Lights. Camera. Anchor Drop.
On the most recent season of Bravo’s “Below Deck,” Hugo Ortega stood at the helm of the St. David as cameras captured his every move. The task at hand? Dropping an anchor from a 45-meter superyacht as a captain watched closely amid nervous whispers from the crew.
Only hours earlier, Ortega had made a critical mistake that could have ended his season. Now, this was his chance to prove himself.
When the anchor hit the seafloor and the captain’s approval came through the radio, the pressure lifted. For Ortega, a University of Florida engineering-alumnus-turned-yacht-captain and reality star, it wasn’t just TV drama. This was a real-time test of the systems thinking and problem-solving skills he learned as a materials science major.
That is to say, this 2013 Gator engineering graduate is a reality TV star on “Below Deck,” and his success — on TV and in his yacht-school business — is firmly anchored by the foundation he built at UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“Hugo was never afraid to engage. That determination and self-belief is why he’s been so successful in every environment, from materials research labs to sailing the high seas.”
– Abhi Seeth, UF engineering graduate and Ortega’s classmate
Born in the Bronx and raised in Orlando, Ortega grew up in a household with roots in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. His parents, who immigrated to the United States in search of opportunity, instilled in him the importance of education and hard work.