“Educators genuinely want what is best for their students,” says Farah Helal ’24, the newly appointed 2022 University System of Maryland (USM) student regent. “Student representatives provide educators and policymakers with the perspective needed to ensure the student voice is valued and understood throughout the decision-making process.”

Governor Hogan announced Farah Helal’s appointment to the USM Board of Regents as a student regent in February and she was formally confirmed in March. She will serve as one of two USM student regents from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024, including as a voting member during her second year. 

Helal will represent the USM student voice in meetings and committees working on issues that impact the system’s twelve institutions. Key topics involve setting tuition and fee rates, approving new degree programs, and approving capital and operating budgets. 

“I recognize the value and impact of having accurate representation,” says Helal. “This appointment comes with a great deal of responsibility, but the value and benefit to my community makes it worth it.”

Focusing on structural changes

Helal is eager to represent Maryland college students at a time when students are in need of additional support and resources. In addition to focus areas guided by student input, there are three areas of improvement she would like to help address. 

First, she wants to support initiatives that address how students have experienced the pandemic. This includes shifts in their learning experiences as well as evolving concerns regarding health and safety. 

Like many of her peers, Helal is experiencing the pandemic during a heightened social justice movement. Her second focus area highlights college students’ commitments to challenging structural barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

“My generation is proactive in creating the social change we want to see within our institutions,” says Helal. “This will require the university system to effectively address issues with curriculum and infrastructure that perpetuate inequalities on our campuses.”

Her third area of focus is student mental health and wellbeing. Helal notes that having grown up in an “electronically dependent society with the influence of social media” has created a culture of constant communication where every type of news is immediate. This constant flow of vast quantities of information is straining student mental health and wellbeing, she suggests, particularly when combined with work, academic, and personal stressors. Helal looks forward to collaborating with the board and community members to improve mental health resources on USM campuses.

Leading with experience

Helal is a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar in UMBC’s Honors College, majoring in global studies and political science. She also holds a variety of leadership positions at UMBC that have helped her prepare for serving community needs.

She also serves as director of the Government Affairs Committee for UMBC’s undergraduate Student Government Association. One of her roles is as chief lobbyist pursuing SGA’s county, state, and federal agenda. 

“Farah consistently goes well beyond the requirements and makes meaningful contributions to all that she is involved in,” says Jessica Cook, associate director of the Sondheim Scholars Program. “Farah has breathed new life into SGA’s government affairs work and has earned everyone’s respect.”

Helal notes the committee was able to bring a bill for consideration before the Maryland General Assembly to increase wages for the incarcerated people who are working for Maryland Correctional Enterprises. It is an issue many USM students care about and want to change, she says.

UMBC’s Candace Martinez-Doane, assistant director of leadership and governance for Campus Life, is Helal’s SGA advisor. She has seen Helal care deeply about those around her and strive to ensure their voices are heard. 

“Part of that work has been to help her committee members refocus when their work stalls or hits roadblocks,” explains Martinez-Doane. “She does her research and works with kindness and tact in a way that has shown her maturity and skill.”

Beyond UMBC

On the USM Student Council, Helal advocates for student-led legislation as co-director of government relations. She also collaborates with USM institutions on their legislative agendas and coordinates the legislative activities of the Student Council within the Maryland General Assembly and the Office of the Governor.

Helal also remains dedicated to Howard County, where she is from, as a student representative on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee of the Howard County Public School System. The group is part of Howard County’s High School Advisory Council to the Superintendent. 

Value of reflection

Helal’s focus on raising awareness about students’ mental health and wellbeing has been a longtime commitment. In high school she ran a two-year research project to study how academic stress impacts students’ mental and physical health and academic success. 

The study helped Helal understand how important it is to stop and assess wellbeing before burning out. On a personal level, she learned that the quality of her work is dependent on how well she takes care of herself, and she encourages others to think about this connection. 

Helal uses daily reflection exercises as a tool to help assess the impact of her work and her needs, and she encourages her peers to do so as well. She also notes the importance of enjoying life outside of school and work, to keep perspective. Spending time with her family, taking time to have fun, and being active in her Egyptian, Arab, and Muslim communities are all activities that reenergize her.

“I constantly reflect about the time, effort, and energy it takes to work towards something that is meaningful, impactful, and purposeful,” says Helal. “Pausing to reflect and take part in my community is how I ensure my work is aligned with my purpose and intentions, and stays consistent with what I initially set out to be—a student voice for positive change.” 

Featured photo: Farah Helal. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC unless otherwise indicated.

When COVID struck, students, families, and educators nationwide worried about the impact it would have on learning experiences and career opportunities. Throughout summer 2021, UMBC students have proven that with tenacity and support they can still access meaningful internships.

“We, as a UMBC community, are committed to the career success of our students,” says Christine Routzahn, director of the UMBC Career Center. “Internships provide students with opportunities to apply the skills, theories, and concepts they learn in the classroom while gaining valuable connections and career readiness. Working with our incredible employer partners and alumni, we’ve connected UMBC student talent with valuable, career-building experiences across industries.” 

Goal #1: Secure that internship

Sandra Naylor. Photo courtesy of Naylor.

When Sandra Naylor ‘21, financial economics, was looking to transfer from community college to a four-year university, she had her sights set on securing an internship at a well-known company where she could gain hands-on experience in finance. She knew that UMBC had a strong Career Center that could connect her with these opportunities and she jumped at every chance to get her name in front of hiring managers. 

“I came to UMBC specifically because I knew that they have really good connections,” says Naylor. Her two top priorities were her grades and accessing career opportunities. She shares, “I started going to meet and greets, and coffee chats to get my face out there as much as possible.”

Naylor attended a workshop at Morgan Stanley, which highlighted the company’s core values, including diversity, and she knew it was a company that could be a great fit for her. With the Career Center’s support, she secured an internship. 

Her experience has largely been online, but that hasn’t limited her chances to build skills and network. “I am constantly in meetings and connecting with people,” she says. That includes regular meetings with her mentor, who is an executive director at Morgan Stanley. Senior management has also invited interns to meet at the company’s Baltimore offices.

Sandra Naylor’s photo appears on the Morgan Stanley building in Times Square, New York City. Photo courtesy of Naylor.

As she’d hoped, Naylor says that her internship has expanded her understanding of the finance industry. She particularly enjoyed deep dives designed to help interns understand how their work connects to the firm’s larger goals and initiatives—the kinds of work she might pursue in a finance career.

Find mentors who help you shine

Monika Arumalla, M.P.S,‘21, data science, has spent more than six months interning at BGE in Baltimore, and she will continue her internship through the fall. Like Naylor, Arumalla was eager to utilize the UMBC Career Center’s strong connections. She uploaded her résumé to UMBCworks during her first semester.

Monika Arumalla. Photo courtesy of Arumalla.

The energy company BGE approached Arumalla, inviting her to interview for a co-op—a type of work-based opportunity popular in engineering and technical fields, that’s often full-time, with hands-on projects. A committee interviewed Arumalla, asking her technical questions to assess her knowledge and approach to data science. 

After hiring Arumalla, BGE onboarded her virtually, due to COVID. Still, “I’ve had constant interactions with my supervisor,” she says. “From day one, they made sure I was getting what I needed,” including helping her learn the company’s systems and processes. 

Arumalla has been impressed with BGE’s office culture, which she describes as prioritizing safety, diversity, and inclusion. She has been able to connect with managers and leaders on her team, who have given her a sense of support and access to the tools she needs to complete her work.

That work included one particular project where she had a major impact. BGE call center agents are currently scattered across the region, primarily working remotely. Arumalla was asked to help determine how to support these agents in the event that they are affected by power outages in their home areas. The BGE team wanted fresh eyes on the project, and Arumalla came up with a solution that impressed her team. 

Monika Arumalla working in her office space at home. Photo courtesy of Arumalla.

A few weeks later, she presented her idea to senior leadership at BGE. “My supervisor gave me an opportunity to showcase the work, something I’ll cherish,” she says. “Even as an intern, they always help me shine.” 

See the impact of your work

Grace Tugado ‘23, chemical engineering, has spent her summer interning at SeeTrue Technology, which develops microcapillary needles for a range of biomedical needs, from IVF therapy to stem cell research. SeeTrue Technology is located on the UMBC campus, and is supporting Tugado’s internship through the Maryland Technology Internship Program. 

Tugado learned about the internship from a professor and was excited by the opportunity to expand her biotech skills. For the first few days at SeeTrue she shadowed her mentor through the process of making the needles, and asked questions along the way. 

Grace Tugado working in the SeeTrue Technology lab. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

“There was a little bit of a learning curve,” says Tugado, who will also be a McNair Scholar this fall. Thanks to her prior research through UMBC’s STEM BUILD Program, she was able to make the most of each new challenge as a learning experience, without feeling discouraged. 

One of the most rewarding parts of her internship at SeeTrue has been connecting with scientists, including her mentor Kinneret Rand-Yadin, founder and CEO of SeeTrue Technology. She’s also had the opportunity to connect with people who are using the needles. Receiving their feedback has impacted how she sees her work.

“It’s rewarding to think that labs around the world could potentially use the needles I’ve created,” she says. Tugado plans to continue interning at SeeTrue Technology through the fall semester.

Learn from people who have been there 

Leaving nothing to chance Chi-Chi Onyekonwu ‘22, economics, worked with the UMBC Career Center team to apply for several summer opportunities. She was thrilled to be placed in her top choice, an economics research internship through the University of Chicago’s Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (held virtually this year). 

Chi-Chi Onyekonwu. Photo courtesy of Onyekonwu.

The program helps students prepare for a Ph.D. in economics, explains Onyekonwu. It fosters interns’ connections with economics Ph.D.s, supports their research, and organizes lectures and other events. 

Onyekonwu has worked with a group of six other economics research interns, including Seth Thomas ‘22, financial economics and global studies, and Lexi Smith ‘23, history and economics, on a project about global economies. Onyekonwu’s group studied global corporate transparency, and she also pursued an individual project focused on Italy’s economy. In addition to writing a research paper, she presented her work at a national symposium in July.

One of Onyekonwu’s favorite aspects of the program was connecting with 40 other economics students from around the world who were research interns at the University of Chicago this summer. Onyekowu plans to pursue a Ph.D. in economics after graduating from UMBC, and she valued the chance to grow her network. 

“The first-hand accounts from people who have already gone through the process of getting their Ph.D., and hearing the mistakes they have made and what things have worked for them, has been the best part of the program,” she says. 

Jump on a good opportunity

Terence Lesigues ‘23, biological sciences, first heard about interning at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) through an email from UMBC’s Career Center in January. He’s glad he clicked on it. Within a few months, Lesigues was accepted into the program and identified a few particularly interesting projects to work on—not just during the summer, but for the coming year as well.

As a pre-med student with an interest in neuroscience, Lesigues joined a research group focused on brain analytics using machine learning. “We’re developing a deep learning algorithm to segment the brain at a micro level, including blood vessels and axons. With this, we can better understand the etiologies of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia,” he explains. 

Terence Lesigues in front of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. Photo courtesy of Lesigues.

“My lab at UMBC focuses on the neurobiological aspects of chemical sensory systems in the nose,” he notes. “This internship has allowed me to branch out and explore additional topics.”

While his internship is primarily virtual, Lesigues goes into APL once a week to meet with his cohort in person. Working remotely has not hindered his ability to make meaningful connections with professionals and his peers. Lesigues explains that he meets with his mentors each day, including for team-building activities, and also connects regularly with other interns.

Looking back, Lesigues says that he is grateful that he responded when the APL opportunity hit his inbox, and that he took the chance on applying. He encourages other students to keep an eye on Career Center messages and reach out to as many people as they can to get their foot in the door.

Gain experience in something you care about

Jaden Burke ‘24, political science, and Samara Pyfrom ‘24, M32, environmental science and geography both interned with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which focuses on conserving and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. 

Pyfrom is the foundation’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice intern—a position she found on UMBCworks. Within the department of human resources, she works to provide data to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s board to support their planning and decision-making. She has also developed events that allow her fellow interns to network and has traveled to engage with interns across the organization.

Samara Pyfrom and Jaden Burke in front of oyster shells. Photo courtesy of Pyfrom.

Pyfrom is interested in scientific and environmental justice. She notes that climate change disproportionately impacts communities of color in the United States. 

“My mentor has really centered this internship around my passions and helping me grow,” she says. “I’ve met with some litigation lawyers at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and learned about how they approach environmental justice and work with corporations that misuse communities.” 

Jaden Burke and Samara Pyfrom. Photo courtesy of Pyfrom.

Burke has supported community environmental education programs through his internship, including facilitating a trip for high school teachers to learn about oysters. He spent one week at the foundation’s Clagatt Farm, which he describes as the most physically challenging week of his internship. 

Clagatt Farm has a community-supported agriculture program offering produce baskets each week of the summer. The organic farm connects community members to the local environment in meaningful ways, and Burke valued the chance to contribute to their work. Plus, he shares, “The networking opportunities have been valuable.”

Dive into unique opportunities

Adam Lees ‘21, biological sciences, remembers the day that he received an email from Routzahn about a highly unique opportunity to intern aboard the OceanX marine research vessel while it traveled from Portugal to Norway. “This program definitely jumped to the top of my list,” Lees says. 

Adam Lees aboard the OceanX marine research vessel. Photo courtesy of Lees.

Fast forward a few months later, and Lees found out that he was one of about 15 interns selected for the research voyage. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. The international group of interns—half from the U.S.—included students focused on biology as well as science communications.

Adam Lees, right, and his fellow interns. Photo courtesy of Lees.

Aboard the OceanX, Lees supported marine biologists and other scientists conducting research. Each day, he would have breakfast with the other interns before heading to lectures and shadowing scientists. He particularly enjoyed hands-on opportunities to send cameras and data collection tools deep into the ocean to gather samples.

Lees found most rewarding the friendships and connections that he made with others aboard the OceanX, from institutions all around the world. “Talking to scientists on OceanX and seeing what they do, how long it took them to get here, and what they do day to day was so helpful for me,” Lees explains. 

A water sample collected by OceanX. Photo courtesy of Lees.

The OceanX has three dry labs filled with computers and servers, and one large wet lab that scientists use to study live samples. In addition to the students and scientists, the boat included a crew of about 35, from a person in charge of the computers and servers to a chef. 

The OceanX vessel. Photo courtesy of Lees.

“The internship was inspiring and motivating,” Lees says, particularly having a front-row seat to science being conducted for the first time. “I can’t wait to be in school again now that I know what’s out there and what I can continue to work toward.”

Banner image: Grace Tugado, right, working in the SeeTrue Technology lab with her mentor Kinneret Rand-Yadin. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Persistent. Innovative. Determined. These are the words UMBC’s commencement speakers returned to again and again to describe the Class of 2021. And despite a year of challenges—missing family and friends, technological frustrations, life lived through the computer screen—one of the resounding themes of this year’s Commencement ceremonies was gratitude. 

Addressing this year’s graduates, President Freeman Hrabowski reflected on his life and shared some wisdom learned throughout the years.

“The longer I live, the more I realize there’s nothing more important than our family and our friends. We have to take the time to say ‘thank you’ because we never make it to any point of achievement alone,” he says. “There are always people helping us out.”

#umbcgrad#USGsuccess@UatShadyGrove @UMBC
1st stop 1991 – BA Poli Sci – no gray hair
2nd stop 2021 – MPS in Data Science – lots of gray hair

Retriever for life pic.twitter.com/iy7LT3yUVF

— Michael Schlitzer (@campagfan) May 11, 2021

Virtual ceremony, tangible spirit

This spring’s ceremonies were held online in deference to the health and safety of the campus community. While the festivities were virtual, the spirit was very tangible. Students had the opportunity to come to campus for professional on-site graduation photos. Some even ran into local celebrity, Officer Chip, the campus comfort dog. 

Graduate Student Association president Samantha Fries ‘18, psychology, and M.A. ‘21, applied sociology, shared in her commencement remarks that despite the challenges of the past year, there have been remarkable acts of kindness. 

“This magnificent outpouring of love and empathy has been demonstrated all across all the world but I’m most proud to say that I’ve seen it shown exceptionally and persistently by the students, staff, and faculty here at UMBC,” said Fries. “Faculty restructured their courses to provide maximum flexibility. Staff worked long hours developing new ways to serve students and help them succeed online. Students created virtual networks to stay connected with one other and to provide much-needed support during a time where we all felt more isolated than ever before.”

Inspired by each other

Students relied on video chats, Discord channels, and the tried and true telephone to stay connected this past year. Even if they couldn’t see each other in person, Retrievers are still grateful for the friendships that persevered and the memories they made. 

“A lot of people helped me feel comfortable and enjoy my moments at UMBC,” says Billy Harold Kayim Tchuem ‘21, biochemistry. “The list is very long, but I just want to tell them ‘thank you’ for making this a very exciting journey and I hope we can all look back at these years and be able to appreciate how amazing they were.”

As part of her valedictorian speech, Katie Poteet‘21, global studies and political science, described how UMBC’s inclusive nature and diverse culture shape the environment and help students build relationships. 

“UMBC is unique, creative, and diverse. There’s something in each of us that others can learn from and be inspired by,” says Poteet, who is a first-generation college graduate. 

Coming to UMBC as part of a fifth-generation farming family from rural Maryland, Poteet embraced the international opportunities afforded to her, such as a trip to Ghana as part of UMBC’s Global Brigades program. After graduation, she will attend the University of Cambridge, in England, to pursue a master of philosophy focusing on educational equity for women and girls in the Arab world. 

“Because we are all so diverse, this graduation means something different to each of us,” she shared, “but it also marks the collective success and excellence of our community.”

Building the world they want to see

Addressing his fellow graduates as co-valedictorian, Jordan Troutman ’21, M29, computer science and mathematics, emphasized the power of students recognizing themselves as agents of change. 

“I believe in a world where the leaders in communities and organizations fully represent the populations they serve. We must see things for what they are, but even more, for what they can be,” says Troutman. “We have the ability to mobilize, find solutions, and challenge expectations. It doesn’t always take a massive crowd of people to do so, sometimes it only takes one person. Sometimes that person will be you.” 

Troutman also received a prestigious Knight-Hennesy Scholarship, the first in UMBC’s history. He’ll begin a computer science Ph.D. at Stanford University in the fall, continuing his algorithmic fairness research. 

One of this year’s honorary degree recipients, Sarah Rosen Wartell, president of the Urban Institute, also spoke of taking action to make a better world. She emboldened the Class of 2021 to lead the charge, no matter how uncomfortable the journey might be. 

“So, maybe a bit more discomfort is what the world needs from you because we’re relying on you to show us the path forward,” said Wartell. 

Cogratulations to STEM BUILD graduate Demi Trimino (Biological Sciences’21, Philosophy ’21)
We are so proud of you!#UMBCgrad pic.twitter.com/cHf1X5tDgw

— STEM BUILD at UMBC (@STEMBUILDUMBC) May 21, 2021

Looking ahead

Commencement is a transition point—the end of one journey and the start of another. Victoria D’Souza, Ph.D. ‘02, biochemistry, knows it may not always be easy, but this class is uniquely qualified to face the challenges that come before them.

As the graduate honorary degree recipient, D’Souza expressed her confidence in these students, asserting that “if there’s anything this class of 2021 can teach us, it’s that you’re resilient. And if you put your mind to it, no challenge is insurmountable.” 

Christopher P. Austin, CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering, undergraduate ceremony honorary degree recipient, echoed these sentiments. 

“The world needs you not only to seek change, but to drive it,” said Austin. “Life is not a dress rehearsal, as one of my musical colleagues once put it. Live by these truths.”

But no matter how far Retrievers may go on their journeys, UMBC will always be home, says Fries. She shared, “Let us not think of this as the ending of a chapter, but rather the beginning of the next book in the series of our lives.”

Read more stories about the Class of 2021 on UMBC News. Full recordings of this year’s virtual ceremonies can be found on the Commencement site, along with social shareables, a virtual True Grit, and a photo booth. Help us celebrate our graduates by using #UMBCgrad on social media. 

Banner image: Two of this year’s graduates stop for a selfie during on-campus photos. Photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 unless otherwise noted. 

When Balaji Viswanathan’s grandfather was injured in a fall at a senior care facility a few years ago, he committed to seeing what he could do to prevent it from happening again, to his grandfather or other older adults. Viswanathan, M.S ‘06, Ph.D. ‘21, computer science, developed Invento, a technology that analyzes movement patterns to determine fall risk and notify caregivers if a fall seems likely, helping caretakers prevent injuries from falls. 

Balaji Viswanathan. Photo courtesy of Viswanathan.

Invento earned first place in the technology track of UMBC’s eighth annual Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition hosted by the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. The event was held virtually on April 29, with one track focused on technology and the other focused on social impact ideas beyond tech. 

Vivian Armor ‘73, American studies, director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, explains that the two tracks offered this year allowed students to propose a broader range of ideas. “Special thanks to entrepreneurial alums Khuram Zaman ‘05, political science, and Asif Khan ‘04, information systems and computer science, co-founders of FifthTribe, for reaching out to support the new social impact track this year. It’s a wonderful addition to the competition originally founded by Greg Cangialosi ‘96, English, in 2014,” says Armor. “It’s very rewarding to see our Retriever alums generously give back to help develop the next wave of entrepreneurs for the future.”

The competition provides opportunities for students interested in entrepreneurship to connect with alumni and advisors. “The CBIC competition is a great platform for startups to get discovered by investors,” Viswanathan says. “We participated in the competition, winning the top prize in our category. And through that we got a key advisor and also connected with investors.”

Affordability and sustainability

Second place in the technology track went to Edullo, led by Esha Vangara ‘23, economics. Vangara explains that Edullo offers affordable and personalized tutoring that is fast for students to access. The system is structured differently than traditional tutoring companies. All of the tutors are also students, tutoring is fully online, and students who access tutoring aren’t required to sign up for subscriptions or to sign longer-term contracts. 

Kayleigh Nelson ‘23, global studies, presented Digitize My Closet, which placed third on the technology track. Rather than producing physical clothing, Digitize My Closet produces digital clothing for users to “wear” while on video calls. The clothing moves with the model on screen, providing users with a way to wear clothing that they may only need for a singular event without needing to purchase new pieces. This approach, explains Nelson, is a more environmentally and financially sustainable way for people to expand their wardrobes.

Innovation with social impact

In the social impact category, Mariah Qureshi ‘23, computer science, took first place with a proposal to grow codeHer. Qureshi is an executive board member of codeHer, a nonprofit organization that works to address the gender gap in STEM fields by empowering women and providing them with tools to help them succeed in computing and science. 

Mariah Qureshi. Photo courtesy of Qureshi.

CodeHer plans to expand the course offerings in and around Baltimore, explains Qureshi, to support underserved youth who are interested in STEM disciplines. She says that they plan to develop after-school programs for high school and middle school students, as well as provide personalized mentoring to students. 

Kelvin Johnson M.P.S. ‘21, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership, presented Businessaire and earned second place. Businessaire is a board game that increases financial literacy by teaching business principles and information about the economy. 

Sotonye Koko ‘21, information systems, and Yvann Tientcheu ‘21, information systems, earned third prize for EndeaVR. They propose using virtual reality technology to provide online services such as job training, to address high recidivism rates among people in the U.S. prison system. 

Through this annual competition, winners receive funding to continue to advance their idea. They also access the opportunity to connect with local entrepreneurs who serve as mentors and help connect them with Baltimore’s entrepreneurship community. 

“CBIC was an enriching experience that I’d recommend for every UMBC student who is entrepreneurship-oriented. I’m grateful for the immense help provided by the competition mentors and coordinators, even during COVID-19,” says Qureshi. “I learned of several different ways to further my own social venture, and have had many professional and personal takeaways from this experience.”

Banner image: The UMBC Albin O. Kuhn Library in spring 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Katie Poteet, Shekinah Davis, and Nicholas Duy-Hoan Nguyen all came to UMBC grounded in their families’ unique journeys and deeply-held values, and seeking to find their own individual paths. Each Class of 2021 graduate has formed connections with communities, both in Baltimore and internationally, that have shaped their plans for the future.

Door to the world

UMBC Valedictorian Katie Poteet ‘21, global studies and political science, will soon head to the University of Cambridge, in England, to pursue a master of philosophy focusing on educational equity for women and girls in the Arab world. Given her path, one might assume she grew up with an array of international experiences, but Poteet is actually from a fifth-generation farming family from Harford County, Maryland. She and her twin sister, Madeline, are first-generation college students graduating from two University System of Maryland institutions, both pursuing careers in international policy. 

Poteet was excited to attend UMBC as a member of the Honors College and a Sondheim Scholar. She had never experienced such cultural and linguistic diversity, and she jumped into learning Arabic and earned a certificate in Spanish. That led to internships focused on education policy, humanitarian work, and foreign policy in the Arab world at the Enabling Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC), Norwegian Refugee Council, and Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education. 

In 2019, Poteet’s sister, who is graduating from Salisbury University, joined her on a trip to Ghana with UMBC’s Global Brigades chapter. While there they worked with local craftsmen to construct eco-friendly toilet facilities. Back in Baltimore, Poteet remained connected to the local community by teaching English to adults at the Esperanza Center, a resource center for immigrants. 

Katie and Madie Poteet. Photo courtesy of Katie Poteet.

While it was UMBC that connected her with diverse communities and global opportunities, she shares that her family and community in Harford County laid the foundation. Through them, she learned to always help others and work hard. 

“Our parents did not have the opportunity to graduate from college, so they supported us in everything we wanted to do,” shares Poteet. “But what is most important, and what my parents are most proud of, is that we took advantage of all the opportunities college afforded us and are using those skills to help others.” 

Global learning experiences

Shekinah Davis ‘21, M.A. intercultural communication, came to UMBC after her Peace Corps service in Ecuador to join UMBC’s Peaceworker Program. It was an opportunity to merge skills gained through her social justice, diversity, and equity work in the U.S., Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Ecuador.

Davis with the her peers in the intercultural communication masters program.
Photo courtesy of Davis.

Davis’s parents moved from Portland, Oregon to the Dominican Republic when she was four five years old. Over the course of 15 years they built a public K-12 school. In her teenage years, Davis used photography to help document the process. It inspired her to earn a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism and document life in other Latin American countries.

Davis (center, wearing a pink dress) as a child in the Dominican Republic.
Photo courtesy of Davis.

She traveled to Nicaragua as a visiting artist, using photography and painting to build community with women healing from traumatic experiences. In Haiti, she photographed the daily life of women and their communities. During her Peace Corps service in Ecuador, Davis developed multimedia stories to raise awareness of refugees, migrant entrepreneurship, and family and youth health initiatives.

Growing roots in Baltimore

As a Peaceworker Fellow at UMBC, Davis has supported arts education in Baltimore City. She worked at UMBC’s Shriver Center as a program coordinator for the Charlesmead Initiative for Arts Education, as a media teacher for both the Kultur Stories program and Wide Angle Youth Media. 

Davis (third from the left) and Nguyen (striped shirt) with other Peaceworker fellows in 2019. Photo courtesy of Davis.

With Kulture Stories, Davis guided students from Baltimore, Sweden, and South Sudan in collaborative learning activities to expand on their leadership and multimedia skills. At Wide Angle Youth Media, she helped students in the Baltimore Speaks Out program to produce the video series Black Lives Matter: A Conversation With Our Youth. In that series, students discussed topics of race, identity, and racism.

Davis (center with yellow cardigan) with students from Wide Angle Youth Media in 2019.
Photo courtesy of Davis.

Davis’s childhood taught her to embrace the unknown. Her international work gave her an opportunity to use multimedia as a tool to explore social justice issues. And her experiences in Latin America gave her an awareness of the vast differences in cultures and languages grouped under the term Latinx, instilling in her a sense of pride in her identity as an Afro-Latina and African American woman.

Charlotte Kenniston, an LLC doctoral student and associate director of UMBC’s Peaceworker Program, notes that at UMBC Davis has continued to develop her sense of who she is in the world and how she might make an impact. “Shekinah has merged all of her life experiences to charge ahead with a life committed to work in diversity, equity, and inclusion,” says Keniston. 

“I have traveled so much that I now have a desire to establish roots somewhere. I want to create impactful programming and training around diversity, equity, and inclusion locally,” says Davis. “Baltimore is that place for me right now.”

Managing humanitarian emergencies

After graduating this week, Nicholas Nguyen, M.A. ‘21, sociology, will begin working as a program evaluator for the National Preparedness Assessment Division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a cause close to his heart. 

As a son of Vietnamese refugees, Nguyen grew up listening to stories of his parents’ journey from Vietnam to Texas. His mom fled Vietnam in 1975. “My father wasn’t able to leave with the family. He was caught trying to leave and was detained for five years,” says Nguyen. “When he was able to leave Vietnam it was on a small boat with others, often drifting for days without food.” 

Nicholas Nguyen (left) with his parents in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen.

Hearing about these experiences inspired Nguyen to explore how he could help improve the management of international humanitarian emergencies. 

Seeking his first international experience, Nguyen joined the Peace Corps in 2015. Nguyen explains that his parents didn’t understand—for them, going to Ecuador to volunteer was leaving the safety and comfort they had worked so hard to give him in suburban Texas. But it was transformative for Nguyen. “I needed to have the experience of being an entirely different country, culture, with a different language to better understand their experience,” he says.

Nicholas Nguyen at a ceremony at the US embassy in Quito, Ecuador.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen.

A new perspective

While learning Spanish and the Ecuadorian culture, Nguyen worked with local governments and community organizations to implement a recreation and substance abuse prevention program for youth. He collaborated on a project with local women artists and supported a shelter serving women and children survivors of domestic violence. Nguyen also helped establish financial and computer literacy programs for women.

Nicholas Nguyen at La Sierra (central highlands) in Ecuador. Photo courtesy of Nguyen.

His time in Ecuador gave him a greater understanding of what it is like to be new to a culture and language, and the challenges that presents. “Now, when I run into someone struggling with English it reminds me of when I was walking around Ecuador with my dictionary, trying to connect with other people.” 

Once he was ready to return to the United States, Nguyen joined UMBC’s Peaceworker Program because of its focus on placing Peace Corps volunteers with local organizations and its emphasis on social justice. 

“I had never been part of a university whose work was centered around social justice,” says Nguyen. “The Peace Corps showed me how political systems work at an international level. UMBC’s Peaceworker Program is giving me an understanding from a social justice and antiracist perspective.”

Nguyen was placed in the Patterson Park Audubon Center, teaching local middle school students, in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, about climate change and how it is impacting birds and people. He didn’t yet know much about birding, but he knew what it was like to be new to something and could connect with the students through their heritage language. Nguyen narrated his experience by creating a digital story about his experience with nature throughout his life.

The program moved online temporarily due to COVID-19, but was later able to open in person with social distancing, making it more accessible to the greater community.

Nguyen (top center square) teaching the Patterson Park Audubon Center’s program online.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen.

The reflection elements of the Peaceworker experience have helped Nguyen better understand the links between what he’s learned in his work with communities and in the classroom about policy, history, and race. He sees his next steps, through a career in emergency management, as emerging from his parents’ dreams, his own dreams, and all he’s experienced in Texas, Ecuador, and now Baltimore. And, he says, he looks forward to helping the United States become “a more just and inclusive place, especially now, as a public servant.”

Banner image: The Poteet family. Photo courtesy of Katie Poteet.

As the pandemic surged across the country last spring, university arts venues closed their doors, but that didn’t stop UMBC artists from creating. Without the traditional opportunities for collaboration that can be so important in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts, they turned to new approaches and to individual projects with determination and passion.

Time for research and writing

For Brianna Harper, B.A. ’20, visual arts, the pandemic represented an opportunity to focus on her research and writing. “Actually, I’m lucky. What I do is I hole up, I research, and I write,” she says. “During COVID I was able to focus on the materials, synthesizing information without any distractions.”

Harper’s research focuses on the enigmatic paintings of the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), whose artwork she discovered by chance on a 2019 visit to the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Her capstone project, presented at both URCAD and the Exit Art exhibition in spring 2020, explored the spiritual influences on af Klint’s paintings by using contemporary astrological processes to interpret the art.

“The premise of the paper is that Hilma af Klint created this huge breadth of work, Paintings for the Temple, and yet she didn’t really understand what it meant. She felt she was almost painting the words of ethereal beings, or painting their ideas, sort of like a prophet of theosophy in a way,” says Harper. 

“Because her work has astrological symbolism, with which I’m familiar, I was able to synthesize the astrological practices of that time, the early 20th century, and then use that to track her work patterns to see what astrological themes appeared in skies at certain points in her life,” Harper explains. “So it was using 19th-century theosophical astrology as a lens to deepen our understanding of Hilma af Klint’s Painting for the Temple.”

“Noting the deep influence of astrology on af Klint’s artistic practice and spiritual life, Brianna melded iconology, a well-established mode of analyzing artworks, with her own specialized knowledge of astrology,” notes Preminda Jacob, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of visual arts, who was Harper’s advisor. “The outcome of Brianna’s research was a uniquely exciting interpretation of visual artworks.”

Bonding together

Celine “CJ” Jones-Cameron, B.A. ’20, theatre, will graduate this week having developed a broad range of skills across the discipline. “I really enjoy acting, I really enjoy doing tech, and I really enjoy carpentry and building sets,” she says. “I like the idea that I now have opportunities to do so much because my background is so well-rounded.”

She notes that theatre productions can be complex, involving not only actors, but also set designers, carpenters, costume designers, sound and light designers, directors, vocal coaches and more. During performances, each of those professionals has to coordinate with split-second accuracy. It’s the unifying experience of the performance that most fascinates her.

UMBC’s theatre department usually stages two productions each semester. But their regular kind of collaborative work just wasn’t feasible once students had to pivot to online and socially-distanced learning.

Still, Jones-Cameron noticed an outpouring of empathy from her fellow theatre students, and feels that their inability to stage productions actually brought them closer together. “It’s been nice to see us talk to each other more,” she said. Thanks to the “closeness” of students in the department, she says, “I think we adjusted pretty well.”

“CJ always finds a way to take challenges and difficult situations and merge them with humor. She is a leader and a constant source of energy,” says Adam Mendelson, senior lecturer in the theatre department and one of CJ’s teachers. “The most impressive thing about CJ is her undaunted ability to keep pushing her own boundaries and definitions of what she is capable of even in the face of unprecedented national challenges.”

Jones-Cameron plans to begin auditioning and working in Los Angeles or New York, possibly with a focus on children’s theatre, which has long been one of her passions.

Finding his voice

Pramuk Mohanlal-Vargas B.A. ’20, music and global studies, has lived in his native Paraguay, in India, and in the United States, so an emphasis in global studies came naturally. “I love traveling and learning about different cultures and people,” he shares. And his interest in music similarly came about at a young age — “I grew up singing and playing piano,” he says, “and then I took interest in acoustic guitar.”

Mohanlal-Vargas’s musical path has led him to emerge as a singer-songwriter (going by his first name, Pramuk). During the pandemic he managed to complete and release his first album, an EP titled Ordinary Soul, on November 27. 

His teacher, Sammy Huh, an affiliate artist in the music department and director of UMBC’s Opera Workshop, describes him as “possessing a beautiful Mozartean tenor instrument and dynamic guitar skills.”

At UMBC, Mohanlal-Vargas has participated in the Camerata Chamber Choir, the Opera Workshop and other ensembles. He credits these opportunities as having helped him gain exposure to a diversity of genres and historical periods. 

“UMBC has helped me grow, learning a lot about Renaissance music, classical, romantic — different time periods — different composers and their lives, and even a lot of the theoretical side of things,” he says. “I never would have thought that opera is what I would be studying in college. Singing in Italian, in German, in French — it’s a beautiful thing.”

The past several months have provided Mohanlal-Vargas time for introspection and reflection. “It’s kind of a strange feeling — all virtual, not performing in front of a live audience. That’s what’s made it challenging,” he says. “But it’s also helped me become more grounded, be more still in the moment.”

Banner image: Girls on a Dirt Pile (2019) by Susan McCully, directed by Eve Muson, a production for which Celine Jones-Cameron was a theatrical electrician. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Graduating seniors Anthony Cano, Renato Zanelli, and Maya Scheirer came to UMBC with pride and hunger instilled by their immigrant parents’ work ethic. They brought rich cultures, languages, and hearts full of dreams and aspirations with the goal of forging futures of their own.

At UMBC they found faculty and staff who nurtured their curiosity, and a campus committed to learning from and working with local and international communities. Most importantly, they were embraced by a community who welcomed and celebrated them wholeheartedly for who they are and who they wanted to be. 

Cano, Zanelli, and Scheirer lean on their friendships and faculty mentors as they end their time at UMBC, under an unprecedented global pandemic, via a virtual commencement ceremony. Together they face a changing world, knowing that their transformative years at UMBC have given them a solid foundation to hope, dream, and achieve.

Global citizen

Anthony Cano fondly recalls walking with his mom to school in the mornings. “We would part ways at the bus stop as she headed to work as a janitor,” a job she had to take after the market crash of 2008. “I would continue walking to my school,” shares Cano. 

He watched his family lose everything and then rebuild their lives by working seven days a week. “They learned everything and anything to make ends meet,” explains Cano. “That work ethic—that unbreakable faith—is my moral structure. I connect it to everything I do.”

Cano wants to make sure everyone knows the real story behind his success. “My story does not begin with what I have achieved or my research,” he shares. “When I tell my story I want it to start and end by honoring my struggle as a student and as an immigrant. It is what made and continues to make my success happen.”

Mapping an interdisciplinary future

As a first-generation college student, Cano did not take his opportunities for granted. Instead, he invested time in and out of class to explore his wide interests in journalism, photography, and business. He also found ways to help his community, which he defines as global. “I think everything is connected,” shares Cano. “I identify as a global citizen more than any other identity.”

Cano eating a typical Cartagenian dish.
Photo courtesy of Cano.

Eager to learn, Cano transferred to UMBC immediately after earning an associate’s degree in broadcast and media production from Montgomery Community College. He planned to add a bachelor’s in computer science to facilitate his pathway to entrepreneurship. Cano began his general computer science courses while also enrolling in political science and human geography classes. 

After learning about global political systems and internally displaced people (IDP), Cano immediately felt a sense of responsibility. He wanted to bring awareness to the political and social forces that displace people from their homes into dangerous and precarious living conditions. 

“In some ways, my life was like a bubble,” explains Cano. These classes introduced him to the complexities of migration. “I have people in my social network that have experienced similar situations, but not to the extent that I learned about,” he shares. He decided to follow his interests and declared a double major in media and communications studies and political science.

Cano in Cartagena. Photo courtesy of Cano.

Afro-Colombian stories

Felipe Filomeno, associate professor of political science, became his mentor and advisor. With his support, Cano developed strong skills in mixed research methods. He used social science, humanities, and visual research methods to continue to understand IDP. 

“Tony is a unique and truly interdisciplinary student,” says Filomeno. “I advised his research on internally displaced people and urban development in Cartagena, Colombia. It combined oral history and visual research methods.”

Cano received a 2019-2020 Undergraduate Research Award to conduct field research in South America. His project focused on the relationship between internally displaced people as a result of violence and urban development in Cartagena.

Cano drew on his background in journalism and his fluent Spanish language skills to better understand the experiences of Afro-Colombians in a neighborhood named after Nelson Mandela. It’s located only a few minutes from a walled-in, tourism-focused urban center.

“Tony wanted his project to result not only in an academic paper. He also wanted to create a short virtual reality film to document the living conditions in Nelson Mandela,” shares Filomeno. Cano was careful and curious while analyzing data. Filomeno advised him on how to verify different sources of data and how to ensure his work reflected the community respectfully.

In March, Cano presented his project, Informal Resettlement of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Cartagena, Colombia: A Visual Exploration and Oral History, at UMBC’s 24th annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD). 

Theory to practice

Cano also served as a fellow in the Partnerships for Listening and Action by Communities (PLACE) program, an affiliate of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life. There he received additional training in humanities methods and community organizing to support residents of Baltimore City’s Brooklyn neighborhood in building greater community cohesion and providing enriching opportunities for young people.

Cano walking in downtown Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Cano.

In January, Cano will begin working at Morgan Stanley as an operations analyst. The multinational investment bank and financial services company found his humanities background invaluable to creating a strong finance team. 

“I am a learner. My family always said there is nothing wrong with constantly wanting to learn,” shares Cano. “They taught me to set goals, and that through a lot of hard work, sacrifice, deep faith, and positivity, you can achieve your goals and break barriers.” 

A home away from home

Renato Zanelli remembers how hard his mother worked and how much she sacrificed when she moved to the United States from Peru. “There are times I feel like giving up because some people assume that if you are Hispanic, you cannot do something,” shares Zanelli. “I want to prove that Hispanics can do anything. I want to make sure everything my mom sacrificed was not in vain.”

Like Cano, family and culture are also the founding blocks of Zanelli’s undergraduate life. He came to the United States from Peru when he was ten. He was raised in Anne Arundel County by his mom and grandparents. While he did well in school, it was at times isolating because of the lack of diversity. After a year in Anne Arundel Community College, he realized that what he was seeking the most was a community that embraced his language, culture, and interests. 

Life-long friendships

Zanelli transferred to UMBC and was delighted to find a welcoming community. “One day, I saw a flyer for the Hispanic Latino Student Union. I went,” he remembers. Even though most of the people were not from Peru, he felt at home. “I was finally meeting people with similar immigration journeys and who spoke Spanish. It was amazing,” explains Zanelli. The HLSU members became his best friends.

Although most of the students he met in HSLU were years ahead of him, they guided him in understanding college life and included him in campus events. He had been worried about missing out on these experiences as a commuter, but their generous spirit made him feel like he belonged. “Instead of going straight home, I participated more in student activities,” shares Zanelli. 

The HLSU also provided comfort and support when his cousin, who is like a brother, passed away and he could not travel to Peru. Later, Renato became part of the HLSU executive board, supporting the next generation of HLSU members.

Building confianza (trust)

Ana Maria Schwartz Caballerro. Photo by Marlayna Demond.

Zanelli also found joy and support from UMBC’s faculty. His schedule included STEM and humanities classes, including a Spanish class for heritage Spanish speakers. The class helped him be more comfortable in a predominantly English environment and learn more about his first language. He met Ana Maria Schwartz Caballero, associate professor in modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication (MLLI), who teaches the course. Similar to his experience with HSLU, meeting professor Schwartz Caballero became one of the most important moments at UMBC. 

“She advocated for me and encouraged me,” says Zanelli. Schwartz Caballero inspired him to take higher-level Spanish courses. They opened up an entirely new way to engage with his language, literature, and culture. He also began working as a Spanish language translator in the local hospitals, revealing a professional opportunity made possible with an MLLI major. 

Professor Schwartz Caballero became his advisor and mentor. Regularly meeting with her created the structure and focus he needed. She also provided support on a personal level, checking how he was doing and asking about his mom and grandparents. “I have a huge amount of respect and love for her. We have a lot of confianza (trust),” explains Zanelli. “She understands who I am.” 

Soccer love

Grounded in who he was and what he wanted out of his undergraduate experience, Zanelli had confidence to pursue an outside interest. He is a soccer aficionado both on the field and in the world of soccer gaming where he is better known as Renatogz05. In 2019, Zanelli became D.C. United’s first-ever official professional eEports athlete to play Electronic Arts SPORTS FIFA and compete in the 2019 Electronic MLS League Series. He came in second place in the last chance qualifier bracket at the Eastern Conference finals. 

Zanelli’s experience at UMBC has been life-changing. “This isn’t just about me,” he explains. “As a first-generation college student, I can now be a role model for my younger cousins. I can help and inspire them. They will not have to do it alone.”

“100% me”

“I grew up in Kensington, Maryland, surrounded by people from all over the world,” says Maya Isabella Peiris Scheirer. “As a first-generation Sri Lankan American and a second-generation German American, I am proud of my immigrant roots.” 

Her parents encouraged her to be curious about everything, she says. “They taught me to ask questions and find creative solutions when challenges arose.”

Scheirer first saw UMBC when her cousin Hashani Hettiarachchi ’14, biological sciences, invited her to campus events. When it came time to pick a college, she found UMBC an obvious fit thanks to its diversity, proximity to home, and biology program. She immediately moved onto campus and jumped into her science classes. Like Cano and Zanelli, Scheirer also chose to explore courses outside of her major. 

A global state of mind

Scheirer found her global studies classes to be particularly fascinating, but fitting them into her biology-heavy course schedule proved challenging. She decided to explore new possibilities, including majors where she could use her French, Sinhala, and German language skills.

“I researched interdisciplinary majors. I attended the Career Center workshops and filled out career interest questionnaires,” remembers Scheirer. While searching for a different academic path, she gained insight into the skills and interests she had been developing most of her life. She was an avid reader, making her a strong writer, and she loved multilingual and multicultural communities. 

“When I found global studies, it seemed 100% me,” shares Scheirer. “The study abroad requirement as well as the writing component and interdisciplinary research were what I had been looking for.”

Opening doors

In the spring of 2020, Scheirer traveled to Germany to study German at Leuphana University of Lüneburg. The language study program also gave her a deeper understanding of her father’s German culture. Unfortunately, like many students studying abroad this spring, Scheirer had to fly back home early due to COVID-19. She hopes to return soon.

Scheirer also chose to minor in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies after taking courses that expanded her perspective. “I was a feminist, but I had not viewed feminism through these theories,” she explains. “It opened a door for me.” Scheirer analyzed different feminists’ points of view through her writing while learning about how people occupy spaces differently.

Beyond her coursework, Scheirer put her writing skills to work covering arts and culture for The Retriever. She also found a community of close friends from different backgrounds through UMBC’s Equestrian Club, serving two terms as president. “Being president of the Equestrian Club taught me a lot about responsibility, collaboration, and motivating people,” she says, and it “gave me a sense of community.”

Be Your Best Self

Scheirer is waiting to find out what her next global adventure will be. She hopes to be an English teaching assistant in Andorra through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. If accepted, Scheirer will move to Andorra, where her French skills will come in handy, in the fall of 2021.

As she looks back on her last four years, she is grateful for making UMBC the place where she has not just earned her degree, but also learned more about herself. Scheirer remembers receiving a UMBC t-shirt with the phrase, “Be Your Best Self.” “I know it’s on a t-shirt, but it’s true,” she laughs. She says her peers were all working hard to become their best selves regardless of the field they were studying. 

“UMBC allowed me to stop worrying about what I ‘should’ be doing,” says Scheirer. “Being a Retriever gave me the confidence to know that what I ‘should’ be doing is being myself.”

Banner image: Maya Scheirer visiting Barcelona, Spain while studying abroad in Lüneburg, Germany.

Eleven recent UMBC alumni are recipients of 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, including seven from UMBC’s Class of 2020. Each year over 11,000 students apply and just over 2,000 are selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. The award secures funding for U.S. students to pursue international graduate study, research, internships, or teaching.

While COVID-19 has presented a range of challenges and uncertainties for Fulbright recipients, UMBC is proud to celebrate their hard work and achievements. 

“This year’s recipients have demonstrated great flexibility and maturity as they navigate the changes that our current global situation requires,” explains Brian Souders, M.A.‘19, TESOL and Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy and culture. He serves as associate director of global engagement opportunities in UMBC’s office of International Education Services. 

Souders, who is also UMBC’s Fulbright program advisor and scholar liaison, says that these hurdles have also not deterred UMBC faculty, students, and alumni from applying for the 2021 – 2022 Fulbright award.

Souders with Fulbright class of 2019 – 2021.

UMBC’s 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program award recipients

Middle East

• Kiplyn Jones, M.P.P. ’20, public policy, Jordan, English Teaching 

East Asia

Osia on campus.
Photo courtesy of Osia.

• Hannah Jang ’20, global studies, Korea, English Teaching Assistant
• Phillip McKnight, M.A. ’19, instructional systems design, Laos, English Teaching Assistant
• Samina Musa ’20, chemical engineering, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant
• Uchenna Osia ’19, computer science, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant

Europe and Eurasia

• Brandon Ables, M.F.A., ’20, intermedia and digital arts, Romania, English Teaching Assistant
• Alida Hartwell ’20, bioinformatics/computational biology, Latvia, English Teaching Assistant
• Matthew Linz ’20, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, Kazakhstan, English Teaching Assistant
•  Idania Ramos ’20, psychology, Spain, English Teaching Assistant
• Jocelyn Wilkins ’20, mechanical engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, Master’s Program

Kashett in Costa Rica, where he previously studied abroad. Photo courtesy of Kashett.

Western Hemisphere

• Daniel Kashkett ’19, global studies, Mexico, Bilateral Internship Program

Top Fulbright producer

The Fulbright U.S. Student program is highly competitive, and recipients are chosen based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. UMBC’s ten 2020 – 2021 recipients include students from a broad range of majors. And they’ve been selected for a diverse range of experiences, as English teaching assistants, interns, and graduate students in Europe, East Asia, Western Hemisphere, and the Middle East. 

This success comes after UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for receiving fourteen Fulbright U.S. Student awards in 2019 – 2020. Only a small portion of institutions participating in the Fulbright program are designated as top producers each year, an honor granted by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Both the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program are designed to help build networks to support cross-cultural understanding. They connect people from the United States with people from around the world to dispel stereotypes and help each other reach common goals.

Faculty Fulbright for research in Southeast Asia

Beyond the student program, faculty are eligible to apply for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to further research on critical world problems in all disciplines. This year, UMBC’s John Rennie Short, professor of public policy, has received a Fulbright award to conduct research in Southeast Asia on the geopolitics of the South China Sea.

Rennie Short with local university students and staff in Nanchang, China.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

The award will support Rennie Short’s research in Malaysia and the Philippines and allow him to visit Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. He will interview scholars and foreign policy analysts while at the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Centre for ASEAN Regionalism at the University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rennie Short also plans to give public lectures and seminars about U.S. public policy and other topics while in Southeast Asia.

Kuala Lampur, one of the places Rennie Short will visit for research.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

This research will inform Rennie Short’s second book on East Asian maritime issues. “The book will widen our understanding of the complex and troubled geopolitics of the South China Sea,” he explains. “It will provide an Association of Southeast Asian Nations perspective to counter the dominant Chinese and U.S. narratives.” 

Rennie Short’s first book on East Asian geopolitical issues, Korea: A Cartographic History (2012, University of Chicago Press), tackled the East Sea versus Sea of Japan naming dispute between South Korea and Japan. He has also written “Troubled Waters: Conflict in the South China Sea Explained,” republished in U.S. News & World Report.

Other recent UMBC faculty recipients of Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards include Charissa Cheah, professor of psychology; Guenet Abraham, associate professor visual arts; Chuck Eggleton, professor and chair of mechanical engineering; and Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Abraham in Ethiopia as a Fulbright Scholar in 2018. Photo courtesy of Abraham.

Banner image: International hanging from the ceiling of UMBC’s Commons. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.

Each summer, hundreds of UMBC students complete summer internships to get hands-on experience related to their majors and career goals. The COVID-19 pandemic has moved many networking opportunities and jobs online, including some internships. Still, undergraduate and graduate students from across the University have spent the summer developing their skills and connections virtually. 

UMBC’s Career Center continues to offer students a range of services for each stage of their journey. This includes virtual career coaching appointments to discuss topics such as possible career paths and how to gain work experience or prep for an interview. Students are invited to participate in ongoing events and programs including UMBC’s Virtual Fall Career & Internship Fair, Industry Inside Scoop Panels, online networking opportunities with companies, and skill-building webinars about branding, virtual interviews, and the job search process.

“Although life is different in this economy, our UMBC students are continuing to engage in various applied learning experiences and remaining proactive in their job and internship searches,” says Christine Routzahn, director of the UMBC Career Center. “We, as a UMBC community, are all committed to students’ career success. Our team is looking forward to the fall semester start and working with amazing employer partners and alumni to connect UMBC student talent to opportunities to support their career journeys ahead.”

Kacie Lawrence, associate director of internships and employment in UMBC’s Career Center, says that it’s always important for students to have experiences related to their specific career goals, but that it’s becoming even more so during the pandemic. “Now more than ever, it’s crucial that recent graduates enter the job market with career-relevant experience,” she says. “Employers are getting creative as they adapt their internship, co-op, and research programs to online platforms. The Career Center is here to help students make the most of these virtual opportunities.”

UMBC News sat down with students completing internships in the arts, business, tech, law, and elsewhere to learn more about how embracing new formats is allowing them to learn and connect with mentors and peers in creative ways. 

Sharing expertise with local businesses

Thomas Southerland ‘22, financial economics, was eager to pursue an internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co. after he came across several opportunities there while exploring his options last year. This summer, Southerland is working virtually as an apprentice in JPMorgan’s Advancing Black Pathways Apprenticeship Program, which he learned about through the company’s website. After graduation, he plans to work in consulting or in the financial service industry.

Thomas Southerland. Photo courtesy of Southerland.

UMBC News: Can you talk about what your internship experience has been like?

Southerland: My internship program was designed to keep us engaged and informed regardless of if it was virtual or not. Although it is incredibly difficult to sit in front of a screen for eight hours a day, the program managers have done an excellent job keeping us busy and engaged. The on-boarding process was also simple; we needed to get acclimated to the new JPMorgan system and the desktop we would be working on. Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t able to work in their Plano, Texas location and I wasn’t able to meet the rest of the apprentices in person.

UMBC News: What has been the most rewarding part of your internship so far?

Southerland: During these last four weeks, we have worked on a business case project where we served as consultants for The Harbor Bank of Maryland to give them recommendations on how they could increase adoption for their electronic banking products. After our research, we presented in front of a panel of judges from JPMorgan and Harbor Bank. My group and I spent a lot of time working on the project and making sure we were ready to present in front of the judges. It took hours after work and time on the weekends to prepare, and we did very well. Seeing everything come together after all of our hard work was incredibly rewarding. I was also given the opportunity to speak about my experience with the project manager during our virtual celebration at the end of the program.

Using learned skills in industry settings

Themi Cologer ‘20, computer science, completed an internship at T. Rowe Price last summer, and was eager to complete another internship to advance his skills in data science. This summer, he finds himself interning virtually for T. Rowe Price, which he found out about and applied to through UMBCworks. As an intern, Cologer is relying on his knowledge of C#, SQL, and React Javascript to build a website that creates an interface and environment that is easy for T. Rowe Price employees to access.

Themi Cologer. Photo courtesy of Cologer.

UMBC News: How does this internship connect to your major and career goals?

Cologer: I am a computer science major with a focus in data science. Being able to do front-end development in a professional setting really is sharpening my coding skills and teaching me how to present code in a corporate environment. 

UMBC News: What’s it been like to intern virtually?

Cologer: My experience so far has been excellent! It can be a little harder to communicate effectively in a virtual environment. Networking is definitely different as it’s harder to coordinate a time to meet over email then being able to ask someone to grab lunch or coffee in person. Luckily, I am in a field where I am able to work effectively in a telework environment. 

UMBC News: What has been the most rewarding part of your internship so far? 

Cologer: I’m enjoying being able to work for a great company, and learn more about the world of software development. 

Fostering connections in Baltimore’s art community

Amelia Torres ‘22, media and communications studies, is interning at Maryland Art Place (MAP) in Baltimore, where she is helping with everything from communications and web upkeep, to assisting with the behind-the-scenes organization of virtual exhibits. Torres is responsible for helping draft social media posts, which are important for keeping local artists aware of opportunities that MAP and other galleries in Baltimore offer.

Amelia Torres working at her virtual internship from her grandparents’ house. Photo courtesy of Torres.

Her internship is entirely virtual, but she says that her supervisor has made community-building a priority among the interns. Torres learned about the internship at MAP from Kacie Lawrence. After graduation, Torres plans to combine her passion for organization and communication in a career in public health policy. She is considering pursuing a master’s degree in social work. 

UMBC News: What kinds of projects did you work on during your internship?

Torres: The task of creating and organizing Google documents and folders was very important because it helped MAP keep track of all the artists that have participated in exhibitions during 2020. I also was able to help my fellow interns, and Caitlin Gill, program manager and registry coordinator at MAP, with cross-checking artist information for [MAP’s] “Out of Order” online auction. It was important to make sure that artists’ names were spelled correctly and that there were dimensions for their artwork so people bidding online knew exactly where they could put their newly purchased artwork! Lastly, I was also able to research artist opportunities to keep the Resource Bulletin on the MAP website updated for August.

UMBC News: How has completing your internship virtually impacted the connections that you’ve been able to establish? 

Torres: This internship was conducted entirely online, which left out the opportunity to meet my fellow interns, but Gill utilized Google Chat, which allowed us to help each other and to communicate whenever we needed. The on-boarding process included watching training videos that helped me learn how to edit and update our website, and how to link external sources when posting on the Resource Bulletin. I find that the pandemic changed this internship slightly because if I was physically at MAP, I would have been able to help greet guests and even help Gill when she was taking photos of the exhibits.

The lobby of the Maryland Art Place (MAP). Photo courtesy of Torres.

UMBC News: What was the most rewarding part of your internship?

Torres: I find the most rewarding part of this internship was being a part of an organization that is diverse and inclusive. MAP is creative in the kinds of exhibitions it presents such as “Merkin Dream” or the “SEEN: 20 Years of Baltimore Music Photography” exhibition. MAP shares history in a modern way and I was totally psyched to be a part of that. It’s also an organization that supports Baltimore artists and other art galleries in Baltimore. I also feel it is important to mention that Gill really helped modify the internship to my interests…[like] looking into opportunities that local artists can participate in.

Exploring the machine learning industry

As a graduate student, Hao Chen, Ph.D. ‘20, electrical engineering, is spending the summer interning at Intel Corporation. He was supposed to be in California, but due to COVID-19 he is working remotely from Baltimore. At UMBC, Chen’s research focuses on machine learning and signal processing. The internship at Intel appealed to Chen because he wanted to see what machine learning looks like in the industry.

Hao Chen. Photo courtesy of Chen.

UMBC News: What tasks and projects are you working on during your internship?

Chen: During the internship, I have two tasks: one is building the data generation model related to radar, wireless sensing, and signal processing systems; the other one is doing some research on developing state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms and implementing them. In other words, math and coding are important to this position.

UMBC News: Can you talk about what your internship has been like? How has completing the internship virtually impacted the connections that you’ve been able to establish with folks where you’re interning?

Chen: The most valuable experience is, when I fell behind in the schedule, I learned how to get better teamwork to make up the lost time. Because of this remote-working situation, I did not communicate well with my mentor at the beginning. 

Not only my mentor, but the whole team, is very supportive and gives me suggestions. That is very surprising and encouraging to me. In this virtual internship, I learned the importance of contacting the mentor more frequently. There would be very little interaction, and they cannot see you, if you are quiet.

UMBC News: What has been the most rewarding part of your internship so far? 

Chen: This internship helped me understand industrial teamwork better and cowork with others better. The managers/team leaders in the industry play an important role in the team. They need to be strict with the results and give a clear direction on how to get the product. The team members cooperate with each other and make the most of the time.

Exploring both sides of the courtroom

For the past two semesters, Rehman Liaqat ‘23, political science and global studies, interned at the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. This experience, Liaqat says, allowed him to understand the judicial system from one perspective, but he also wanted to get a more well-rounded experience in the courtroom.

“As I am a member of [UMBC’s] ‘community of inquiring minds,’ I wanted to know more and to do more,” he explains, which led him to his current internship with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (OPD) in Salisbury, MD. The Office of the Public Defender has jurisdiction in four counties and manages cases from felonies to misdemeanors, and also provides counsel for people who are unable to afford private services. 

Liaqat plans to pursue a law career, and hopes to make a difference by working against social injustice.

Rehman Liaqat. Photo courtesy of Liaqat.

UMBC News: What have you been working on during your internship? How has working virtually changed the experience?

Liaqat: Part of the daily routine at the office includes following assistant public defenders through dockets, which are multiple scheduled court hearings at a certain time in the district court, and observing trials for more serious offenses in the circuit court. Along with experiencing how real cases are conducted and proceeded, I am also working on confidential projects, and am an acting research assistant for case briefings and [I am] assisting with ongoing trials.

My first few days were beyond overwhelming. Somehow, it felt like the “good” kind of overwhelming. Time would fly by, and I would still be motivated to think about future cases and ongoing trials that I could assist with. Along with the experience, I’ve met individuals who I’d now call my mentors as they are not just helping me understand and interpret the law but actually practice it.

Rehman Liaqat outside the State of Maryland courthouse.. Photo courtesy of Liaqat.

UMBC News: Can you talk about how the pandemic has impacted your experience? 

Liaqat: Although some resources for the office have been restored, many ongoing trials and proceedings have been postponed until October or mid-November due to the outbreak and employees are encouraged to impose minimum contact, wear masks, and try to not stay in the office for too long. My first few weeks at the office involved work that was mostly virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions, but things are improving and we’re staying optimistic.

UMBC News: What has been the most rewarding part of your internship so far?

Liaqat: The most rewarding aspect of the internship has been the clients I meet every day while working with public defenders. I’m not just learning about their stories and what’s going on in their lives, but also helping them through some of their darkest days. It’s an honor and a privilege to be involved and to make a difference every day. 

Expanding skills to prepare for a career in medicine

Sarron Seyoum ‘21, biological sciences, is eager to learn as much as she can about research. Over the summer, she interned at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET), a University System of Maryland research institute that includes faculty from UMBC, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Seyoum learned about this internship opportunity during a meeting with Susan Hindle, assistant director of internships and employment at the UMBC Career Center. After graduation, Seyoum plans to pursue a career in medicine.

Sarron Seyoum. Photo courtesy of Seyoum.

UMBC News: What tasks and projects are you working on during your internship? 

Seyoum: Right now we are working on determining the biodiversity of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by using both sequence and video data. I was using COXI DNA barcodes to determine the biodiversity of the metazoic population within the Baltimore Harbor in hopes of learning their role in the harbor. The general practical use of determining biodiversity would be to better understand the harbor and its ecological problems so, in the long run, we could come up with solutions to clean up the harbor using natural means.

UMBC News: How did your internship change due to the pandemic?

Seyoum: Due to the pandemic our internship has been moved online which means we do not get to experience sequencing or data collection in the wet labs, so instead we get to do bioinformatics. We perform most of our work through daily Zoom meetings along with various websites that help us determine the taxonomy of our sequences.

UMBC News: What has been the most rewarding part of your internship so far?

Seyoum: Our mentors have especially been extremely patient and considerate of the different levels of education everyone has. I’m hoping to continue working alongside them during the fall and maybe spring semester as this has been a great experience and I believe I can learn more.

Banner image: A person typing on a computer. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

In their work with communities in Baltimore, the Latino Racial Justice Circle (LRJC) observed a recurring issue: immigrant, white American, and African American communities share faith-based spaces but rarely engage in community dialogue. As a result, members of these communities may never get to know each other – or may even live in fear of each other. 

Through a partnership with LRJC, UMBC’s Felipe Filomeno, professor of political science and global studies, a member of LRJC, and Tania Lizarazo, assistant professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication and global studies, worked to develop, design, execute, evaluate, and disseminate the Honest Conversations on Immigration project. Through a course of dialogue, interviews, and digital storytelling, the program aims to foster dialogue between U.S.-born citizens and immigrants.

“Our goal as researchers was to use dialogue and digital stories as two ways to bring different communities together around religion, race, and immigration,” explains Filomeno, “and through that process create the potential to change the relationships within individuals, and between communities and society for the better.”

Community intersections

The Latino Racial Justice Circle (LJRC) is a volunteer, faith-based, immigrant support group based in Baltimore. It funds legal services, scholarships, and advocacy for federal immigration reform on behalf of Latino communities. This new project – similar to one addressing racism that has been implemented in more than 18 Catholic parishes in Baltimore – aims to bring faith-based groups from different backgrounds together to reveal their commonalities and build on shared strengths.

“We fear what we don’t know. And what we need to learn is vast,” shares Ryan Settler, president of the Maryland Chapter of Call To Action (CTA), a progressive social justice organization that created the Racial Justice Circle (RJC ) five years ago. “Immigrant and refugee stories in the media leave us confused, concerned, and even fearful.  Honest Conversations begins to address those concerns.”

Through the Honest Conversations projects, volunteers from the LRJC, immigrants, and U.S.-born citizens in faith communities agree to engage in dialogue about perceptions of immigration and race. These initial steps towards understanding highly politicized issues can lead to collective action for racial justice and immigrant rights. 

“Our project crosses boundaries between the humanities and the social sciences, academia and community, between immigrants and U.S.-born citizens, inner-city and suburbs,” explains Filomeno.

https://youtu.be/YFAKEE-X3EQ

Defining dialogue

The goal of the Maryland Humanities-funded project is for communities to move from confusion and anger to collaboration. For that to happen, participants first took part in two group dialogues consisting of 12-14 members from three faith-based communities. The dialogues were followed by the collection and sharing of personal experiences of religion, race, and immigration in Baltimore through digital storytelling. Both processes centered around the power of community dialogue to create respectful places in which difficult conversations might be had.

“Dialogue is a process of listening to others with the purpose of understanding. It does not aim to pass judgment, ‘just talk,’ mediate, debate, or negotiate,” explains Filomeno. He led the scientific implementation of structured dialogue and provided a framework for active listening. He also served as the facilitator at four churches in and around Baltimore: St. Ann’s Catholic Church; St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church; Church of the Annunciation; and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church.

“Because the dialogues happened in a familiar shared faith space the participants began with prayer, which was an entry point into a shared experience,” explains Filomeno. “I was then able to support where the participants wanted to take the conversation and guide them through clarifications,” he reflects.

Giuliana Valencia, co-chair for the LRJC, found the structured talks powerful and hopes other faith-based organizations will begin the program in their communities. “We recognize dialogue is the best way to change the human heart,” Valencia shares. “No matter how controversial the topic, you can always find common ground.”

Dialogue through digital storytelling

Digital storytelling is another key aspect of community-engaged research because it shifts the focus from the researcher creating information towards information being created by the community.

“Collaborative audiovisual pieces can share personal perspectives. These not only complement academic writing but help disrupt mainstream narratives as the only sources of knowledge,” explains Lizarazo. They can also create new ways for academics to think about primary sources. “Digital stories can serve as primary sources in different fields because they engage audiences and give access in ways writing doesn’t.” 

This type of community-based digital storytelling also addresses the issue of access. Lizarazo explains how academic journals, while useful in academic circles, also limit who shares in the knowledge. The power of digital storytelling is in its accessibility – often opening spaces for nonacademic conversations through social media networks. “These stories where the narrative and the message is controlled by the community member can be used for pedagogical and research purposes,” notes Lizarazo. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PNZi3PyZyE

The digital stories Lizarazo helped create for Honest Conversations on Immigration present personal experiences of faith, race, and immigration in Baltimore. Some delve into the first reactions of relocation to Baltimore. Others focus on employment experiences as well as how faith-based organizations supported their transition into Baltimore.

The research also shows lived experience is linked to scholarship and the context in which it’s produced, explains Lizarazo, who brings a personal component to her work. “As a Colombian immigrant, I understand first-hand global hierarchies of passports that affects mobility. I also know how stereotypes affect people’s daily life and recognize the privilege a tourist, student, and work visa brings.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5AzE_wQszA&authuser=1

Romi Pal ‘20, assisted Lizarazo in recording, transcribing, and producing the video testimonials along with a multimedia story for the overall project. Pal appreciated the opportunity to see the theories about race and immigration, learned through her global studies and political science majors, play out first-hand in a unique and relevant project.

Similar to Lizarazo, Pal was drawn to the project because of her immigrant background. “The dialogue emphasized how immigrant communities are not a monolith,” notes Pal. “As the daughter of immigrants myself, it made me feel thankful for the sacrifices my parents made when they came to the U.S. Baltimore still has a long way to improve race relations within religious communities.” 

Lessons from Baltimore communities help others 

After the talks, Filomeno and Lizarazo presented the research results to the general public at the Enoch Pratt Southeast Anchor Library in Highlandtown. The data revealed that private structured group dialogues had great advantages.

With the support of faith leaders and in collaboration with familiar community organizations, Honest Conversations on Immigration helped facilitate critical dialogue about controversial topics in a respectful manner. Participants also developed empathy toward each other and organized a multi-parish potluck as an initial step to collaborate across differences.

This initial project serves as a foundation for organizations across the United States who are working with similar issues and need support. Filomeno has created a digital guide for communities outside of Baltimore to implement their own Honest Conversations on Immigration project.

“As xenophobic discourses become mainstream,” notes Lizarazo, “I’m committed to learning and collaborating with members of immigrant communities. I want to help produce knowledge and show the nuances of our experiences.”

Learn more about Honest Conversations on September 10, 4 – 5:30 p.m., in the Theatre Rehearsal Space of the Performance Arts and Humanities Building (PAHB 127) at UMBC.

Banner image: (L-R) Pal getting ready to record and Lizarazo storyboarding with participant.  All images and digital stories courtesy of the Honest Conversations project.