The end is in sight! If you've earned 90 or more academic credits, you received a message from the Registrar's Office informing you that you are eligible to apply for graduation.
However, eligibility is only the start of the graduation application process. Below are four simple steps you can take now to ensure that you’ll soon be shaking hands with Dr. Hrabowski as you receive your UMBC diploma.
Note: Even if you do not plan to attend the commencement ceremony, you still need to apply to graduate in order to earn your degree.
Step 1: Apply for Graduation!
Saturday, September 15th is the last day undergraduates can apply for December Graduation.
Only those students who have every single requirement needed for degree completion on their fall semester schedules will be permitted to participate in the Commencement ceremony.
If you are taking a course at another institution that you plan to transfer, you must have an approved Verification of Transferability formon file with the Registrar’s Office and be prepared to submit a copy of your schedule.
Step 2: Embrace your degree audit!
Your degree audit indicates your progress toward degree completion. If you see “unsatisfied” items, these are requirements that appear to be missing and need to be addressed immediately. Your degree audit is located on myUMBC, under the guide link “Advising and Student Support.”
Makesure any substitutions or waivers of major requirements are documented in your degree audit; you may need to submit a Help/RT ticket to the Registrar’s Office to add these notations to your record.
Step 3: Wrap up any outstanding details ASAP!
If you have Advanced Placement or CLEP scores, transfer transcripts, foreign language waivers, or other items you need to provide to UMBC, delay no longer! If the major, minor, or certificate program on your record is out of date, or if you have additional majors or minors that you need to remove, submit a new Declaration of Major form. Any of these items could prevent you from being able to graduate.
Step 4: Let the celebration begin!
Participating in the commencement ceremony* and other celebratory activities on campus is the culmination of all of your hard work. Take time to recognize all it took to get you to this moment and be proud of your accomplishments!
Finally, use this link to check your Honors eligibility, which will be recognized at the ceremony and on your diploma.
]]>Welcome, or welcome back, to UMBC! To most, 90-degree weather and steadfastly green trees don’t really feel like the beginning of the school year, but believe it or not, here we are. I hope you’re at least a tiny bit excited for your new semester.
I’m always torn between excitement and stress. I filled my calendar with due dates and exams, but looking at it makes me realize how much I have to do. Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. I’m Emily, a third-year computer science major with minors in Mandarin and creative writing. I work as a Career Peer Advisor here at the UMBC Career Center, and this year I’m going to be handling our weekly blog posts. At the Career Center, we specialize in getting you all jobs, and more important than that, a job you might actually enjoy. Have no idea what field to go into? We have tools and appointments for that. Need a summer internship? We have specialists to guide you along the way. Want to have an internship showcased on your transcript? We do that too. Stop by the second floor of Math and Psych any weekday from 2 pm- 4 pm to get resumes reviewed, UMBCworks questions answered, and cover letters edited.
Now before you launch straight into classwork, it’s helpful to take time and evaluate what you did over the summer. Service projects you completed, jobs you had, internship experience, it can all be useful when redoing a resume. And I know that those summer experiences look different for everyone, so I’ll try and break it down a little.
If you had a job or internship, there are a few important things to do before you forget everything in the haze of school projects. First, add the experience to your resume. If you’re not sure how exactly to do that, we have tons of resume examples on our website. Second, consider reaching out to your direct supervisor. Thank them for an informative summer and generally explain how much the experience meant to you. This is a great way to accumulate references for your next application.
If you had a job or internship not related to what you’re studying, the two steps above are also very important to you. I know it might not seem like it, but by maintaining a summer job, you’re cultivating professionalism and work ethic that will help you in your field for years to come. While you’re editing your resume, think about any skills you gained that might transfer to the field you want to work in. Maybe as an office assistant, you got a lot of experience with spreadsheets. Maybe as a retail worker, you helped organize schedules and shifts so that your colleagues stayed happy. These all look wonderful in a job description.
If you didn't work over the summer,there are still a lot of thing to consider. Volunteer experience, extracurriculars, new computer skills, and personal projects in your field of study are all important to have on resumes. Take a few minutes, brainstorm a list of your accomplishments, then take a look our career guide to figure out how to showcase what you did.
Here at the Career Center, we also had a productive summer. We have a new resource for students: Big Interview. Sign in with your UMBC login and you have access to their database of interview questions. You can even record yourself answering interview questions and get feedback from a Career Center team member through email. It’s a great practice tool for those who get a little nervous while interviewing.
Now that your summer is all summarized (see what I did there), you’re ready to hit the ground running. There are lots of big and exciting things coming up, from the Career Fair, to On the Roads with companies like Morgan Stanley, to panels with representatives from T. Rowe Price. Till next week, I’m your friendly neighborhood Career Peer. I wish you all a smooth start to the semester, and I hope we see you soon!
Nearly 140 Employers are Coming to Campus on Wednesday,
September 26th to Recruit Students Like YOU
Are You Ready for the UMBC Fall Career and Internship Fair?
Participate
in one or more of the workshops below.
Open to various fields of study and degree levels!
This is a great opportunity to learn from industry
experts.
Keys to Success - Behavioral Based Interviews
Monday, September 10th, 12Noon - 1:00 pm, Commons 331 -
Facilitated by T. Rowe Price
Behavioral interview questions focus on how you handled
various work situations in the past. Your response will reveal your
skills, abilities, and personality.
ALSO- STOP OVER THE CAREER CENTER IN MATH/PSYC 201 FOR
RESUME RESCUE FROM 10AM-12PM and 1PM-4PM FOR A RESUME REVIEW-
Career Center Staff and Industry Experts will be on hand.
Resume Rescue is being held on Thursday,
September 13th and Monday,
September 17th
NEW for this fall semester! To help you GET READY TO BE HIRED, the Career Center has scheduled four workshops that will help to familiarize you with various interviewing methods. These events are meant for all UMBC students (graduate and undergraduate) whether hoping to secure an internship, job or survive a graduate school interview.
T. ROWE PRICE: Behavioral Based Interviews
Monday, September 10
Noon – 1:00 pm
Commons 331
FACEBOOK Tech Talk: Technical/Coding Interview
Tuesday, September 11
5:00 – 7:00 pm
University Center 312
UMBC CAREER CENTER: Surviving a Group Interview
Thursday, September 13
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Commons 331
FDM GROUP: Video Interviews
Thursday, September 20
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Commons 331
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Name:Genevieve Ahearn
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Position Title:Directorate Resource Assistant Fellow
Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology
Work Term:Summer 2018
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
The magnificent ramshorn is North America's largest air-breathing freshwater snail endemic to two counties in North Carolina. It is believed to be extinct in the wild with only two captive populations in existence and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. I have had the privilege of working on a plan to reintroduce the snail back into the wild. I started out reading everything there was to know about the snail. I summarized different methods of deciding where and how to reintroduce the snail into one document. I then spent a lot of time speaking with experts on what they thought would be the best method and worked with partner organizations to come to an agreement on what the next steps should be. I cultivated relationships with land managers in order to spread awareness about the snails status and to broaden the snails horizons as to where it could be released. More recently, I've been visiting potential reintroduction sites to decide if the water has just the right chemistry to move forward with testing water suitability on the snails. We've found a few spots, but this snail's a tricky one!
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
A professor sent out an email to all students majoring in GES at UMBC about the opportunity in mid-February. I actually had missed the original deadline, but luckily it was extended. I had applied to lots of positions before this one, and my resume had been reviewed by a lot of older friends that had already gone through the process. Of course I still ended up submitting my application at the very last moment, which is very stressful and I would not recommend it. I got a phone interview, and I immediately booked a practice interview with UMBC's Career Center. I asked to be recorded for future reference and I'm so glad I did. I never realized how overly self-deprecating I sounded and how bad my posture was in an effort to be non-threatening. Not only that, but they asked tough questions and gave me feedback on my answers and tips for thinking on the fly in the future. It definitely boosted my confidence for the interviews and helped me during the interview for this position. It's worth trying if you've never interviewed before.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
If you love animals and ever want to make an impact, work for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are on the front lines of protecting species habitats and cultivating relationships with all kinds of people to make protecting biodiversity a universal issue.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I had a few people ask me this summer how I justify what I am trying to do. Most people wouldn't care about a snail going extinct because they're not especially cute and cuddly and they do not strictly speaking perform an obvious service for humans. But that's exactly why I've liked this position. I've gotten to give a voice to something that normally gets overlooked. Snail diversity is diminishing at a very fast rate from mostly human causes, and that's all I need to know. Even if a species function isn't obvious, it more often than not plays a role in its ecosystem that would lead to a reduction in ecosystem function without it. Except mosquitoes. Nobody likes them.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Never give up! I applied to sooo many positions, and got so many no's but all it takes is one yes!
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Are you interested in working in the government for the summer or after you graduate? If so, the Career Center would like to tell you about a great opportunity for UMBC students!
Workforce Recruitment Program
The Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP), coordinated by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and the U.S. Department of Defense, is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers with highly motivated college students, graduate students, and recent graduates with disabilities who are eager to prove their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.
Eligible students must:
- have a disability and be eligible under the Schedule A hiring authority
- be a United States citizen
- be enrolled in a degree program on a substantially full-time basis OR have graduated with a degree in April 2018 or more recently.
If you are interested in interviewing with a representative from WRP or learning more about the program, please contact: Caroline Bodnar, carolc@umbc.edu.
Please visit www.wrp.gov for more information regarding WRP and click on the student registration button to get started! For more information watch this youtube video.
We hope your fall semester is off to a great start!
]]>Name:Ashley Batista
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:University Health Services/Office of Health Promotion
Position Title: Peer Health Educator
Major(s)/Minor(s):Biology/Africana Studies
Work Term:Fall 2017
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
As a peer, I work to reach out to the UMBC community through events, programs, and workshops to educate students regarding a variety of health issues. We work to provide students with information about sleep deprivation, alcohol and other drugs, sexual health and birth control, just to name a few topics. We teach common strategies to make better healthy decisions as well as bring awareness to the resources provided to them on and off campus.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I heard about this position through an email sent by the Internships & Employment Team in the Career Center stating that Peer Health Educators were wanted and that applications were being taken. I filled out the application and sent it in to my now supervisor by April 28th. One or two weeks later I was contacted in regards to making an interview appointment. I went to the interview and a couple weeks later, I received the "congratulations" email confirming my position for the upcoming year.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I've enjoyed being able to educate students on critical health issues that are prevalent among college students and show them ways to better themselves and the UMBC community in the hopes of influencing lifelong healthy choices beyond their college years. I also enjoy being able to work with a supportive group of people who also believe in providing guidance within health.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I believe that I've been able to give students more of a choice when it comes to their autonomy over their health. We're so stuck in the everyday routine of school, work, internship, study, volunteer, etc. that we forget we have the choice to do something different and make healthy decisions for ourselves. We can make choices for the benefit of ourselves and for others.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I would advise them to be diligent and persistent if they want to see results. I would also advise them to keep an open mind because these experiences may help shape whether or not this is a career area they want to be in.
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#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week?Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!
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