” Derisma said.

Derisma was not academically driven and was placed on academic suspension, losing her financial aid. With the lack of financial support from her family or school, Derisma contem-plated dropping out.

Derisma transferred to Seminole State, then to UCF with a 1.8 GPA. With this transition came the start of a new beginning. Derisma was determined

to get an education for herself rather than the purpose of proving others wrong.

“At first Milka didn’t know what she wanted to do

in life, but once she transferred to UCF,

she began to motivate herself,” said Natiria Vasquez a 25-year-old junior at UCF who has known Derisma for 7 years.

After a year of growth and devel-opment at UCF, Derisma went to Black-stone LaunchPad for advice on how to create her own business. What start-ed as a website developed into much more.

Derisma created her own business entitled BYG Shift, a business which helps transfer students acclimate to new universities, giving students the opportunity to build their own goals. Her own goal was to make students feel like they are in a major that is not difficult but still challenging them to reinforce their ability to become more active in the university community.

“She has incredible initiative and passion for helping transfer students succeed.” The complete story can be found

at: knightnews.com/2015/12/ucf-student-goes-from-1-8-gpa-to-ceo-and-founder-of-her-own-company/

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ABCs OF DIVERSITY (DIV008) Date & Time: Friday, January 29, 1:30 - 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

DIVERSITY CERTIFICATE SERIES (Attend all four modules to receive completion certificate):MODULE 1 (DIV212) Date & Time: Tuesday, January 26, 10:45 AM - 12:45 PMMODULE 2 (DIV213) Date & Time: Tuesday, February 2, 10:45 AM - 12:45 PMMODULE 3 (DIV214) Date & Time: Tuesday, February 9, 10:45 AM - 12:45 PMMODULE 4 (DIV215) Date & Time: Tuesday, February 16, 10:45 AM - 12:45 PM Location: UCF Valencia West, Bldg. 11, RM - TBD Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN A DIVERSE WORLD (Attend all four modules to receive completion certificate):PART 1 (DIV245) Inclusive Communication Date & Time: Wednesday, February 24, 2:00 - 4:00 PMPART 2 (DIV246) Micromessages of Communication Date & Time: Wednesday, March 2, 2:00 - 4:00 PMPART 3 (DIV247) Communicating Across Cultures Date & Time: Wednesday, March 23, 2:00 - 4:00 PMPART 4 (DIV248) Gender Differences in Communication Date & Time: Wednesday, March 30, 2:00 - 4:00 PM Location: UCF Valencia Osceola, Bldg. 4, RM 304 Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

EXAMINING THE REAL DISABILITY BARRIERS (DIV223)• Date & Time: Thursday, February 4,

9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon Location: Student Union, RM 224

• Date & Time: Tuesday, March 8, 1:00 - 4:00 PM Location: Student Union, RM 221

• Date & Time: Wednesday, April 6, 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon Location: Student Union, RM 224 Facilitated by: Student Accessibility Services

INCLUSIVE COMMUNICATION (DIV053) Date & Time: Friday, April 8, 1:30 - 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

Spring 2016 Workshop and Training ScheduleTO REGISTER: • Faculty and Staff ONLY, register online via your My UCF account at My.UCF.edu.• Students or OPS, please e-mail your name, phone number, and PID/employee I.D. number to diverse@ucf.edu. • For the Safe Zone LGBTQ+ 101 workshops, use http://safezone.sdes.ucf.edu/training.

For detailed descriptions of the diversity workshops offered, visit www.diversity.ucf.edu. Other opportunities for diversity workshops may be scheduled by calling the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at (407) 823-6479, or by e-mailing diverse@ucf.edu. All workshops are FREE unless otherwise noted. Please note that LOCATIONS VARY.

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LATINO AMERICANS(Attend all three modules to receive completion certificate): PART 1 (DIV236) Date & Time: Thursday, February 11, 1:30 - 4:30 PMPART 2 (DIV237) Date & Time: Thursday, February 18, 1:30 - 4:30 PM PART 3 (DIV238) Date & Time: Thursday, February 25, 1:30 - 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - MISS REPRESENTATION (DIV151)Date & Time: Thursday, March 24, 3:00 - 5:00 PMLocation: UCF Valencia West, Bldg. 11, RM - TBDFacilitated by: Barbara Thompson

PEACE FILM SERIES - UNBROKEN (DIV154)Date & Time: Friday, March 25, 1:30 - 4:30 PMLocation: Research Pavilion, Suite 169Facilitated by: Barbara Thompson

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR UCF’S CULTURAL COMPETENCIES (DIV150) ONLINEPlease visit isit: www.diversity.ucf.edu/online_workshops.asp, and follow the instructions. You must complete all three sections with a score of 75% or higher to receive credit

SAFE ZONE LGBTQ+ 101 (DIV033)Please visit http://safezone.sdes.ucf.edu/training to register for current dates and times.

SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS MINORITY AWARENESS (DIV224)• Date & Time: Thursday, January 28, 2:30 - 4:30 PM

Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169• Date & Time: Thursday, March 3, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Location: TBD• Date & Time: Wednesday, April 6, 2:30 - 4:30 PM

Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: Tee Rogers

Diversity Includes All of Us - - All the Time

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12424 Research Parkway, Suite 169, Orlando, FL 32826Ph: (407) 823-6479 F: (407) 823-6480 E: diverse@ucf.edu W: www.diversity.ucf.edu

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter: @UCFODI

TEAM BUILDING CHALLENGE (DIV244) Date & Time: Thursday, January 7, 1:00 - 2:00 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: Doshie Walker

What Does it Mean?

In addition, the rally helped kick off the #RESPECTUCF Be Yourself, Together campaign and online movement. More than 2,100 students, faculty, and staff members have signed the pledge at www.respect.com sharing their commitment to:

• Engage others with respectful language and in a spirit of appreciation for diverse experience and opinion;• Explore broad dimensions of diversity without negative assumptions and stereotypes as part of my personal and professional growth; and• Advance the UCF goal of becoming more inclusive and diverse by actively contributing to social justice causes.

Our sincerest thanks goes out to everyone who attended and made the rally successful, and who has signed the pledge.

# R E S P E C T U C F CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In case you missed it, we have been working on canvasing the campus with posters and rack cards, and there’s more to come. Back in October, the UCF Library display wall exhibited the stories and pictures of several members of our UCF family. Students, faculty, and staff members shared their stories and what respect means to them. We’re working on expanding what was started at the Rally for Respect in October, and continues to live online at RespectUCF.com. These stories are just a part of what makes us all unique, yet allow us to collaborate, interact, work, and study as a unit. The following are a few quotes from individuals who shared their Respect Stories with us, and pretty soon you’ll be seeing them online, too!

“Respect is the most regarded value in India, the very first thing that is inculcat-

ed in us from the very young age. Hence, respect to me is being considerate and tolerant towards other person’s opinions, choices, and beliefs. I think that we can po-tentially get rid of hateful arguments and disharmony if only we could take efforts to be respectful to one another, instead of trying to bring them down just because they are different from us.” Swaran Nandini, Ph.D. Candidate

“Respect to me is all about the Platinum Rule. Many people know the principle behind the Golden Rule which states we should treat others as we would like to be treated. The Platinum Rule takes this one step further, urging we should treat others as they would like to be treated. This takes the focus away from one’s own needs and puts the focus on the other person. Shreya Trivedi, University Ombuds Officer

“The respect I have for my teammates and coaches has aided my respect for my classmates and professor. I know how to work in a team environment and respect is key to success- in the classroom, on the tennis court, and in life.” Sofia Baptista, Civil Engineering Major

UNDERSTANDING POWER AND PRIVILEGE (DIV016) Date & Time: Monday, March 21, 1:30 - 4:30 PM Location: Research Pavilion, Suite 169 Facilitated by: ODI Staff Member

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3Spring 2016 Workshop and Training Schedule