By Julie Harper ’01
The newest Knight nurses are answering the call to impact the health of communities in Central Florida and beyond.
They’re ready to Charge On and care for the community. On Friday afternoon, 410 students will walk across the stage at Addition Financial Arena to receive a UCF nursing degree.
The Spring 2025 cohort will join more than 17,000 Knight nurse alumni, most of which are in Florida, to fuel a talent pipeline of nursing providers, educators, researchers and leaders.
New Knight Nurses Shining Bright
UCF will award 353 bachelor’s degrees in nursing (BSN), of those 198 will be awarded to graduates completing a pre-licensure undergraduate program. Those graduates will now be eligible to sit for the national licensure exam to become newly licensed registered nurses.
Among those new Knight nurses are Jenna Koo and Victoria Trautwein who were celebrated earlier this spring among UCF’s best and brightest students.
“The College of Nursing has prepared me not only to succeed in the classroom setting, but how to adequately serve all populations and peoples through quality nursing care,” says Koo who accepted a position as an emergency department nurse in Central Florida after graduation.
“The UCF nursing program has thoroughly equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed as a new graduate nurse,” says Trautwein. “Through a variety of clinical experiences, I have been able to enhance my clinical skills and build confidence in my practice. My final practicum clinical provided an invaluable opportunity to fully embrace my role as a nurse and apply everything I have learned in the past two years allowing me to truly step into my professional identity.”
Trautwein is among 19 students graduating from UCF’s Burnett Honors College and among 13 who completed an Honors Undergraduate Thesis.
The Class of 2025 boasts many other high-achieving students, including 48 earning University Academic Honors with a GPA of 3.8 or higher.
Among those are Kelly Wisor and Abigail Yazdiya who graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 GPA.
During the College of Nursing recognition ceremony held earlier this week, four other students were recognized for clinical excellence by UCF’s Pegasus Partners and other community healthcare partners. Those awardees are:
- Ruth Kim, AdventHealth North Mission of Excellence Award
- Jenna Koo, AdventHealth Mission of Excellence Award
- Timia Merrick, Orlando Health Student Excellence Award
- Makalah Pierre, Parrish Medical Center’s S.L.I.C.E.S. Student Nurse Award
Graduate Students Improving Care
For Spring 2025, UCF will confer 59 graduate nursing degrees, including 43 master’s degrees and 11 doctoral degrees, and award five graduate certificates.
BS, BSN, RN, CCRN, TCRN, CEN
Students graduating with a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, which include the nurse executive, advanced practice nurse, and nurse practitioner programs, each completed a quality improvement scholarly project.
Those students include adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner DNP graduate Elizabeth Kattleman who piloted the “Creation of a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team to Increase Catheter-Directed Therapy Utilization” at the hospital in Ocala where she works as a rapid response nurse.
“I have felt so incredibly supported by the professors at the College of Nursing and my classmates,” she says. “I am excited to graduate and feel so prepared for my new role.”
Kattleman, like most Knight nurse alumni, will remain in Florida after graduation and has already accepted a position as an acute care nurse practitioner after graduation.
View doctoral scholarly projects and learn more about the Spring Class of 2025.
Has the UCF College of Nursing Positively Impacted You?
The mission of the College of Nursing at the University of Central Florida is to prepare nurse leaders and patient advocates through excellence in education, research and service.
Find out how to give back to your college, today!