Haley Alexis Perez
Proud Knight
About Me
Hello everyone! This is my first semester at UCF and I could not be happier to be at one of the best and most exciting schools. I am here studying Mechanical Engineering! Everyone always has a weird reaction when I tell them what I am studying, but I am actually prepared to handle the rigorous schedule and mass amount of math.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, but I moved to Jacksonville for high school. I graduated from Stanton College Prep, which was ranked the #3 most challenging school in the nation my freshman year. My graduation pictures show I was strong enough to make it through four tough years.
Cool Fact: I'm a dancer!
I have been dancing since I was two years old. I have done ballet, tap, jazz, hiphop, modern, lyrical, gymnastics, salsa, merengue, tango, etc.. The list is kind of long. In high school, I was captain of three different dance groups and the performances were the highlights of my time in high school. This is a passion of mine and one I hope to continue as long as I possibly can.
"Philadelphian" is a real term!
Being born and raised in Philadelphia, I have an immense amount of proud for my city! We may not have the BEST football team out there (I will still always support the Eagles), but we do have the best cheesesteaks! If you're ever in Philly, check out Jim's Steaks. The long line is totally worth it!
The EXCEL Program!
I chose to apply for the EXCEL Program because of all the opportunity is has to offer. Being a female pursuing a career in Engineering, this program had many benefits to help me succeed in this male-dominated field. EXCEL also offers a paid undergraduate research experience which will allow me to be more involved in my field. EXCEL will be beneficial to me in that it will validate that Mechanical Engineering is what I want to do when I experience the undergraduate research opportunity. It will also help me to stay on track with my school work because it provides multiple means of helping students.