by Elizabeth Herrera ‘10

When Judy Thames (‘73) enrolled at UCF, she was in her 30s and newly divorced with two small children. She set out to find a way to make a living, but ended up doing much more than that by impacting the lives of others.

Judy remembers going to UCF and Valencia when both schools were fairly new. At the time, UCF had about four buildings. Her graduation ceremony was held at the Reflecting Pond, which was drained in order to set up chairs, and President Richard Nixon was the commencement speaker.

An internship at UCF connected her to the Meals on Wheels program, and she got a job there after graduation. Judy, who was the state president of AARP for six years and helped develop the first Meals on Wheels program, has devoted her life to helping senior citizens and encouraging others in the field of social work.

Initially, she thought she would study social work to help children, but then realized she had a passion for senior citizens. “I realized that seniors needed a champion as much as children do,” she said.

Judy was the CEO of Senior Resource Alliance, formerly the Area Agency on Aging, had a number of pilot programs at UCF, daycare centers, Alzheimer’s programs and senior centers. One of her goals is to help keep senior citizens active and delaying entrance into nursing homes.

Always conscious of her roots at UCF, Judy set up a scholarship for social work students. She said it was thrilling to be able to do something for the university she cherishes.

Mirella Del Pino was one of the scholarship recipients and met Judy at the scholarship dinner. She was a pre-med student until her grandmother ended up in the emergency room. She did not have health insurance, and the bills began piling up, but a social

worker helped the family to get all the bills written off. That inspired Mirella to pursue social work as a career instead of medicine.

After earning her undergraduate degree, Mirella is pursuing her master’s in social work at UCF, and wants to be an international social worker. She was further motivated when she met Judy.

“She’s so sweet and she is so funny,” Mirella said. “She is a very strong woman. She is very accomplished, and has positively impacted the lives of many, many people.”

Although Judy retired in 1999 after 30 years in senior services, she maintains a busy schedule. She is a guest lecturer for the Health Care and the Elderly class at UCF, is on the board of trustees of the Winter Park Health Foundation, serves on the board of directors of ITNOrlando, which offers transportation for seniors, and takes classes with LIFE at UCF.

Judy enjoys spending time at the family farm, relaxing by the lake in South Carolina, and taking her grandchildren to UCF football games and reminiscing about what the school was like when she was a student. She and her husband are working toward

individually building up $100,000 for their respective colleges.

She said community volunteerism remains high on her agenda. “Growing old is really a privilege,” she said. “Many people in my family didn’t get to grow to be old. Being able to be actively involved in the community is really a privilege.”