Jheff Mathis

This portfolio contains a collection of my work in writing, videos, photography, and multimedia.

Hard News

Explore a featured selection of my writing work below.

NSM.today •

FDA approves revolutionary treatment for sickle cell disease

Food and Drug Administration approved two revolutionary cell-based gene therapies for treating sickle cell disease in patients 12 and older, Casgevy and Lyfgenia, the first of their kind, on Friday.

According to the American Society of Hematology, the approval of Vertex and Bluebird's therapy treatment made history as a new class of drugs toward a cure for the disease.

Dr. Daniel Ram, assistant professor of medicine at UCF in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, said these treatments gen
NSM.today •

Faith-based organization cuts ribbon on new space

Christian organization Wesley at UCF celebrated the opening of a new dedicated space on campus Sunday.

Wesley at UCF is a religious group that believes in a fair and equal community and aims to create a friendly environment where they can develop and inspire the community, said the Rev. Mike Luzinski, who serves as the lead pastor at Spring of Life United Methodist Church.

Erwin Lopez, Wesley at UCF's director and pastor, said the group has served the community since UCF opened in 1963.

Accor
KnightNews.com •

UCF and NASA Team Up to Launch Historical Artemis I

After its fourth delay, NASA’s Artemis I rocket successfully blasted off and lit up Merritt Island’s dark sky Wednesday morning, making history for NASA and UCF.

Standing four miles away from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, the roar of the rocket felt like an earthquake announcing that the future had arrived. A force and power not seen before in previous NASA projects; Artemis I is the most powerful rocket ever built by the space agency.

Orion will fly about 60 miles above the moon’ su
Knight News •

UCF weighs in as NASA again delays Artemis I launch

After battling fueling issues Saturday, Artemis I did not launch for the first leg of its historical journey, disappointing diversified spectators, including UCF fans.

The Artemis I stack, which includes the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, stood on Launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, facing new leak problems on its second launch attempt.

Before 5 a.m. Saturday, after mission managers received a brief on the weather, the team detected a liquid hydrogen leak
Watermark Online •

Activists march in Orlando for abortion rights

ORLANDO | Pro-abortion rights activists gathered at The Beacham June 27 for the Organize for Abortion Access in Orlando rally.

The protest was in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision giving pregnant women the right to choose to have an abortion.

Protesters then pushed through the evening rain to march from The Beacham to Orlando City Hall.

Reproving the SCOTUS conclusion, Gloria Dudgan, 73, showed up holding a “We won’t go back” sign. She sai
NSM Today •

'Writing with Fire': empowering Indian women through Oscar-nominated documentary

Different organizations joined at the UCF downtown campus for a preview screening of “Writing with Fire,” an Academy-Award-nominated documentary about India’s only all-female news outlet, on Friday.

The event was open to the public, and after the movie, four panelists discussed the importance of the movie to women empowerment, society and the journalism industry.

The movie tells the story about Dalits - which in Hindi means oppressed, suppressed or downtrodden - and female journalists in a cou
NSM Today •

Controversial or not, UCF students still eligible to receive HEERF money this spring

Though the High Education Emergency Relief Fund III application has been temporarily disabled over winter break, UCF students who have yet to apply will be able to do so Monday.

In 2021, UCF was granted HEERF II and III funding following HEERF I in 2020 to help with COVID-19 expenses for the school and to help provide financial support for students and employees who may have suffered pandemic-related losses. This was done in accordance with the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and E