March 10, 2015
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Jenna Marina
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Former UCF women's soccer forward Nicolette Radovcic is accustomed to firsts. She made a college career out of it.
The New Jersey native lifted UCF to its first Sweet 16 berth in 25 years after scoring the game-winning goal against Florida in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. She captained the team to its first Conference USA Tournament title in 2012. She was UCF's first player to be drafted in the National Women's Soccer League.
She has never settled for anything less than her best effort. It's what allowed her to continue that streak of firsts into the business world.
After college and stepping away from soccer, Radovcic accepted a position as an intern with KPMG's sports marketing and sponsorships department. She made such an impression that her boss, Shawn Quill, insisted she stay on full-time and created a position suited to Radovcic's strengths.
"It's the only time we've ever done that (created a position). She was a rock star. She accomplished so much as an intern and far exceeded our expectations," he said. "Her attitude, her independence, her work ethic - those were some of the things that made us say we want this person to be on our team for a long, long time."
Radovcic works primarily with two of professional golf's biggest names, Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis. On any given day, she is planning and coordinating events for the stars in major cities around the country.
"The thing I like most is not only working for a great company, but I work with a really great group of people," Radovcic said. "We are really close and a mini team. We are on the road together, work together non-stop and it's kind of like our soccer team."
Radovcic graduated from UCF in 2013 with a degree in marketing but never imagined that she would be working primarily in the golf industry. Yet, her life and skills as a former Division I student-athlete were easily transferrable to her new job.
Time management, commitment, loyalty, an understanding and appreciation of sport - all of these qualities that Radovcic possessed appealed to Quill when he hired her. But there was one quality that stood out above the rest.
"A desire to be great," Quill said. "We did some research on Nicolette as we would for anyone we were interested in hiring, and we saw she was a tremendous athlete and incredibly successful. You saw that there was a desire for her to be the best in what she was doing. We want people on our team that desire that, that want to do great work and achieve great things."
Radovcic is quick to point out that she wouldn't have made it this far without a support system. She specifically points to her former soccer coach, Donna Fishter, and trainer, Terrence Fabor, as her biggest mentors.
"Behind every success story are the people who helped to make it all possible," she said. "From the ones who showed me adversity to the ones who never doubted in my abilities, I wouldn't be who I am and where I am today without those people."
And of course, she credits her decision to attend and play soccer for UCF as one of the best choices the 17-year-old version of herself could have ever made.
"When I think of UCF I think of family. Just because I graduated, it doesn't mean that I'm not still part of the program," she said. "I'm proud to say I wore that Black and Gold uniform. It's about supporting each other. When they succeed, we succeed. It's all about carrying on the tradition and our legacy and being one of the top women's soccer teams in the country."