UCF First-Generation Student Is Finding Her Place in Space

Born from the challenge of the space race, UCF was created to transform imagination into innovation and prepare people to launch humanity beyond its limits. Today, we are still where our place where our people's curiosity drives discovery, bold questions shape the future and exploration advances life on Earth.

Founded to reach the moon, we're already on our way to the next frontier. Built for liftoff, America's Space University celebrates UCF Space Week Nov. 3 -7.

Kaaliyah McGaughy still remembers the excitement that filled the room as she looked in awe at historic spacecrafts adorning the ceiling of an exhibit in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Most of her fifth-grade classmates saw a cool museum. McGaughy saw her future.

Ten years, one inspiring high school physics class and countless hours spent researching the path of an aerospace engineer later, McGaughy is contributing to space exploration as a third-year physics student at America's Space University, just 35 miles west of where her dreams first took flight.

Today, as the university celebrates UCF Space Week and First-Generation Student Awareness Week, her story serves as a strong example of the determination and daring spirit of Knights to boldly forge the way forward.

Here are a few things to know about the aspiring physicist:

She Chose UCF Because of Its Strength in Engineering and Technology

SpaceU's renowned engineering programs sealed the deal for McGaughy, who set her sights on studying aerospace engineering when she came to UCF in 2021. For three years, she poured herself into the major - designing, testing and tinkering her way through classes that brought her closer to the world of aerospace that first sparked her imagination as a kid.

"When I came to UCF during a campus visit in high school and I saw the engineering department - all of the works and creations they had in there - that really sold me," McGaughy says. "I thought, 'They're doing amazing work here. They're doing everything to make sure that space research, or any research and engineering, is continuously being done.' I loved that."

Her Journey of Discovery Isn't Limited to the Stars

"I do a lot of what I do for my family. They sacrificed a lot to get me here today, and without them, I wouldn't be here at all."

As a proud first-generation college student, McGaughy is breaking ground closer to home, too - carving her own path through higher education and becoming a role model for her younger sister and family.

"I want to continuously make them happy and proud of me," says McGaughy, who has received a first-generation scholarship to support her studies.

Ask her what she defines a first-generation student as, and she doesn't hesitate: trailblazer. And she's in the good company of thousands of them. At UCF, McGaughy's surrounded by a vibrant community of ambitious leaders, bold thinkers and brilliant pioneers at a university that dares to invent the future.

Kaaliyah McGaughy standing in front of the UCF Exolith Lab's Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin.

She Helped Build the UCF Exolith Lab's Regolith Bin

In Summer 2022, during her sophomore year, McGaughy landed a 12-week internship at UCF's Exolith Lab - a premier facility for space hardware testing with simulated moon, Martian and asteroid dirt, known as regolith, used in spaceflight research and development.

"We built a lot of things by hand. It was a very student-friendly environment, and a really good foundation for space-related studies."

One of those hand-built projects was the world's largest simulated lunar surface, housed within the lab's Lunar Highland Regolith Test Bin (the regolith bin). Impressive in size - measuring 33 feet by 33 feet and filled with 240,000 pounds of simulant soil - it's even bigger in potential, providing scientists at NASA and other space companies a realistic testbed for experiments and technologies like lunar rovers.

McGaughy's fingerprints are literally part of the bin's foundation. She contributed to the sketches and helped build the base by hand as one of only a handful of students involved in bringing the impressive project to life. The experience and her studies led her to a part-time senior lab engineer role, which provided her an opportunity to design and build an automated lift system for robots to enter the regolith bin for qualifying round of 2025 NASA Lunabotics Challenge.

She Recently Took a Leap and Changed Her Major to Align with Her Research Goals

As McGaughy grew as an engineering student, she found herself drawn to another path. Space wasn't just a mystery to be admired - it was a place she wanted to understand.

"I wanted to do more of the research, learn about space and do more experimental things with that instead of more hands-on things with engineering."

With support from faculty members like Pegasus Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences Daniel Britt, who founded the Exolith Lab, she switched her major from aerospace engineering to physics on the astronomy track.

Looking back, the future physicist knows the switch was the right call as she is now a research intern at the Exolith Lab.

"I'm glad I made the decision," McGaughy says. "I still have engineering under my belt. I love it. I still do it in a heartbeat. But physics was just another avenue I [wanted] to explore."

She Is Proud to Be Part of the SpaceU Community

If McGaughy's journey shows anything, it's that curiosity and determination can take you far - and at UCF, that same drive is everywhere.

UCF Space Week, Nov. 3-7, puts that energy on full display, celebrating all the ways Knight Nation boldly pushes space forward - from advancing space research to supporting Florida's expanding space economy to preparing the next generation of talent.

"To have something so significant dedicated to what you're extremely interested in and passionate about - having that represented feels amazing," she says. "It makes you feel connected. It makes you feel like you have a community."

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