Highlights
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In his first attempt at a college degree, Robin Marquez 鈥�26 dropped out with a 0.9 GPA.
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Years later, he re-grouped through the program and eventually completed research with the Smithsonian Institution and earned the Order of Pegasus, UCF鈥檚 most prestigious student honor.
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Through his second chance, he grew a passion for plant science and research thanks to mentors and exposure to the UCF Arboretum and UCF鈥檚 Bug Closet.
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He plans to support America鈥檚 natural resources through entomology, the study of insects and their relationship to humans, the environment and other organisms.
Robin Marquez 鈥�26 has re-prioritized his necessities at the University of Minnesota: he has clothes for exploring, clothes for frigid winters and somewhere he鈥檚 safely stored a new passport. This is Marquez鈥檚 latest stop in a lifelong itinerary that鈥檚 taken him from Brooklyn, New York, to Palm Beach County to Tampa, Florida, to UCF.
Oct. 19-23 is National Transfer Student Week
鈥淚 created a new road by going offroad,鈥� he says.
Marquez is coming up on his 31st birthday. He graduated from UCF in May with a biology degree and an unexpected interest. Among the possessions he took north are arthropod samples collected from the UCF Arboretum, an 80-acre parcel of research-rich ecosystems. He鈥檚 studying the microscopic insects for information about biological diversity. They鈥檝e already provided the direction Marquez sought for so long.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 doing now, I couldn鈥檛 fathom a few years ago,鈥� he says.
In his mid-20s, Marquez felt as if he were stuck in the weeds with a high school education and blurry future. Today, this same Robin Marquez has achieved the following: awarded the Order of Pegasus, recognition as the first student nominated through Valencia College for a Goldwater Scholarship, collaborated with researchers at Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution, and stood as the only undergraduate to receive the coveted Entomological Society of America Alate Award in 2025.
All of this has led him to the Twin Cities to work on a Ph.D. in entomology.
鈥淚 still don鈥檛 know where the limit is,鈥� Marquez says.
His successes aren鈥檛 just for him. They鈥檙e for anyone who thinks they鈥檝e wandered off the academic road.
鈥淚 no longer buy the narrative of hitting traditional checkpoints, like [completing an uninterrupted path to graduation] and starting a career by your early 20s,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t might take time to find the right people to propel you in ways you never thought possible.鈥�
Marquez tried the 鈥渢raditional checkpoints鈥� route after high school, enrolling at the University of South Florida on a full ride in 2013. He imagined cruising along to medical school. However, 16 months later he departed USF with a failing GPA and mounting mental health challenges.
鈥淚 felt crushed,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought college would be my ticket out of socioeconomic hardship, that I鈥檇 be a first-generation graduate and break a cycle. Instead, it came to a grinding halt. I had the capability but not the right mindset. So, I kind of floated in this nebulous space of 鈥榓dulthood.鈥� 鈥�
Marquez carried the label 鈥渃ollege dropout鈥� in his mind for years. To this day, it鈥檚 hard for him to explain how misunderstood he felt.
Volunteering at an animal shelter became an escape. He moved to Orlando and grew plants in his apartment, hoping to shake himself out of stasis. A friend noticed how he enjoyed gardening and said he could make a career at it.
鈥淚 grew up in the concrete jungle of Brooklyn before my family moved to Florida,鈥� Marquez says. 鈥淎 gardening career sounded impossible until I heard Valencia [College] offers a degree in plant science. I thought I鈥檇 take a class, set the bar low and get back on my feet.鈥�
A botany instructor at Valencia, Fabiano Isenhour, told Marquez to aim higher and consider research. The program director, Javier Garces, suggested he pursue a doctorate.
鈥淚 went from thinking two years of college would be my path into the workforce,鈥� Marquez says, 鈥渢o wondering where research might take me.鈥�
The Fascinated Bug Librarian
In January of 2024, nearly 10 years after leaving college with a 0.9 GPA, Marquez transferred through the DirectConnect to UCF program with multiple plant certifications and a 4.0 earned at Valencia. His mental health had improved, too.
鈥淓verything snowballed,鈥� he says. 鈥溕ㄌ�, I spent time with a wellness coach in the McNair Scholars Program. Mentors like (former Professor) Patrick Bohlen were invested in my potential. I found this intersection of passion, support and community, which fueled my drive.
Marquez also discovered the Arboretum and UCF鈥檚 Bug Closet, a collection of more than 575,000 specimens 鈥� one of the largest completely databased collections in the world 鈥� that heightened his new curiosity about the relationship between insects and agriculture.
鈥淚nsect specimens are like books,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey provide knowledge about the world. In the Bug Closet, I was the librarian. My research there led me to the Smithsonian, where I worked with species that are new to science. Someday I could be involved in giving them names.鈥�
On His Own Track in Life
鈥淲hen I look back at where I鈥檝e been and where I鈥檝e come, it鈥檚 exhilarating. I can鈥檛 imagine making it this far if my path hadn鈥檛 led to UCF.鈥�
The dispiriting label Marquez once shouldered has been shed. In its place, he has that new passport, which he鈥檚 using to present research at international conferences. He envisions completing his doctorate and working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture or Smithsonian to support America鈥檚 natural resources through entomology.
鈥淚鈥檓 just now finding where I belong,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen I look back at where I鈥檝e been and where I鈥檝e come, it鈥檚 exhilarating. I can鈥檛 imagine making it this far if my path hadn鈥檛 led to UCF.鈥�
