Before she became a beloved leader in collegiate spirit programs, before decades of shaping students at UCF and helping build one of the nation’s most recognized athletics cultures, Linda Gooch ’85 was a first-generation college student trying to find a way forward. Gooch is a member of the UCF Go For Launch Campus Leadership Team, and is instrumental in bringing the perspective of student athletes and the faculty who support them.
Building a Future Through Opportunity
She remembers working her way through school with a Pell Grant, a work-study position in UCF’s art department and a part-time gymnastics job in the evenings. There was no financial safety net waiting for her. Like many UCF students, she pieced together a future through determination, long hours and the opportunities others helped make possible.
That experience never left her.
Today, Gooch and her husband, Alan Gooch ’84, are longtime supporters of UCF whose philanthropic passion is deeply rooted in scholarships and student success. Through their support of the university and the Go for Launch campaign, they continue investing in what they know can transform lives: access to education.
“Scholarships change everything,” Gooch says. “Sometimes students just need someone to believe in them and help them get across the finish line.”
For Gooch, those stories are not abstract.
The Ripple Effect of Education
Over the years, former students have returned to her long after graduation to share how scholarship support changed not only their own futures, but the trajectory of their entire families.
Those conversations stay with her.
“They’ll come back years later and tell you what it meant,” she says. “Not just for them, but for their parents, their children, their families. That’s the ripple effect of education.”
It is part of why the Gooches have remained committed supporters of UCF for so many years. Their philanthropy reflects a shared belief that higher education can open doors students may not have imagined possible for themselves.
That belief is personal for Linda Gooch.
Raised in a military family, Gooch spent much of her childhood overseas before eventually settling in Orlando, where her father completed his Navy service. As the oldest of three daughters and a first-generation college student, attending college was never presented to her as optional.
“It was just understood,” Gooch says.
Still, understanding she would attend college and figuring out how to pay for it were two very different things.
Choosing UCF allowed her to stay close to home while building a future she largely financed herself. She worked in the university’s art department as a student assistant, typing letters and learning professional skills along the way.
“That’s where I learned how to properly write a letter,” Gooch says with a laugh.
She also taught gymnastics in the evenings to help cover expenses, balancing work and academics while building the resilience that would later define her leadership style.
Eventually, Gooch tried out for UCF cheerleading, beginning a relationship with the university that would span decades and impact generations of students.
Throughout her career, Gooch became known not only for excellence and discipline, but for creating a culture of care. Former students often describe her as someone who pushed them to grow while also making them feel seen and supported.
That same spirit drives her philanthropy.
Investing in What Comes Next
For the Gooches, supporting scholarships is about more than helping students afford tuition. It is about reducing burdens, creating opportunity and reminding students that someone is invested in their future.
As UCF’s Go for Launch campaign accelerates the university’s bold vision for the future, supporters like Linda and Alan Gooch continue helping ensure students have the opportunity to rise with it.
And for Gooch, some of the most meaningful moments happen quietly, years later, when a former student stops to say thank you.
Not because of a trophy or a title.
But because a scholarship helped change the course of a life. By lending her voice to the campaign, she hopes to inspire fellow faculty and staff to embrace the power of philanthropy and see how collective support can help create new opportunities for students, faculty and the university community.
