“I came to UCF determined to make a difference in the world, but I didn’t know how,” says Rebecca May, who will graduate this week from the UCF College of Nursing.
She quickly figured out how. After arriving at her UCF from Spring Hill, Tennessee, Ms. May began her activities on campus. She first volunteered with the UCF Police Department as her LEAD scholar and then co-founded the Orange County Public Schools Academic Center She For She After School of Excellence She Club in the Parramore neighborhood of downtown Orlando. I served as a leader. It was then that she began to realize her true calling, at the time she was majoring in environmental studies.
“It opened my eyes to the disparities 20 minutes away and made me want to help those who need it most.”
At the time, May was taking an anatomy class and realized she had a passion.
“I loved the biological mysteries of the human body and how you can always keep learning,” she says. “I found an intersection between that purpose and my interest in nursing.”
A call to care
May’s mission became even clearer when she enrolled in the upper division of the traditional nursing degree program at the Orlando campus. In her first public health clinical, she worked with a local service organization as part of the university’s service learning curriculum.
“I continued to work with these organizations after the clinical trial and joined the President’s Leadership Council to advocate for greater awareness and involvement of UCF volunteers,” said UCF Student Chief Executive Officer, who took office this spring. said May, who was awarded the 2024 Order of Pegasus, a prestigious honor. “Since finding what I believe is my purpose, I want to make a difference in any way I can.”
She found further inspiration by attending the UCF MedPact Global Health Conference last spring. After May attended the workshop, she and UCF School of Medicine student Allen Partno were inspired to establish a human rights clinic in central Florida.
The clinic seeks to provide free medical affidavits to asylum seekers to assist with their trials. This interdisciplinary initiative also provides student volunteers with real-world experience that connects with law, nursing, medicine, social work, and psychology.
This summer, May will transition into a mentor role at the clinic, handing over the position to a new leader who can help future UCF students learn about global health and serve local asylum seekers.
“This project has incredible potential, and I look forward to building on it and passing it on to similarly passionate students,” she says.
Curiosity about research
In addition to service and volunteer work, the Barnett Honors Scholar maintained a 3.9 GPA in a rigorous nursing program and conducted original research.
May’s honors undergraduate thesis, “Breakfast skipping among college students and its relationship to eating behavior,” was presented this winter at Harvard University’s National University Research Conference.
Last month, she gave an oral presentation of her two-stage observational study at the National Undergraduate Research Conference in California.
“It was an honor to share the podium with the next leaders in research,” she says.
She will continue this research after graduation, seeking further opportunities to publish her findings, and plans to publish original research in a peer-reviewed nutrition journal in collaboration with Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor Chanté Jeune.
passion for service
She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UCF only at the beginning of May.
“I want to make my leaders proud and pay it forward,” she says. “I am determined to empower nurses in low-resource settings, develop self-sufficient community-based health networks, and ensure access to care for all.”
May has many plans after graduation, eager to achieve her goals and succeed in her endeavors. First, she completed a summer public health internship at Osceola Community Health Services, where she learned more about the effective application of public health principles to Osceola County’s marginalized populations through advocacy, outreach, and hands-on clinical work. Masu.
Next, May will attend the American Enterprise Institute’s Summer Honors Program in Washington, D.C., where she will be part of a small group of undergraduate students discussing regional poverty and economic mobility in the United States. .
“I represent the nursing perspective and add my first-hand experience with community poverty in Orlando to the conversation,” she says.
She will also take the national certification exam to officially become a registered nurse, and in her new role, she will serve as a volunteer on the medical team at the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Florida Elks Youth Camp in Umatilla.
In August, she will move a little closer to home and begin her nursing residency at Duke Regional Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
To continue to be an effective nurse leader on a global scale, Mae plans to apply for the Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright scholarship programs and continue volunteering to make a difference in global health. She will further her education and eventually become a nurse, and she plans to pursue a PhD in public health epidemiology.
May credits the UCF College of Nursing’s curriculum, faculty, and instructors with helping her find her calling and help her succeed.
“When I started the program, I had no idea that I would face so many challenges and have the potential to do so much good,” she says. “I will always be a Knight Nurse because my big dream started here.”
Her advice to future students is: “Never participate in something you’re not passionate about. That’s the only way you can be honest in front of a mirror or a committee and say you spent your time well spent.”