Several young athletes took their own lives in 2025, and the impact has spread within and beyond their communities, including to experts at the University of Central Florida Athletics department.

Among the losses were Winter Springs High School softball player Kennedy Jackson, 15, Louisiana State University wide receiver Kyren Lacy, 24, and most recently, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, 24.

The UCF Athletics Mental Health and Performance department, which provides mental health services to student-athletes, said its focus is prevention and figuring out other ways it can support student-athletes in light of these tragedies.

Long before he became a coveted quarterback in the transfer portal, Alonza Barnett III’s journey was filled with a multitude of obstacles that tested his resolve.

But ever since playing high school football at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, head coach Darryl Brown described the young athlete in one word: winner.

After five years, UCF men’s basketball finally defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 73-72 in a hard-fought matchup.

The game became physical quickly as bodies, including sophomore center John Bol and fifth-year guard Themus Fulks, hit the floor hard as both teams fought for a much-needed conference win.

The search for camaraderie during the often isolating COVID-19 pandemic motivated self-proclaimed non-runner Eliza Whitmore to start Your Run Club in Oviedo. Five years later, it has become a community that has fostered lifelong friendships, introduced now-married couples, and helped dozens of people navigate tough times in life.

“I just have a megaphone and a dream,” Whitmore said. “People are appreciative of the community we bring together. I had no idea I would make this much of an impact...

Dr. Jane Goodall, a world-renowned primatologist, conservationist and humanitarian, was laid to rest on Wednesday at Washington National Cathedral after having died in October at age 91 from natural causes.

The news of Goodall's death had an immediate impact on members of the UCF community, from faculty to students.

Dr. Christina Kwapich, a UCF biology assistant professor, said she felt a great sense of loss after reading a headline on the Apple News app.

After sharing the article in a GroupMe chat with her research lab members, students and postdoctoral researchers, Kwapich described everyone as “devastated” and said the news was a shock to all of them.

“I immediately thought this is a giant of that era who's now gone,” Kwapich said.

The love of teaching nutrition to his undergraduate health sciences students led a UCF instructor to create a four-dimensional immersive experience that shows how stressful it can be to treat individuals in harsh environments.

The experience, started about a year ago by instructor Steven Burroughs, allows students to learn in environments that simulate those in which healthcare professionals regularly work, like intensive care units.

It has garnered attention from faculty and students alike, Burroughs said, motivating him to expand the accessibility to students who cannot be present.

Danny Martinez did not believe comic book stores existed any longer growing up. Watching the portrayal of those stores on television shows, such as “The Simpsons,” led him to think it was only around in the 1980s and early 1990s.

At the time, Danny and his brother, Alex Morales, often went to a GameStop at the Palm Beach Lakes Mall, where they lived at the time. Not only did he enjoy the feeling of buying a new video game, but also the camaraderie of talking about them with other enthusiasts. Danny wanted to work at GameStop when he grew up, but Morales mocked the idea, telling him it was not a career.

After moving to Orlando in 2011, Danny said he was pleasantly surprised to discover multiple comic book stores in the area, and a place he once thought was gone became reality.

Reaching the final stretch of a college semester may be relieving for some students, but that’s not what UCF associate professor Yovanna Pineda saw firsthand. 

The sight of tired students inspired Pineda to create the “Performative Experience of Democracy Simulation” game in 2015, turning what she referred to as "sleepy heads" into fierce researchers. 

“The last month or two weeks, everyone's tired,” Pineda said. “So having a game like this toward the end peps up everybody.”

The U.S. Department of Education announced Sept. 10 a cut to approximately $350 million in discretionary funding to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, along with other Minority-Serving Institutions, affecting over 300 colleges and universities across the country — including UCF.

The leaders of the UCF student hub for Sunrise Movement said they are focusing on matters beyond the mission of its national organization, including a campaign to provide resources for UCF students affected by U.S. immigration policies and an effort to offer more diverse opportunities to the student body through a referral program.

Sunrise Movement is a youth-led organization founded in April 2017 that advocates for political action on climate change. In the past, the movement played a role in pushing for climate-related legislation such as the Green New Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act, and has formed more than 100 hubs across the United States that run campaigns amplifying the organization’s mission.