Under a high-stakes, simulated cyberattack and mounting pressure, the 麻豆映画传媒 Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (C3) team proved it can defend, adapt and outperform 鈥� earning first place at the 2026 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC).

The team rose above nine competitors, including Tennessee Tech University, Clemson University, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. With the win, 麻豆映画传媒 advances to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which will be held virtually next month.

Twelve students make up this year鈥檚 C3 team: sophomore information technology (IT) majors Gabriel Edwards and Maksim Shostak; junior IT majors Logan Autry, Anthony Donnelly, Joseph Durand, Adam Raczynski and Jonathan Styles; senior IT major Ardian Peach; sophomore computer science major Tyler Waddell; junior computer science major Benjamin Williams; cyber security and privacy master鈥檚 student Andy Pompura 鈥�23; and senior prelaw major Noah Magill, who serves as team captain.

麻豆映画传媒’s Legacy of Cybersecurity Success

Their stellar performance marks 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 ninth first-place finish at the Southeast CCDC regional since 2013. 麻豆映画传媒 earned runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2025, along with first-place titles in special at-large CCDC regionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

“麻豆映画传媒 has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team.” 鈥� Tom Nedorost 鈥�02MS, senior instructor and C3 team coach

The team not only clinched the top spot but also swept all three categories, winning Best in Uptime Service, Best in Business and Best in Defense.

鈥溌槎褂郴� has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team,鈥� says Tom Nedorost 鈥�02MS, C3 team coach and senior instructor of computer science and IT. 鈥淲e lived up to that expectation again this year, which resulted in winning the Best in Uptime Service award.鈥�

Nedorost adds that the team strengthened its ability to complete technical service requests while hardening systems against vulnerabilities to protect their network, key improvements that led to the two additional category wins.

Putting Cyber Defense Skills into Practice

At each competition, teams are tasked with defending a fictional company鈥檚 network against cyberattacks launched by red team members attempting to infiltrate it. All the while, competitors must maintain business operations and respond to customer service requests.

Each obstacle mimics real-world scenarios cybersecurity professionals face, allowing competitors to demonstrate their technical skills, business acumen and ability to collaborate.

It’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world .鈥� 鈥� Noah Magill, prelaw major and C3 team captain

Magill says the Southeast CCDC is among the most competitive, with red team members from leading companies such as Amazon Web Services and Cisco.

鈥淎ll of them put together make up one of the scariest real-world life adversaries,鈥� Magill says. 鈥淚t’s fun to go up against people [who, collectively,] would be a force to reckon with in the cyber world 鈥� and a lot of [them] are [麻豆映画传媒] alumni.鈥�

Next Up: Nationals

As the team sets its sights on the national competition, the work is far from over. Magill says a few more 100-hour weeks are likely ahead.

鈥淓veryone on the team is incredibly adept at what they do and world-class [in] their specialty,鈥� Magill says. 鈥淟eading this team [and relying] on such amazing teammates with such a diverse amount of skills has been really awesome.鈥�

Keeping with this commitment, 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 deputy chief of police, David Zambri 鈥�92 鈥�95MPA has been appointed as associate vice president and chief information security officer.

“The deputy chief鈥檚 FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force background, his access to the FBI鈥檚 network as a National Academy graduate, and his relationships with agencies like the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange and the U.S. Secret Service will enhance 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 ties with these critical law enforcement and national security agencies. I am thrilled he agreed to take on the role,” says Matthew Hall, 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer.

Zambri, who holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in criminal justice and a master鈥檚 degree in public administration from 麻豆映画传媒, is already familiar with the university鈥檚 information technology deployment. He started his law enforcement career at 麻豆映画传媒 nearly three decades ago. With 14 years in senior leadership roles, he most recently served as the deputy chief of the 麻豆映画传媒 Police Department where he oversaw law enforcement information technology and criminal justice information systems.

鈥淲hen I think of this (new) position, it really is a component of what I’ve done throughout my career,鈥� Zambri says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 keeping the community safe. It鈥檚 a shift from traditional crime prevention, law enforcement, and public safety to the cyber landscape. It鈥檚 serving the 麻豆映画传媒 community 鈥� keeping it safe from cybercriminals or nation-state actors who can cause immeasurable damage to our institution.

鈥淢y top priority is to build a network of support between 麻豆映画传媒 Information security and its law enforcement partners, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and others to ensure that we have the best prevention and response to cyberattacks.鈥�

The FBI National Academy admission for Zambri was a life-changing experience. This exclusive program for senior leaders in law enforcement is a coveted professional development experience for both U.S. and international law enforcement participants. The nationally nominated participants have referred to it as 鈥渢o law enforcement as to what West Point is to the military.鈥�

IT @ 麻豆映画传媒 would like to thank former chief information security officer Chris Vakhordjian for his 20 years of dedication to the university and to IT. Under his leadership, he led the IT Security division, peers, students, staff and faculty to a greater understanding and appreciation of security. His contributions have left a positive impression on the success of IT @ 麻豆映画传媒 and the university as a whole.

Glaspie most recently served as the cyber risk and compliance program manager in the 麻豆映画传媒 Office of Research. He also has been the director of information technology for the 麻豆映画传媒 College of Medicine and the IT manager for the 麻豆映画传媒 Foundation.

In making the appointment, Matt Hall, 麻豆映画传媒 vice president for Information Technology and CIO, says Glaspie’s extensive IT background and more than 25 years of leadership experience at 麻豆映画传媒 and elsewhere made him a strong choice. Glaspie’s previous roles outside 麻豆映画传媒 include serving with the College of Central Florida as associate vice president of information technology and CIO; the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, as director of information technology; and the University of Hawaii as director of information technology.

Glaspie also served for eight years as a U.S. Naval officer in logistics support.

“Dr. Glaspie is critical to planning the future of information technology at 麻豆映画传媒,” Hall says. “He’s a veteran of 麻豆映画传媒, a Navy veteran, and possesses an amazing personality that brings people together in a consensus-building and collaborative way.”

Glaspie earned a B.S. degree in information engineering technology from the University of Cincinnati and a B.A. in applied mathematics from Hampton University. He has earned three graduate degrees and a graduate certification from 麻豆映画传媒: a Ph.D. in modeling and simulation, master’s degrees in modeling and simulation and industrial engineering, and a graduate certificate in computer forensics and digital security.

Glaspie says he looks forward to working cross-departmentally and establishing relationships throughout the university to help improve technology and the customer experience across campus, particularly for students and the faculty and staff.

“麻豆映画传媒 has been a shining example across higher education with how we have grown the educational and research missions before and during the pandemic,” Glaspie says. “I am hoping to work with our talented campus community and leverage the achievements in technology to help 麻豆映画传媒 meet and exceed its goals.”

鈥淚 look forward to welcoming Matt to the leadership team and to working with him to help our faculty, staff and students to teach, learn and innovate at their best.鈥�
鈥� President Alexander N. Cartwright

Hall is currently the senior associate vice chancellor for information technology and cyber risk responsible executive at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously, he held positions at Koch Industries International, Microsoft, Bank of America and Vanderbilt University, and also served in sworn law enforcement positions at the Williamson County (Tenn.) Sheriff鈥檚 Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

鈥淲e are excited about the experience, leadership and vision that Matt brings to help 麻豆映画传媒 leverage technology to elevate academic achievement and operational excellence,鈥� says Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Johnson. 鈥淗is ability to help us find opportunities for digital innovation is a key to our future success.鈥�

During his time at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Hall developed the university鈥檚 first IT strategy, developed governance and federated IT structures and consolidated IT operations, including standardizing email and collaboration. He also played a critical role ensuring the success of enterprise-wide projects, including the implementation of a new enterprise resource system.

鈥溌槎褂郴� is a fantastic opportunity because of its growth, its aspirational goals and the energy of its people,鈥� Hall says. 鈥淭he mission of the institution 鈥� accessibility, affordability and innovation 鈥� is something I look forward to being a part of.鈥�

In his role at 麻豆映画传媒, Hall will report to the provost and serve as a key member of the senior leadership team to provide executive leadership and strategic vision for the institution鈥檚 information technology infrastructure, assets and services. He will also work collaboratively with the university community, including faculty and staff members and university leaders to leverage technological innovations to support research and instruction while also improving administrative systems and business processes.

鈥淢att has a breadth of experience leading technology upgrades, support and security that aligns well with our vision for the future,鈥� says President Alexander N. Cartwright. 鈥淚 look forward to welcoming Matt to the leadership team and to working with him to help our faculty, staff and students to teach, learn and innovate at their best.鈥�

The 16-member search committee, which included faculty, staff and student representatives, was co-chaired by Jeff Moore, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Paige Borden 鈥�95MBA 鈥�00EdD, associate provost and chief analytics officer.

Joel Hartman, who served as vice president for information technologies and resources and chief information officer, retired in July after 25 years at 麻豆映画传媒. Michael Sink has been serving in this role in an interim capacity and will report to Hall when he assumes his new role.

Hall earned his B.A. in international affairs from the University of South Florida and a M.S. in the same subject from Florida State University. He and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of three boys: Michael, Jacob and Ayden.

鈥淓ach individual competitor needed to possess the knowledge and skills and perform all the work typically spread among a six-member team.鈥�
鈥� Tom Nedorost

Due to the pandemic, this year鈥檚 CyberForce competition shifted from an in-person test designed for teams to a virtual challenge designed for individual competitors. More than 450 college students from across the nation were selected to participate in the sixth annual competition, but only 201 students from 36 states earned points in the cybersecurity exercise intended to mimic the energy sector.

This year鈥檚 scenario required competitors to secure and report on a fictitious wind energy company in charge of more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity generation that had been experiencing abnormal network activity.

鈥淓ach individual competitor needed to possess the knowledge and skills and perform all the work typically spread among a six-member team,鈥� says Associate Lecturer of Computer Science Tom Nedorost, faculty advisor for known as Hack@麻豆映画传媒. 鈥淢ichael demonstrated both exceptional breadth and depth of skills and knowledge required to configure, secure and defend multiple Linux and Windows servers, networks, firewalls and [industrial control systems] operating turbines of commercial windmills.鈥�

A digital forensics graduate student, Roberts earned a bachelor鈥檚 in information technology from 麻豆映画传媒 in 2019 and is a member of the Hack@麻豆映画传媒 team that placed second at last year鈥檚 CyberForce competition and first in the 2018 competition. He has also been captain of the teams that placed second in 2018, 2019 and 2020 at the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition as well as the teams that placed first at the Panoply National Competition in 2017 and 2018 and the Leidos Cyber Challenge in 2017.

鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to see my hard work pay off and to be recognized by the Department of Energy for getting second place,鈥� says Roberts. 鈥淚 am glad that there are competitions like this that improve the visibility of the work we do. These competitions are training undergraduate students, so they gain new skills, as well as people like me who are already in the industry, so we can gain additional skills that can be applied on the job.鈥�

In addition to having an active role in Hack@麻豆映画传媒, Roberts has completed internships at Northrop Grumman, IBM and Chick-fil-A, and currently works as an information security engineer at Abbott Laboratories in Orlando.

鈥淚 am glad that there are competitions like this that improve the visibility of the work we do.鈥�
鈥� Michael Roberts 鈥�19

鈥淐ybersecurity really has two sides,鈥� Roberts says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 the offensive side where you鈥檙e trying to break into a company to test whether they鈥檙e secure or not, and then you let them know how they can be improved; and then there鈥檚 the defensive side where you secure the company from attacks. I interned at different places to get a variety of experience and to discover what I liked best. For the past year or so, I鈥檝e been working in the healthcare field, and it feels nice to be making some very important healthcare products more secure, especially given this pandemic.鈥�

According to the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, unfilled cybersecurity careers are expected to reach more than 1.8 million by 2022 鈥� a 20% increase in demand since 2015.

The DOE established the CyberForce competition to address this growing need, by raising awareness of energy sector cybersecurity as a career path among budding professionals.

鈥淭he American cybersecurity workforce is facing a gap in talent, and this competition is an exciting, engaging part of helping to fill that gap,鈥� says Nick Andersen, principal deputy assistant secretary of the DOE鈥檚 Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. 鈥淓very year, we see incredibly promising students competing in the CyberForce Competition, and this year was no exception.鈥�

The moves include 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 national-model DirectConnect to 麻豆映画传媒 program and 麻豆映画传媒 Global, which among other responsibilities, manages international student recruitment, English language programs for students and the community, and international partnerships in education, research and business.

Other aspects of the realignment involve units that impact online student services, faculty training and development, and continuing education for working professionals.

鈥淎t 麻豆映画传媒, we strive for constant improvement,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淭hese changes allow us to continue our focus on student success and the student experience.鈥�

The reorganization by the Division of Academic Affairs will unfold throughout September with the following units and offices:

• DirectConnect to 麻豆映画传媒 and the 麻豆映画传媒 Connect Centers move to the Division of Student Learning and Academic Success, reporting to Theodorea Regina Berry, vice provost of Student Learning and Academic Success and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies;
• 麻豆映画传媒 Global moves to the Office of the Provost, reporting to Tim Letzring, senior associate provost for Academic Affairs;
• 麻豆映画传媒 Online Connect Center and 麻豆映画传媒 Continuing Education move to the Division of Digital Learning, reporting to Tom Cavanagh, vice provost for Digital Learning;
• Office of Instructional Resources Classroom Support, Engineering, Programming and Project Management teams move to 麻豆映画传媒 Information Technology, reporting to Michael Sink, interim vice president and CIO.

The transitions for DirectConnect to 麻豆映画传媒, the 麻豆映画传媒 Connect Centers and 麻豆映画传媒 Global coincide with the Oct. 1 retirement of Jeff Jones, vice provost for 麻豆映画传媒 Connect and 麻豆映画传媒 Global. Johnson praised Jones for his impactful work during his seven years at 麻豆映画传媒 and for his suggestions and insights regarding the overall realignment.

鈥淭he possibilities for this reimagining are exciting,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淎s we move forward, success relies on the creativity and collaboration of our staff, faculty and partners.鈥�

In a pre-COVID world, 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 main campus is typically flooded during the course of a weekend with thousands of students lugging bedding, appliances, shower caddies and wall d茅cor to their rooms at each of the eight housing communities.

But just like everything else in 2020, the pandemic changed the rules, and move-in for 6,000 students required a complex drive-thru process centralized in parking garages designed to maximize physical distancing.

Chick-fil-A Connection

When April Konvalinka, executive director of housing and residence life at 麻豆映画传媒, realized this year鈥檚 move-in would need to be especially creative, she looked to a friend 鈥� Chick-fil-A franchise owner and operator Jason Barnes 鈥� for some guidance. He is a member of the fast food chain鈥檚 innovation team, which focuses on operating high-volume drive-thrus efficiently.

His advice helped shape some of the initiatives 麻豆映画传媒 implemented. Key among those was identifying the number of stations to help keep traffic moving, ensuring each worker had no more than two responsibilities at each station and a complete dry-run to test the process.

It was a starting point, but Konvalinka knew she was going to need more help in creating the detailed new protocols. So she turned to 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 IT project management office, a team that provides management and business analysis services across the university.

Konvalinka鈥檚 request for help turned into an ultra-collaborative effort spanning 10 departments and more than 80 people over the course of three weeks to revolutionize move-in at 麻豆映画传媒.

Team Effort

Lucrecia Krause, a business analysis manager for 麻豆映画传媒 IT who served as the project manager for the move-in, started compiling data to get a better understanding of what checking in 6,000 students on the main campus over the span of 16 days would look like.

Her initial projections estimated wait times up to six hours for a single student to complete check in.

鈥淲e always strive to provide the best experience for our students, and this wasn鈥檛 it,鈥� Krause says.

Additionally, she knew she needed to resolve numerous unanswered questions: How many lanes should receive cars? How many staff were needed? How many PCs and iPads should be on hand to check in residents? What happens if someone arrives in a moving van, which doesn鈥檛 fit in a parking garage? What way should traffic flow to prevent backups?

In order to address the issues and find ways to reduce wait times, Krause needed to get her hands on simulation software. After asking around the university, she connected with Assistant Professor Adan Vela, who teaches industrial engineering.

鈥淭his is sort of the bread and butter for our major,鈥� Vela says. 鈥淎s engineers, when we perform a simulation analysis, it鈥檚 usually to provide guidance, confirm feasibility and caution for potential pitfalls. Simulation analysis is a tool within the decision-making process, and we knew this was going to be a big endeavor, so we were more than happy to jump on board.鈥�

Engineering Students Pitch In

Vela offered five of his students 鈥� doctoral students Valeria Laynes Fiascunari 鈥�16 鈥�19MS and Jorge Flavio Sarmiento Falla 鈥�16 鈥�18MS and undergraduate students Miguel Angel Victoria, Sebastian Berdecia-Aparicio and Elsayed Gabara 鈥� to help with the project by running simulation scenarios.

Laynes says at first she thought it seemed like a fairly straight forward process to iron out, but once she and the team started learning of the many constraints from the numerous departments involved, it became complicated quickly.

The team used a software called Simio, which industrial engineering students are exposed to in their classes at 麻豆映画传媒. Laynes says everything she learned in her simulation courses prepared her for this job.

Using Simio, they were able to account for numerous details that affected the speed of the experience.

For example, each resident initially was going to be slotted a two-hour check-in window. But research shows when you allow a two-hour time block, people generally arrive within the first 30 minutes, creating surges of traffic. By narrowing the window to 15 minutes for each resident, the team demonstrated how spreading out the appointments would help prevent the surges and backups.

Solving Real World Problems

The team presented regularly to key stakeholders, including members of 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 police, parking, student health services and housing departments.

The group left each meeting with feedback to compute in order to present updated projections again the next day. The students, who were also juggling classes or teaching assistant responsibilities, met sometimes until 1 or 2 a.m. to complete the work but everyone felt it was worth the sleep deprivation.

鈥淗aving a real client, especially one as big as 麻豆映画传媒 with a lot of stakeholders in a lot of different departments, is a really rich experience that any industrial engineering needs on their resume,鈥� says Laynes, who worked for IBM for three years in between her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees. 鈥淭his project is as close as it gets to reality because this is a real-world job. We鈥檙e really grateful for this experience.鈥�

For Krause, who spent hours collaborating with the team to review, adjust and then re-adjust models, she was confident everything would go according to plan on the first weekend of move-in appointments.

鈥淭his whole experience has shown that when we all come to together to achieve a task of this magnitude, amazing things can happen.鈥�

She and members of the planning team observed nearly 900 students arrive over a two-day period in anticipation of the new semester. The time to check in, which included a COVID testing in one garage and Housing check-in another garage, averaged under 30 minutes total, with some families going through the entire process 鈥� including travel between the garages 鈥� in an impressive 18 minutes.

A post check-in survey after the first weekend conducted by Housing and Residence Life confirmed student and family satisfaction with the new process. Of the 75 Knights who responded to the survey, nearly all (97.3 percent) were satisfied with their move-in experience and, of those who experienced move-in at another campus, 84.6 percent indicated their 麻豆映画传媒 experience was better.

鈥淲e have incredibly talented and dedicated staff at 麻豆映画传媒, who are all willing to do their part to support the health and well-being of our staff, students and their families,鈥� Konvalinka says. 鈥淭his whole experience has shown that when we all come to together to achieve a task of this magnitude, amazing things can happen.鈥�

Hartman joined 麻豆映画传媒 in 1995, and has played a vital role in shaping the university鈥檚 technological, academic and information infrastructure and landscapes, overseeing information security, computing, the library, telecommunications and space administration.

鈥淛oel has spent the past 25 years building 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 digital and online teaching and learning platforms into one of the most innovative in the nation,鈥� says Interim President Thad Seymour. 鈥淚 want to thank Joel for his remarkable leadership and service to 麻豆映画传媒 and his willingness to stay in the role through the opening of 麻豆映画传媒 Downtown and the 21st Century Library project.鈥�

The developments made during Hartman鈥檚 tenure are vast, spanning connectivity, security and learning. He not only led the effort to connect members of the 麻豆映画传媒 community across locations and campuses through the campus network but collaborated with State University System institutions to create Florida LambdaRail, which provides reliable, high-capacity connections to the Internet and Internet2. He laid the technological framework for both Medical City and 麻豆映画传媒 Downtown and developed effective partnerships with major technology companies such as Microsoft. And he also increased information security measures across the board to respond to the ever-evolving cyber landscape.

Under his vision, academic endeavors entered the 21^st century through the development of 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 highly successful online learning initiative, the equipping of all classrooms with modern multimedia technology, the expansion of library resources and the launch of the 21^st Century Library project.

Long seen as an expert in his field, Hartman is the only person to have received top leadership recognition awards from both EDUCAUSE and the Online Learning Consortium. He has served as an information technology consultant to both the public and the private sectors, has published numerous articles, delivered many conference presentations, and has been active in the development of statewide education and research networks in Illinois and Florida. He has served and held offices on numerous state, regional and national IT organizations in the fields of public broadcasting, distributed learning as well as research and education networking.

Hartman graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with both bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in journalism and communications and earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from 麻豆映画传媒.

So I now find myself washed up on the webbed shores of information technology (IT) where I rely on much younger students and colleagues to help me navigate new systems and applications. This makes me a pilgrim and in order to survive I need help from digital natives.

Marc Prensky, a writer and speaker on education, coined the terms 鈥渄igital native鈥� and 鈥渄igital immigrant鈥� in his essay On the Horizon (2001). He points out that while digital immigrants can learn IT and become quite proficient at its uses, digital immigrants will think differently and process information in different ways from digital natives who are socialized in highly digitized, information-rich environments. Even with high levels of IT proficiency, digital immigrants will still retain a 鈥渇ootprint鈥� or 鈥渁ccent鈥� from their analog pasts. But no matter how skilled I am at an application such as PowerPoint, my accent gives me away as a digital immigrant. (Another giveaway: gray hair.)

When I was in grade school, we had lessons on using dictionaries and encyclopedias. I鈥檓 referring to hardcopy, carbon-based dictionaries and encyclopedias because that was all we had. It would be well after I completed my graduate studies that online dictionaries, Google and Wikipedia would become commonplace.

By the time I was in college, pocket calculators were starting to supplant slide rules. 听However, in the early 1970s, few of us had a pocket calculator because the one with a square root function still cost several thousand dollars. My first 鈥渕obile鈥� device was a pocket calculator that I purchased as a graduate student. I remember that it was made by Casio and had a square root function, played musical tunes, and even told time. I thought it was the bee鈥檚 knees. (For digital natives unfamiliar with this term, an online dictionary defines bee鈥檚 knees as an anachronistic phrase denoting excellence).

In graduate school it became clear to me that despite my digital shortcomings, I needed to embrace information technology or die.

In graduate school it became clear to me that despite my digital shortcomings, I needed to embrace information technology or die. This was because my dissertation required complex statistical analyses that were beyond the scope of pocket calculators, even the ones with a square root function. Because my survival instincts were intact, I loaded all my data onto 80-column IBM punch cards. In those days, it was common to see graduate students carrying shoe boxes on campus. I was one of those students.

This was because large data sets required hundreds of punch cards that could easily be transported in a shoe box. The next step was to compile punch-card data to be analyzed. On our campus this required a card reader that converted punch-card data into an optical tape format. Back then optical tape was made of paper in which holes were machine-punched according to the octal numeral system. That is, a base-8 system (imagine that you learned to count having only eight fingers). As a member of the original geek squad, I actually learned to count in octal because there was a need to visually inspect tape when there was no access to an optical tape reader.

I remember my first portable computer in the mid-1980s. The term 鈥減ortable鈥� is used advisedly as it weighed a whopping 28 pounds. When secured in its case, it looked and felt like a hefty sewing machine. My Compaq had 128k of RAM, operated at 4.77 MHz, and was MS-DOS based. But it did have its own built-in keyboard and a nine-inch monochromatic green monitor. I thought it was the bee鈥檚 knees.

Despite many successes, my transition as an immigrant to the digital nation has been uneven. It was only recently that I gave up my 鈥渄umb鈥� phone. You know, the kind that only does voice. When I tell my students that I still don鈥檛 text on my new smartphone, I immediately set myself apart generationally and digitally.

So where does this leave me? As a digital immigrant I am grateful for the resources and support that is available in our webbed universe. Much like the colonial pilgrims, I need help in order to survive and the digital natives who are my students and colleagues have always been generous in their support. My students are especially eager to assist me and I appreciate when the student has become the teacher with a great deal of humility on my part. I also appreciate that the digital nation is a highly accessible democracy with permeable borders.

Global communication by multimedia, memes going viral, and the rapid creation of online communities are developments for which there is no turning back. The digital landscape is my adopted home now, but I still have memories of my pre-digital motherland.

Perhaps when I have grandkids sitting on my lap, I鈥檒l begin my story 鈥淲hen I was your age going to school, they made me use a dictionary鈥攜eah, the paper kind!鈥�

Alvin Wang resumed his role as a professor in the 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 Department of Psychology this year after serving 11 years as dean of the Burnett Honors College. He can be reached at Alvin.Wang@ucf.edu.

The 麻豆映画传媒 Forum is a weekly series of opinion columns presented by 麻豆映画传媒 Communications & Marketing. A new column is posted each Wednesday at /news/ and then broadcast between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday on W麻豆映画传媒-FM (89.9). The columns are the opinions of the writers, who serve on the 麻豆映画传媒 Forum panel of faculty members, staffers and students for a year.

Senior photonic science and engineering major Rafaela Frota beat out six other finalist companies with her concept for Wawwe (We Are What We Eat.) The mobile app uses data and algorithms to help people decide whether they should eat something based on their personal dietary needs.

The competition rewards students who develop solutions intended to impact society鈥檚 biggest problems.

In under seven minutes, finalists had to present the problem they intended to solve, the solution they planned to offer, and a sustainable and scalable business model that could deliver the solution. Then they had up to three minutes to answer questions from a panel of three judges, who selected winners based on criterion such as concept, social impact, context, performance measures and presentation.

鈥淭he inspiration for Wawwe came from my desire to help give confidence and support to people diagnosed with a diet restrictive illness and were feeling lost and overwhelmed,鈥� says Frota, who came up with the idea at 14 after watching food documentaries such as Food Inc. 鈥淢y dream is to work with hospitals across the nation to bring Wawwe to as many patients as possible and increase their health through easy access, easy to understand personalized nutrition.鈥�

Frota was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from State Farm Insurance, which sponsors the contest. Second-place finishers took home $1,250 and third-placed earned $500 in scholarship funding.

About the Competition

麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 Social Venture Competition differs from other business contests because at the core of each business is a greater purpose to serve individuals or a community. Cameron Ford, director of 麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Blackstone LaunchPad, created the competition in 2015 to provide a platform for students to learn how to utilize entrepreneurship to address complex, social problems.

鈥淥ne of the challenges with social ventures or enterprises is evaluating their success,” Ford says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit different from a standard corporate [measurement,] like sales, revenue, number of customers and stuff like that. Here you鈥檙e looking at things a little more broadly, like impact, which can be pretty difficult to measure.鈥�

鈥溌槎褂郴� has really paved the way for us to have access to so many more opportunities … and we鈥檙e incredibly grateful for that.鈥� 鈥撎�David Thomas Moran 鈥�14MFA

Last year, texts and technology doctoral student听David Thomas Moran 鈥�14MFA听and听art major听Nathan Selikoff 鈥�04,听a Burnett Honors Scholar,听were able to overcome this challenge. They won the competition with their transportation tech startup Omnimodal. The platform merges real-time public transportation information with already existing navigation apps so users can use their phones to get around easier. Their win at 麻豆映画传媒 led them to even greater success in the local community as they went on to win Central Florida鈥檚 Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator.

鈥淭he [Social Venture Competition] reminded Nathan and I that it鈥檚 so important to break out of our innovation silos and actively engage with all the incredible opportunity spaces across the Central Florida startup community here at 麻豆映画传媒 and beyond,鈥� says Moran.听鈥溌槎褂郴� has really paved the way for us to have access to so many more opportunities since we won last year and we鈥檙e incredibly grateful for that.鈥�

This Year鈥檚 Winners

About thirty minutes before this year鈥檚 competition, two finalists realized they had similar ideas for their long-distance ride sharing app 鈥� down to the same statistics used in their presentation.听 Rather than compete against each other, senior information technology major Eliecer Vera and junior computer science major Breezy Baldwin recognized an opportunity to be more successful through partnership

鈥淚t was really bizarre how identical they were. We both realized that neither of us would be likely to win the competition if we had the exact same pitch, but that it applied to our companies as well. We both can鈥檛 go head-to-head in the exact same market,鈥� says Baldwin.

鈥淲e both realized that neither of us would be likely to win the competition if we had the exact same pitch.鈥� 鈥撎鼴reezy Baldwin, 麻豆映画传媒 student

Within minutes Baldwin, who has been working on her idea for 18 months and Vera, who developed his four months ago, managed to successful merge their presentations and companies under the name Hchhkr (pronounced 鈥渉itchhiker鈥�.) So much so that they earned second place. They plan to continue working together.

Third place was awarded to Connected Wise, a smart onboard device that aims to improve safety in rural areas by allowing drivers to communicate with one another about road conditions. The company鈥檚 founders, Enes Karaaslan and Burak Sen, developed the idea from the areas of focus in their civil engineering doctoral studies.

The Food Exchange, developed by junior finance major Aurora Pavlish-Carpenter and first-year environmental engineering major Talia Gratz, earned an honorable mention and received $250. The app focuses on reducing food waste by allowing users to trade their unwanted food with other users nearby.

Other Finalists

Three more companies qualified to present at the competition:

Students who are interested in pursuing any venture, social or otherwise, are encouraged to visit the Blackstone LaunchPad on the first floor of the Student Union to get one-on-one coaching from someone with experience or expertise.