Aly Derksen was hired as associate director of student-athlete alumni engagement for Vanderbilt’s National Commodore Club in August 2026 after serving seven years on the staff at UCF.

She started with UCF Athletics as a graduate assistant in 2019 and rose through the ranks to serve as the director of the department’s former-athlete engagement program, Varsity Knights. During her time, the Varsity Knights alumni network grew more than 600 percent, from 79 members in 2021 to over 575 in 2025, through targeted outreach and engagement strategies. She also helped facilitate career and leadership development programming, serving 100-plus student-athletes each semester, including former athlete panels, mentorship matching, and life-after-sport readiness in partnership with the Knight Leadership Academy. Derksen played a key role in launching Global Knights, connecting current and former international student-athletes, and managed the Varsity Knights operating budget including strategic oversight of major department events such as the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony, all sport reunions and UCF alumni golf tournaments.

In 2025, she was recognized as an honoree of UCF Alumni’s 30 Under 30 class.

A member of the Golden Knights rowing team from 2015-19, Derksen help lead the program to four American Athletic Conference championships and three NCAA Championship appearances while earning AAC All-Academic honors three times. Originally from Canada, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the school in psychology with a minor in sports business in 2019 before going on to receive a master’s degree in educational leadership and higher learning in 2021. Derksen is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in educational leadership.