{"id":154346,"date":"2026-08-26T09:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//?p=154346"},"modified":"2026-08-12T11:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:00:11","slug":"what-is-a-full-college-experience-at-ucf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//what-is-a-full-college-experience-at-ucf/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346//","title":{"rendered":"What Is a /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cFull College Experience/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d at UCF?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In April 2023, a few days after senior prom, Gabby Murison /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201926 and her family drove 650 miles from New Orleans to Orlando. They/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019d vacationed in previous years to the area/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s theme parks, but this time they had just one destination on the itinerary: UCF. The university interested Murison for its strong film program through the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. She also knew UCF offered a variety of pathways in case she discovered a new interest./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cI/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019ll never forget stepping onto Memory Mall,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMy thoughts about college changed. I got caught up in this environment of /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2018we support each other because we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019re all Knights/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019 and I was ready to move./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

“I discovered something bigger outside the classroom. I built my world here.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

Moving was nothing new to Murison. Her dad serves in the U.S. Army, so she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019d already lived in eight cities across six states./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cBut I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019d never been anywhere like UCF,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cI had big goals: to develop my creative side and learn about social media and film. But I discovered something bigger outside the classroom. I built my world here./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

The Curious Freshman Looking for Community/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

At the beginning, Murison was like most first-year students: a bit uncertain, searching for a connection./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cI realized quickly that the 670 clubs and organizations at UCF need people,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d says Murison, who minored in event management. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cAs soon as I got involved, the student population of 70,000 got smaller. It ignited passions I didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019t know existed./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

“My perspective grew by talking with people … and observing how mentors /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2026 guided others.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

Her first connection came through an academic and community engagement initiative, which she saw as an opportunity to get out of her dorm and become involved in service, which runs in her family of military veterans, educators and nurses. On day one, she asked a fellow member, civil engineering major Luisa Cordova, to go for a walk. Murison learned about life in Venezuela on that walk. She also found a best friend and roommate./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMy perspective grew by talking with people like Luisa and observing how mentors /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2026 guided others,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d Murison says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

A mentor gently persuaded Murison to apply her communication skills to the campus community. Still in her first semester and despite a full plate, Murison volunteered for Spirit Splash during Homecoming Week./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cIt was supposed to be a simple way to pitch in,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d Murison says, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cbut as I guarded the pool, I was struck by the impact students were making by running this big event./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

By her sophomore year, Murison had been named to the executive board for Homecoming./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMy involvement grew to the point where I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019d see students wearing merchandise I helped design,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMy confidence and connections to UCF kept expanding./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

A Full-Circle Moment/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

At the beginning of Murison/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s junior year, Malaret suggested that Murison transition from LEAD to the President/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s Leadership Council (PLC). Murison found PLC to be another way to inspire UCF students to make the most of their entire college experience, just as she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019d been doing herself. Around the same time, she discovered an ideal outlet to share her knowledge and growing love for UCF: as an Undergraduate Admissions Ambassador./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cWhen I was a little girl, I wanted to be Hannah Montana,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cBeing a tour guide is as close as I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019ve come to that dream. Talking about UCF to groups became like a performance, except everything I say is true./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

“My advice to students is to funnel your energy into organizations you care about. Make a difference. Grow your work ethic. Have fun.”/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

During at least 100 tours, Murison spoke with more than 1,000 prospective students and VIP guests. She walked them along Memory Mall, through the /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cwe/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019re all Knights/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d environment that changed her view of college, and described firsthand the transformative power of campus involvement./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMy advice to students is to funnel your energy into organizations you care about,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cMake a difference. Grow your work ethic. Have fun. And don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019t be involved for the sake of a resume./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

On one tour in 2025, she met a girl from her high school in Louisiana, an 18-year-old version of herself, with one foot at prom and the other reaching toward the next phase of life./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cI must have given a decent tour because she just finished her freshman year at UCF,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d Murison says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201cShe/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s [involved on campus] and serves on the Homecoming committee. Isn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019t that amazing? It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s gratifying to have made an impact, but even better to know that she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u2019s creating her own path, and a personal story to share with others./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/154346/n