NCA–UCF Partnership

NCA–UCF Partnership

In 2017, the NCA selected UCF as one of three schools awarded contracts as inaugural VLP partners. In 2018, it became one of nine schools participating in the VLP nationwide. As Dr. Barbara Gannon put it, UCF “was made for this program.” The History Department and the Center for Humanities and Digital Research (CHDR) are committed to doing publicly engaged research. Our partnership with NCA builds on a number of ongoing and relevant research projects, including the UCF Community Veterans History Project, Florida France Soldier Stories, and RICHES digital archive.

Undergraduate and graduate students in UCF courses in 2017, 2018 and 2019 created digital learning tools, conducted research to find primary sources, and wrote biographies of over 130 veterans commemorated at four national cemeteries—two in Florida and two in eastern France: Florida National Cemetery, St. Augustine National Cemetery, the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery. In 2018, our research focused on the history of two major conflicts in US history: the Seminole Wars and World War I. Over many months, our team of graduate and undergraduate research assistants wrote, edited and finalized biographies, created digital resources, assisted area K-12 teachers in the construction of instructional materials, and assisted with the website.

Between 2022-2024, UCF partnered with the Florida National Guard to develop a program that to be able to share the historical research methods we have developed. We work with educators who want to tell the stories of Veterans buried in Florida’s national cemeteries in engaging, innovative lessons that follow state standards in their classrooms. As part of this, in June 2023 and 2024, we held our Veterans Legacy Program Institute for Florida K-12 educators from around the state, where they wrote Veteran biographies, themed mini-tours, and created curricula for their classrooms.

Our partnership honors Veterans and brings cemeteries alive for students—at universities, elementary, middle and high schools—through a range of instructional materials and interactive digital history tools. Our work is a collaborative, public-facing research program that employs more than a dozen UCF students, undergraduates, MA History students, and Texts & Technology PhD students each year. These students learn a range of skills, from researching, writing, and editing, to becoming proficient with digital tools and working with the public. A big part of this partnership is to showcase, as Dr. Gannon put it, “what the humanities can do in a real-world setting.”

Principal Investigators

Dr. Barbara Gannon, Professor, UCF Department of History
Dr. Amy Larner Giroux, Associate Director, UCF Center for Humanities and Digital Research
Dr. Amelia Lyons, Associate Professor, UCF Department of History
Alison Simpson, Command Historian for the Florida National Guard

2023-2024 Research Team

Sarah Bousfield
Oliver Brown
Aaron Connors
Sebastian Garcia
Brendan Jordan
John Lancaster
Isabella Love
Luci Meier
Kate Prior
Melissa Rosero-Barros
James Stoddard
Katherine Thurlow

2024 UCF VLP Spanish Language Student Translators

Maria Vabail
Maria Paez Gutierrez

2024 UCF VLP Undergraduate Intern

Abbyahna Wade, Southwestern Oklahoma State

2023-2024 Project Faculty and Staff

Jessie Oldham, Program Coordinator, History Department
Katarina Monroe, Administrative Assistant I, History Department
Anne Prucha, Senior Instructor, Modern Languages & Literatures
Kacie Tartt, Senior Instructor, Modern Languages & Literatures
Vandy Wood, Associate Professor, School of Performing Arts
Mike Shier, Research Program Coordinator, Center for Humanities & Digital Research (CHDR)
Brook Miller, Applications Developer, CHDR

2023-2024 Participant Educators

John Barton
Levi Berry
Lisa Bostick
Autumn Brinkmeier
Alecia Bryant
Amanda Burchins
Kimberly Escobar
Sian Heetai
Angela Hubbart
Danielle Parker
Jillian Rodriguez
Holly Roush
Amanda Sykes
April Tibbetts
Lisa Warren
Brandy Watters
Alexis Wood
Whitney Yount

2023-2024 Edgewater High School JROTC

Devonn Hardy
Kazmeerah Hileus
Leo Lyons Bubar
Kiara Martinez-LaMotte

The UCF VLP team wishes to thank:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration
The Honorable Denis Richard McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
The Honorable Matthew T. Quinn, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs
Timothy Nosal, Director of History and Education Programs
John Williams, Senior Grants Management Specialist
Jimmy Price, Education Resource Officer
Antonio Addessi, Education Technician
Kenneth Holliday, Program Officer

The University of Central Florida
Jeffrey Moore, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities (CAH)
Lyman Brodie, Executive Associate Dean of CAH
Dr. Peter Larson, Associate Dean of CAH
Kristin Wetherbee, CAH
Jessica Nguyen, CAH
Chris Gasorek, CAH
Sabrina Alverez, CAH
Lisa Clandenning, CAH
Heather Gibson, CAH
Dr. John Sacher, Chair, History Department
Sira Giron, History Department
Dr. Connie Lester, Director of RICHES, History Department
Geoffrey Cravero, RICHES, History Department
Dr. Bruce Janz, Dr. Mark Kamrath, Co-Directors, CHDR
Dr. Scot French, Associate Director, CHDR

UCF School of Performing Arts Theatre MFA Program Graduate Students
Grace Auls
Chris Bresciani
Leigh Green
Maddie Lane
Kirby Lee
Tyler Simons

The Florida National Guard
MG John D. Haas, Adjutant General of Florida
COL Adam M. Curry, State Quartermaster, Florida National Guard
COL Felix A. Rodriguez, Jr., Chief of Staff, Florida National Guard

Community Partners
Dave Chatterton, Old Town Trolley Tours and Attractions of St. Augustine
Kathy Carlson, Old Town Trolley Tours and Attractions of St. Augustine
Shannon Cassler, Hilton Garden Inn St. Augustine
Dr. Jaya Dillard, Sales, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau
Chris Robertson, Executive Director, Museum of Military History
Harrison Smith, Archivist/Curator, Museum of Military History

Our 2017 to 2019 VLP team.
Our 2022 to 2023 VLP team.


Photo caption:
Back: Leo Lyons Bubar, Levi Berry, Holly Roush, John Barton, Devonn Hardy, Sebastian Garcia
Third: Amy Larner Giroux, Whitney Yount, Angela Hubbart, Alecia Bryant, Amanda Sykes, Oliver Brown, Luci Meier, Amelia Lyons, Kate Prior, Kazmeerah Hileus
Second: Lisa Bostick, Jillian Rodriguez, Brandy Watters, Alexis Wood, Autumn Brinkmeier, April Tibbetts, Amanda Burchins, Kiara Martinex-LaMotte, Abbyahna Wade, Isabella Love
Front: HJames Stoddard, Melissa Rosero-Barros, Harrison Smith, Barbara Gannon, Kimberly Escobar, Danielle Parker, Sian Heetai, Sarah Bousfield, Aaron Connors
Not Pictured: Katherine Thurlow, Alison Simpson, Jessie Oldham, Katarina Monroe