For UCF CCIE Associate Professor Andrea Borowczak ’92 Ed.D. and UCF CECS Associate Professor Mike Borowczak Ph.D., UCF is more than a workplace.
It is where opportunity changed the trajectory of a life, where two careers rooted in curiosity and innovation found purpose and where they now see the future of higher education unfolding every day through their students.
That perspective is one reason the couple has become deeply involved in UCF’s Go for Launch campaign and serves on the campus leadership team.
They understand firsthand what access to education can mean.
Before Andrea Borowczak became a UCF faculty member and researcher, she was a standout high school student trying to prepare for the transition to a university. She wasn’t sure where to go. Then UCF stepped in with an offer that changed everything: a four-year scholarship covering tuition.
It was a moment that shaped the course of her future.
Today, Andrea serves as a science education professor and the Director of the School of Teacher Education in UCF’s College of Community Innovation and Education. She remains deeply aware that for many students, financial support is often the difference between possibility and limitation.
“That scholarship opened doors for me,” she says. “It allowed me to focus on learning and growing instead of worrying about the costs to stay in school.”
Go For Launch is about more than reaching a destination. It’s about creating the conditions for bold ideas, transformative experiences, and life-changing opportunities to take flight. Join us in investing in students, strengthening our university and helping UCF continue to reach ever higher.
Different Personalities, Shared Purpose
The Borowczaks laugh about the ways their personalities differ.
Andrea brings warmth and emotional intuition with a focus on science. Mike is an engineer with a quick smile and he approaches the world with precision and practicality.
But beneath their analytical mindsets is a deep commitment to students and teaching.
As a faculty member, Mike thrives on helping students solve problems, think critically, and prepare for careers that will shape industries and communities.
“I enjoy teaching because I have the privilege of joining students on a journey of transformation,” Mike says. “I can guide and support them from understanding facts to growing a skillset that they can use in careers ahead ”
That transformation keeps both of them energized.
Although they work in different academic disciplines, they share a front-row view of how higher education is evolving in the STEM arena. Research expectations continue to grow. Technology and innovation move quickly. Students face increasing financial pressures. Competition for grants and research funding is intense.
As researchers themselves, Andrea and Mike spend significant time securing funding that advances scholarship, supports students and drives discovery.
They know how critical those dollars are.
But they also know research grants alone cannot meet every need facing colleges and universities today.
Seeing the Need Up Close
Their involvement in the Go for Launch campaign stems from seeing those realities every day.
In classrooms, labs, and student interactions, they witness both extraordinary potential and the challenges students face trying to reach it.
Andrea sees the importance of philanthropy in helping students access experiences that may otherwise be out of reach, from scholarships to hands-on learning opportunities.
Mike sees it in the equipment, innovation spaces, and research infrastructure needed to prepare students for increasingly technical careers.
Together, they see philanthropy not as an extra, but as essential.
“People sometimes think universities are fully funded in every area,” Andrea says. “But there are so many opportunities that only happen because someone decides to invest.”
That investment can ripple outward in ways donors may never fully see.
A scholarship can keep a student enrolled who otherwise may have left school.
A research investment can help launch discoveries that improve lives.
A funded program can create experiences that shape a student’s confidence, career path, and future.
The Borowczaks believe those outcomes matter not only for individual students, but for the broader community and workforce UCF serves.
As one of the nation’s largest universities and Florida’s technological university, UCF plays a central role in preparing talent and driving innovation across industries critical to the region and beyond.
The couple sees that mission up close every day.
Investing in What Comes Next
Their support of the campaign is rooted in optimism about where UCF is headed.
They believe in the university’s momentum, its research growth, and its ability to create opportunities for students from every background.
Andrea still remembers what it felt like to be the student receiving an unexpected opportunity that changed the direction of her future.
Now, years later, she and Mike are helping create those opportunities for others.
For them, Go for Launch is a declaration of belief in what UCF can become and in the transformative power of investing in those who will lead what comes next.
It is about ensuring students have the same chance to discover their potential that Andrea once received.
It is about equipping faculty and researchers with the resources needed to solve real-world problems.
And it is about investing in a university they believe continues to expand what is possible.
“We see the impact every day,” Mike says. “When you work with students and research long enough, you understand how much support matters.”
That understanding is what continues to drive both of them forward.
Together, they are helping shape the next chapter of a university that helped shape their lives.
The future doesn’t wait, and neither should our students. Through Go For Launch, you can help provide the experiences, mentorship and resources that empower Knights to discover their strengths, expand their horizons and launch into meaningful careers and lives of impact.
