Alumni Talks

Our Featured Alumni Talks showcase talented, inspiring and successful MFOS alumni who give back to the program by sharing their journey since graduation with current scholars. These alumni talks began in Fall 2014 and continue to engage both MFOS alumni and current scholars in meaningful dialogue. Some interviews were hosted in person with current scholars while some were recorded with the intent to share online.

Spring 2020

Faith Percival

Faith Percival graduated from UF in Spring 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education and Behavior. She is currently pursuing her Pharmacy degree at UF. Faith is from Port St Lucie Florida.

Spring 2016

Sky Georges

Sky Georges graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sustainable Development Practice. Sky grew up in both Haiti and Miami. He believes the key to unlocking human potential is to raise a generation of transformation leaders. Sky has experience in international youth leadership and student affairs. Currently, Sky is a Ph.D. student in Leadership Development at UF. Sky is an inductee in the UF Hall of Fame and a member of the Florida Blue Key.

Marquitta J. Brown

Marquitta Brown graduated from the University of Florida in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology, and a minor in Family Youth and Community Sciences. Immediately following graduation, she enrolled into the Police Academy at Sante Fe College. Her career at the Gainesville Police Department has included working as a Patrol Officer assigned to various areas in the City of Gainesville, the Downtown Unit, Special Operations Unit, and the Gang Unit, where she currently works as gang detective. Marquitta was recently selected as the City of Gainesville Police Department Employee of the Year for 2015 for her passion and extreme efforts with troubled youth in the City of Gainesville. Marquitta stated that one of the best decisions she made in her life was attending the University Of Florida, where she met her husband Warren Brown. Marquitta and Warren are now the parents of twins Warren III and Taylor.

Kyle Gorman

Kyle Gorman graduated from the University of Florida in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, as well as a minor in Chinese language and culture. He is currently working as a community associate at the New York City Department of Transportation. Kyle presently resides in Harlem, New York City.


Shantrell Jenkins

Date: January 25, 2016
Shantrell Jenkins graduated from the University of Florida in 2013 with Bachelor of Science degree in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. Jenkins is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Student Personnel and Higher Education at the University of Florida and plans to graduate in the Spring of 2016.

Fall 2015

Dania Gutierrez

Date: October 30, 2015
Dania Gutierrez graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Gutierrez received her Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where she works as Project Manager for Greens Sports Alliance.

Luis Avila

Luis Avila is from Miami, Florida and graduated from the University of Florida in 2014, with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Currently, Luis is in his second year of graduate school at Northwestern University specializing in Geotechnics, where he aims to obtain his Master of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees. Luis is pursuing his dream of becoming the first in his family to obtain a doctorate degree and studying a field that inspires him.

Spring 2015

Ed Gaines, Large Format Sales District Leader at PepsiCo

Jackie Bonilla, University of South Carolina master’s student in Higher Education and Student Affairs and current Assistant Director, New Student and Family Programs at UF

Priscilla Zelaya, UF Doctoral student in Agricultural Education and Communication and co-founder of Projects for Haiti

Michael Barnes, Florida State University master’s student in Social Work

Fall 2014

Kayla Morse, 3rd Grade Teacher in Boston, MA

Adam Sotomayor
, Presidential Management Fellow in Washington, D.C.

Bothaina Saleh, Sales Associate for NBC Sports Group in New York City

Jacquelyn McCullough, Master’s student & Preparedness Field Assignee with the Centers for Disease Control