{"id":128398,"date":"2022-05-06T14:21:37","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T18:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//?p=128398"},"modified":"2024-05-17T16:21:32","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T20:21:32","slug":"makers-of-the-next-new-worlds-ucfs-first-themed-experience-cohort-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//makers-of-the-next-new-worlds-ucfs-first-themed-experience-cohort-graduates/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398//","title":{"rendered":"Makers of the Next New Worlds: 166su’s First Themed Experience Cohort Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commencement weekend. Some 166su graduates will head into backyards to celebrate with family and friends. Some will board planes to take long-awaited escapes. But eleven graduates will travel across Orlando to Universal Studios, which for them is a bridge from the completion of their master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019s degrees into a world beyond school /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2014 and maybe beyond reality./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cIt makes perfect sense for this group,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d says Alex Marcello /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201914 of the entire cohort from 166su/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019s inaugural themed experience track, which happens to be the only program of its kind accredited by the National Association of Schools Theater. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cWe entered the program so we can design theme parks and bring stories to life for people just like us./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

You/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019d think Marcello had all the perspective she needed before joining the program in 2019. She already worked at Universal, first as a show coordinator and then as assistant manager of intellectual property. It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019s natural to wonder if an untested master/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019s track would be worth her time./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cIf I could go back three years and show myself the portfolio I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019ve built through this program, it would blow my mind,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cI had no idea of the possibilities it would open to us./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

Marcello/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u2019s classmate, Jordan Zauha, echoes her wonder. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cThe program gave me exactly what I needed: a new beginning./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

From Cornfields to the Big Apple to 166su/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

Zauha grew up in the heartland of Nebraska. His high school senior class totaled 41 students. He studied musical theater at Nebraska Wesleyan, which provided him the opportunity to perform in 25 stage productions while earning a degree./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cGlee was a thing at the time,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d says Zauha, who turns 30 in July, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201cand Broadway was the goal for anyone in theater./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/128398/n