The first 12 graduates of the University of Central Florida's new graduate video-game development program received their master's degrees during a ceremony Monday, Dec. 11, at the UCF Arena.

The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy graduates enrolled in summer 2005, when UCF first offered the program at the former Expo Centre in downtown Orlando. They spent 16 months preparing to become producers, artists and programmers in the video-game industry. FIEA's current fall enrollment is 63, including 17 students who are scheduled to graduate in the spring.

FIEA graduates were part of the ceremony on Dec. 11, which featured students from the College of Arts and Humanities and College of Sciences. The speaker was be Rita Bornstein, who served as Rollins College's 13th president from 1990 to 2004.

The following list includes all of the FIEA graduates and their hometowns: Jon Albertson of Winter Park; Carlos Barbosa and Rich Grula of Orlando; Colleen Cleveland of Valrico; Tim Metzler of Brewster, Kan.; Brandon Plagemann of Verona, Wis.; Matt Read of Winter Springs; Jeff Riggall of Homer, N.Y.; Rob Simon of Daytona Beach Shores; Chris Smith of Dothan, Ala.; David Verble of Ponte Vedra Beach; and Adam Volker-Yoblick of Gainesville.