“I want to pursue a career in economics to inform policy that can dismantle structural barriers to economic equality for immigrant communities,” says Evan Avila a junior majoring in economics and political science.

“As a first-generation American from a Mexican-Peruvian immigrant family, I understand well how mastery of English is fundamental to economic prosperity in this country,” Avila says. “Through the Esperanza Center,” he explains, reflecting on a community group he maintains a strong connection with, “I help my community refine their English skills to better defend their rights as essential participants in U.S. economic growth.”

Now, he’ll be even better positioned to do this work. Avila, a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, has just been named a 2019 recipient of the distinguished Harry S. Truman Scholarship, an affirming recognition of both his achievements and his potential.

Avila becomes the fourth Truman Scholar in UMBC history. He follows Alicia Wilson ‘04, political science, who was selected in 2003 and now serves as a senior vice president and senior legal counsel for Port Covington Investments.

“It is thrilling to welcome Evan into the Truman Scholarship Program. I have had the pleasure of having dinner with him and entrusted with knowing his dreams,” says Wilson. “This award is a huge step in the direction of fulfilling his vision to help some of the most vulnerable populations realize their dreams.”

After an intensive application and panel interview process, Avila was chosen for one of just sixty scholar positions out of 840 applicants nationwide. Now, he joins a network, built over the past 40 years, of over 3,000 scholars dedicated to public service in the United States and around the world. These past recipients now serve in leadership positions at the highest levels.

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The award grants Avila $30,000 toward a competitive graduate school of his choice. In addition, scholars gain access to continuous leadership development programs, such as the Truman Scholars Leadership Week and the Summer Institute. Scholars also benefit from mentorship by top leaders in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, public and private educational institutions, and advocacy organizations.

UMBC has a rigorous selection process to nominate a student for a Truman Scholarship. It begins with recruitment from scholars programs, research initiatives, and departments across campus. April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships, guides a committee that works with candidates. They prioritize the most important factor for Truman applicants: their ability to demonstrate a strong potential as a change agent in their chosen field.

“Evan has taken on endeavors that some students might not see as exciting-—income tax preparation, working for the U.S. Census Bureau, being an English language tutor, and writing policy proposals about retirement—and turned them into deeply meaningful experiences,” reflects Householder. “His work is inextricably linked to empowering people that are invisible to many: immigrants, retirees, and the poor.”

Dreams, words, actions

Avila will spend his senior year finalizing his law school applications. He plans to pursue both a J.D. degree and a master’s of law in taxation, to specialize in taxation and employee benefits law. His goal is to work for the IRS before informing policy on Capitol Hill.

Avila began to prepare for these opportunities last summer as an intern at the U.S. Census Bureau and Treasury Department. This summer he will begin to fulfill his dream of working in Capitol Hill as an intern in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

He will also present his winning iOME challenge policy proposal, Rethinking Millennial Retirement: Policy Recommendations for a Gig Economy, at the inaugural Latinxs Making Money Moves Conference hosted by Latinos for a Secure Retirement coalition in Washington, D.C. The proposal provides innovative policies to help millennials save for retirement. It will also soon become course material at UMBC in the Erickson School of Aging Studies course How Boomers are Revolutionizing Aging.

As workers, families, and students face unpredictable retirement, Avila, who has worked with these communities, takes these issues personally. “These trends will lead to greater wealth inequality and division,” says Avila. “My driving ambition is to combine the intersections of financial services, taxation, and employee benefits to address this significant challenge.”

A purpose-driven life

UMBC’s Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars program has nurtured Avila’s desire to serve communities most affected by structural inequalities. Notably, the program requires scholars to engage in, and reflect on, applied learning opportunities. Avila began by volunteering as a tax preparer with the UMBC Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which helps low-income households prepare their taxes for free.

During his sophomore year, when VITA’s leadership was graduating, Avila secured funding to continue the program and became its president and site manager. This year VITA reached a milestone by helping 500 clients for the season, 145 more clients than last year.

While he worked in the VITA program, Avila received support from the Shriver Center, which provides opportunities for engaged scholarship and applied learning, for his work at the Esperanza Center.  The Shriver Center acknowledged Avila as a France-Merrick Scholar for his commitment to service, leadership, and civic engagement on the UMBC campus and in Baltimore City. He is also a member of UMBC’s Honors College and board member of UMBC’s Financial Literacy Education Committee.

Avila credits Arthur Johnson, provost emeritus and former director of the Sondheim program, for his mentorship in shaping his path in public service. Johnson has written and spoken often about the meaningful legacy of Walter Sondheim, the program’s namesake. In 2015, he wrote in USM’s The Faculty Voice, “Mr. Sondheim’s career was an ideal model for illustrating the values of public service and dedication to the public interest.”

Johnson explained that Sondheim “led Baltimore City school integration and the transformation of Baltimore’s inner harbor.” He wrote, “We want our students to understand what a ‘life of purpose’ looks like and the good it can accomplish, no matter their chosen career path.”

In becoming a Truman Scholar, Avila joins other Sondheim Scholars who have been recognized through prestigious honors. Rosa Rada ‘17, food systems policy, was a Truman Scholar finalist and became a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow through the Congressional Hunger Center. In 2016, Zainab Alkebsi ’09, political science, was admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court through a historic swearing-in of deaf and hard of hearing attorneys. Ari Ne’eman ’10, political science, co-founder of the Autism Self-Advocacy Network, was appointed by President Obama to the National Council on Disability. The Financial Times named Greg Lowe ’05, political science, among its Top 100 LGBT+ executives in 2017, as global head of resilience and sustainability at Aon.

The Sondheim program also has strong global reach and regional impact, with seven Fulbright Student Scholars and three Newman Civic Fellows.

“In the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program, we seek to support students who want to live impactful lives,” says Laura Hussey, associate professor of political science, and director of the program. “Evan is already doing that and with great excellence, integrity, and care for people.”

Banner image (l to r): Simon Stacey, director of the Honors College, and members of the UMBC Truman Selection Committee: Lori Hardesty, associate director of the Shriver Center; Avila; David Hoffman, director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life; Householder; Brian Souders, Fulbright program advisor.

UMBC Mock Trial has finished the most successful season in its eight-year history, placing eighth at the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in Philadelphia. This impressive ranking concludes a season where over 750 teams competed across the nation. Sophomore Sydney Gaskins received the All-American Attorney Award, the highest individual honor in college mock trial.

The team swept Penn State in the first round and tied with University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University in the second and third rounds, respectively. In the fourth round, UMBC fought Yale University, the eventual champion, to a draw, narrowly missing advancing to the final round.

Each round highlighted the team’s preparation and allowed for individuals to demonstrate expertise gained over a rigorous season. “I am so honored to make my community proud and represent not only our program but UMBC as a whole in such a positive way,” says Gaskins.

UMBC’s leading Mock Trial A-Team includes Gaskins, ’21, political science; Linnea Collins ’21, global studies; Thomas Kiley ’21, chemistry; Ethan Hudson ’21, English; Natalie Murray ’21, biological sciences; Nihir Nanavaty ’19, political science; Thomas Azari ‘21, individualized study, and Amrita Sarma ‘22, psychology. The team also included four non-competing alternates: Lauren Wotring ‘22, political science; Amanda Hampton ‘22, biological science; Wendy Zhang ‘22, economics and psychology; and Kaitlyn Kauffman ’20, political science.

“In addition to earning an All-American Award at Nationals, Sydney earned two attorney awards at the national Opening Round Championship in 2019,” explains head coach Ben Garmoe, who also coached the first UMBC team to compete at nationals two years ago. “I lost count of how many coaches came up to me after the round and marveled at how Sydney is one of the greatest competitors they’ve ever seen. I am extremely proud of her and the team.”

Building success together

The UMBC Mock Trial program began in 2011. Ben Garmoe ’13, political science, a litigation attorney in Baltimore, co-founded the intellectual sports team with Travis Bell ’14, psychology and political science, a public defender in Alabama. Throughout the years the program’s success has drawn highly diverse, skilled, and committed student scholars, some of whom, like Garmoe, return as coaches during or after law school.

Current coaches include Summer Akhtar ’18, financial economics and political science; Dylan Elliott ’17, history; and Kayla Smith ’17, interdisciplinary studies, all members of the first UMBC Mock Trial team to go to nationals in 2017. Additional alumni coaches are Bell; Zachary Garmoe ’17, environmental studies; Jaedon Huie ’18, financial economics; and Cheyenne Smith ’16, biological sciences and psychology. Whitney Whilder, an attorney at Bodey law firm in Baltimore City, also supports the team as a coach.

“As a competitor, qualifying for Nationals for the first time was incredible. UMBC Mock Trial was the underdog,” recalls Akhtar, now a student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. “That is no longer the case. As a coach, I am proud to see how students built a name for themselves as a formidable team competing and winning against the very best.”

Learning to manage challenges

For some A-Team members, the road to Philly began before UMBC. Hudson, Kiley, and Gaskins joined Mock Trial at Franklin High School. Hudson helped his team finish second out of over 120 teams in the 2016 state championship. He joined UMBC’s B-Team his freshman year and watched the A- team compete in Nationals in 2017. The following year Hudson earned a spot on the A-Team, and he was elected president two years later.

Mock Trial, for Hudson, is about following his dreams while managing severe anxiety. He says that his family, his teammates, and Garmoe have helped him to learn to manage his anxiety. “I take my victories where I can get them, day by day,” shares Hudson. “A win for me means being able to give a statement without twitches or body movements, or approaching someone whom I have anxiety to speak with.”

His hard work has paid off tremendously. In addition to developing coping strategies and gaining confidence, he’s also been honored for his work on the team with an All-Region Attorney award at the 2019 regional competition.

Hudson also now shares his strategies with his teammates and his students as a coach for three high school Mock Trial teams. He plans to follow in Garmoe and Akhtar’s footsteps and give back to UMBC as a coach after law school.

Mock Trial also helped Gaskins persevere through difficult times in high school and college, and instilled in her a desire to be a lawyer. “I found my voice in high school mock trial when I felt I had nowhere to turn,” says Gaskins. “College mock trial is much harder. It helped me strengthen my voice as a self-assured woman and speak up against society’s biases about how women should act.”

As Gaskins has gained confidence through the years, she has learned to enjoy and observe the impact of her performance, and to make calculated adjustments throughout the process.

“For me, this is like Division I sports,” Gaskins explains. “It’s extremely rigorous and competitive. Mock Trial demands a great deal of hard work, dedication, and commitment, to compete against some of the best teams and win. I always aim to win.”

Banner image: UMBC Mock Trial A-Team at AMTA 2019. All images courtesy of UMBC Mock Trial unless otherwise indicated.

UMBC Mock Trial took first in late January at Georgetown University’s 8th annual Hilltop Invitational Tournament, with UMBC’s A team finishing undefeated at 8-0. On the path to tournament victory, UMBC bested teams from George Washington University, Fordham University, and Hamilton College. The team scored over 100 points above competitors, including former national champions Yale and UVA, who scored second and fourth place respectively.

The winning team is made up of students from a broad range of majors and levels of competitive experience. They include Linnea Collins ’21, global studies; Kaitlyn Kauffman ’20, political science, Sydney Gaskins ’21, political science; Thomas Kiley ’19, chemistry; Ethan Hudson ’21, English; Natalie Murray ’21, biological sciences; and Nihir Nanavaty ’19, political science.

In addition to taking the number one spot, UMBC Mock Trial’s A-Team received two high-level individual awards. Sydney Gaskins earned Outstanding Attorney awards for both sides of the case, representing both plaintiff and defendant. Gaskins is still in her sophomore year, but has already earned several Mock Trial awards, and she is a finalist for Trial by Combat, an elite one-on-one Mock Trial national championship competition co-hosted by UCLA and Drexel University. Nihir Nanavaty received an Outstanding Witness award. (Above: first on the right.)

“The Georgetown University Tournament became the first time that UMBC Mock Trial ever maintained an undefeated record at a tournament. It was also the first time that an attorney from this program received two Outstanding Attorney Awards in one tournament,” explains Gaskins. “I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of history in the making for UMBC Mock Trial. I hope it inspires my team to continue to dream big and believe in ourselves. Anything is possible if you work hard.”

While UMBC Team A was in Washington, D.C., UMBC Teams B and C competed at the Blue Jay Invitational at Johns Hopkins University. These teams are composed primarily of students in their first year of college mock trial, and they performed well against tough competitors. Thomas Azari ’22, individualized study, won Outstanding Attorney. Zachary Linkins ’20, computer science, competing in his first tournament, won Outstanding Witness (pictured below).

In addition to Azari and Linkins, UMBC Team B also includes Lauren Wotring ’22, political science; Fernando Silva ’21, political science; Wendy Zhang ’22, economics and psychology; Amrita Sarma ’22, psychology; and Hannah Thomas ’22, computer science. UMBC Team C includes Amanda Hampton ’22, biological sciences; Alexis Stevenson ’21, history and political science; Tyler Pollock ’21, English; Flora Jeon ’21, biological sciences; Tumee Agogbuo ’22, media and communication studies; Brandon Henry ’20, computer science and interdisciplinary studies; Matthew Brown; Rocio Marquez ’22, mechanical engineering and social work; and Joselle Royer ’21, sociology.

Head coach Ben Garmoe ’13, political science, a litigation attorney in Baltimore, is extremely proud of UMBC’s three mock trial teams. For him, UMBC’s first-place finish at the Hilltop Invitational has special meaning. “I came as a transfer student to UMBC and co-founded the mock trial team with Travis Bell in 2011,” remembers Garmoe. “We competed at the tournament in 2013 and also won an award, so now we have come full circle.” Bell ’14, psychology and political science, is now a public defender in Alabama. Garmoe credits the success of UMBC Mock Trial to UMBC’s leadership in creating a rigorous and diverse academic environment where students from all backgrounds and all fields value critical thinking, rigor, and teamwork.

Along with a strong student commitment, UMBC Mock Trial’s success is also a result of dedicated coaches from the legal field, including several alumni. They include Summer Akhtar ’18, financial economics and political science; Travis Bell; Dylan Elliott ’17, history; Zachary Garmoe ’17, environmental studies; Cheyenne Smith ’16, biological sciences and psychology; and Kayla Smith ’17, interdisciplinary studies.

Finally, it wasn't just our students out there winning ballots and awards; assistant coach and former Vice-President Kayla Smith competed at the @H_T_A_A Medical-Legal Trial Competition. Kayla's @brooklynlaw team took second place, and Kayla won Best Closing Argument! pic.twitter.com/ao1S57kkIo

— UMBC Mock Trial (@UMBCMockTrial) December 15, 2018

“Our culture is outstanding. We even draw coaches not directly connected to UMBC,” says Garmoe. “Whitney Wilder, a former competitor at the College of Charleston and now an attorney at Bodie, Dolina, Hobbs, Friddell & Grenzer, P.C., brings important expertise and guidance to the team.”

“As someone who was a four-year competitor for the program and was the program’s president as a senior, I find weekends like this past one to be both rewarding and exciting,” says Dylan Rogers Elliott ’17, history. “I came through the program and have been able to come back and coach while in law school, and nothing makes me happier than seeing both the success and potential of the UMBC Mock Trial Program continue to grow.”

Elliott shares, “We have so much young talent now, throughout the program, and it really feels like we’re getting the foundation set for a really terrific run over the next few years. This past weekend really shows us the potential of our program and underscores just how bright the future is.”

Up next for the focused team is the Owings Mills Regional Tournament, which UMBC is co-hosting with Stevenson University. This will help the teams refine their approach and prepare for the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS), a national semifinal event hosted by the American Mock Trial Association where the nations 700 teams will compete. From there, they hope to advance to the national championship tournament in Philadelphia.

Fans can follow the team on their path to nationals through @UMBCmocktrial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Banner Image: UMBC Mock Trial trophies by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.  All other images are courtesy of UMBC Mock Trial.

UMBC is one of six universities nationwide selected to host the “Engaging Scientists in the Science and Religion Dialogue” project, administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). UMBC’s “Engaging Scientists” events will be held March 25 – 26, 2019, and will be open to the entire UMBC community.

The centerpiece will be a science engagement and communication workshop, run by staff of the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program. The interactive, three-hour workshop will focus on how STEM graduate students, established scientists, and science educators can engage with diverse (and especially with religious) communities about science in both formal and informal settings.

“An individual’s cultural background and worldview (which, for most Americans, includes faith) informs their perceptions of the role of science in society, and their opinions about a range of science and technology issues,” says Robert O’Malley, project director at DoSER. The DoSER program “offers scientists, educators, and communicators a range of evidence-based strategies, toolkits, and resources for engagement” with people of diverse religious backgrounds, he explains.

Springboard for conversation

Talking about faith and science is not always easy, nor does it come naturally to all scientists, even if they are people of faith themselves. “Some people see science and faith in harmony, but for others the two are discordant,” says Bill LaCourse, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, the program’s on-campus sponsor. He notes that this can set the stage for conflict, silence, and misunderstanding, which can only be resolved through dialogue.

To promote this dialogue, the organizers are developing a range of events for the UMBC community. On March 25, in addition to the workshop there will be a public panel featuring scientists and science communicators from a range of faith traditions, and an open-house style event where anyone can leave a written or video message recording their thoughts on the topic.

Partners from all three UMBC colleges are joining in the project. They will organize companion events for people to explore their thoughts on this topic more deeply within their on-campus communities.

A final component of the event is a Public Engagement Contest. Graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff who attend the workshop are eligible to enter the contest with a community partner outside of UMBC. DoSER will award $1,000 to up to four ongoing or proposed projects that demonstrate commitment to engaging with religious publics about science and technology. Entries are due April 15, giving participants time to be inspired by and reflect on the Engaging Scientists events. In addition to UMBC, other participating universities include Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, Texas State University, Indiana University, and Howard University.

More than one way to truth

Dean LaCourse and the UMBC co-organizers hope the March events will serve as a springboard to launch further discussion around science and faith and make the topic a more explicit part of UMBC’s mission to foster inclusive excellence.

Some scientists of faith may be reluctant to discuss their religious lives in an academic setting, LaCourse says. Yet some of the world’s greatest scientists have practiced some manner of religious faith without finding it in conflict with their work.

“20th century scholarship converged on the idea that no one approach to finding truth is sufficient or superior,” says Steve Freeland, director of UMBC’s Individualized Study Program and a Christian astrobiologist who has spoken internationally on the topic of science and faith.

“This gives all of us reasons for humility as we seek truth in our different ways,” Freeland says. “UMBC is blessed with such diversity in every imaginable dimension that it is an exciting place to experience a scholarly exploration of the interface between science and faith.”

That rich diversity creates many opportunities for UMBC community members to interact with people whose views differ from their own. “The path to acceptance of differing views starts with dialogue, which may be difficult without the proper words,” LaCourse says. “This program is a unique opportunity to help our campus begin the conversation.”

See more details about all UMBC Engaging Scientists events and register for the workshop and panel here.

Image: Faculty attending an interdisciplinary UMBC research forum on aging in May 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Artists, scientists, and social change agents from across UMBC presented the third annual GRIT-X talks on October 13, sharing their ideas and perspectives on stage in UMBC’s Dance Cube. “All our talks gave a different facet, a different beam of light, on what we do at UMBC,” said Vice President for Research Karl Steiner, who spearheaded the event.

The value of stories

Documentary filmmaker Richard Chisolm ’82, interdisciplinary studies, explained how many documentaries and reality television shows today are tightly scripted and controlled, and how, in contrast, he uses an in-the-moment style of filmmaking to produce films that honestly represent a microcosm of the larger story.

Through films like Cafeteria Man, focused on school food reform, and Gun Show, about an artist who makes sculptures of assault weapons out of found objects, Chisolm gives viewers an entry point into thorny issues. Each topic he tackles is a “huge iceberg, the tip of which is an hour documentary,” Chisolm says. “The noblest thing to do is to tell stories in a way that the tip of the iceberg represents the iceberg fairly.”

Manil Suri, mathematics, emphasized in his talk that storytelling can benefit disciplines beyond literature and film. “Stories underlie so much of what we do, including math and other STEM subjects,” he said.

Suri weaves together his passions for storytelling and math on a daily basis: He teaches a course with Michele Osherow, English, about the relationship between math and the humanities, and he’s written a novel, The Godfather of Numbers, that is a sort of creation story for mathematics. He’s using excerpts from it in his math classes this fall.

Suri also urges people who are less keen on mathematics to broaden their perspective of what math is. “Math is about more than calculations,” he says. “It’s about ideas, and ideas, such as infinity, can be enjoyed by everyone.”

Nicole King, American studies, enjoys listening to and learning from others’ stories, with a focus on residents of Baltimore City. After an accident totaled her Corolla in 2010, King decided to go carless, which, she says, removed a barrier to her truly listening to Baltimore. Through taking the bus and more closely connecting with Baltimore in other ways, King shared, “I started to really see the beauty—that cacophony of voices and sounds—that make a city a city.”

King’s research seeks to understand how Baltimore residents are responding to change across the city, with a particular focus on public markets like Lexington Market, and arts districts like Station North. Through that work, “I found listening, really listening, has been the most important, but also the most difficult, method I have used in my research,” she said. She creates opportunities for her students to “show up and listen” through immersive class projects.

Listening to her students has helped shape her teaching and research, too. “Give students the agency to shape projects,” she recommends. “They have good ideas and should be taken seriously.”

Doing things differently

Deborah Thompson Eisenberg ’91, political science, is a professor of law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, where she directs the Center for Dispute Resolution. She was motivated to pursue a law career because, she explained, “When our democracy encounters crisis, lawyers and the judiciary tend to step in to give voice to the powerless, enforce our laws and our Constitutional rights, and protect the most vulnerable.” However, over time, she reflected, “I’ve come to believe that if lawyers and judges truly want to foster a culture of conflict resolution, we need more than the power of the rule of law.”

Eisenberg began to focus on alternatives to traditional litigation: mediation and restorative justice practices, teaching our youth to “talk it out to work it out,” and teaching our politicians “to use consensus-building policies.” Conflict is inevitable and has been intensifying, Eisenberg argued, but “we can transform our culture of conflict to a culture of conflict resolution if we use all of our superpowers,” combining the rule of law, alternative dispute resolution, community connections, and education.

Disney’s Princess Tiana may not be a superhero, but, as the first black Disney princess, she is larger than life in the eyes of many young girls of color. Kimberly Moffitt, associate professor of language, literacy, and culture and Africana studies, discussed how Tiana broke the mold of the traditional Disney princess with her entrepreneurial, ambitious spirit in The Princess and the Frog. “Princess Tiana pushes the bounds of the princess trope and says, ‘No more. We can do this differently,’” Moffitt said.

However, Moffitt explained, Tiana is also an example of the “glass cliff,” a phenomenon in business where companies are more likely to hire women and people of color to leadership roles when those companies are in times of crisis and the risk of failure is highest. When Tiana came out in 2009, Disney hadn’t had a new princess-style protagonist since Mulan in 1998, and the brand was faltering. The Princess and the Frog didn’t achieve box office success itself, but, Moffitt argued, “Tiana created space for the next three princesses,” who all were more independent than their predecessors: Rapunzel in Tangled, Merida in Brave, and Moana in Moana. “Tiana was a catalyst to shift our perception of what a princess could look like—in skin tone as well as her actions.”

Eric Dyer ’95, professor of visual arts, shifts our perception of what moving pictures can be by reimagining the zoetrope, one of the original forms of motion picture. Zoetropes use a series of snapshots in a spinning cylinder to trick the mind into seeing a moving scene. “As an artist, I pick up the tactile and interactive zoetrope where it was abandoned 120 years ago,” Dyer said, “and continuously reinvent it to make films, interactive animated sculptures, and immersive installations.”

At GRIT-X, Dyer demonstrated his work for the audience and, for the first time, shared the story behind each piece. Attendees enjoyed frolicking onions and peppers and reflected on Dyer’s exploration of the industrial heydays of the U.S. and China. “Thank you for sharing this performance storytelling experience with me today,” Dyer shared as he closed. “There’s something very human about it that isn’t possible either virtually or remotely.”

Shifting the culture

Diane Bell McKoy ’73, social work and sociology, is the CEO of Associated Black Charities of Maryland. She used her GRIT-X talk as an opportunity to share a powerful personal story of seeking treatment for depression in a broken mental healthcare system. Systems in place in the United States, she argued, perpetuate stigma and fail to support a sense of self-worth for people of color, and she is working to change them.

McKoy’s work has a particular focus on closing the racial wealth gap. If wealth continues to accrue at current rates, it would take a black family 228 years to accrue as much wealth as a white family, McKoy said, and it would take a Latino family 84 years. McKoy encouraged attendees to “look at the world through a new lens” and be willing to question current systems, from employment to education to healthcare.

Shawn Bediako, psychology, is also interested in changing perceptions around race, with a focus on health and science. “Ideas about race can become inscribed in our minds if they’re repeated often enough,” he said at GRIT-X, using the example that many people seem to believe, incorrectly, that sickle cell disease is exclusive to black people.

Bediako went on to explain how race is a complex legal, social, and cultural construct that impacts people’s lives in dramatic ways. But he also shared that he has hope this can change, and that UMBC can develop leaders who will impact the way we think about race. “I feel confident that an institution like ours, with a commitment to inclusive excellence at all levels of the arts, humanities, and sciences,” he said, “can help…change this inscription and hopefully shift this paradigm.”

To close the program, Kavita Krishnaswamy ’07, computer science and mathematics, Ph.D. ’19, computer science, shared her work developing solutions to assist people with disabilities and mobility challenges. Krishnaswamy, who has spinal muscular atrophy, gave her presentation via a telepresence device that allows her to navigate the world from her home in Columbia, Maryland.

Krishnaswamy is the recipient of the Google Lime Scholarship, was named a Microsoft Fellow, and was included among the Baltimore Sun’s “25 Women to Watch.” She is currently working on projects including a bed that allows people with mobility challenges to adjust their position along many different axes of movement, and a robot to enable people who previously could not use the bathroom unassisted to do so independently.

“We have a lot of problems in the world, and I really feel that robotics can solve many of those problems,” Krishnaswamy said. “So in that way we can really promote social progress and elevate the global living standards. That, in turn, can increase the quality of life for people with disabilities, seniors, and their families.”

One of her closing remarks echoed the sentiments of others at GRIT-X. “Even though our perspectives are many and diverse, our vision is one,” she concluded. Whether dismantling stigma, finding new ways to connect students with intimidating subjects, or changing how we think about conflict, all the speakers emphasized how the UMBC community can reach together to improve the world of tomorrow.

Banner image: Manil Suri, mathematics, at GRIT-X. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Explore video of all GRIT-X talks on the Research at UMBC website. 

Six finalists pitched creative business ideas to a panel of judges during UMBC’s fifth annual Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition (CBIC), held on April 25, 2018 in the new UMBC Event Center. The business ideas ranged from online tools and apps to products with medical applications.

The Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition is for undergraduate and graduate students who are serious about starting a business, explains Vivian Armor ’73, American studies, director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship at UMBC. Throughout the course of the competition, each team is paired with an industry mentor who provides guidance and professional advice ahead of a final Shark Tank-style event. The structure of the event and its focus on mentorship are inspired by the vision of entrepreneur Greg Cangialosi ‘96, English, reflecting on his own undergraduate days at UMBC and what he has learned in the years since then about moving from an idea to a successful company.

Miranda Marvel, Ph.D. ‘19, marine estuarine environmental sciences, shared SensorFish, which took third place in the competition. She explained how fish mortality due to stress is a common problem that fish owners face. SensorFish are special type of zebrafish bred to change color based on common stressors that fish commonly encounter, such as poor water quality or particular illnesses. Because the fish change color immediately when they are experiencing a problem in the tank, their owners can more quickly work to fix the problem, keeping the fish healthy.

Second place was awarded to Matrix Cast, an idea presented by Flo de Sande ‘18, mechanical engineering. Matrix Cast is a plastic cast that can be altered to fit all arm shapes and sizes. de Sande explained that Matrix Cast offers a low-cost cast option for physicians working in remote or low-resource locations, such as communities served through Doctors Without Borders or military installations in conflict zones. The cast is a “pressure vessel” type design, which, while made from plastic, is very sturdy, explained de Sande during her business pitch.

GermoSense, a rapid sepsis-detection test developed by Mustafa Al-Adhami, M.S. ‘15, mechanical engineering, Ph.D. ‘19, mechanical engineering, received first place in the competition. Sepsis is a life-threatening blood infection that, if not treated promptly, can lead to serious complications and even death in mere days. Currently, the test that medical professionals rely on to determine antibiotic efficacy for sepsis patients can take several days to yield results. Because of this challenge, physicians often start patients who they suspect have sepsis on broad spectrum antibiotics, which can possibly help if the patient has sepsis but might be unnecessary and ineffective for people facing other medical conditions that are presenting similarly to sepsis, or in the case of antibiotic resistance.

Al-Adhami explained that GermoSense is able to determine whether a patient has sepsis within one hour, which can lead to shorter hospital stays, help prevent antibiotic resistance by avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use, and reduce medical costs. GermoSense costs approximately $100 to use, compared to comparable tests that can cost $170 or more. At last year’s CBIC, Al-Adhami presented GermoSense, then at an earlier stage of development, and took third place in the competition.

The contest’s additional three finalists included UniVerse by Allison Gross ‘18, certificate in English as a second language; Frey Custom Cues by Christopher Bodan ‘19, interdisciplinary studies, and Michelle Barrow ‘08, gender and women’s studies, and marketing coordinator in the division of professional studies at UMBC, and James Baker; and Skanaroo by Vincent Celebrado-Royer ‘17, business technology administration, and Tyler Little ‘20, computer science. 

For Cangialosi, the event was not just about identifying top projects, but, more broadly, about helping young entrepreneurs move toward success one step at a time. Taking in the creativity and energy of the event, he reflected, “This room is filled with dreams and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Banner image: Mustafa Al-Adhami, M.S. ‘15, mechanical engineering, Ph.D. ‘19, mechanical engineering, left; Greg Cangialosi ’96, English; Flo de Sande ’18, mechanical engineering; and Miranda Marvel ‘Ph.D. ‘19, marine estuarine environmental sciences, after the competition. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the classroom teacher population is more than 75% women — and over 80% white. As school systems examine how best to create classrooms where all students feel represented, engaged, and included, UMBC’s education department is working to address this and other inequalities in education through innovative programs, initiatives, partnerships, and as a platform to amplify critical issues in education.

On January 22, the department will host “Teaching and Reaching Black Boys in America: A Conversation,” a panel discussion based on the book The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys. President Freeman Hrabowski will introduce author and educator Eddie Moore, Jr., who will lead an interactive discussion with several contributors to the book, including Jack Hill and Debby Irving, both renowned nationally for their work in race and education.

“The book furthers critical conversations about how whiteness, even enacted by teachers of color, prevents educators from seeing and noticing the brilliance of Black boys,” reflects Keisha Allen, assistant professor of education and the UMBC lead in the Learning Center partnership with Baltimore County Public Schools. “Failing to recognize and build upon the talents and lived experiences of Black boys is a disservice to them, constrains their potential, and is really a national loss.”

It is Allen’s hope that by addressing these topics in the curriculum, evaluation of pre-service teachers, and department programming, education as a whole will also attract Black men who want to become teachers. “In order to fully value and appreciate Black boys and men, teacher candidates need many opportunities to learn from and interact with them as equals before becoming a teacher and assuming a position of power over Black boys,” says Allen.

UMBC education graduates are expected to respect diversity, be leaders in their schools, and advocate for democracy and social change. “This includes the ability to address their own beliefs and attitudes that may perpetuate the injustices and inequalities that persist in our society, and have the courage and wisdom to recognize racism and injustice and to become agents of change,” states Linda Oliva, assistant professor of secondary education.

Faculty across campus engage in the rigorous development and discussion of culturally responsive pedagogy in all undergraduate and graduate programs. This commitment extends beyond teacher preparation to Professional Development Network Sites in twenty-eight schools across all counties which help engage teachers in dialogue and in planning culturally-responsive classrooms and instruction.

UMBC also participates in interdisciplinary collaborations where culturally responsive pedagogy is applied through partnerships like Lakeland Elementary and Middle School with the Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program and the new Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities with Baltimore City Public Schools; the STEM partnership with Howard County Public Schools, the STEAM partnership with Digital Harbor Foundation and programs like Hour of Code, the Path Before Me, and the development of the Valuable Voices App that helps teachers create linguistically inclusive classrooms.

Christine Mallinson, professor of language literacy and culture (LLC) and co-creator of the Valuable Voices app has worked with other linguists and educators since 2009 to provide workshops and trainings to hundreds of K-12 teachers across the United States. Through her outreach, she has found it especially important for white female teachers to understand how they communicate with students, especially Black male students, in order to establish strong relationships and create a welcoming environment across gender and racial boundaries.

“This is important for everyone who is an educator—not only K-12 teachers, but also those of us who teach in college and university settings, including here at UMBC,” says Mallinson. “ Each of us must bring our intentions as well as our actions to the task of making education inclusive, supportive, and culturally sustaining for our students.”

Events where participants can reflect, plan, and implement the ideas shared during the panel are already scheduled and will continue throughout the year. The first follow-up will be held at the BCPS Learning Center with faculty from the Arbutus Learning Center to further discuss and plan with teachers and members of the BCPS Office of Equity and Cultural Proficiency, which promotes support for equity and fairness for students and teachers in all academic programs. The second will be led by the UMBC education department’s diversity committee, with teacher candidates, administration, faculty, staff, and members of partnerships schools.

The UMBC teaching master’s degree program is accepting applications for summer and fall. Educators interested in creating culturally inclusive classrooms in Maryland can attend the Maryland Education Recruitment Consortium’s 10th annual Teach Maryland Fair on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at UMBC.

Banner image: UMBC students volunteer at Lakeland. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC has marked the start of summer by hosting statewide kickoff events for Maryland’s newest group of public service scholars, who will serve at state agencies and nonprofits over the coming months.

The state’s four public service scholar initiatives include the Governor’s Summer Internship Program, Maryland Nonprofit Leadership Program, MDOT Fellows Program, and Public Service Law Fellowship. This year, UMBC hosted welcome events on June 5th for scholars from the first two programs, including students from UMBC, Duke University, the University of Delaware, Penn State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Bowie State University, Johns Hopkins University, and several others, who have all been paired with mentors at leading institutions and agencies in Maryland.

Shriver Center Peaceworker alumna Meghann Shutt, M.P.P. ’11, public policy, offered an opening keynote for the Walter Sondheim Jr. Maryland Nonprofit Leadership Program, which combines full-time paid nonprofit placement under a senior-level mentor with research and reflection exercises, training seminars, and networking opportunities.

Shutt currently serves as chief learning officer for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. Her remarks focused on advice she has found helpful in moving forward professionally from her own time as a program fellow, as well as how her understanding about what leadership looks like has evolved over time. “This summer I encourage you to think about what leadership means to you, but don’t fixate too much on a single definition,” she told the students, “because…it will grow and change as you grow and change throughout your career.”

That process of professional growth in a public service career can also include moments of self-doubt about one’s impact and leadership abilities. However, Shutt argued, “The world’s most amazing people always worry that they aren’t enough.”

To move past those difficult moments, she suggested connecting with great leaders to learn from; thinking several steps ahead in your work; knowing when to protect your time and energy by saying “no” to a project; communicating honestly with those around you; appreciating coworkers as full, complex people; and carefully assessing what is and isn’t working, so you can know when to end or transform a project.

In public service work, as in science, “every failure gets you closer to success,” said Shutt. “Be willing to learn. Be willing to be wrong. Be uncomfortable if you want to grow.”

Five UMBC students will serve as Nonprofit Leadership Fellows for 2017. Markya Reed ’18, psychology, will work with CASA of Baltimore, leading the development of LGBT and teen parent resource guides for programs that train foster care advocates. Sarah Bicknell ’18, environmental studies and philosophy, will intern with the Baltimore Community ToolBank, which lends tools to charitable groups. Ciara Christian, M.A. ’18, applied sociology, will assist the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance with Baltimore Data Day, where over 300 organizations come together to learn how they can use data to support Baltimore communities. Rebecca Mann ’19, social work and anthropology, will work with the Family Crisis Center of Baltimore County, and Noah Owens ’19, information systems, will serve with Playworks Maryland.

The Governor’s Summer Internship Program, the state’s first formal public service scholars program, is now in its 30th year. The program includes full-time paid placement with a government agency under a senior-level mentor, seminars focused on state government and policymaking, events and meetings to connect with state leaders, and an opportunity to research and prepare policy analysis and recommendations to present to the governor.

Three UMBC students will participate in the selective program this year. Carrie Cook ’18, English and political science, will work with the Maryland Higher Education Commission, where she wants to “learn more about educational access and talk with students about the opportunities afforded by higher education.” Noah Jaques ’18, history, will work through the Maryland Historical Trust to make historic markers more publicly accessible, particularly markers relating to African American history. Victor Mercogliano ’18, history, working in the Governor’s Office, is particularly excited to “learn about public administration and how to help the administration be as efficient as possible.”

Four additional UMBC students were named MDOT Fellows at a program kick off later in the week, held at the headquarters of the Maryland Department of Transportation. They include Idrissou Adam ’18, social work, in the Motor Vehicles Administration’s Aggressive Driving and Motorcycle Safety Unit; Janiqua Dunn ’17, psychology, working with the Maryland Transportation Authority’s deputy chief financial officer; Ethan Griffin ’18, interdisciplinary studies, working with the urban systems design team at the Washington Area Transit Office; and Jaspreet Kaur ’17 information systems, with the Maryland Aviation Administration’s Office of Safety and Risk Management.

For all of these students, this summer will be a unique opportunity to connect with the “many talented professionals committed to important issues” who are working in government, shared Maryland Secretary of Disabilities Carol Beatty, keynote speaker at the Governor’s Summer Internship Program kickoff. Beatty also thanked all of the mentors who have committed their time to supporting and guiding the interns, recognizing that government needs to “consistently attract the best and brightest in order to best serve the needs of our state’s people.”

After all, said Beatty, these mentors have a lot in common with the incoming summer interns: “They are passionate about the work and the difference they are making in the lives of Marylanders,” and their careers can give today’s students a sense of what they could achieve as public service leaders.

Students interested in exploring these and similar opportunities in the future can contact Hannah Schmitz, the Shriver Center’s program coordinator for applied learning.

Header image: UMBC’s 2017 Maryland Nonprofit Leadership Program fellows Ciara Christian, Markya Reed, Noah Owens, Becca Mann, and Sarah Bicknell. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Kayla Smith
B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (Public Health Advocacy)
Hometown: Laurel, Maryland
Plans: J.D., Brooklyn Law School

Iron sharpens iron, and at UMBC I have been given the space to interact with and learn from people who challenge me and push me to be my best.

Kayla Smith has steadfastly dedicated her time at UMBC to serve as an advocate and educator for fellow students, particularly in areas related health and wellbeing.

Smith is a three-year peer health educator, worked as chair of the Sexual Health Committee in the Health Promotion Office at UMBC University Health Services, and served as executive director of the Student Government Association’s Department of Health and Wellness. She has also served as both an intern and a student staff member for the Women’s Center, and worked as an Introduction to an Honors University peer facilitator.

Smith received the Black Girls Rock Community Activist Award for her work to raise awareness about sexual assault and mental illness. She has also served as a campus representative for the sexual health website Bedsider, operated by the nonprofit National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

In keeping with her legal aspirations, Smith has served as a justice on the Student Judicial Programs Hearing Board and a member of UMBC’s Mock Trial team. Throughout her years on Mock Trial, she has received eight awards for her performance on the team, which recently competed for the first time in the national championship tournament, hosted by UCLA.

Through all of these experiences, Smith says, “UMBC has given me the opportunity to learn in an environment that fosters growth. I have grown in my ability to advocate for myself, achieve my goals, and most importantly, live up to my fullest potential.”

Smith will attend Brooklyn Law School in New York City after graduation.

Image: Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Gabrielle Salib
B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies (Human-Centered Computing)
Hometown: Millersville, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., Drexel University

Throughout my four years at UMBC, I constantly met new people who inspired me to learn more and challenge myself to be a stronger student and a more empathetic citizen of our larger communities.The beauty of UMBC is that each personal community is celebrated within the larger entity and we’re a stronger university in simply being ourselves.

As president of the Computer Science Education Club, Gabrielle Salib led UMBC’s first Hour of Code event to celebrate National Computer Science Education Week. With support from Marie desJardins, associate dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, and professor of computer science and electrical engineering, the Hour of Code brought middle school girls from Baltimore City to UMBC for hands-on activities involving circuits and coding.

Salib enjoyed seeing UMBC faculty, staff, students, and community members come together through the event, to explore, learn, and share new experiences, and it inspired her to develop new collaborations and programing focused on diversity in tech. With the Center for Women in Technology, for example, Salib organized a screening and discussion of “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap in Computer Science.”

Salib’s interest in the intersections of computing, education, and diversity let her to develop her own interdisciplinary studies (INDS) major in human-centered computing. She conducted research with Amy Hurst, associate professor of information systems, in the Prototyping and Design Lab, culminating in a capstone project on Female Engagement in Technically-Oriented Spaces, funded by NSF’s Research Experience for Undergraduates program.

The INDS department has awarded Salib the Zainab Damji Memorial Award for demonstrating leadership, service, and courage on the path to pursuing a career in education. In the fall, she will begin a Ph.D. program in human-centered computing at Drexel University with a focus on child-computer interaction, designing technology that holistically supports child development.

Photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.