“This year’s team, they’re not afraid of anyone,” says Ben Garmoe ‘13 political science, adjunct professor and head coach of UMBC Mock Trial. “They will go into every round knowing they have a shot.”

UMBC Mock Trial will compete in the semifinals of the American Mock Trial Association’s (AMTA) annual national tournament, March 20 and 21. Garmoe’s confidence in the team is rooted in their strong performance this season, capping years of steady growth into a national powerhouse. 

The team began 2002. Early members included students like Alicia Wilson ‘04 and Aaron Merki ’05, both political science, who went on to prestigious law programs and careers. After a 2009-2010 hiatus, the team came back with a vengeance in 2011. They’ve competed in the semifinals, known as the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS), every year since 2013, and advanced to the National Championship Tournament (NCT) three out of the past four seasons.

UMBC Mock Trial is currently ranked 24th in the nation. The university’s A Team went 8-0 in regional competition leading up to the semifinals, beating schools like the University of Chicago and the University of California, Irvine.

Previous ORCS were geographically based, but this year’s online format allows UMBC to compete against a national field. Garmoe and the team appreciate the opportunity to go head to head against a wider range of top schools.

Preparing for online competition

To prepare for competition in the new online format, Garmoe took UMBC Mock Trial back to the basics. The differences in competing online and in person forced the team to rethink aspects of their performance. For example, Garmoe explained that making eye contact and holding a judge’s attention work differently in the Zoom environment.

“Over the course of this season, students have paid attention to those little details,” says Garmoe. And adjusting to the needs of a trial through Zoom has helped UMBC gain an advantage, explains Thomas Azari ‘22, political science. 

Anzari is team vice president and recipient of several outstanding attorney honors. “We try to be as human as possible,” he says. “I think the thing that separates us from some other teams is we are both focused and relaxed. We make a joke out of technical issues like forgetting to unmute or mute. You just laugh it off and you move on.”

Bringing together top talent

Azari points to UMBC Mock Trial President Sydney Gaskins ‘21, political science, as another key asset to the team. Azari appreciates every opportunity to watch Gaskins compete since she is such a high caliber competitor.

Among Gaskins’s dozens of honors is an All-American Attorney award from a prior AMTA National Championship Tournament. She also earned Best Cross Examination honors and was named a finalist in the 2020 Drexel/UCLA Trial by Combat competition. Anzari can’t wait to see what she achieves in her final season of collegiate competition.

UMBC Mock Trial’s four witnesses are also essential to the team’s success. “We have four of the most likable witnesses in the country,” says Azari. 

Two of those witnesses are freshman Maria Kutishcheva, political science and Russian, and sophomore Zinedine Partipilo Cornielles, political science and financial economics. Partipilo Cornielles describes the UMBC Mock Trial team as a family. To him, the team’s sense of connection allows them to play on each others’ strengths and performances.

“We act as a unit, as a team,” says Partipilo Cornielles. “We’re all parts of this moving mechanism. The fact that we are a family really helps us and sets us apart from other teams. Some other teams might be too individualistic, but one thing we are really lucky to have is this sense of teamwork.”

Focus on the team

For each member of UMBC Mock Trial, the focus is always on the team. Even in the individual Trial By Combat 2020 competition, Gaskins shared, “The virtual tournament was not only a much needed opportunity to reconnect, but to also make my team proud.”

Extending that idea, Kutishcheva points to inclusivity and supportiveness as strengths of UMBC Mock Trial. She explains that the team truly cares for one another, and members help each other out beyond team practice. 

Kutishcheva also appreciates the diversity of the team. She has noticed that some universities’ teams don’t reflect the racial diversity and diversity of majors on their campuses. “But UMBC’s diversity is reflected here on our team, and that makes me especially happy,” says Kutishcheva. 

“I genuinely believe that this team is a uniquely UMBC story,” says Garmoe—a story of inclusive excellence. “I think, over the last five, six years, what we’ve grown into is a testament to what this school has built itself to be.”

Update 3/22/2021: UMBC Mock Trial has advanced to the AMTA National Championship Tournament, where they will compete April 16-18.

Featured image: UMBC Mock Trial’s 2017 trophies. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. All other photos courtesy of UMBC Mock Trial unless otherwise noted.

Article by Morgan Casey ’22, media and communication studies, for UMBC News.

When Amanda Knapp heard last fall from Anupam Joshi, professor and chair of computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE), that his department wanted to offer online tutoring to students in their courses, she was ready to help make it happen. COVID or no COVID, she says, “It just made sense.”

Knapp is associate vice provost and assistant dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and she manages UMBC’s Academic Success Center (ASC). “We already had an established system in place and could provide the administration, training, staffing, and assessment,” she explains. “CSEE provided the funding and identified potential tutors for a variety of computer science courses, and we did the rest.”

Just a few months after the partnership began, it expanded to include courses in the information systems (IS) department. And this semester, tutors are supporting ten IS computing courses.

In total, the ASC’s new Computing Success Center now offers tutoring for 21 courses from across the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT). And the center continues to grow, supported by COEIT Dean Keith J Bowman and Dean Katharine Cole, Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Peer tutors help students of any major, from computing fields to the arts and life sciences, learn coding and other computing skills. 

“The ethos of UMBC is to share knowledge and collaborate with others instead of being proprietary,” says Helena Mentis, associate professor of information systems. Mentis is COEIT’s associate dean of academic programs and learning, and one of the College leads on the partnership.

“At the end of the day,” she says, “our goal at UMBC is to ensure that there are multiple pathways for students to get the assistance they need to succeed and remove any barriers for access to help.”

How it works

Students can now visit the website for the new Computing Success Center to access trained and faculty-recommended peer tutors at their convenience. And the tutoring isn’t just a series of online videos—it’s live and interactive.

Britney Sarpong ‘21, computer science, taps into tutoring services twice a week for the CMSC 421: Operating Systems course she is taking. “I can easily log in and get help, and it’s usually the same tutor, so she and I have gotten to know each other really well,” she says. 

For the operating systems course, Sarpong is learning C programming, which she likens to learning a foreign language. “I am not familiar at all with the language and terms with C programming,” says Sarpong, “so my tutor explains it in a way that I can understand while I’m working on projects.”

Moving services online

The tutoring offered by the Computing Success Center is just one of the many student support services offered by the ASC that has transitioned online during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This has been essential to enable us to continue serving UMBC students,” says Knapp. 

The Academic Success Center hires around 200 students to provide peer support each year. In addition to being paid and getting teaching experience, these student tutors also access professional development training. 

Delana Gregg, director of academic learning resources, assessment, and analysis, says that the student tutors are integral to many of the services offered by the ASC. 

“Faculty members recommend a student who excelled in a particular course. Then we train them on the technology and identifying strategies to help fellow students better understand the course content,” says Gregg.

The ASC provides tutoring in a range of formats, from appointment tutoring to drop-in tutoring, in the Computing Success Center, Writing Center, and the Math and Science Tutoring Center. In Fall 2020 alone, students attended over 3,000 tutoring appointments across all formats.

Gregg adds that peer-assisted study sessions (SI PASS) remain the most popular service utilized. “These are for courses that are historically difficult for students, often in the STEM areas,” she says. “SI Pass Leaders are students who have taken a particular course before. They attend the course again, take notes, and then hold weekly study sessions for current students.” 

Emphasizing student success

The ASC also offers online learning resources for time management and study skills and academic alerts from faculty to students who are struggling in a course, to connect them with support. And the center is known for its academic advocates. They provide holistic support for students facing barriers to their academic success. These may include personal, academic, or financial issues.

“Sometimes students are unable to ask for help, are unaware that they are struggling academically, or are dealing with stress. Their stress may involve really complicated and challenging issues like the pandemic or racial inequality,” says Knapp. “We make sure they are cared for and heard.”

“UMBC students are very special, and here it’s cool to be smart,” says Gregg. “We have a large percentage of first-generation students who are very motivated to succeed, and the culture on campus emphasizes student success.”

Work like the partnership between COEIT and the Academic Success Center—where faculty and staff identify a problem and quickly partner with students to find a solution—is key to supporting student success. 

Mentis shares, “The collaboration was so welcomed by faculty, department chairs of CSEE and IS, and Dean Bowman. In my time here, I believe it was the fastest initiative ever completed. Everyone said, ‘yes.’”

Banner image: Amanda Knapp speaks with a student in the ASC in 2019. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC unless otherwise noted.

Article by Gregory J. Alexander for UMBC.

There are scores of UMBC alumnae who are changing the world through their contributions, leadership, and talent. Throughout Women’s History Month, we are highlighting just a few of our alumnae who we look up to as leaders in their fields. We know there are thousands in our UMBC community who deserve to be recognized, so we invite you to use #UMBCtogether on social media to share with us those who inspire you. 

Sarah Butts ’07, social work
Director of Public Policy
National Association of Social Workers
As a licensed master social worker, Sarah Butts is taking her advocacy straight to the top of the policymaking world on Capitol Hill. Her next-level challenge? Making sure that professionals working to protect society’s most vulnerable populations are themselves adequately protected.

Mina Cheon, M.F.A.’02, imaging & digital arts
Professor
Maryland Institute College of Art
Dividing her time between Baltimore, New York, and Seoul, South Korea, Mina Cheon produces artwork – “Polipop” – that draws inspiration from global media and popular culture, intersecting politics and pop art in evocative ways, while maintaining her connections to UMBC and the MFA program. 

Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, biological sciences and sociology
Senior Research Fellow | Scientific Lead
Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis (coVip) Team
National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
As the lead researcher tasked with developing the Moderna vaccine, former Meyerhoff Scholar Kizzmekia Corbett’s work has been recognized by Time, CNN, Essence, and more. Corbett’s contributions to the scientific field, including her work with fellow Retrievers, have made an indelible mark upon the history of our world. 

Gargi Dasgupta, M.S. ’01, Ph.D. ’03, computer science
Director, IBM Research India
CTO for IBM India/South Asia
Gargi Dasgupta appeared on Fortune India’s “Most Powerful Women in Business” list in 2019. In reference to the work that landed her on the list, her profile states that “one key accomplishment has been to establish IBM’s leadership in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven business process and IT automation.” Dasgupta remains active in her involvement with UMBC, recently joining the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Advisory Board.

Stephanie Hill ’86, computer science and economics
Executive Vice President of Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS)
Lockheed Martin
When Stephanie Hillsigned up for her first computer programming class at UMBC, it was almost as an afterthought – an elective to fill out the semester. That class in the programming language COBOL led Hill to become (in her words) an “accidental engineer.” Technical.ly Baltimore just declared Hill one of “5 Black innovators in Maryland you should know.” In addition to her work at Lockheed Martin, Hill was also the first Black woman to chair the Greater Baltimore Committee board of directors.

Adrienne Jones ’76, psychology
Maryland House Speaker
Adrienne Jones made history in 2019 when she was sworn in as the first Black and the first female Maryland House Speaker. Jones’s exceptional leadership landed her on The Daily Record’s Power 100 List in 2021 for her contributions to the state of Maryland. According to Baltimore Magazine’s list of 30 women who are “shaping Baltimore’s future”, she’s part of a cohort of female leaders who are “moving Baltimore forward, shaping the future of the region in terms of its priorities, policies, and passions—and inspiring others with their compassion and empathy.”

Ruby Lu ’94, economics
Founder of Atypical Ventures
Ruby Lu is one of the earliest investors in her home country’s technology sector. Her investment in China’s e-commerce, software, and healthcare industries has helped to grow companies and create jobs. In 2019, Lu started her own firm, Atypical Ventures, and is one of a small group of women investors who have risen to the forefront of China’s venture capital world.

Patricia Ordóñez, M.S. ’10, Ph.D. ’12, computer science
Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science
University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras
The first Latina to receive a Ph.D. in computer science at UMBC, Patricia Ordóñez’s path wasn’t always easy. She worked to overcome obstacles and has built a “university data science program and create[d] a computer science education program for K-12 public schools.” Ordóñez also founded the Symposium of Health Informatics for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Kaitlyn Sadtler ’11, biological sciences
Earl Stadtman Investigator
Chief of the Section for Immuno-Engineering
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering
Without comprehensive nationwide testing, it’s been impossible to measure in real time the total number of Americans who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is another way to come up with a reliable estimate, and Kaitlyn Sadtler is leading the charge. Sadtler’s research found that nearly 5% of Americans surveyed contracted undiagnosed COVID-19 in the summer of 2020. Her career research has landed her on Forbes “30 Under 30” for science in 2019, and a spot as a TED Fellow.

Jennifer Walsmith ’90, computer science
Vice President, Cyber & Information Solutions (CIS)
Northrop Grumman
In 2020, Jennifer Walsmith was named one of WashingtonExec’s “Top 25 Cyber Execs to Watch.”  In her role, she leads a team of over 2,000 from across the U.S. to provide critical support to the Defense Intelligence Systems Agency and protection against cyber attacks. In addition to this distinction, Walsmith was named WashingtonExec’s Intelligence Council Chair. 

Alicia Wilson ’04, political science
Vice President for Economic Development
Johns Hopkins University 
Alicia Wilson’s commitment to strengthening the community became even more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her work with Johns Hopkins and local organizations, Wilson established the East Baltimore Food Initiative to serve more than 1.5 million meals to working adults who weren’t eligible for programs that targeted children and older adults. Wilson’s dedication landed her on Baltimore Magazine’s list of 30 women who are shaping Baltimore’s future. 

We know there are thousands in our UMBC community who deserve to be recognized, so we invite you to submit a Class Note about your news and use #UMBCtogether on social media to share with us those who inspire you. 

At 43-years-old Renny DiPentima had two decades of experience at the Social Security Administration (SSA) when he enrolled in UMBC’s new public policy doctoral program in the late 1970s. He had just earned a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University, 16 years after graduating from NYU. DiPentima commuted to UMBC two nights a week for five years, and in 1984, DiPentima became the first graduate of UMBC’s public policy doctoral program. 

“I have a great deal of gratitude for UMBC,” shares DiPentima. “I felt a real connection to the school before and after graduating.”

DiPentima rose to deputy commissioner of systems and chief information officer during his 32-year career at SSA before transitioning to the private sector where he currently dedicates his time. In 2019, he pledged $100,000 to create the Renny DiPentima Fund for Advancement in Public Policy.

In addition to making annual payments on his pledge, DiPentima is providing current use gifts so that students can benefit from the award now—including much needed assistance for projects that have required to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions. The Renny DiPentima Fund supports doctoral student success at UMBC through grants of up to $1,500 for educational and research expenses related to their dissertation.

Rudy de Leon Dinglas ’23, Stephanie Blaher ’22, Nate Pritchard ’21, and Jeevan Raj Lohani ’25 are the first recipients of the fund. As current Ph.D. students in the public policy program, these awardees—like DiPentima—are using their public policy careers to develop the framework necessary to inform transformative, inclusive, just, and sustainable policies that will engage communities and policy makers. 

There is a story behind every number 

“In my first job as an analyst for Domino Sugar,” remembers Rudy de Leon Dinglas, “I learned the power of data to understand a greater story.” These skills prepared him to manage and analyze data for Baltimore City. His work advised the implementation of the Baltimore City Bike Share; the Safe Route to Schools; and the Mobile Integrated Health—Community Paramedicine programs.

As an immigrant from the Philippines, de Leon Dinglas is proud to give back to the city where he grew up and is now excited to be part of the next generation of public policy leaders. UMBC’s new diverse faculty excites him. “It’s refreshing to have more representation and be able to finally experience diversity, in an academic setting, for myself,” he explains.  

Rudy de Leon Dinglas, center, at a February 2019 event with the late Congressman Cummings and the Baltimore City Fire Department and UMMS partnership on Community Paramedicine Program. Photo courtesy of de Leon Dinglas.

The DiPentima Scholarship helped with tuition costs allowing de Leon Dinglas to focus on his research and his work at the Johns Hopkins Center for Government Excellence where he supports mayors and local and state administrators utilize data. “Becoming a subject matter expert in public management will extend the reach and quality of my work,” he shares. 

Why women leave STEM majors

Headshot courtesy of Blaher.

Stephanie Blaherearned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history but she began her education as a STEM major. Now, as a third year doctoral student, Blaher is researching the factors that contribute to women leaving STEM fields. 

“Sometimes women realize a career in STEM is not for them or it doesn’t meet their expectations,” Blaher says. Structural, organizational, and social hurdles can also influence their decision. Sexism and lack of mentoring matter, she notes.

Blaher was expecting to begin in-person interviews for her research in fall 2020. Due to COVID, her interviews became virtual and she had to submit an IRB amendment. “My timeline shifted, access to students changed, and my questions altered,” explains Blaher. 

The DiPentima Scholarship helped to fund additional participants. “Broadening my participant pool will increase the depth and quality of my research and improve the outcomes,” explains Blaher, who is a collegiate associate professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus. After graduation, she wants to continue teaching first-year courses to ensure all students succeed in a major of their choice.

Understanding affordable housing today 

When Nate Pritchard visited UMBC for a doctoral program interview in urban policy, he felt welcomed as an older and non-traditional disabled student. “It’s that intangible feeling that makes you feel at home,” shares Pritchard. That feeling continues.

Headshot courtesy of Pritchard.

One notable class discussion would become the driving force behind Pritchard’s research. Pritchard was struck that affordable housing “is not just a function of money but more building materials, labor, and building units available.” He decided to research the long term self-sufficiency of rental assistance recipients. However, the present data was 12 to 15 years old. Pritchard needed to evaluate current data to identify the barriers limiting the program from helping more people faster. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted Pritchard access to highly restricted data on the condition that he have a secure location to view it from. His dissertation chair, Pamela Bennett, associate professor of public policy, helped him find a private room on campus. “I felt honored for the opportunity and to have Dr. Bennett’s support,” shares Pritchard.

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions denied him access to campus. With Bennett’s guidance, Pritchard used publicly available HUD data. The new data lacked specificity so he had to focus on general questions.These unforeseeable changes extended his research and graduation date for another year, so the additional funding was invaluable, he says. 

“Dr. DiPentima’s generous assistance helped me in my present circumstances, more than he can ever know,” shares Pritchard. He plans to teach in academia and return to his original research when restrictions are lifted.

A purpose-driven life

Jeevan Raj Lohani had spent a decade as a freelance global development consultant in East Africa and South Asia before joining UMBC’s public policy doctoral program. UMBC presented Lohani with the opportunity to combine program evaluation with his background in economics. 

“Coming to UMBC was a calculative decision for my career,” says Lohani. He hopes his research will contribute to improving economic policies that address human needs, like labor migration, worldwide. Nepal is one of the poorest developing countries in the world, Lohani, who is Nepali, explains. Jobs are scarce, forcing Nepali workers to migrate to neighboring countries for work. “I want to investigate if migrant laborers, upon their return to Nepal, contribute to the economy by engaging in entrepreneurship,” says Lohani. 

But for Lohani, informing policy makers with the resources to implement long term economic policy is one part of a greater whole. His end goal isn’t the expertise per se, but to use what he learns as one part of a much larger life mission to impact people with needs all over the world.

The DiPentima Scholarship provided the financial support Lohani needed between the end of his assistantship and the beginning of a job with the Maryland Department of Health. 

The privilege of giving 

DiPentima remembers that after graduating from NYU, he planned to gain some experience before moving on to the private sector. What he found in the public sector was a rewarding career with great responsibility to develop policy that would improve the lives of Americans on a daily basis. DiPentima saw the need to help broaden the research and the researchers in the field to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the United States and the world at large. 

DiPentima and his wife Pat DiPentima with JD Kathuria, founder and CEO of WashingtonExec.com. Photo courtesy of DiPentima.

However, he knew that there were barriers to graduation. Sacrifices had to be made in time away from family; balancing a job and research; as well as the financial investments that have to be made to earn a Ph.D. 

As the first alum of UMBC’s public policy doctoral program, DiPentima feels privileged to give a boost to students so they can complete their research and graduate. He encourages his fellow alums to do the same through scholarship and mentorship.  

“Public service is a way to contribute to your country,” shares DiPentima. “It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself.”

*****

Header imager: Students walk down the staircase inside the Public Policy building in 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

A strategic research alliance between UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has selected four new interdisciplinary projects, each a fresh take on a complex challenge. 

The Accelerated Translational Incubator Pilot (ATIP) Program funding this work brings together UMBC’s strengths in areas like cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, statistics, and the social sciences with UMB expertise in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry. The two universities have worked together on various shared graduate and research programs over the last decade. This partnership with UMB’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) was launched in August 2019, and faculty have been quick to jump on the opportunity to pursue novel collaborative research.

“The UMB-ICTR is thrilled to partner with UMBC,” says ICTR Director Stephen N. Davis, chair of medicine at UMB and physician-in-chief at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “The ATIP grant program supports top quality clinical and community-based collaborative projects. The grant applications from UMBC are particularly innovative and exciting, scoring very highly in the review process.”

“All of the ATIP proposals are subject to a very rigorous internal peer review process,” says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research at UMBC. “Their success is a strong indicator of the quality of the intellectual contributions of our faculty at UMBC.”

Meaningful research relationships

“A key goal for this strategic alliance is to develop meaningful partnerships among researchers at both institutions and to establish teams with complementary expertise,” Steiner explains. 

Since early 2020, UMBC faculty have secured a total of 12 ATIP awards. This most recent round of UMBC grant recipients includes Lujie Karen Chen, information systems; Lira Yoon, psychology; Chein-I Chang, computer science and electrical engineering (CSEE); Yi Huang, mathematics and statistics; and Tinoosh Mohsenin, CSEE. UMB collaborators include Kelly Doran, School of Nursing; Mathangi Gopalakrishnan, School of Pharmacy; and Michael Domanski and Mohammad Sajadi, both of the School of Medicine. 

The four new awards granted in this round focus on a broad range of topics: using machine learning algorithms for transfusion risk assessment, evaluating the effects of serum lipid levels on the progression of renal dysfunction, using a multimodal sensory machine learning framework to diagnose COVID-19, and examining how to predict and manage stress in healthcare workers who work in long-term care facilities. 

These types of sustained partnerships help researchers gain insight into new fields and work with experts with whom they might not have otherwise collaborated, to generate novel findings.

Measuring stress to manage stress

UMBC’s Lujie Karen Chen

So, what does interdisciplinary research actually look like?

For the long-term care workers pilot project, Chen, Yoon, and Doran combine data science, clinical psychology, and nursing. From May 2021 through April 2022, they will examine workers’ experiences of job stress in long-term care facilities using both physiological and qualitative measures.

The challenges posed by COVID-19 have sharpened the team’s interest in supporting longer-term care workers through research.

UMBC’s Lira Yoon

“Their work has always been important, but especially given the pandemic, the importance of their work has really been highlighted,” says Yoon. “It’s a demanding job with high stress, and that’s reflected by high job turnover, which is not good for the clients at long-term care facilities.”

The goal of the project is to better identify stress triggers within moments of them happening. This could enable workers to address their stress before it gets to a higher level where it can negatively impact their health and work. 

Stress monitoring in action

To identify stress on a more moment-to-moment basis, the team plans to use a combination of surveys and sensors to track exact times when workers become stressed in their workday.

Workers will wear the sensors throughout their shifts to measure heart rate and electrodermal activity, and will fill out surveys five to seven times per day. They will also complete end-of-day interviews to identify additional stressors and other critical information not captured by the surveys.

Information from the surveys and interviews will help the researchers to decipher data obtained from the sensors to understand stress triggers.

“Eventually, we want to be able to just use sensor data to be able to tell whether long-term care workers are about to experience stress or not,” Yoon says. With this knowledge, researchers can then design interventions to improve the work environment, Chen explains, to reduce stress triggers and stress experiences.

Once the pilot project is complete, the team hopes to undertake a larger scale study to collect data from multiple long-term healthcare sites. 

UMB’s Kelly Doran

This work wouldn’t be possible without all three researchers bringing together their diverse expertise and perspectives. As Doran says, “The collaboration provides a support system for us to build relationships and kind of cross-train each other and build off each other’s ideas.”

“One of the reasons I love doing collaborative research,” she shares, “is because you’re expanding your networks and research to make meaningful differences.”

Article written by Allison Matyus for UMBC News.

UMBC’s Rocket League Team logo. Graphic by Sarah Stout.

After shutting down his BlackBoard Collaborate browser, freshman computer science major Ian Wagner quickly put on his game face. He joined Brian Stout, computer science, and their team captain David Paton, mechanical engineering, and substitute Tanner Mohn, computer science, on the UMBC Rocket League Discord server. It was a mere 10 minutes before the team was to play one in the first round of the America East Soccar Qualifier. Wagner, Stout, and Paton quickly collected themselves and threw themselves into the game.

Rocket League is a video game similar to soccer, except three-player teams drive around as cars trying to score goals, explains the team. The game is played inside an enclosed area with a bubbled ceiling, so, unlike soccer, there are no out-of-bounds. eSports like Rocket League are relatively new to the America East conference. Before the America East Soccar Qualifier, the conference had only hosted two other eSports tournaments in Super Smash Bros. 

While eSports is new to the America East, they are not to UMBC. Stout, Wagner, and Paton have been playing Rocket League since the game first came out in 2015 and have been playing as a team since last summer. It was their team’s chemistry that allowed them to defeat New Jersey Institute of Technology, then beat the University of Massachusetts-Lowell despite the somewhat hectic start to their match. In the semi-finals, UMBC beat Hartford University 3-0 and won the qualifier, beating longtime athletics rival Stony Brook University 3-1 in February 2020.

“I was impressed with how we pulled it off,” Wagner said. “We watched our replays and played a couple of matches and really talked about our game plan, and I think that led us to a pretty one-sided victory against Stony Brook.”

A screenshot of the UMBC Rocket League Team’s winning screen after beating Stony Brook to win the America East tournament. Photo provided by AE eSports.

Congratulations are in order

The retweets from the America East and UMBC Athletics Twitter accounts felt really validating to the team. Since eSports has yet to become a mainstay of collegiate athletics, these eSports student-athletes say that the acknowledgment of their success makes them hopeful for support in future tournaments. 

“We got the school’s attention, which somewhat legitimizes what we’re doing,” said Stout. “It puts all these eyes on the sport,” added Wagner.

Some of the Rocket League team’s hopes for more investment in eSports by UMBC are already underway. Assistant Director of Club Sports Kristen Alexander said that the RAC update plans include a room dedicated to UMBC’s eSports teams.

Alexander expects the university to continue supporting the Rocket League team as they pursue other tournament wins. “When any student shows passion in something, you want to help grow that passion as much as you can,” said Alexander.

“Playing eSports on the national level gets the UMBC name out there across the nation,” she added. “I don’t think it matters what sport it needs to be, as long as it’s a positive light and showing that UMBC is competitive in all facets, whether that even be in chess, men’s lacrosse, or eSports.”

Building off luck

Winning the America East qualifier sent the team to the Collegiate eSports Invitational National Rocket League Tournament, where they played California Polytechnic State University, one of the best lower-seeded teams in the tournament. Despite losing to Cal Poly, the team believes this tournament was a step in making UMBC a Rocket League and eSports school.

“It’s an oddity to meet up at a smaller school, have three players that are all at the same level, that all have pop-off potential and that all can raise each other’s level at the same time,” said Paton, a junior. “To have that kind of team, we’re really fortunate.”

Patton’s gaming set-up. Photo provided by David Patton.

The team feels they can build off their luck of finding each other to train up other players who will replace them when they graduate. Since the tournament, 10 people have joined the UMBC Rocket League Discord server and—with a little help from UMBC itself—Paton, Wagner, Stout, and Mohn believe they can grow even more.

UMBC is already known as a nerdy school, a fact emphasized by the 2018 UMBC men’s basketball team doing Fortnite dances on the sidelines of their historic game against the University of Virginia. The Rocket League team feels eSports could become another UMBC athletic claim to fame.

“In the next year or two, eSports are going to be pretty prevalent because we’re one of the only sports that have been playing,” said Stout. “It’s one of those things you can play rain or shine, doesn’t matter. So, I think it’s a good thing to invest in.”

On a low-lying island in the Caribbean, the future of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole just got a shade brighter. A new study co-led by Michael Rowley ’18, M26, biological sciences, estimates that there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as scientists previously thought. 

Rowley and colleagues are sharing the findings with Birdlife International, the organization that makes recommendations to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) about birds on its Red List of threatened species. The findings may influence IUCN to down-list the Bahama Oriole from critically endangered to endangered.

The research team surveyed roughly 25 percent of Andros Island in the Bahamas, the only place these birds live. Their data indicate that somewhere between 1300 and 2800 of these striking black and yellow birds exist in that portion of the island, suggesting that the overall population is likely several thousand. Older studies estimated the entire population at fewer than 300.

The new result “is a step forward for conservation,” Rowley says. “This makes the world a bit more informed about what we should be putting our efforts toward. There are other birds that could use attention as well.”

A fresh look

Rowley’s results are the latest in a string of important discoveries led by undergraduates mentored by Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences. 

For example, earlier work had assumed that Bahama Orioles primarily nest in human-dominated habitats. But in 2018, Daniel Stonko ’17, biological sciences, upended that understanding of Bahama Oriole ecology. Stonko and colleagues reported the first three Bahama Oriole nests ever recorded in the pine forest, which is the most common land habitat on the island.

A follow-up study published in December 2020 and led by Briana Yancy ’19, M27, environmental science, further detailed nest site characteristics for the orioles on Andros. She found they prefer pine forest containing native thatch palm trees, where they frequently place their nests. 

“The orioles seem to be able to nest in quite a few different habitats, which is really good for the orioles and important to know,” Omland says. The new habitat information will also be important for local conservation efforts led by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), which has been a key partner to Omland’s research group throughout its long-standing work in the Caribbean.

“If the BNT is able to create or expand national parks, they might try to include more of the pine forest with these tall thatch palm trees in the understory,” Omland says.

Students in charge

In addition to being a win for the orioles, the students’ research projects were a touchstone of their UMBC experience. 

“Being in Kevin’s lab is amazing, because he really lets you take charge and get to do everything,” Yancy says. “He starts you out with small tasks to get acquainted with a project, and then he has you doing your own research project. He has you doing statistics and applying for your own grants—which is a huge important skill in this field—and then ultimately publishing in peer-reviewed journals.”

For Yancy, doing fieldwork abroad was another big part of the experience. “We were constantly interacting with the local people and talking to them to find birds and show us nests that they’d seen,” she says. “That experience impacted me in that I want to find a position with that flexibility where I can still engage with people, do research, and write.”

Today, Yancy is in a master’s program offered through Miami University of Ohio. She spends most of her time in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay, however, because her thesis focuses on coastal ecosystem conservation. 

At the same time, Yancy has been serving with AmeriCorps at Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. She conducts historical research and engages with the local community to develop historical hikes. She just accepted a new position as an environmental management staff member at the Chesapeake Research Consortium, where she supports the Chesapeake Bay Program’s diversity work group.

Broadening horizons

Rowley has been equally influenced by his time with the Omland lab. Joining the lab “was one of the best decisions I ever made, because right off the bat Kevin involves you in field work,” he says. “You’re out learning how to use the tools, being involved in a lot of the coolest aspects of the research.”

For Rowley, his first research trip to the Bahamas was also his first trip outside the lower 48 states. “It was an incredible privilege,” he says, “and it really opened me up to my current interest in conservation work and wildlife biology.”

Today, Rowley is a master’s student at Villanova University. His research focuses on how Carolina and Black-capped Chickadees interact. The two nearly identical species interbreed in a narrow band where their ranges overlap. That territory snakes from Iowa east to southern New Jersey and is moving ever-northward due to climate change.

“The undergrad research scene at UMBC is just so rich and involved,” Rowley says, “and I really appreciate that for letting me get as far as I’ve gotten with it.”

Mentoring mentality

Giving undergraduates real, impactful research opportunities is a pillar of Omland’s work. After his first research trip with students to Puerto Rico in 2013, “It was so clear that the opportunity to do international field research was transformative for them as individuals and as scientists,” he says. “I just wanted to be involved with that more, and it’s worked out very well.” 

The Bahama Oriole Project in particular has been a wonderful source of student projects. “It’s fun with something like this, because we know so little, that doing even very simple, elegant experiments can tell us really important things,” Omland says. “There’s 97 things we need to know right now, so when a student comes in, you have a lot of different choices to pick a project that fits their interests and skills.”

Students in the lab are pursuing a range of majors, such as biological sciences, environmental science, geography, and statistics. They each contribute their own expertise, from mapping habitat on the island, to counting birds, to running analyses of the data. The UMBC students have also had the chance to collaborate with Bahamian students.

And, Omland emphasizes, “Everything up to now with this project has been undergraduate-driven. The students have found the nests on their own, mapped the roads… A lot of these roads, I’ve never been on. UMBC students found them, mapped them, and went out and did the counts on them.”

Lasting impact

Yancy and Rowley attest that their work with Omland has indeed been transformative. Yancy’s research “ended up being a perfect experience, and it definitely has influenced me going forward,” she says. “I’m more confident in myself.” 

She also shares that she’s learned “I love to do research, and I have a passion for community science—getting other people involved in science and caring about the environment—so that’s what I’m looking for in my next position.”

Rowley reflects on his most recent paper. “How many people get to work on a project when they’re an undergrad that has such a real world outcome, while also being able to do field work, and work with animals, and get involved in the community?” he says. “It’s really great to know that the work we’ve done is having such an exciting impact.”

Banner image: A Bahama Oriole perched on a branch. Photo by Matthew Kane.

Uncertainty—that was the word going through the minds of every player, coach, and fan as the 2020-2021 UMBC men’s basketball season tipped off in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team and coaching staff were cautiously optimistic as they began preparing for a season unlike any other. Now, as the team enters the America East playoffs as No. 1 seed, that uncertainty is overwhelmed by pride and gratitude. 

“This season has been different in every way you could think of. Having no fans, the travel arrangements, the COVID testing, everything really,” says R.J. Eytle-Rock ’22, psychology. But despite the numerous hoops Retrievers had to jump through, they persevered and gave supporters something to believe in. 

For the first time since 2007-2008, the Retrievers nabbed the America East Regular Season Title, sharing it with the University of Vermont. UMBC finished the regular season with a 10-4 conference record.

“This season has been about adapting to what is thrown at you through the pandemic and everything else,” says Brandon Horvath ’21, financial economics. 

While he could stop there and reflect on the success of the season, Horvath and his teammates know this is just the beginning saying, “We aren’t finished yet. We still have more work to do.”

That work kicks off this Saturday with the America East championship semifinal. The No. 1 seed Retrievers will take on No. 6 seed UMass Lowell at 2 p.m. at the UMBC Event Center. The restructured playoff schedule granted automatic byes into the America East semifinals to the top two seeds, UMBC and Vermont. 

Season highlights

The hard work that carried the Retrievers through this season didn’t go unnoticed by the conference or sporting world. 

Darnell Rogers ’22, media and communication studies, put the nation on notice that his 5-foot 2-inch stature doesn’t impact his success on the court. After playing against Georgetown in November, SportsCenter tweeted a highlight reel of Rogers “getting buckets.” 

Of the team’s accomplishments and his own, Rogers says, “‘Do the things that lead to winning.’ That’s what we’ve preached all season.” 

This month, 11 Montgomery County residents completed a pilot Biotech Boot Camp offered by UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove and Montgomery College. The participants were all people who had recently become unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic. After four weeks of intensive, hands-on training in basic biotech techniques, they are now qualified to apply for in-demand, entry-level roles in the biotech industry.

While some industries have experienced significant setbacks and lost jobs during the pandemic, the biotech industry has seen explosive growth. Hundreds of biotech companies in the region are struggling to fill critical roles with qualified workers. The new program seeks to address this mismatch between available workers and available jobs. 

A participant in the Biotech Boot Camp practices his skills at a fume hood. Photo by Elizabeth Friar.

UMBC and Montgomery College partnered with WorkSource Montgomery to identify eligible participants for a skills-based introductory training course. With the support of the Montgomery County government, the experience was tuition-free for participants.

Setting people up to succeed in well-paying new jobs and simultaneously filling the gap in the biotech workforce “is a win-win that we’re really excited to be a part of,” says Annica Wayman ‘99, M6, mechanical engineering. Wayman serves as associate dean for Shady Grove Affairs in UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Leveraging skills

Some of the participants came to the program from lengthy careers in other fields, from sales to transportation. “We’re looking for ways to tie what they used to do to biotech, now that they have these new lab skills,” Wayman says. “We’re trying our best to be matchmakers—we’re racing to do that now.”

Manik Ghosh, assistant director of the Translational Life Science Technology degree program laboratories at UMBC-Shady Grove, is the lead instructor for the boot camp. He is confident that the training he designed will set participants up for success. “If they get interviewed, and they get an opportunity to join a company, we are 100 percent sure that they are capable of entry-level work,” he says.

Because they already have extensive work experience, some of the participants may quickly ascend into mid-level positions. These roles can be especially difficult for companies to fill because of a pipeline gap.

“Leveraging their prior skills could be a great way for them to build mid-level careers in biotech very quickly,” Wayman says. A few have also already expressed interest in UMBC’s Master of Professional Studies in Biotechnology, which would help them rise even faster.

Seizing opportunity 

When he heard about the project, “I got so excited!” recalls Ghosh, who also teaches courses on cancer biotechnology and biochemistry. His enthusiasm is impossible to ignore; his laughter and smile come easily as he recalls the experience of planning the boot camp and implementing it with the students. He described the planning group, including Wayman; Elizabeth Friar, TLST program director; and himself, as a “dream team.”

Offering the boot camp in person was challenging during the pandemic, though, with everyone masked, gloved, and maintaining social distance. “It’s a very dynamic and challenging environment,” Ghosh says. But at the same time, “This was a great opportunity for us, because this is a pilot program. We got a lot of great experience for if we run another boot camp, so we can change accordingly.”

Optimism in a challenging time

On top of generating a blueprint for future programs, developing the students’ lab skills, and supplying local businesses with qualified talent, the boot camp offered something even more valuable to the participants: confidence and optimism.

“It’s been amazing,” Ghosh says. “The first day, when they joined the boot camp, they looked nervous because they didn’t know anything about biotech. But as time passed, we saw a significant change in their confidence level.”

For the participants who identify with groups underrepresented in STEM, Wayman has been an inspiring presence. “Just me being an African American woman in the sciences has been encouraging for them to know that there are people like them succeeding in this high tech industry, so they can do it, too,” she says. 

Wayman has also been working with the students on their resumes and supporting them through personal challenges. “It’s been amazing to make these personal connections in such a short period of time.”

Kevin Wiglesworth came to the program from a long career in sales. Now he’s excited to blaze a new path. “The most exciting thing about camp was taking something I had no experience with and feeling confident in those skills when the camp was over. It proved to me I still have the ability to pursue a new career,” he shared in a note to Ghosh after the program concluded. “Thank you again for all the work you put into teaching a newbie like me. I’ll never forget that.”

Working with students like Wiglesworth “is a great feeling, because I know we worked very hard, and they worked very hard with us,” Ghosh says. “This is a very challenging time, and at the end of the day, we are very satisfied in our hearts because we helped the people who needed it.”

Banner image: The exterior of the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building at The Universities at Shady Grove. Dedicated in 2019, the building contains the labs where the Biotech Boot Camp took place. Photo courtesy of USG.

Little did we know that 2020’s successful Giving Day would be one of the last major on-campus events before COVID-19 moved UMBC and the rest of the world to a virtual format. Since then, two new staff members have started key roles in UMBC’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Giving Day 2021 will look different from past celebrations, not only because it’s virtual and 36 hours long, but also because its messaging and call to action are spearheaded by faces new to UMBC, but certainly not to the world of giving. Meet Stacey Sickels Locke, associate vice president for Alumni Engagement and Development, and Carl Fowlkes, director of annual giving, two new Retrievers who personally understand the impact and importance a gift can make. And despite working completely remotely since being hired, their Black & Gold pride is front and center.

UMBC Magazine: You both have a storied history with university giving—can you tell me about your first role in giving and why the career path stuck? 

Stacey Sickels Locke: My first volunteer experience was as a student at Sweet Briar College. I loved my college and gave admissions tours and then was hired as a student phonathon caller. I found myself enjoying calling alumnae, hearing about their lives, and seeing how they applied their education. Rarely did I actually need to ask people to give; usually they volunteered as they knew why I was calling. At my fifth reunion, my college asked me to come work full time and my career was launched. 

Carl Fowlkes: When I went to the University of Connecticut for my graduate degree, they had an opening for an assistant director to manage their student phonathon. I had experience doing survey calls, so it was a translatable skill to fundraising calls. I found that I liked working with the students and alumni, and after six months I was promoted to interim director of annual giving and I continued on that path.

• Sickels Locke working from home.
• Fowlkes in his home office.

UMBC Magazine: For those outside of the giving world, can you explain some of the day-to-day duties of your positions?

SSL: I think we have the very best jobs on a university campus—we work with generous people who love their institution and who want to give back. My favorite part of my job is working with donors. Right now I am working with someone who has fond memories of their academic department and wants to do something transformational. Each week, I meet with deans, program directors, and other university leaders to explore how alumni and philanthropy can impact their programs. 

CF: Most of my day to day involves working with data and spreadsheets. I’m looking at reports to see how a previous giving appeal performed and analyzing its effectiveness with targeted audiences. I also spend a fair amount of time responding to alumni and parent questions about their individual giving and the priorities of the university. 

I think we have the very best jobs on a university campus—we work with generous people who love their institution and who want to give back.

—Stacey Sickels Locke

UMBC Magazine: Is there a particular instance or story that sticks out to you that makes you say, “Yes, this is why I do this job!”?

SSL: Yes! Early in my time at UMBC last year, I had the honor of working with the Sinha family who established an endowed professorship in honor of their father, Dr. Bimal Sinha in Statistics. Hearing the stories of the Sinha children growing up on the UMBC campus inspired me. Working with the family, my colleagues, and the Statistics Department, we applied for a matching program with the State of Maryland and were able to secure a match bringing the endowment to $1.8 million. 

Sickels Locke on campus with True Grit.

CF: At a prior institution where I worked, we learned about a student living out of his car with his mom and a sibling. We were able to provide support to the student through the student emergency fund to help provide meals, buy schools books, etc. We also were able to connect the mother with childcare for the younger sibling and a generous alumni donor who provided a work opportunity for the mother. The student ended up graduating and was a featured speaker at a donor thank you event…not a dry eye was in the room. 

UMBC Magazine: You are both relatively new Retrievers. How would you describe the alumni and (online) campus community so far?

SSL: UMBC is a very special community. Everyone I have met in my time working for the University System of Maryland LOVES working at UMBC. When I was approached about the new associate vice president position, I applied enthusiastically and was thrilled to join this community in May 2020.

CF: I have been struck by the family atmosphere of the UMBC community—the love the students and employees express for UMBC is truly awe-inspiring. Just recently I had a call with an alumna from the class of 1971 and she shared with me what UMBC was like during her time on campus, from the highlights of attending campus concerts to the growing pains of being a new university, and how much she treasures those memories.

UMBC Magazine: What are you looking forward to most when campus reopens?

SSL: Not feeling like I am watching the Netflix version of my job…and I hear I have an office!  But seriously, what I most look forward to are the informal moments of connecting in the hallway, at the gym, at a game, or after a meeting. 

CF: I miss the personal interactions with students and colleagues and particularly look forward to meeting colleagues who work in different areas on campus that I don’t get to speak with on a regular basis.

UMBC Magazine: Can you talk about the challenges of an online Giving Day and how your team has come up with solutions?

Carl Fowlkes

SSL: Days of giving provide an opportunity to rally alumni and friends in a concentrated period of time. The best day for giving is the day when a donor is inspired to give to the project that most inspires them. After giving days, we will work all year long with generous donors making a difference at UMBC. 

CF: The main challenge of Giving Day this year is how to engage the Retriever Nation when we can’t capture the on-campus excitement or have impromptu, live interactions with students and faculty to show the impact of giving. Fortunately, our team has worked with students and alumni who sent in personal videos that we will showcase. We have a wonderful student and alumni community who have stepped up to help us in this unusual time.

UMBC Magazine: What do you want Retrievers and others who give to know about where their money is going and what it will be used for?

SSL: My colleagues across campus are extremely diligent in making sure that donor funds are spent as each donor intends. The funds showcased on our Black and Gold Rush are priorities for campus and there are very dedicated people who are eager for these funds to reach students, faculty, and programs.  

UMBC Magazine: What is one place outside of UMBC that you give to and why?

SSL: I give to my alma mater, Sweet Briar College, which almost closed in 2015. I joined a group of alumni raising $30M in six months to save the college. This experience (of almost losing my college) made me realize how critical every gift is. I also support my son’s college as I know how important giving from parents can be. 

CF: I give to my alma maters, and I give to every university/college I have worked for. Specifically, I like to support scholarships for students in need as I received a full ride scholarship for my undergraduate education and was fortunate to not have a lot of student debt after graduation. 

Learn more about supporting UMBC on Giving Day by helping the university reach the goal of 1,966 donations to honor the founding year of Retriever Nation. 

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Header image of thank you cards from UMBC’s 2020 Giving Day by Marlayna Demond ’11.