The Visionary Fall 2009

The Visionary – Fall 2009 • Page 15 S tudent Government Association president…NSU Student of the Year…class of 2010 president…optometric star of the future… The preceding statements descriptively describe the successful résumé fourth-year student Amanda Ann Woodie has amassed since she began her NSU College of Optometry matriculation in 2006. Due to her deep-seated commitment to excellence, Woodie was driven by a desire to help her fellow classmates and bring campus-wide attention to the College of Optometry and her chosen profession. Those laudable qualities would eventually earn her recognition as NSU’s Student of the Year in 2009, which is the highest honor accorded to an NSU student. Woodie, who was born in Georgia but moved to Auburndale, Florida— a small town in Polk County located halfway between Orlando and Tampa—before she was a year old, always knew she wanted to become a physician. Unfortunately, it was a family tragedy that occurred when she was a young girl that served as the impetus for her to pursue a career in the medical field. “When I was four years old, my younger brother died of brain cancer,” she explained. “Ever since that happened, I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I can remember telling my mom that I didn’t understand why the doctors weren’t able to fix what my brother had. I told her I wanted to grow up and be able to fix people.” When she enrolled in the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, her intention of pursuing medicine grew even stronger. “I really thought sports medicine and orthopedics or neurology were what I wanted to do,” said Woodie, who majored in molecular and microbiology and minored in psychology before graduating with her Bachelor of Science degree in May 2005. “I kept getting more and more involved with athletics at UCF and actually served as the UCF mascot—a masculine cartoon character called Knightro—for two years. Knightro’s identity is a school secret, and as the only girl that played Knightro, I was always afraid my ponytail would sneak out from the head and give me away.” Her time at UCF proved to be fruitful on several fronts, for it was there where she met her boyfriend, J.T., who also served as the school mascot, and developed her passion for university involvement. In addition to her stint as Knightro, Woodie stayed busy serving as a resident assistant, an admissions ambassador/tour guide, a member of the UCF dance team, a member of Delta Delta Delta, and a co-founder of the on-campus shuttle system. During this time, she also broadened Excellence Exemplified: NSU Student of the Year Amanda Woodie By Scott Colton, B.A., Associate Editor, The Visionary Amanda Woodie (center, class of 2010) with (from left) John Hoffman (class of 2010), Meagan Steg (class of 2010), Ray Ferrero, Jr., J.D., and Dr. David Loshin.