As International Education Week 2025 comes to a close, we’ve rounded up a few of the many ways Retrievers engage globally through their work and studies. Even though it has been a particularly trying time for international students, “…more UMBC students studied abroad in Academic Year 2024 – 25 than ever before. Our students are discovering new perspectives, building global connections, and transforming their futures through these life-changing experiences,” says Katie Heird, director of education abroad and global learning at UMBC. Here are a few ways international students and Retrievers who have gone abroad play a role in the lifeblood of UMBC.

1. Who is Fulbright material?

UMBC’s six 2025 – 2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Program recipients share their not-so-secret recipe for success. Deciding to apply for a Fulbright is just the first step, and with the support of UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement, which hosts Fulbright information sessions in the spring for undergraduate, graduate, and recent alumni. Retrievers can apply to earn a master’s, conduct research, or be an English Teaching Assistant in more than 160 countries. With the UMBC 2025 – 2026 Fulbrights already settled in Taiwan, Norway, and Indonesia, Belgium, Israel, and Germany, these alumni are eager to share tips to inspire and prepare the next generations of Fulbright Retrievers.

Additionally, this year, four UMBC faculty and staff members received highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards to teach, conduct research, and foster cross-cultural connections globally. The recipients span all three UMBC colleges and comprise three faculty members and one staff member. The UMBC awardees are connecting with international partners in areas of shared interest. Augusto Casas, an associate teaching professor of information systems, is working in Colombia; Cynthia Wagner, a teaching professor of biological sciences, went to Kyrgyzstan; Irene Chan, a professor of visual arts, is in Romania; and Tom Penniston, M.A. ’09, TESOL, Ph.D. ’14, language, literacy, and culture, the coordinator of learning analytics in the Division of Information Technology, is working in Croatia.

2. Building intentional international connections

A six-person UMBC team built international connections at the “PIWOT – World of Technology” conference, held in early 2025 in Mumbai, India. The science and technology conference is organized by the alumni association for graduates of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and attracts many of the leaders in science and technology in India and around the world. The CEO of Alphabet, Inc. (Google’s parent company), the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and the CEO of IBM are all graduates of IITs. 

This year’s PIWOT conference focused on the impact of technology across multiple dimensions of life, from the professional to the personal. UMBC’s Anupam Joshi, acting dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, took part as a speaker on a panel about the impact of technology on education, and the UMBC booth also displayed the low-cost infant incubator developed by Professor Govind Rao.

3. International research collaboration challenges assumptions

Thanks to funding from the German Academic Exchange Service, Lorenz Kopp and Björn Michelmann, mechanical engineering students from Germany’s Regensburg University of Applied Sciences, came to UMBC to conduct research with UMBC’s mechanical engineering professor, Paris von Lockette. The project was part of a bigger assumption-questioning enterprise—in particular, probing the behavior of materials called soft magnets. Kopp’s and Michelmann’s advisor at Regensburg University of Applied Sciences knew von Lockette through the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and together they arranged the details of the two-month visit with the help of the Office of International Students and Scholars at UMBC. 

While Kopp and Michelmann spent plenty of time in the lab during their visit, they also had chances to explore the areas surrounding UMBC on weekends. They visited the National Aquarium in Baltimore, took in a Baltimore Ravens football game, and drove to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. They also enjoyed campus life, attending Homecoming weekend, and regularly visiting the Retriever Activity Center to work out.

4. Exploring politics in a global context, virtually

Professor Filomeno’s 2024 Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Brazil project on climate change equips students with the technical and interpersonal skills to thrive in professional online international and intercultural environments. COIL makes international scholarship and intercultural learning accessible by removing barriers of cost and travel while preparing students with essential skills for future in-person exchanges. COIL Brazil was part of Filomeno’s Global Citizenship class in collaboration with former colleague Clarissa Dri, a professor of international relations at his alma mater, the Federal University of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil.

The ongoing Virtual Tandem Conversation project was created by Susanne Sutton, a teaching professor of German, and Talke Macfarland, a visiting lecturer of German in UMBC’s Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication. They established the program during COVID-19 to help UMBC students learning German and German students learning English socialize while continuing to improve their language skills.

The actual tandem meetings are entirely student-driven and take place outside of the classroom—each tandem pair arranges virtual meetings according to their schedule. Tandem participants have gone beyond the virtual classroom, such as UMBC Golden ID Program student Rebecca Smith, who, while on a recent trip to France, hopped over to Germany to visit Gertrud Krause-Traudes, her partner in UMBC’s Virtual Tandem Conversation project. After three semesters of virtual conversations in German and English, Smith was happy to meet Krause-Traudes in person.

5. Science that bridges two worlds

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives worldwide, Greema Regmi began her Ph.D. in UMBC’s atmospheric physics program. Studying remotely from her home in Nepal, she navigated a grueling schedule due to the time difference. Now in her fifth year, Regmi’s perseverance has earned her NASA’s prestigious Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) fellowship, which will provide up to $50,000 annually for up to three years to fuel her research on atmospheric dust.

Regmi has been able to accomplish so much in part because of the supportive community she found at UMBC, after finally arriving on campus in fall 2021. Regmi’s journey bridges her unique perspectives as a student in Nepal and the U.S. At UMBC, she’s embraced broader opportunities. “I think here you can push the limit. I don’t even know what the limit is in the U.S. Here you can dream more and be more experimental,” she observes.

Grounded in the UMBC physics department’s community of support, Regmi’s confidence has only grown since her arrival in Maryland. “There’s always a place for my opinion, which is very nice. Because of that, and all of the experiences I’ve had, now I have the confidence to start my own project,” she explains. “And that’s why I think now I’m confident to go back home, lead something there, and be helpful in some small way.”

Learn more about UMBC’s international opportunities.

One way to describe Dave Anguish’s journey with UMBC is as a trip around the world and back again. Anguish came to UMBC in 2008 to study political science as well as modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication. After graduating in 2012, he hopped on a plane to Mexico City to conduct political science research thanks to a research grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. He later returned to UMBC to earn an M.P.P. in public management in 2019 while working in UMBC’s International Education Services (IES)—an opportunity that allowed him to travel the world and inspired his first career in international education leadership. Now, it is leading to his second career as he prepares to graduate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Take it away, Dave!

Q: Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: In 2008, I came to UMBC as an undergraduate student because it offered something different, something I didn’t see at other schools. I liked that it was “medium-sized” and that the buildings were arranged in a grid, almost like a small city. It was so easy to meet new people, whether they were classmates, staff, or faculty. Everyone was open to making connections. At the time, I was surprised that an undergraduate student had so much access to people of greater stature. I came to understand that reducing the power differential was a deliberate choice and part of the university’s culture. It’s something I’m so glad still lives on today.

Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: After graduation, I moved abroad for a year and then came back to work at UMBC. When I returned, it took a few years to find my passion. An urgent need for an advisor in IES ended up being my big break. I discovered that it wasn’t simply getting to meet and work with people from all over the world that appealed to me; it was also learning and explaining to others the complexity of immigration law. That seed of an idea blossomed into the (eventual) decision to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer focused on deportation defense and justice for immigrant communities. I could never have foreseen how far a frontline advisor position in the “visa office” would take me, or how it would reveal my professional path.

Q: What do you love about working at the Center for Global Engagement (CGE)?

A: I’ve been part of CGE since it was called International Education Services. Back then, we were a small but mighty team of five or so people. Today, CGE has nearly thirty staff, and while our teams focus on different areas, we all seek to forge connections between UMBC and the world. 

I’m so inspired by the work CGE does. My team handles immigration services for the thousands of international students coming to UMBC to study, as well as those who have graduated and are working around the country in exciting fields, getting practical training. 

My colleagues in Education Abroad enable students to break through the confines of campus and explore new lands, gaining crucial intercultural skills, learning languages, and learning more about themselves and their role in the world. Other CGE teams coordinate English language training and design special programs for groups to visit UMBC over the summer for intercultural experiences and training. 

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: For several years, I was on a two-person team serving all of UMBC’s international students. My co-worker, supervisor, and friend, Michelle Massey ’10, intercultural communications, taught me so much about how to be the best version of myself for those I serve. She is the reason why my emails are littered with happy exclamation points, and why I try to communicate in the most positive and friendly way with people who may not be as familiar with U.S. culture, and why I keep in mind that the work we do matters, because it has such an impact on every student’s life, career, and dreams. Michelle left UMBC to join the foreign service several years ago, but her example of servant leadership has stuck with me and set a standard that I try to live up to in my work.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: It’s clichéd to say “it’s the people” that make UMBC what it is, but it’s true. I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many people who work hard every day to make the place run. Maybe it’s our relative youth as an institution, but there is a sense that even a university of our size can be nimble and adjust to new realities. We’re writing the story of UMBC every day. It’s been fascinating to see how much UMBC has changed since I was an undergraduate, but how the ethos has remained constant. We’ve had many changes in leadership over the past few years, and this new era at UMBC is an exciting one to watch and even more exciting to participate in.

Although I returned to UMBC shortly after I graduated, really, I’ve been all over the place: through my work at UMBC I’ve been able to travel the world, meet so many wonderful people, and learn new skills. Two graduate degrees later, my time at UMBC is coming to a close as I transition into an attorney role in another organization. But UMBC has been such a significant part of my life for so long that I know this isn’t truly the end.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about. Learn more about UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement.

Written by David L. Di Maria, vice provost for Global Engagement, UMBC

In early April 2025, the Trump administration terminated the immigration statuses of thousands of international students listed in a government database, meaning they no longer had legal permission to be in the country. Some students self-deported instead of facing deportation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced that it would reverse the terminations after courts across the country determined they did not have merit.

These moves come as the White House seeks to enhance vetting and screening of all foreign nationals.

The State Department in March announced plans to use artificial intelligence to review international students’ social media accounts.

As an administrator and scholar who specializes in international higher education, I know that international students in the United States have long been subjected to a high level of vetting, screening and monitoring.

Inserting additional bureaucracy into current processes could make the U.S. a less attractive study destination. I believe this would ultimately hamper the Trump administration’s ability to achieve its “America First” priorities related to the economy, science and technology, and national security.

International students in the US

The U.S. has long been the global leader in attracting international students. But competition for these students is increasing as other countries, such as Germany and South Korea, enact strategies for attracting international education.

The U.S. hosts 16% of all students studying outside of their home country, down from 22% in 2014 and 28% in 2001, according to the Institute of International Education. Of the more than 1 million international students who were present in the U.S. during the 2023-2024 academic year, 54% came from just two countries, China and India.

Most international students pursue graduate degrees in STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And, according to the National Science Foundation, international students make up a significant portion of enrollment at the master’s and doctoral levels.

How international students are screened

International students in the U.S. are already subjected to intense screening and continuous monitoring. These measures include:

• Vetting the student’s school. Before they can apply for a visa, international students must be admitted to a school authorized by the Department of Homeland Security to enroll people on student visas.

• Vetting at the embassy. As part of the visa application process, international students are subjected to national security reviews carried out by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. In some cases, such as when a U.S. consular officer in their home country decides that more information is required from external sources to determine visa eligibility, additional screenings occur. That is done through a process known as administrative processing.

• Vetting upon arrival. When they arrive in the U.S., international students are again screened by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. If the officer is unable to verify any information, the student is sent to secondary inspection, a secure interview area where the student waits while officers complete additional assessment. The student is then either admitted to the U.S. or forced to depart the country.

• Ongoing monitoring while in the U.S. If permitted to enter the country, students must enroll full time, earn good grades and notify their school within 10 days of substantive changes to their circumstances.

Examples include a change to their address, academic major or financial sponsor. And school officials are required to report this information to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s National Security Investigations Division.

Students participating in temporary, postgraduation training programs must continue to comply with reporting requirements. And certain STEM graduates, and their employers, are subject to additional requirements. They include certification of training plans, annual evaluations and site visits.

Most international students prefer to study in the U.S., recent research shows. But they are willing to change their preferences as other countries introduce friendlier visa policies, such as more flexible post-study work opportunities and lower visa costs.

Given the current level of screening and monitoring already imposed on international students in the U.S., it is unclear how additional measures would add value.

Critical to an America First agenda

President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda aims to grow the U.S. economy.

It also intends to maintain U.S. leadership in science and technology and enhance national security.

Trump administration officials have underlined the importance of recruiting top global talent. And Trump has said that international students who graduate from U.S. colleges should be awarded a green card with their degree.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, international students contributed US$43.8 billion to the U.S. economy through tuition and living expenses, which supported an estimated 378,175 U.S. jobs.

Their contributions don’t end following graduation, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Many go on to launch successful startups at a rate that is eight to nine times higher than their domestic peers. In fact, 25% of billion-dollar companies in the U.S. were founded by a former international student.

Such companies include Eventbrite, Grammarly, Moderna, OpenAI, Robinhood and SpaceX.

International students also help the U.S. maintain global leadership in STEM.

Consider that 45% of STEM workers in the U.S. holding a doctoral degree were born outside the U.S.

A 2024 report cautions that the U.S. is failing to develop domestic STEM talent at all levels of the education system. Just 3.2% of U.S. high school graduates are estimated to enter the STEM workforce.

Moreover, the country’s ability to attract and retain international STEM talent is decreasing due to immigration restrictions and increased global competition.

Finally, international students are critical to establishing global networks and promoting soft power diplomacy. This is evidenced by the U.S. having graduated more world leaders than any other nation.

Further restricting the ability of international students to study in the U.S. will ultimately redirect talent to other countries, allies and adversaries alike.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.

As Sister States, Maryland and Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, (south of Tokyo) have collaborated in various initiatives in business, education, healthcare, and culture exchange programs since 1981, including ongoing partnerships at UMBC. For the past six years, UMBC has proudly partnered with the Kanagawa Association of Private Junior/Senior Schools, welcoming their teachers and students for UMBC’s spring break and summer Intensive English Program and TESOL certificate programs. Likewise, UMBC students who are learning Japanese have participated in the Teach Abroad: Kanagawa Internship, an internship program with schools in Kanagawa Prefecture. 

Following the great success of their education exchanges, UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kanagawa Association of Private Junior/ Senior Schools to establish the annual Global Achievement Scholarship. This new partnership creates an undergraduate admissions pathway for up to 10 high school students from Kanagawa Prefecture beginning in fall 2026.

Career opportunities in Japan

For students like William Mo, a senior majoring in modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication with a concentration in Japanese, opportunities to immerse in the Japanese language and culture help build an invaluable professional and social network in preparation for the international job market. Mo, whose goal is to live and work in Japan, had the opportunity to participate in the Teach Abroad: Kanagawa Internship, which offered him three months of teaching middle school students while living in a student dorm. 

This was Mo’s first internship and real work experience beyond his part-time job as a peer advisor in UMBC’s Education Abroad Office. “I participated in this internship to help make a stronger case for myself when I apply to JET [Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program], to satisfy my own desire to sightsee in Japan, and experience what it is like to teach English,” says Mo. He had to balance work and online classes as well as co-lead activities like English conversation cafes, where Japanese students practiced their conversational English. “All my skills related to communicating and interacting in Japanese strengthened greatly since I regularly talked to the office staff, students, and anyone I needed to talk to.” 

Keeping Japanese language skills sharp

Upon returning to UMBC, Mo found new ways to maintain his new level of proficiency. Last summer, when nearly 60 high school students and teachers from Kanagawa Prefecture arrived for the Intensive English Program and TESOL certificate programs, he volunteered in Japanese conversation cafes with the visiting students while playing board games. He also served as a guide and chaperone for the students’ trips to Washington, D.C., Baltimore City, and Annapolis. 

Similar to Mo’s experience in Japan, some of the participants shared that the summer programs gave them important insights into what it would be like to live and work in the United States and study at UMBC. As the Global Achievement Scholarship gets underway in 2026, UMBC will be home to more Japanese students who will join the nearly 2,000 international students and those from the United States, who have entrusted UMBC with their desire to create extraordinary possibilities for themselves and their communities.

Learn more about UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement international exchange programs.

For more information about UMBC’s Teach Abroad: Kanagawa Internship contact Tomoko Hoogenboom, teaching professor of Japanese language and culture, at tmkhgnbm@umbc.edu.

Now in its fifth year, UMBC’s 2024 International Education Week (IEW) hosted by the Center for Global Engagement (CGE), celebrated UMBC’s commitment to international education. Events throughout the week highlighted international opportunities such as education abroad experiences, prestigious fellowships like the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, as well as international career prospects and intercultural initiatives on campus. 

IEW is a nationwide event that’s a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. This year’s first UMBC International Education Expo featured keynote speakers from the Maryland Higher Education Commission leadership—Secretary Sanjay K. Rai and vice chair Chike Aguh—who shared some of their personal international education experiences with a packed room of international students, faculty, staff, and community members.

“I’m from a very small town in Nigeria. My parents received scholarships to study in the United States of America at public universities like UMBC. Without international education I would not be here,” said Aguh, who was appointed by President Joseph Biden to serve as chief innovation officer at the U.S. Department of Labor. 

“I ask you to recognize that this is a shared world and that your people have a right to live on it just like mine do,” said Aguh. That’s a very basic understanding, but it’s one that we don’t have enough of today. And many of you who are here right now are going to be the ones who hopefully help remind the rest of us of that. Maryland, America, and the world has need of you.”

According to David Di Maria, associate vice provost for international education, UMBC currently hosts 2,127 international students from nearly 100 countries. These students contribute valuable knowledge in research, performing arts, athletics, and community engagement.

One example is Ridwan Islam Sifat, an M.P.P. graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree at UMBC’s School of Public Policy who is researching healthcare disparities among intersex individuals in the United States. Sifat joined UMBC as an international student after earning both a B.S. and M.S. from the Bangladesh University of Professionals. 

UMBC also has many international partnerships, including this year’s collaboration with the American Statistical Association to organize its annual African International Conference on Statistics. Additionally, UMBC’s Academic Success Center holds one of six Learning Center of Excellence designations from the International College Learning Center Association. The impact of a globally-minded campus is vast.

President Valerie Sheares Ashby also shared a personal story of her first time studying abroad and the lifelong impact that made on her.

“I spent one year doing a postdoc in Germany and it changed my life,” said Sheares Ashby at the IEW event.  

“I think it made me a better teacher and it certainly made me a better researcher. And it definitely made me a better human. I think about the world globally in a way that I did not before I had that experience. So when I say we are better because you [international students] are here, it is 100 percent the truth.”

Learn more about the Center for Global Engagement.

Oliver Crossland has fond childhood memories of many fun trips to Salzburg, Austria, from growing up a few hours away in the small town of Sindelfingen in southern Germany. Although his family moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years old, he still remembers Salzburg’s food, people, and candies like Kracher, a large sugar-coated chewy bean-shaped candy with a fizzy powder filling. “I had forgotten entirely about them until I saw them in the grocery store near my hostel and had to purchase them,” says Crossland.

Before beginning his senior year at UMBC, Crossland, music and global studies, took a trip down memory lane and created some new memories through a summer education abroad experience in Salzburg, thanks to the support of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) Dean’s Education Abroad Scholarship.

“I enjoyed the chance to re-engage with aspects of my childhood that were unique to Austrian and German communities. This included food and sweets I have not been able to eat in years and a chance to speak with people in German every day,” says Crossland who speaks German fluently, which helped him research and write a paper on Mozart’s significance in Austrian and Western music. “As a trombone player with a music performance major, living in Salzburg and exploring Mozart’s work in his birthplace and first home was important for me too.”

Crossland is one of 24 recipients of the inaugural CAHSS Dean’s Education Abroad Scholarship, which guarantees $100,000 per year for the following three years to help offset the financial costs of studying abroad. Undergraduate and graduate students with at least one major in CAHSS, and who need additional financial support to study abroad, can apply for awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000.

“This is a pivotal moment for education abroad at UMBC. The CAHSS Dean’s Scholarship for Education Abroad is the most significant investment in increasing access to study abroad in UMBC’s history,” says Katherine Heird, director of education abroad and global learning at UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement. “If you are a student who wants to study overseas but finances are holding you back, please come and speak with me. We want to make this a reality for you!”

A year of immersion

Thanks to the scholarship, Retrievers spent their summer learning and engaging with communities in Ghana, Greece, Morocco, Spain, Italy, England, Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. But the scholarship isn’t limited to a season or semester. Samuel Nason, a political science sophomore, set off to Swansea University in Wales, United Kingdom, this fall, and Jessie Gordon, a biochemistry senior, is studying Korean language and culture at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, for the entire 2024 – 2025 academic year. 

“I am immensely grateful for this scholarship, which is allowing me more opportunities to enrich my study abroad experience in Korea,” says Gordon, a biochemistry major and a 2024 UMBC public policy undergraduate summer research fellow. Her research focuses on the accessibility and utilization of healthcare resources by immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and the Korean Peninsula.

Gordon chose to study in Korea to achieve a similar level of understanding of the Korean language and culture that she has of the Spanish language and Latinx/Hispanic culture. “It is amazing to learn about historic events in the classroom and then be able to physically visit the actual sites. Thanks to this scholarship, I have some extra funds I can devote solely to extra experiences like these!”

There are dozens of education abroad scholarships and education abroad programs available through UMBC. But, with great opportunity comes great responsibility. Crossland has some practical tips for students interested in education abroad, “Stay on top of forms and documents when registering or paying for this experience,” he cautions. “It will prevent you from missing important deadlines.” And no matter where you go, he says, “Be sure to do your research on which sights are to be seen and what foods are to be eaten so that you can plan around your courses and get the very most out of your stay.”

Learn more about the CAHSS Dean’s Education Abroad Scholarship application deadlines:

• February 10, 2025, for the 2025 – 2026 summer, fall, academic year, winter, and spring program. 
• September 10, 2025, for the 2026 – 2027 upcoming winter, spring, summer, and fall semesters 
• Applicants who are not selected may reapply in the next application cycle. 

At the height of COVID-19, Nicole Attram developed severe lower back pain which impeded her mobility and flexibility. While physical therapy helped mitigate the symptoms, the cause is still unknown. That experience determined the course of her career. After graduating from UMBC in 2023, Attram, mechanical engineering, received a 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student award to study in Milan, Italy, in a master’s program in international healthcare management, economics, and policy specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical technology at the SDA Bocconi School of Management.

“This experience has inspired my interest in orthopedic biomechanics, particularly prosthetics, and exoskeletons, to help restore autonomy to individuals with lifelong mobility challenges,” shares Attram on her website. “I aim to conduct research at the intersection of systemic racism, healthcare policy, and orthopedic biomechanics to offer holistic care and assistive technology to underserved communities.” 

Each year, more than 10,000 students apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program with just over 2,000 selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the U.S. In the last decade, UMBC students and alumni have received more than 85 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for research and teaching placements in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, South America, and Europe. UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for the third time in five years for the 2023 – 2024 cycle.

Attram’s mentor Maria C. Sanchez, director of the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, professor of the practice, and director of the Engineering and Computing Education Program, says, “Nicole always displayed the motivation, perseverance, and inquisitiveness of a successful researcher. She also demonstrated a high level of global awareness that was refreshing to see in a non-international undergraduate student.”

Advancing global research

Attram is among eight recent graduates and alumni in UMBC’s 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student Program class who are sharing their knowledge and building community around the world by earning a master’s degree, conducting research, or teaching English. This year is especially significant, as six of eight awards are research-focused, marking the highest number of research awards in UMBC’s Fulbright history. Students seeking research awards must develop a proposal in coordination with potential advisers in the universities and laboratories where they want to study as part of their application. Graduate degree awards require submitting both Fulbright and graduate school applications.

1. Arpita Tuladhar ’23 public health, Research Award to Germany
2. Jennifer Sorrells ’22, political science, Research Award to North Macedonia
3. Jolie Greer ’24, psychology, Research Award to Bulgaria 
4. Lauren Mister ’24, teaching English to speakers of other languages, English Teaching Award to Bahrain
5. Sarah-Fatime Yoda ’24, chemical engineering, Research Award to France
6. Stuart Holton ’24, political science, English Teaching Award to Slovakia
7. Timothy Mallard, M.A. ’21, teaching English to speakers of other languages, Research Award to Uganda

“This year’s cohort of Fulbright recipients and alternates shows the country and the globe what we at UMBC already know,” says Brian Souders, Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy, and culture, M.A.’19, TESOL, the associate director of global learning at UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement. In this role, Souders, who received a 2023 Fulbright International Education Administrator Award to Germany, has led hundreds of Retrievers through the Fulbright application process as UMBC’s Fulbright Program advisor. “We produce world-class graduates who will lead the future with their work in laboratories, in the field, and in the classrooms throughout the world.” (Image by Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Learn more about UMBC’s Fulbright Program.

Meet Buhlebakhe Ncubefrom Zimbabwe. She spent six weeks at UMBC as part of the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) hosted by UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE). The new cohort included 25 innovators from countries across Sub-Saharan Africa representing education, journalism, tech, health care, and more. Buhlebakhe is now back home reminiscing about her YALI summer experience and the Retrievers she connected with along the way. Take it away, Buhlebakhe.

Q: Briefly introduce yourself. What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: I am the chief of staff for the Shasha Network, located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, but I work remotely from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Shasha Network is a nonprofit organization that provides early career resources, opportunities, and support to students and educators across Africa. I have a bachelor’s degree in civil and water engineering from the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo.

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: From the first day we arrived in Baltimore, Madison Pickard, M.A. ’24, intercultural communication, assistant director of special programs, and co-academic director of the YALI Fellowship at CGE, went above and beyond for the YALI Fellows. She drove us to different meetings and events all day and stayed with us late into the night, often going back to her home around midnight. Despite everything, she still showed up the next day with a smile and energy, ready to help us tackle the busy day ahead. Through her, I have learned what it means to be truly selfless and fully involved in someone else’s journey and ensure they are set up for success.

Q: Since you’ve been a part of the UMBC community, how have you found support of your WHY?

A: When I was at UMBC, I was exposed to various types of leadership styles, and rather than try and alter who I am to fit into a particular style—I learned how to use my uniqueness and strengths to create my path as a young leader. The UMBC team went above and beyond to make sure that we had access to coaches and experts in various fields. The facilitators are exceptional, and the people I met through networking sessions are quite eager to work with me beyond the fellowship. Lastly, the UMBC team is full of cheerleaders who constantly push me to challenge myself. I have done so, and I am thankful to them for their support and faith in my abilities.

Q: Tell us about what you love about the organization you’re involved in.

A: I am grateful that I was placed at UMBC for the YALI fellowship. The community at UMBC is very welcoming. Baltimore and Maryland are full of humanity, culture, history, art, and love. I was able to connect with people not just through networking but on a human level. There is nothing pretentious about UMBC. People here genuinely want the best for you, and everyone wants to come together and create a better and stronger community. That sense of pride in being from UMBC is something I will always carry with me as an adopted Marylander and Retriever!

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

In January 2025, UMBC will facilitate its STEM-focused research study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain.

The program, developed by UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement’s Education Abroad Office and the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, was created to provide students with an affordable study abroad experience while expanding study abroad access for students in technology, engineering and mathematics fields. 

Steven Caruso, principal lecturer of biological sciences, will lead up to 18 undergraduate students on a three-week program to Barcelona to investigate bacteriophage biology research. Caruso ’94, Ph.D. ’02, biological sciences, is the co-leader of UMBC’s SEA-PHAGES program, called Phage Hunters, a two-course undergraduate genetics and bioinformatics sequence.

In 2023, UMBC received the institution’s first capacity-building grant for study abroad from the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) initiative to develop the “Phage Hunters in Barcelona” program. The study abroad program combines asynchronous online learning and hands-on training opportunities at research institutes in Barcelona.

“The IDEAS grant helps to make education abroad more accessible for UMBC students,” said Katherine Heird, UMBC’s director of education abroad and global learning. “This innovative program offers students an unparalleled opportunity to delve into biomedical research, hone their intercultural communication skills, and build connections across the globe.” 

Find out more about the UMBC faculty-led Phage Hunters in Barcelona, Spain, study abroad program. 

This summer, UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) is excited to welcome its second cohort of the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the six-week flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). The new cohort includes 25 innovators from countries across Sub-Saharan Africa representing education, journalism, tech, health care, and more. The fellows will spend six weeks living at UMBC networking and attending diversity and leadership skills workshops. They will also meet with campus, local, and state leaders, learn more about Baltimore’s LGBTQ+ leaders of color, developmental disabilities at The ARC Baltimore, trauma-informed practices, and more.

“The fellowship is a beacon of hope,” says Jok Thon, M.P.S. ’24, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership, a 2018 University of Delaware YALI fellow and UMBC’s first Global Peaceworker Fellow. Thon is a father of four and the director and founder of Promised Land Primary and Secondary School and Promised Land College in Juba, South Sudan, which has educated over 1500 displaced students. “As a witness and participant in this transformative experience, I wholeheartedly attest the journey is as profound for the mentors as it is for the fellows.” 

Thousands of leaders ages 25 – 35, across 49 Sub-Saharan African countries covet a prestigious YALI fellowship. YALI hopefuls must condense years of leadership in business, civic engagement, and public management into one application, demonstrating concrete ongoing efforts to broaden access to education, health care, and workforce development. These 700 spots across 28 U.S. educational institutions are considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, for both fellows and host institutions, to strengthen connections between the U.S. and Africa and establish enduring partnerships between fellows, local communities, and private businesses through their expertise, perspectives, and experiences.

“YALI is a huge deal in my country and Africa. It’s a journey I want to take with my whole community, nation, and the world,” says 2023 UMBC YALI fellow Victoria Merab Akinyi. She is the CEO and co-founder of Streetlights Uganda, a visual and performing arts-based organization empowering children living on the streets with entrepreneurship and life skills to become self-employed and engaged citizens.

“I have a master’s degree in fine arts and two fashion companies. I don’t take my degrees, work with my community, and my YALI experiences for granted because they have all helped open doors for me.”

Creating a Retriever YALI Village

Becoming a YALI host is also an arduous but worthwhile process. It requires developing a six-week international residency program unique to the institution’s resources and the fellows’ needs. When Ryan Sheldon, M.A. ’15, teaching English to speakers of other languages, director of the English Language Institute and special programs within CGE, and Madison Pickard, M.A. ’24, intercultural communication, and assistant director of special programs and co-academic director of the YALI Fellowship, applied to bring YALI to UMBC in 2023, Thon was excited to join the team as a program assistant.

“It was so valuable to our fellowship having Jok as a program assistant and a resource for the fellows while they were here,” says Pickard. “Jok assisted the fellows in leadership activities, accompanied us on on-site visits, and facilitated their weekly feedback and reflection sessions as our leadership coordinator.”

Designing a “Retriever YALI Village” requires many hands. The village was equipped with campus housing, transportation, catering, activities, and a budget for each fellow. Thanks to campus and community partners, it also included workshops, projects, events, and speakers. 

“We invited trusted partners aligned with our fellows, had conversations with them, and created a space for the fellows to choose their level of engagement,” says Pickard. The proposal was a winner.

In summer 2023, 24 young African leaders came to UMBC to share and learn new skills to empower them as critical leaders in addressing issues facing women, girls, and children, mental and public health, education, community organizing, NGO management, sustainability, and more. Fellows engaged in academic sessions, community service, site visits, and networking events and met state and local government leaders, businesses, and community organizations. They also joined in Baltimore’s baseball season at the Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

“Together, we explored the notion that true leadership is rooted in service and that we can drive meaningful progress by embracing diversity and harnessing collective strengths,” says Thon. Due to the program’s success, UMBC was chosen to host again in June 2024. 

All for all

Fellows are often inspired into action by personal experiences. Their superpower is knowing they alone are not the answer. Fellows share their community-building strategies and acquire new expertise to address ongoing challenges. It’s not all-for-one, or one-for-all, but all-for-all.

Leveraging social media for social justice is a key approach for Ellen Kalaputse Nanyeni, a financial modeling and valuation analyst from Namibia. As a survivor of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), she understands the victim blaming and legal hurdles survivors face to access care and protection. Nanyeni promotes equal opportunity rights and the safety of women in Namibia via the #Shutitalldown Namibia SGBV awareness social media movement and through the #Breakfree #Befree support services initiative established by Monica Geingos, the First Lady of Namibia.

In Nigeria, Sunday Emmanuel Onuche networks with schools and disability organizations to further disability justice. Onuche promotes inclusion, leadership opportunities, and self-reliance for people with disabilities like himself via his VisionLink Initiative. 

Skateboarding is John Kabiye Kalenga’s community development tool. As a professional skateboarder and the coach for Zambia’s first Olympic skateboard team at the 2022 Tokyo Olympics, Kalenga lives and breathes the sense of belonging skateboarding has given him. As vice president of the Skate Association of Zambia, he teamed up with more than 30 international skatepark construction volunteers to build Zambia’s first-ever skatepark creating a safe haven for young people. 

CNN World: Zambian instructor empowers kids through skateboarding

These are just a few of the 2023 YALI fellows who connected over the summer of 2023 and returned to their countries with new leadership skills and tools for change.

Implementing the YALI Way

YALI is one summer, but it’s what comes afterward when the fellows return home that the work truly becomes YALI work. Merab Akinyi returned to Uganda intent on expanding Streetlights Uganda’s reach. She fundraised to remodel old houses in areas of high need. The additional classrooms and offices launched the Ntunga project, Changing Lives Through Fashion. It equips women and children with marketable skills to sustain their families. Her team continues to run the Mwalimu Mentorship, an apprenticeship connecting artists with youth, and the Unseen Me children’s exhibition. 

Currently, Streetlights Uganda manages two training centers for women and two for street children. Merab Akinyi and her team of seven organizers have reached over 60 women in the past 3 years and over 400 street children.

Merab Akinyi’s next project is inspired by a YALI fellow who reuses empty bottles for building construction. “Many bottles are lying around. We are looking to develop an awareness campaign on how to use bottles to save the environment,” says Merab Akinyi. “These bottles can be repurposed to fix drainage problems around the centers and add more space.”

Pickard notes this is the goal of the fellowship. “We create opportunities for fellows to learn from each other and for everyone to challenge and develop their personal growth and values.” 

Overlapping hearts and minds

The deep sense of camaraderie drew the attention of UMBC community members outside of YALI resulting in powerful friendships and mentorships that continue to this day. Pickard connected Merab Akinyi with artist Ariel Valéria Barbosa, M.P.S. ’24, community leadership, after noticing Merab Akinyi’s passion for using art as a vehicle for change. Barbosa is the program coordinator for UMBC’s food pantry Retriever Essentials and leads A Gente, an organization that gives opportunities to Black artists to travel to the African Diaspora to co-create free exhibitions for the local community. 

“There are similarities in our surrealist art styles and wanting to use the little we have and our charisma and intelligence to expand impact for our people,” says Barbosa. “Victoria is really good at what she does, and I want her talents to be nurtured and supported.” Barbosa linked Pickard with DewMore, a nonprofit that uses poetry as a platform for youth leadership.

“It was full circle for me to listen to Victoria read a poem she wrote during the DewMore poetry workshop about her experience in Baltimore,” says Barbosa. “She carries herself with a lot of composure and dignity, like a voice for the people. That is just who she is.”

Ariel Barbosa and Victoria Merab Akinyi. (Image courtesy of Merab Akiniyi.)

A smile goes a long way

Lovetta Y. Qualah is the founder and CEO of Positive Actions Driving Safety (PADS), which addresses period poverty by providing free sanitary products to women and girls in Monrovia, Liberia. She found a kindred heart in Namrata Oruganti ’24, biology. As a summer conference assistant, Oruganti helped code keys, fold towels, organize sheets, and prepare comforters for the fellows. “I was blessed to be at that desk,” says Oruganti. The first night, the YALI group organized a party for a fellow who had arrived on his birthday. 

“I couldn’t believe the fellows weren’t familiar with each other. Each person contributed something they already had,” says Oruganti. They invited her to share a meal and, once they learned of her love for Afro-beats, to dance.

Oruganti had no idea they were CEOs or experts. “Not one person made me feel like I was less than them. People in leadership sometimes forget that,” says Oruganti, known to her friends—which now include the fellows—as Smiley. “Sometimes I forget.” 

“Smiley took an interest in me as a person, my work, and my progress,” says Qualah. “Smiley was a really good ambassador for UMBC. She is an image of positive energy. Always checking in on everybody.”

As Oruganti applies to medical school, she keeps her YALI lessons in mind. “The fellows are the most amazing, sweet, and humble people. They taught me how to be a collective,” says Oruganti. “They will always be part of my life story.” The fellows congratulated her on her recent graduation on their WhatsApp chat. “Smiley wasn’t even a part of YALI but she became an integral part,” says Qualah.
(Image courtesy of Oruganti)

Conversation + connection = action

Deep understanding is the goal. Mentorship is the path. To listen, think, share, and reflect is the YALI way. With the help of mentors like Joby Taylor, Ph.D. ’05, language, literacy, and culture, and director of the Shriver Center, fellows build mentorship tools to better communicate with their communities and instill mentorship programs. Taylor led a workshop on place, sense of place, and placemaking as social change in Africa and Baltimore City.

“Jok and I have had a two-year conversation where we have learned so much about leadership from each other and South Sudan and Baltimore,” says Taylor, who is also Thon’s host family. “Living and working with him makes you want to be a better person.” 

Thon put theory to practice by helping fellows complete paperwork and hone their professionalism skills. “This was my favorite part because I saw myself in their work and they saw themselves in my work at UMBC and back home in South Sudan,” says Thon. Heplayed basketball with them every Sunday. “They called me their mentor and big brother.”

Merab Akinyi appreciated the intention, “Beyond the classes, the dedication, and humility of the facilitators—especially Ryan Sheldon, Madison, and Jok—were great lessons to me as a leader and great virtues for me to take back home.”

(l-r): Pickard, Merab Akinyi, Sheldon, David Di Maria, senior international officer and associate vice provost for international education. (Image courtesy of Mirab Akinyi)

A year later, Qualah continues to reflect on the fears she had while at YALI and how UMBC community members helped her overcome this. “While at YALI I had imposter syndrome. I was looking for validation every day,” says Qualah. “Everything changed when I met amazing people at UMBC: President Valerie Sheares Ashby, Sally Scott, Madison Pickard, Ryan Sheldon, Jok Thon, and, my dear friend and YALI fellow, Lillian Ndilwa. They challenged my perspective, highlighting the unique value I bring and the importance of my contributions. Words like ‘You deserve to be here,’ and ‘Your work is needed’ resonated deeply.” Today, Qualah puts these beliefs to work and is a visible and outspoken leader sharing PADS’ success and her UMBC YALI experience on Facebook.

Africans for Africa

This year, YALI celebrates its 10th anniversary. Nearly 6,500 leaders have taken YALI’s multi-tiered mentorship approach across all sub-Saharan countries. Thon notes convening 20-plus African leaders in one room is a feat on its own. “It’s hard bringing people together in Africa,” he says. “I can have connections in Congo or Kenya because those are my neighboring countries, but you cannot really know what the young people are doing in South Africa from South Sudan or a West African country.”

This summer Thon will extend the YALI ripple effect, working as a partnership associate at CorpsAfrica, a non-profit organization focused on engaging youth and helping rural communities overcome extreme poverty.

“Every little act of peace and kindness gets us closer to building a just and prosperous society where there is no weak or strong, poor or rich,” says Thon, “but a society that thrives on the basic principles of living a dignified life guided by empathy.”