FALL 2020 EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
Committed to the Cause
Since our founding in 2000, oSTEM at UCF has developed and grown in a positive direction. We’re very proud of the diversity of our staff, and their abilities to contribute their own unique experience and skills to our success. Find out more about our Fall 2020 team members below.
SEAN QUINLAN
President
oSTEM has changed my life. Being gay has not always been a comfortable thing for me whether dealing with friends, family, peers and fellow classmates, professors or coworkers. I always wondered what fellow professors thought of me for being gay and an engineer. I thought they would think "this isn't for him".
Since founding oSTEM, not only have I connected with fellow LGBTQ+ people within my major, I have also connected with students and staff throughout STEM. Creating oSTEM has also pushed me to start implementing oSTEM qualities within the company I work for!
oSTEM has helped me understand who I am and where I need to go. It has help hone my leadership and interpersonal skills, as well as my desire to create a safe, inviting space for others to grow. That's what oSTEM means to me.
ARI PANTOJA
Vice President
OSTEM represents a sort of home coming for me after years of trying to find myself. I have been pursuing my degree in electrical engineering for quite some time and I honestly haven’t found too many LGBTQ+ people to form a camaraderie with or to look up to within my major (or the university as a whole!). Sure, there are other LGBTQ+ groups out there but I never found anyone in my field in those groups.
For my own peace of mind, I have stayed involved in transgender groups outside of school but hearing of OSTEM opening up in 2020 was the perfect match for me. I have never found a meeting of the two worlds of STEM and the LGBTQ+ community in my life. Not only for the sake of existence but excellence!
That being said, my goal is to get out into the community and make our voice heard. Loud enough for even the most isolated STEM or related field student to hear and find their home with us. Let’s do great things together!
JOSÉ VILLALOBOS
Secretary
I came to oSTEM after finding myself failing and lost during, and the semester after, an exchange program to Spain. I was convinced I had lost my sense of self, my focus, my ability to succeed and capacity to learn. I later realized that for a long time I had not taken the time to nurture my need for community, balance, and relationships. In the pursuit of a successful academic future, I had forgotten to take care of myself.
oStem for me is the initiative to be self nurturing. It’s the chance for me to create and grow an inclusive community for others, but almost selfishly, a place for me to call mine. My hopes for the future of oStem are that by taking better care of José, he can provide a nurturing environment for others who might also feel lost; just as I once did.
REILLY DEARTH
Treasurer
I helped create oSTEM at UCF because I believe UCF had a need for a welcoming environment for LGBTQ students pursuing STEM degrees.
I’m a senior Industrial Engineering student. I am also involved in the Burnett Honors College and work as a CWEP intern for Lockheed Martin. Other interests include politics, going to concerts, and the automotive industry.
DANIEL CELLA
Publicity Coordinator
I found connecting with other LGBTQ+ people in STEM to be a difficult feat because, in my experience, nobody really discussed anything related to their sexual orientation or identity. Studying Electrical Engineering, there was more talk about the tears shed trying to comprehend physics and circuitry!
I am so grateful to have found such amazing, hardworking people to start up this chapter. oSTEM provides the opportunity to meet supportive faculty and employers for making professional connections AND it provides a safe space for students to find other fellow STEM majors in the community they would not have been able to meet prior. My hope is that this club continues to be run by passionate students for years to come.