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

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

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

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

Retriever for life pic.twitter.com/iy7LT3yUVF

— Michael Schlitzer (@campagfan) May 11, 2021

Virtual ceremony, tangible spirit

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

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

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

Inspired by each other

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

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

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

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

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

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

Building the world they want to see

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking ahead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Door to the world

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

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

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

Katie and Madie Poteet. Photo courtesy of Katie Poteet.

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

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

Global learning experiences

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

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

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

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

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

Growing roots in Baltimore

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Managing humanitarian emergencies

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

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

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

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

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

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

A new perspective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Each year, hundreds of Retrievers work with K-12 students and families across Greater Baltimore, providing tutoring, mentoring, introductions to new skills and interests, and supportive one-on-one connections. Graduating seniors David Ralph Williams, Celena Dang, and Emily Rose Paul took advantage of opportunities to work with Baltimore youth and families early in their UMBC careers and sustained those connections as long-term commitments. For each, these experiences have shaped their goals and career paths.

Connecting students with computing 

David Ralph Williams ‘21, M29, computer science, found the learning community he was looking for when he became a Meyerhoff Scholar. “Everyone was focused on working hard and having a deep understanding of their field,” says Williams. He loved both the academic rigor and the commitment his peers had to the community beyond campus. 

Williams. Photo courtesy of Williams.

Williams joined Creative Coders in his freshman year as a way to connect local middle school students with opportunities in computing. He supported students at Arbutus Middle School in learning basic computer science skills by working through group projects. “I wanted to help expose middle school students to computer science, something I wished I had growing up,” says Williams.

By his sophomore year, Williams became the lead student coordinator for the Creative Coders program. He shifted the program to be more student-led, enabling participants to choose their own project topics and their approach to managing and completing projects. 

Creative Coders also worked with students at General John Stricker Middle School in Southeast Baltimore, focusing on the interests of the Robotics Club. “We exposed them to the computer science aspects of robotics like using motion sensors and programming a robot’s personality,” says Williams. 

The value of teaching

Williams found himself excited to see the students work through a problem. He also discovered he had the patience and desire to explain concepts and procedures to students. 

When he became a teaching assistant (TA) for an upper-level computer science class, Williams had the same experience. “It’s been nice being a TA for the data structures class. It’s a really difficult class,” shares Williams. “I thrive on the feeling I get when I explain things and see whether students grasp the concept. I use that exchange to guide whether I need to pick a new method or whether I need to explain in more detail.”

While at UMBC, Williams also learned more about cybersecurity and realized it was something he wanted to pursue professionally, in addition to teaching. “I really love cybersecurity and teaching computer science,” he says, “so why not do both?” After earning his undergraduate degree, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science at UMBC. 

Exploring possibilities

Celena Dang ‘21, psychology and biological sciences, comes from a family of Retrievers. Her aunt and several cousins have proudly earned their degrees at UMBC. That was an important factor in her decision to attend, along with the university’s great reputation for STEM education and diversity. At the same time, she wasn’t quite sure of the direction she wanted to take at UMBC once she was on campus.

Dang is grateful that UMBC offered the flexibility to explore various paths. “My advice to others who are uncertain about the major they chose is to not put pressure on yourself,” shares Dang. “It’s OK to question and to explore. Make the best of volunteer opportunities that can introduce you to different fields.” 

Supporting teens’ mental health

Dang (second from the left on the first row) with the UMBC UNICEF board.
Photo courtesy of Dang.

For Dang, being a member of UMBC’s UNICEF student club for four years has offered an opportunity to learn about different careers in child welfare. A defining experience for Dang was when the club worked with UMBC’s Shriver Center to develop a partnership with The Children’s Home in Baltimore City. The group provided academic support to youth living at The Children’s Home, an organization that provides housing to children in foster care who have experienced abuse, neglect, violence, and abandonment, or are in need of supervised care. 

Dang explains that in the beginning the teenagers she worked with were skeptical and remained distant. But within a month of the club visiting weekly, they began to trust the UMBC students, becoming more social, engaged, and open to accepting support. In time the Children’s Home organization’s leaders reported students’ grades and self-esteem improved.

While working with youth at The Children’s Home, Dang was also taking psychology courses. She realized she had a great interest in adolescent mental health as a career path.

“UMBC’s UNICEF club has been the most rewarding part of being at UMBC,” says Dang. “Finding a community that has the same shared values as me and the same mission to give back to the community has shaped my career goals.” 

Celena Dang (right) with UMBC Children’s Home volunteers. Photo courtesy of Dang.

Dang will begin a master’s program in clinical mental health counseling at Williams James College fall 2021.

Leadership through service 

Emily Rose on her first day at UMBC.
Photo courtesy of Rose.

WhenEmily Rose Paul‘21, global studies, came to UMBC, wanted to invest time working with Baltimore’s immigrant community. “I think everyone should have the same opportunity my grandparents had when they left Europe,” she says. “If they had not been welcome in the United States I might not be here today because they were Russian and Polish Jews.” 

It was through the encouragement of her mentor, Zuriel Herran ‘20, geography and environmental studies, that she became a volunteer with youth at the Esperanza Center, an immigrant resource center in Baltimore City, teaching English as a second language. She loved the work so much she spent the next three years working at the center and became the lead student coordinator for the program. 

Paul (back row, fourth from the left) with other Esperanza Center volunteers in 2019. Photo courtesy of Paul.

Paul transported UMBC volunteers to the center, guided them in self-reflection, and provided teaching strategies, in addition to helping with administrative tasks. She also took her leadership work to another level through a Shriver Center internship leading the Center’s student coordinator program. She provided fellow students who were leading service-learning partnerships with tools and resources.

Finding answers in the humanities 

In addition to her work with The Shriver Center, Paul worked alongside seven other students as a fellow in the PLACE Colaboratory, which stands for Partnerships for Listening and Action by Communities and Educators. They worked under co-investigators Felipe Filomeno, political science and global studies, and Romy Hübler ‘09, modern languages and linguistics, M.A. ‘11, intercultural communication, and Ph.D. ‘15, language, literacy, and culture, who is assistant director of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life.

As a fellow, Paul worked with students at Benjamin Franklin High School in Baltimore City on a visual storytelling project. She helped them further develop their humanities-based research methods for the project, focused on identifying and addressing community issues.

After graduation, Paul is planning to continue working with immigrant communities, focusing on the promotion of rights in the U.S. and abroad. She is thankful for all the people she met through community partnerships, and for opportunities to grow in her Spanish skills and knowledge of immigration rights. 

Paul (center in jeans) studying abroad in Colombia at a dance festival. Photo courtesy of Paul.

“I was able to access excellent research opportunities in the humanities that I never thought would be available at the undergraduate level,” says Paul. “UMBC is known as a STEM school, but I have received the most amazing humanities education as a global studies student. You will be surprised at all that you can find here.”

Banner image: Emily Rose Paul. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Students from across all of UMBC’s colleges and schools are graduating this week having taken advantage of the unique undergraduate research opportunities and supportive mentorship UMBC offers. They’re poised to take their research to the next level and move on to new challenges through graduate school and careers.

For example, Davis Cappabianca ’21 is recommending reforms to better coordinate multi-agency disaster relief efforts. Hana Flores ’21is conducting cutting-edge HIV studies. Keren Herrán ’21, M29, is incorporating environmental science to improve public health. Ali Abdolrahmani, Ph.D. ’21, is developing innovative assistive technologies for the blind community, and Briscoe Turner ’21 is reimagining public safety with an eye to community empowerment. 

Big breakthroughs

Cappabianca took advantage of UMBC’s individualized study program (INDS) to tailor his degree around his interests. As a U.S. Navy veteran, Cappabianca knows that coordination between the military and civilian relief groups in the aftermath of disasters is often clumsy. He also expects, as an aspiring Navy medical doctor, that he will be involved in these situations in the future. He wanted to find a way to improve outcomes in these situations, because, he says, “The end goal [is] helping the most people possible in the most effective way.”

Davis Cappabianca ’21 in his U.S. Navy uniform. Photo courtesy of Cappabianca.

“I realized that my background in the U.S. Navy provided me with a lot of unique experiences,” he shares, “and what I found in INDS was a way for me to bring those experiences into my education and claim my own degree.” His two degree mentors, Stephen Kosloski, joint director of Naval ROTC at UMBC and University of Maryland, College Park and Joby Taylor, director of the Peaceworker Program at UMBC, brought very different perspectives to his research.

“More often than not, the melding of their ideas was what got me to major breakthroughs in my research,” Cappabianca says. Learning to always consider multiple perspectives was one of the most valuable takeaways from his INDS degree, he adds. “I think it will fundamentally change the way you approach problems, even if it’s subconsciously.” He plans to pursue medical school or a master’s degree in emergency management.

Environmental science meets public health

Herrán also designed her degree around her experiences. Answering a call for more Spanish-speaking participants, she spent spring break of her first year at UMBC in Nicaragua with the UMBC chapter of Global Medical Brigades, a student-run organization committed to implementing sustainable health systems worldwide.

She noticed the relationship between water quality and community health in Nicaragua, and reflected on similar challenges she observed during her childhood summers in Puerto Rico and El Salvador (the birthplaces of her parents). “Coming back to UMBC, I thought, this is what I want to dedicate my life to,” she says.

Her degree has included courses in environmental science, sociology, research methods, and writing—even cartography. Why? Herrán sees significant overlap between study of the environment and public health, but, in practice, doesn’t see the fields as very connected in today’s world. She says, “I want to be in that overlap.”

“I think INDS has been crucial to my acceptance to graduate school, because it’s given me the opportunity to be intentional in my choice of classes, and to claim my education,” Herrán notes. “I knew that I wanted to pursue research and partner with communities, not just come in and tell them what to do,” she says. She has had the opportunity to take that approach in her undergraduate work.

This fall, Herrán will begin a Ph.D. at University of South Carolina as a Presidential Fellow in health promotion, education, and behavior.

Keren Herrán in her graduation regalia, spring 2021. Photo courtesy of Herrán.

Asking challenging questions

Turner and Abdolrahmani also focused on issues close to their hearts. As a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and psychology major, Turner has studied community building in the context of reimagining public safety and justice. 

“I’m really interested in the community aspect, alternatives to policing, and understanding how you build as a community and solve these problems without the use of force—with understanding and restorative practices,” she says. “I’ve grown in that way, and thought about, ‘What does abolition look like? How do we expand our thinking and make sure that we’re tapping into new ideas of how we operate with each other, and how we communicate with each other, and how we treat each other, rather than sticking to historical practices?’”

Her current research with Bronwyn Hunter, assistant professor of psychology, focuses on college students who have had parents incarcerated or struggle with substance use, and understanding the students’ ideas of what justice looks like. In addition to her work with Hunter, a Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University “opened my eyes to how public policy works,” Turner says. Now, she’s asking big questions: “I’m trying to understand what the world could look like, and how do we get there?”

This summer, Turner is headed to Brown University to pursue a master’s of public affairs. “I’ve really enjoyed my UMBC experience. That’s why I picked Brown,” she says. “I felt like it had a lot of similar aspects to it as UMBC, so I want to continue that community feel and the support that I got here.”

Inclusive design

Abdolrahmani has spent the last seven years investigating and developing assistive technologies for the blind community in the human-centered computing Ph.D. program. He decided to pursue a Ph.D. after being exposed to the field of assistive technology while working in his home country to improve the internet banking experience for blind customers. Intrigued and wanting to make a bigger contribution to the field, Abdolrahmani, who is legally blind, moved to the U.S. with his wife at age 36 to study with UMBC faculty in information systems.

“I wanted to understand how I could develop technologies to improve the independent living of the blind community or other people with disabilities,” Abdolrahmani says. He first worked on a project to develop a wearable indoor navigation assistive device. Later, he worked to enhance the user experience of mainstream voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google assistant for the blind. And, finally, he brought the two together for his thesis project, which focused on the use of mainstream voice assistants for navigating airports.

Along the way, he learned that not only did blind people appreciate the technologies he was developing, but so did sighted people and members of other groups. His research “shows that these technologies have great potential for future use for different groups of users in different contexts,” he explains.

Now, Abdolrahmani is looking for roles where he can have an even more direct impact as a member of a product design team, “so that I can inspire more accessibility and inclusive design in products, to see that products are designed in such a way that people with different abilities can use them right away out of the box.”

Becoming a scientist

A culture of supportive mentorship has helped sustain all of these students on their path to commencement. For Hana Flores, her first mentor on campus was none other than President Freeman Hrabowski.

Hana Flores ’21, center, with Phyllis Robinson, right, and Ernestine Baker, after Floes received an award for her presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in 2019. Photo courtesy of Flores.

The CEO of Prince George’s County Public Schools connected Flores with Hrabowski after hearing her deliver the valedictorian address at Bowie High School and learning that she would attend UMBC. On the day of their meeting, when Flores heard Hrabowski’s booming voice from the anteroom to his office, she was nervous. “But once he entered the room, any nerves I had went away,” she recalls. “He was so interested, and genuinely wanted to know what my goals and aspirations were.”

Soon thereafter, she joined the lab of Michael Summers, Distinguished University Professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. And she’s been conducting research with his team on the structure of HIV since. 

Postdoc Pengfei Ding, in particular, spurred her growth by encouraging his mentees to contribute to the intellectual direction of the research, rather than simply teaching them specific laboratory techniques. “Dr. Pengfei Ding essentially was a catalyst for me to grow into a more independent researcher,” Flores says.

Her many professors in chemical engineering also had a role to play. “They are really focused on students being able to achieve. I felt comfortable going to office hours,” she says. “And I feel like they didn’t just care about me accomplishing in my classes, they also cared about how I was as a person.”

Flores has presented at national conferences, conducted summer research at MIT, and joined the UMBC Honors College and U-RISE Program. Shes also a contributing author for one published and two pending research articles. This fall, she’ll begin a Ph.D. at MIT as a Dean of Science Fellow, where she hopes to pursue interests in protein engineering and regeneration.

Hana Flores ’21. Photo courtesy Flores.

The power of mentoring

Herrán had support from research mentor Dawn Biehler, associate professor of geography and environmental systems, as well as her INDS and Meyerhoff Scholar communities. Biehler “is invested in her mentees and their growth and development, and she’s just incredibly kind and supportive,” Herrán says. 

On her Meyerhoff experience, Herrán reflects, “I’m a minority in many aspects, and Meyerhoff is so beautiful, because it’s so rare to be in a cohort of more than 50 other students who are also minorities, who are also trailblazers within their families and their cultural communities. You relate to one another, you support one another—it’s a family for life.”

Abdolrahmani also received support from multiple angles. Stacey Branham, formerly of UMBC and now on the faculty at University of California, Irvine, “had a very deep trust in me and my abilities and my creativity for different research projects that we collaborated on together,” he says. Ravi Kuber, associate professor of information systems, was his primary advisor and “the first one who trusted me when I arrived in 2014.”

Keren Herrán ’21, right, at the University of Pennsylvania, where she gave a poster presentation on research completed during the Leadership Alliance Summer Research – Early Identification Program in 2018. Photo courtesy Herrán.

A strong believer in peer mentoring, Abdolrahmani thinks back to the supportive relationships he developed with both graduate and undergraduate students. With the undergrads, in particular, “I trained them academically, but also how to interact with me as a blind person, what kind of support I need,” Abdolrahmani says, “so I had the support that Ph.D. students need through the collaboration of my mentors and colleagues in the team.”

Circle of support

Turner’s research mentor, Hunter, offered valuable insights beyond their specific research project, supporting Turner as a whole person. “I’ve learned a lot from her about criminal justice and research and just about life,” Turner says of Hunter.

That support included walking her through the graduate school application process and providing an emotional anchor point. “I really appreciated her and the graduate students sharing their experiences,” Turner says. “She would also check in with me during our one-on-one meetings to see how I was doing throughout the process, given how difficult this past year has been.” 

Briscoe Turner ’21 in graduation regalia. Photo courtesy Turner.

Faculty in the Sondheim Scholars and Honors College programs completed Turner’s circle of support. “All of them have been there for me, which I really appreciate, for personal growth and also my career goals,” she reflects.

Connections and pathways

Other graduating students, too, have benefited from strong mentorship and rich research experiences. Caleb Robelle ’21, M29, mathematics and computer science, had the opportunity to connect with research mentors across UMBC, Rutgers, Texas A&M, and Johns Hopkins, and was accepted into all 17 of the Ph.D. programs he applied to. He will pursue his Ph.D. in theoretical computer science at MIT. Olumide Fagboyegun ’21, M29, biochemistry, will pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Harvard as a Herchel Smith and NSF Graduate Research Fellow after completing neurological research with Erin Green, assistant professor of biological sciences. 

Jordan Troutman ’21, M29, computer science and mathematics, is UMBC’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar. He will pursue a Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford. And Samuel Patterson ’21, economics and mathematics, will attend Oxford as the second Rhodes Scholar in UMBC’s history, with a focus on transportation economics.

Thinking ahead

In UMBC tradition, on the eve of their graduation these students are already thinking about how they can support those coming after them. Flores, for example, benefited from being paired with a graduate student as part of her summer research experience at MIT. She’s planning to become a mentor once she arrives on campus to begin her Ph.D. 

They all agree that community connections matter. “It’s powerful to give people the platform to share their stories, their lives, their hopes, their dreams,” Turner says. “There’s a lot of power in community—building with each other and climbing as you go.”

Banner image: Hana Flores, left, and Keren Herrán, right, on campus. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

The past pandemic year saw arts communities unable to connect with audiences in traditional ways. Usually reliant on people gathering together to experience their work, creators and performers were thrust online. Some artistic experiences were rendered impossible, but the challenging situation didn’t slow the creative efforts of visual and performing artists of UMBC’s Class of 2021.

Lighting up the stage

“The pandemic took a toll on my ability to create and share my artwork,” shares Seth Kolbe ’21, theatre, who will graduate with a focus on design and production. “As a theatre technician, there are very few opportunities to showcase my talents outside of shows or projects.”

During the pandemic, Kolbe honed his leadership skills, serving as vice president of both the Theatre Council of Majors (TheatreCOM) and the department’s United States Institute for Theatre Technology chapter. Through the work of these two student organizations, he helped facilitate a closer bond between members of the department and helped support the creation of new policies to assist future students. In recognition of his efforts, the department awarded him the Theatre Student Honors Award.

Among Kolbe’s favorite classes were stage management, projection design, sound design, lighting design, rigging and welding, and scene design. During his four years at UMBC, he contributed to numerous theatrical productions, including Twelfth Night, The Turn of the Screw, Machinal, She Like Girls, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Anon(ymous), Hunting and Gathering, Girls on a Dirt Pile, and Everybody. 

Kolbe also gained skills working with the Annapolis Shakespeare Company and as a member of UMBC Retriever Robotics. 

Like many UMBC students in the arts, Kolbe feels strongly about social justice, a particular focus of his leadership work over the past year. “I would like my art to make a difference in the world and in small ways it is already doing so,” he says. “I will continue to support underrepresented groups and use my privilege as white male to act against the inequality present in both this art form and our society.” 

Kolbe shares, “My immediate future plans are to continue freelance stagehand and design work in the region before attending graduate school for my MFA.” Eventually, he hopes to teach theatre design and production.

Promoting empathy and connectivity

Kolbe’s theatre colleague Caitlyn Hooper ’21 will graduate with a BFA in acting. She notes that the pandemic “completely changed” how acting students were learning. “We were acting to our laptop cameras, a tough loss. But everyone found new ways to be creative, and I was so inspired by that creativity. I found a deeper connection to the research side of theatre, including the history of theatre and theatrical intimacy studies.” 

Hooper joined UMBC as a freshman in 2017, and was cast in numerous productions on stage, including Everybody, Hunting and Gathering, Gwyneth, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and Far Away. In addition to her acting studies, she worked in the scene shop beginning in her sophomore year and gained knowledge about technical production and carpentry. 

The concern for equity and social justice factors significantly in Hooper’s work. “As a theatre artist, I’m passionate about creating work that promotes empathy and connectivity,” she says. “I’m inspired by Black theatre activists’ anti-racist work currently restructuring how we do theatre, and I’m committed to equality and justice of marginalized people.” 

As president of TheatreCOM during her senior year, she advocated for equitable theatre practices within the department, and, like Kolbe, was a recipient of the Theatre Student Honors Award.

Hooper completed research focused on theatrical intimacy, mentored by Susan Stroupe. She presented her work at UMBC’s popular Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) in 2021 and also published it in UMBC Review. She’s passionate about pursuing a career focused on theatrical intimacy and she plans to apply for a Fulbright award to gain a cross-cultural perspective on theatrical intimacy in another county. 

For the immediate future, Hooper plans to return to the stage in local and regional productions. Longer-term, she plans to earn an MFA in acting or performance studies and pursue a career in higher education. She hopes to focus on consent-based practices and anti-racist action in theatrical education in order to make theatre more equitable and ethical.

One student, many interests

Meyerhoff Scholar and U-RISE Trainee Peter Bailer ’21 has equally pursued his interests in the arts and sciences at UMBC, and this week will graduate with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and a degree in music composition. 

“Music is an essential part of my life; it is both my creative outlet and a powerful medium through which I can express myself,” he shares. “I feel that my experiences with music at UMBC have helped make me a holistic and well-rounded student. From analysis to creative problem solving, my music major has sharpened many skills relevant towards any career, but especially a career in research.”

On the science side of his interests, Bailer has worked in Erin Green’s lab, focused on examining  a yeast protein through sequencing data and published structures of related organisms. 

He participated in several summer research internships as an undergraduate. At the University of Virginia, he studied the toxicity and structure of peptides that have the potential to become new antimicrobial therapeutics. At the University of Pennsylvania he studied the nature of how a human mutator enzyme discriminates between DNA and RNA for potential gene editing applications. Bailer won a Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Award for Excellence for both academic and research performance.

In music, Bailer has studied composition with Linda Dusman and Greg Kalember. His music reflects influences from the Romantic era, jazz, late impressionism, and contemporary classical music. He was commissioned by Jonathan Sotelo ’20 to write the percussion trio An Evolution of Congruence, and a marimba work entitled Pebbles. His recent saxophone sextet, The Lost Woods, was premiered by saxophonist and UMBC faculty member Matt Belzer in 2021, and Cognitive Dissonance was premiered by the Washington, D.C. new music ensemble Balance Campaign, also in 2021. 

Bailer has performed with the UMBC Saxophone Ensemble, the UMBC New Music Ensemble, and was lead alto in the UMBC Jazz Ensemble. As a senior he received the Academic Achievement Award in Music.

Getting creative with creativity

“The pandemic had major impacts on my ability to create as a composer and musician,” says Bailer. “As a musician, I was no longer able to perform or create with others, and that really reduced my creativity throughout this pandemic.”

Bailer explains, “I was supposed to have my senior composition recital last spring. This ultimately had to be pushed back to this semester, resulting in a combination of some live performances and a lot of pre-recorded versions of pieces.” On the positive side, he notes that extra time at home provided an opportunity for him to study more techniques in music technology that will help his career in the long term.

“Following graduation, I will attend the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biophysics,” says Bailer. “While pursuing this, I hope to continue practicing and growing as a composer, and I aspire to be performing ground-breaking research while continuing to compose for years to come.”

Finding a new voice

“As a musician, the pandemic forced me to make a big shift in my creative process,” says Kathryn “Katie” Blake ’21, a Linehan Artist Scholar who will graduate with a bachelor’s in music composition. “As a composer, I had to find quirky ways to inspire myself in my writings, because the isolation and being in the same environment for months on end is mentally taxing.”

“The dramatic change of being surrounded by creative musicians to being alone changed the way I approached composing,” says Blake. “Before, I’d constantly be asking my friends to try a little passage, or show me a technique—we would bounce ideas off each other. The isolation really made me focus and find the exact sounds I wanted in my pieces, and the exact sounds that my pieces needed.”

But Blake found strength in unexpected ways, adding, “I also transitioned to composing for the digital medium, as it is an easy form of artistic communication at the moment. I really honed in on my skills with electroacoustic works, and I found a voice in that sound realm that can only be accomplished by electroacoustic composition.”

Performances past and future

During Blake’s undergraduate studies, her compositions have been premiered by the Bergamot String Quartet, percussionist Jonathan Sotelo ’20, the Balance Campaign ensemble, and the Strata Trio. The 2019 Fresh Inc. Festival, District New Music Coalition’s 2020 fall conference, and T1International’s “Change Through Creativity” Project in 2020 all featured her work.

Also active as a violist, Blake has performed with the UMBC Symphony Orchestra and in the UMBC Chamber Players. She premiered string quartets by Donte Speaks, Jr. and Eliza Triolo ’19, music. Featuring a role as both violist and composer, she was honored in fall 2019 to work with UMBC choreographer Ann Sofie Clemmensen, whose dance In To And Out Of was featured at the Kennedy Center. She has composed music for animator William Kraft ’21, visual arts, filmmaker Kelvin Thompson ’20, visual arts, and choreographers Teresa Whittemore ’20, dance and Kayla Massey ’22, dance. Like Bailer, she received the Academic Achievement Award in Music.

Outside of composing, Blake has interests in health advocacy, social justice, psychology, and mental health, and has found ways to connect her interests. “I do feel a large part of myself as an artist is to make a change,” she states. “Currently, I’ve had a focus on diabetes and insulin advocacy, tying my experience as a diabetic into my work. I have already delved into the insulin crisis with my work, but I plan to do so much more.”

Blake plans to pursue a master’s and then a D.M.A. in music composition, and looks forward to a career in higher education. “Composing and creating is what gave me the spark to keep going when I was younger,” she says, “and I want to help others find that spark as well.”

Transformation in quarantine

“My thesis show was totally transformed by quarantine,” shares Rahne Alexander M.F.A. ’21, intermedia and digital arts, of her recent participation in the spring M.F.A. visual arts thesis exhibition, Home Bodies. “What was intended to be a live performance transformed into an online experience, which set off a kind of domino effect on the various aspects of the project.” For instance, Alexander explains, “instead of creating a talk show set in the gallery, I recreated my home studio in which I produced the show, and ultimately I think that overall, my work was better as a result.” 

The content of the show was also impacted by its shifting context, Alexander reflects. “A significant part of this piece was a meditation on the way that multiple sclerosis caused my mother to transform her own art practices, and the parallels I have experienced in my own career,” she says. “Quarantine really brought those parallel conditions into excruciatingly clear focus, in ways I’ll be considering for a long while.” 

Alexander is already an accomplished essayist, contributing to anthologies such as the Lambda Literary Award-winning Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica and the Lambda-nominated Resilience Anthology. Her first book of collected essays, Heretic to Housewife, was published by Neon Hemlock in 2019. 

While at UMBC, Rahne has exhibited artworks both regionally and internationally. Her video art screened as part of the International Conference of Chinese Computer Human Interaction at Xiamen University, and at the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Necessity of Tomorrow(s) Screening Room. In 2020, her painted scroll triptych “I Am the End of the Patriarchy and So Can You” was commissioned by ‘sindikit and Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art for the Mary B. Howard Invitational: An Excellent Thought About a Quality Idea. These scrolls have subsequently shown at The Shed Space and as part of Spark IV: A New World? at Maryland Art Place. 

A leader and community connector

Also active in arts administration and advocacy, Alexander has been a leader at the Transmodern Festival and the Maryland Film Festival, where she served five years in charge of operations and development. She has since lent her organizational and development assistance to several groups, including the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, Venus Theater, Wide Angle Youth Media, and Single Carrot Theatre. 

“My work has always been about making connections between people, often with the specific political goal of destigmatizing trans and queer identities. I work to get audiences to reconsider their assumptions and epistemologies,” says Alexander. 

“Trans people make up such a small minority of the population, yet there is this continued push to diminish and deny our civil rights. We can’t really secure those rights without the support of the majority, so a large part of my mission as an artist has been to make connections and open dialogue,” she notes. “And the same holds true for all marginalized people—disability rights, Indigenous rights, the rights of queer people and Black people and Brown people. As the saying goes, none of us are free until we are all free, and I see my work as a part of that larger project.”

Alexander will continue working as an artist. She currently has work on display at Spark IV: A New World? and she will be on the faculty at this summer’s Tulsa Glitterary Writer’s Conference.

Banner Image: Cailtlyn Hooper and other theatre students in the 2018 production of Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Nyalls Hartman, for which Seth Kolbe served as assistant head electrician. Photo by Raquel Hammer ’20 for UMBC.

When the time came to start her college career, Sondheim Scholar Viviana Angelini ‘21 traded in the palm trees of Florida for all things Baltimore at UMBC. She had taken some classes at a local community college in Florida while a homeschooled high school student, but starting at UMBC was a very different and exciting experience.

“It was pretty amazing to go from studying literature at home and having small classes, to then come here and see all the students and all the academic buildings,” says Angelini. “When I did a campus tour, two things stuck out to me the most and made me feel like I was where I belonged: walking into the Commons and seeing all the international flags and walking underneath all the trees on Academic Row and feeling the sense of community and excitement about learning.”

She felt inspired to make the most of her UMBC experience from day one, eventually adding three minors (international politics, Russian, and music) to her political science major and pursuing internships that had a huge impact on her college experience and her career trajectory. While her individual path was unique, the way she was able to pursue opportunities beyond the classroom, putting her knowledge into practice, is a classic UMBC experience.

Connecting with opportunities

Angelini on campus this spring. Photo courtesy of Marlayna Demond ‘11. 

Angelini’s first internship, for two summers, was with Congressman Gus Bilirakis who represents her home district in Florida. She reviewed and analyzed legislation and attended media briefings about military strategy, freedom of the press, and other topics. One highlight, she says, was writing a speech for the congressman to deliver in the House of Representatives about Canadian/American relations.

While this foray into politics piqued her interest, her career goals were further solidified after meeting James Clapper, former director of national intelligence. They connected at a speaking engagement at UMBC and Clapper suggested she apply for an internship with the U.S. Department of Defense. Angelini soon found herself packing her bags again, this time to head to Nebraska for her first position in intelligence. 

Defining her path

“I spent the summer working in support of U.S. national security,” she says. “It was an amazing experience, bringing together everything I learned at UMBC and applying it to the real world.”

To further broaden her professional portfolio, Angelini traveled to Colorado the following summer to continue work for the Department of Defense, this time with NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. 

Angelini poses with the eight-foot-tall snowman she and friends made during a snowstorm at UMBC. 

Since September 2020, Angelini has been interning at Fort Meade, authoring reports for the National Security Agency. After graduating, she’ll attend George Washington University as a graduate fellow as she works towards a master’s in security policy studies with a concentration in conflict resolution. 

To students starting their journey at UMBC, Angelini suggests, “Say yes to any opportunity. You don’t know what kind of doors it will open or how it will come back to benefit you in the future. Almost every experience you have in undergrad will help you in the future, either professionally or personally.” 

Making the data work

If someone asked you to determine how many people had food-producing gardens in Portland, Oregon, where would you begin? Travis Twigg ‘19, geographic information science, and M.P.S. ‘21, data science, encountered this question during an undergraduate internship in 2018 with geography and environmental systems (GES) at UMBC, and the possibilities that came to mind intrigued him. “I was working with my professor, Dillon Mahmoudi, to try and determine access to healthy food, so I trained a model to do object detection on satellite imagery to find the gardens,” he says.

Portrait courtesy of Twigg. 

Working with Mahmoudi had such an impact on Twigg that after graduating with a bachelor’s degree, he enrolled in UMBC’s data science graduate program. He’ll earn his master’s degree this week. 

Through internships, Twigg has tackled a broad range of questions related to analyzing maps and satellite imagery. In the summer of 2020, he built upon the machine learning work he began as an undergrad and accepted an internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He worked to develop a model to distinguish clouds from smoke in satellite imagery. When smoke is too heavy, NASA’s internal operation erroneously mistakes it for clouds and crops it out of the images entirely, causing a cascade of problems. His model was trained to correct the error. 

Learning from COVID-19

Twigg also interned as a researcher with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he worked with a team of seven other students across the country to model COVID-19 dynamics.

“This was early summer 2020, so there was a lot of data coming out, but people still weren’t sure how bad the pandemic was going to get—if there was going to be one wave, two waves, et cetera. So, we were trying to create a model to predict that,” says Twigg. 

His team also looked at sentiment analysis on Twitter to map the relationship between residents’ political preferences and how they were responding to different state guidelines across the U.S. 

Building relationships, experience

A first-generation college student, Twigg wasn’t always sure what his path was going to look like. He graduated with his associate’s degree in mathematics from Frederick Community College and then continued his studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Still uncertain how he wanted to proceed, Twigg made the decision to take a break from his education and accept a position as a business manager for nearly a decade. 

The time away from his studies gave him the opportunity to reflect on what he ultimately wanted in a career. In 2016, he enrolled at UMBC, ready to complete his degree.

Twigg learned valuable lessons along the way and would advise new Retrievers to “show up, get involved, and network,” including exploring hands-on internship opportunities. “When you’re done with school, employers will care most about the relationships you have been able to build and the experience you’ve gained, and the first step of that is just showing up.”

Next, Twigg will complete a master’s in data analytics at Georgia Institute of Technology. 

Hitting the ground running

When Luke Matthews ‘21, financial economics and political science, initially chose a college, he says, “I didn’t really take into consideration how much the school really feeling like home mattered to me.” But he soon realized how important diversity would be to his experience, and he chose to transfer to UMBC in search of a sense of community.“UMBC is incredibly diverse and I think that’s the thing I love most about it,” he shares. 

He hit the ground running at UMBC, securing the first of five undergraduate internships. In his sophomore year, Matthews worked with the Baltimore Minority Business Development Center. He helped minority business owners secure funding, including searching for government contracts and providing support to help them win those contracts. 

“It was a small team and I was given a lot of autonomy to try different approaches and lead things at such a young age,” says Matthews. “It was really interesting and I enjoyed it.”

Trying something new

His next opportunity, as a quantitative research intern at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was a departure from what he had envisioned for himself. “I was trying to work for a large investment bank as a sophomore, but I didn’t get accepted at any of the places I applied,” says Matthews. “I figured I could either pout about it or find something else, so I found something else with the help of my statistics professor and Christine Routzahn, director of the UMBC Career Center. It turned out to be one of the most enriching experiences ever.” 

He was able to publish research, make connections at Johns Hopkins, and spend the summer living on his own for the first time. In addition to the personal growth it afforded him, Matthews shares that in interviews since then, employers have been intrigued by his real-world experience with biostatistics. 

Back to the plan 

Matthews got back onto the financial path with his next internship at Facet Wealth, a start-up company looking to revolutionize the financial planning industry. The company was fully virtual, and although the internship ended in January 2020, it offered a timely preview into what the following year would be like. Matthews was able to help build models to inform business decisions and corporate operations. 

In summer 2020, before his senior year, Matthews finally landed his dream internship at Bank of America in the investment banking division. It was a perfect fit and ultimately led to a job offer awaiting him after graduation.

Matthews with a group of children he worked with during a UMBC Global Brigades medical and public health service trip to Panama. Photo courtesy of the UMBC Global Brigades, with participant permission.

To further sharpen his skills before graduating, Matthews took a final internship senior year at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore as a fixed income research intern. The position had him speaking directly with portfolio managers about how to allocate money for investment opportunities. The experience offered an opportunity to “become more persuasive and a better speaker, and really hone my rhetorical abilities,” Matthews says. 

Next steps

As he prepares to move on to a full-time role in investment banking, Matthews thinks about the supporters at UMBC who helped him access opportunities, particularly Routzahn and her team at Career Services. Like Angelini and Twigg, he advises students to be bold in reaching out for help and guidance. “Almost every internship I had is because of the Career Center.” 

Whether you’re a commuting student or live on campus, a transfer student or have been at UMBC from the start, he says, there are people at UMBC to help you start and grow your career.

Banner image: Viviana Angelini in front of international flags in the UMBC Commons. All photos courtesy of students unless otherwise noted.

On the back of every UMBC black and gold ID card is a guide to essential emergency resources, including numbers for health, counseling, sexual assault, and suicide prevention helplines. The new card design was the result of student advocacy through UMBC’s Retriever Courage initiative, seeking to better prevent and respond to sexual assault and violence. And the person who suggested that change is Autumn Cook ‘21, M29, chemistry, and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies (GWST), graduating this week.

A Meyerhoff Scholar and Honors College student, Cook has been a tireless advocate for all UMBC students, with a focus on supporting survivors of sexual assault and helping trans students find and build community, in the sciences and at UMBC broadly. 

Committing to visibility

“I was the first openly trans Meyerhoff Scholar in the history of the program and I quickly learned that I would have to build my own community of transgender scholars at UMBC,” Cook shares. “Without having any friends like me, I connected and built bridges with people who did. I was lucky enough to find more trans people through both the LBGTQ+ Student Union and its programming, and then through the Women’s Center.” 

Cook launched the LBGTQ+ Student Union’s weekly trans discussion group, then worked to restart and become a co-facilitator of the Women’s Center’s trans discussion group, Spectrum. “I always make it a priority to be extremely visible because I want to demonstrate to other people that transgender people exist, transgender people can thrive, and transgender people can be successful,” they share. 

“I want to potentially be a role model for other transgender people,” says Cook, “to show them that I can do it, therefore so can you.”

Calling for change

Thinking about the impact of the new campus ID design, Cook says, “I’m proud that every UMBC student, faculty, and staff member now carries that card and that it is part of a legacy I’m leaving behind at UMBC.” 

Their legacy also extends to other important changes that impact the daily life on campus. For example, Cook joined UMBC community members in calling for updating and expanding all-gender restrooms, including multi-person restrooms. The first multi-person, all-gender restroom opened in Sherman Hall A Wing in June 2019 and more have followed across the campus.

Amelia Meman, assistant director of the Women’s Center and Cook’s supervisor and mentor, says Cook is an asset to campus who will be missed. “As a student heavily involved with the administration in advocating for this project and later ensuring accountability in implementation, Autumn has left an indelible mark on our campus by ensuring access for everyone–affirming all people’s gender diversity.”

In recognition of their scholarship and advocacy work at UMBC, Cook received two Lavender Awards: LQBTQ+ Scholar of the Year in 2021 and Emerging Student Leader in 2020. As a GWST major, they received the Jo Ann E. Argersinger Academic Achievement Award for GWST in 2020 and 2021.

Helping students succeed in science

Cook also sees important interconnections between their two majors: GWST and chemistry. After graduating from UMBC, they will pursue their Ph.D. in chemistry at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, but they see GWST as foundational in their work to boost inclusion in science. 

“I’ll be able to use my degree to push through more advocacy work within the next step of my educational and professional journey,” says Cook. “Whether it’s conducting research after I finish my Ph.D., dictating science policy on a national level, or supporting transgender scientists, I want to continue to fight for my community.” 

Cook plans to become a chemistry professor and has already completed research with Joseph Bennett, research assistant professor of chemistry, and became one of the department’s youngest teaching assistants (TAs). They tutored students in the Chemistry Tutorial Center, and for that work, received the 2021 Mittino Award for Service from the chemistry and biochemistry department. 

“When I started in chemistry, I struggled a lot. But because of the time and effort other people put into helping me, I was able to grasp the knowledge on a really deep level,” says Cook. “Tutoring and TA’ing was at first a way to pay it back to those people who helped me, but it quickly turned into a passion.”

“Once I realized that teaching chemistry as a professor was what I wanted to do, I made sure to take every opportunity that I could,” they add. “Being able to help students succeed is extremely gratifying and rewarding.”

Finding opportunities to lead

Christian Figueroa ‘21, social work, and Henri Maindidze, ‘21, psychology, say building community for students at UMBC-Shady Grove has been at the heart of their undergraduate experiences. 

A first-generation student who transferred from Montgomery College, Figueroa dedicated himself to helping create a culture of belonging at UMBC-Shady Grove. It all started in 2019 when he “took a chance” to run for a leadership role as vice president of UMBC-Shady Grove’s Social Work Student Association (SWSA). 

Figueroa says that experience opened more doors and encouraged him to apply for additional opportunities, like representing UMBC on the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) Student Council. He also served on the UMBC-Shady Grove Peer Advisory Team, collaborating with faculty, staff, and current students on recruitment and retention events for transfer students. 

After becoming SWSA co-president in 2020, Figueroa gained additional leadership experience and learned the importance of flexibility and creativity in building community during challenging times. When UMBC transitioned to virtual classes during the pandemic, he wanted to provide ways for social work students to stay connected. 

Collaborating with co-president Mariandree Paiz ‘21, social work, and clinical instructor Jeanette Hoover (SWSA’s advisor), Figueroa developed community discussions focused on current events, featuring clinical instructor Nicole Belfiore. They also coordinated self-care nights and opportunities for students to do service work.

Serving communities

While committing so much time to leadership and supporting his fellow students, Figueroa took advantage of professional development opportunities offered by USG as well. He was selected to participate in the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Interprofessional Scholar Program, which enables students to collaborate on real-world projects. Figueroa says the experience validated his desire to be a social worker.

After graduation, Figueroa will enter the master of social work program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore with advanced standing, and will specialize in behavioral health. He will serve as an intern with the Montgomery County Crisis Center, one of the sites he worked with as part of his DHHS Fellowship.

“Christian exemplifies our Retriever spirit and UMBC grit,” says Chelsea S. Moyer, director of UMBC-Shady Grove. “He is a committed and engaged student leader exhibiting the social work value of service. He gives generously of his time and talents and is genuinely enthusiastic about and driven to make a difference in the lives of others. Importantly, he serves as both a problem-solver and bridge-builder in helping to create and build an inclusive community at the Universities at Shady Grove.”

Making space for conversations

Maindidze, who received his associate’s degree from Montgomery College, says getting involved in campus life at UMBC-Shady Grove was always a given. Seeing opportunities to create connections to support fellow students, Maindidze took the initiative to make them happen. “As students, we have a unique responsibility to make a difference and we only get a few years to do so,” he says. “It’s important to make this time worthwhile and leave a lasting impact.”

Henri Maindidze. Photo courtesy of Maindidze.

As relationship-building became more challenging because of the pandemic, Maindidze decided to create a conversation space where members could address current issues, share their stories, and celebrate their diverse voices. In August 2020, he launched the Nine Tea podcast, a name combining the nine University System of Maryland institutions that make up USG with the expression “spill the tea.” Featuring topics such as social justice, race relations, and mental health, Nine Tea has already reached around 900 listeners. 

Someone to rely on

For his senior year, Maindidze took classes at both UMBC’s main campus and UMBC-Shady Grove. He joined Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) at the main campus as a Transfer Student Network leader and again looked for ways to build community during COVID-19. 

Maindidze hosted events so main campus students could meet their peers at UMBC-Shady Grove and get to know one another, which he hopes will continue. He also mentored incoming transfer students, providing a connection as they navigated a new campus. “It was important to try to reach students and let them know they could rely on me to help them along the way,” he says. 

Henri Maindidze. Photo courtesy of Maindidze.

Chloe Terrell, OCSS coordinator for transfer student success, says Maindidze’s mentees shared how helpful he was at guiding them through their first semester at UMBC. “Henri has been a crucial team member in OCSS. He brings a calm yet confident energy to any space he’s in,” says Terrell. “Henri’s work in OCSS will leave a legacy.”

Like Figueroa, Maindidze represented UMBC-Shady Grove as a member of the USG Student Council. He was also on the USG assessment committee and vice president of the UMBC-Shady Grove Psychology Student Association, participating in service projects, study groups, and speaking engagements.

After graduating, Maindidze will pursue his Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology at SUNY Albany. He plans to continue creating community-building initiatives and mentoring students. He shares, “I want to create welcoming spaces where I can help students and make sure they have what they need to be successful.”

Featured image: Autumn Cook in graduation regalia on Academic Row, May 2021. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Article written by Eleanor Lewis, communication specialist in the Division of Student Affairs.

Kiaron Bailey will soon become the very first graduate of UMBC’s new master’s degree program in community leadership, a path she hadn’t envisioned for herself while working in finance just a few years ago. “From a very young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of giving back. I just didn’t realize that I could pursue that passion and actually sustain myself,” Bailey says. In deciding to make the career shift, “I kind of had a heart-to-heart with myself,” and she realized that entrepreneurship and community impact can go hand in hand.

Bailey learned about the program when she connected with Sonya Crosby at her place of worship. Today, Crosby is assistant vice provost for applied and off-campus programs, but at the time she was director of the Office of Professional Programs, which offered the new master’s degree. Crosby told Bailey about the practical emphasis of the program—how it combined coursework community-based service-learning—and Bailey knew it was what she was looking for.

Appreciating the nuances

As someone who studied finance as an undergraduate—where one plus one equals two—Bailey found the nuanced world of community leadership a bit shocking, she says, laughing. She particularly enjoyed connecting with nonprofits in Baltimore City, using her skills to support their missions while learning more about running community-based organizations. 

Next One Up helps Black male youth in their academics, including preparing for the SATs and other college prep. The nonprofit did not yet have a physical space, and Bailey researched possible locations, preparing them to strengthen their services and community connections post-pandemic.

She also worked with The Lazarus Rite, which helps formerly incarcerated people prepare for jobs, obtain gainful employment, learn about budgeting, and develop soft skills to support their success. Bailey developed a survey to help the organization prepare to apply for a grant, and analyzed the survey data. 

UMBC’s community leadership program, “definitely helped me get a holistic perspective of what it actually takes to run an organization and the type of tenacity and creativity you need,” she says. Bailey currently works for the Interagency Commission on School Construction for the State of Maryland, and also serves as an administrator of programs and finance, and the liaison for the Maryland Board of Education. She plans to continue that while starting to build a nonprofit supporting physical, mental, and financial wellness.

Creative problem solver

When Princess Sara Njemanze ‘21, chemical engineering, came to UMBC as a freshman, she knew that she wanted to find opportunities to build and to support communities. She started by joining the Shriver Center’s Living Learning Community, a residential floor bringing together students focused on meaningful social change. The experience proved so significant that she remained connected to the group for four years, transitioning through roles as a peer mentor and then as a resident assistant. “It’s my life,” she says, smiling.

As she explored possibilities for her degree and career paths, Njemanze knew she enjoyed fixing problems through science and engineering and that she loved connecting with people. After meeting Vivian Armor ‘73, American studies, director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, Njemanze decided to register for an entrepreneurship class. There, she got a chance to partner with students from all different majors and to come up with a product to pitch for a Shark Tank-style presentation. Before long, she added minors in both computer science and entrepreneurship to her degree.

As a France-Merrick Fellow, Njemanze worked with a group of her peers to create initiatives that work to address challenges in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. “Something that I’m really proud of that we worked on and saw the fruits was hosting a leadership program for high school students at Lansdowne High School,” she explains, adding that they asked the students to envision their ideal communities. 

The high school students came to UMBC for a day-long leadership training and created art that was displayed at OCA Mocha, a coffee shop and community gathering space in downtown Arbutus. Njemanze says the opportunity to connect with younger students was meaningful to her and impacted her UMBC experience.

During her time at UMBC, Njemanze interned at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, where she was offered a job that will begin after graduation, combining her passion for engineering and creative problem solving. Her long-term vision is creating a nonprofit to support underserved communities gain access to knowledge and skills such as financial literacy, college readiness, and leadership development. 

Supporting mental health through tech

Tristan King ‘21, individualized studies, created his own path at UMBC after transferring from Howard Community College (HCC), where he earned an associates degree in computer science. While King was at HCC, he met Joshua Massey ‘14, individualized studies, who was teaching an entrepreneurship course. By talking with Massey during his office hours King learned that at UMBC he could design his own major, and he began to explore the possibilities.

King shares that his personal mental health struggles led him to create a major at UMBC that focused on how technology could support mental health and wellbeing. Through an emerging field called digital therapeutics, he explains, some health care providers are prescribing apps and websites to provide support and resources to people with depression and other mental health challenges. 

At UMBC, King began learning more about tech and accessibility. He worked with Ravi Kuber, associate professor of information systems, on creating obstacle-detection tools so that blind runners could complete their runs independently and safely (research supported by Toyota). King also worked with Lee Boot, director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center, on data visualization research. 

In 2020, he participated in UMBC’s annual Idea Competition through the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. His team earned second place for the Sproutful System, which includes a plant container outfitted with sensors that transmit to a phone app, helping the user know what their plant needs to thrive. The app also features daily guided meditations. The idea is that a person will care for themselves and their plant in a daily meditative practice that is both relaxing and rewarding. 

King’s senior capstone project uses virtual reality to translate metaphor therapy to an immersive environment. “It looks at how people describe depression and anxiety, and sort of visualizes it,” he says. The project combined what he learned through health psychology coursework with his computer science skills, interest in supporting mental health, creativity, and ingenuity to yield a thought-provoking tool.

Energy and commitment

When Amina Mahmood ‘21, computer science, was younger, she would routinely get viruses on her family’s desktop computer while playing online games. Her computing skill set has certainly grown and changed over the years, but her passion for the field remains the same. 

As she was applying to colleges, Mahmood focused on institutions with strong resources for students pursuing computer science. She felt elated when offered a spot in UMBC’s Cyber Scholars program, housed within the Center for Women in Technology. She wanted to make the most of each and every opportunity that came her way.

That is how Mahmood, as a new freshman at UMBC, found herself at the UMBC Career Center’s campus career fair, 10 copies of her resume in hand. She didn’t yet have work experience in computing, and wasn’t quite sure of the protocol, but she committed to handing out each one of those resumes before she left. 

Before the end of the day, Mahmood connected with Huntress Labs, a start-up company based in bwtech@UMBC. Huntress Labs offered her an internship, and she worked there part-time through her sophomore year.

She also went on to complete internships at Parsons, a company that develops digital solutions in the security, defense, and infrastructure industries; Systems and Tech Research; and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. There, she will soon begin a full-time job as a cyber engineer, where she will focus on reverse engineering, one of her computing-related passions.

A world of opportunities

While completing her courses and interning, Mahmood took advantage of unique learning opportunities. She received a scholarship to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, the world’s largest gathering of women in technology. She also studied abroad in the United Kingdom in spring 2020, traveling to Paris and London before the program ended early due to the emergence of COVID-19. 

Mahmood’s approach of taking on new challenges with energy and commitment extended to other aspects of her life at UMBC. When she found that UMBC offered limited on-campus halal dining options, she worked with the Student Dining Advisory Committee to expand those options. In her junior year her tenacity paid off. UMBC opened Halal Shack as a permanent halal dining option in The Commons, also popular with vegetarian and vegan diners.

Knowing the potential of her organizing to positively impact other people motivated Mahmood to push forward the work until it became a reality. “I’m the youngest in my family, but what if I have a daughter or a nephew and they come to UMBC, what would I want them to experience?” she asked herself. “I just want to use my skill set and whatever I can do to be beneficial to other people.”

Gaining confidence as entrepreneur

Jason Jozwiak, M.S. ‘21, information systems, came to UMBC with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, a decade working as a software developer, and two years teaching English in Ukraine through the Peace Corps. As a Peaceworker Fellow with UMBC’s Shriver Center, he had an opportunity to pursue his master’s degree in information systems while working part-time with Baltimore City’s Department of General Services, and completing a social change leadership program.

Jozwiak began working with the City of Baltimore before the COVID-19 pandemic began, developing software to help his department digitize records. During the pandemic, the City began using that same software to record COVID-19 data to support contact tracing efforts.

That experience broadened his sense of the kinds of community impacts he could have through a career in computing. After graduation, he plans to expand his software development work in partnership with another emerging entrepreneur. 

“UMBC helped open my eyes to the possibilities and opportunities that are available,” says Jozwiak. “Entrepreneurship is something that I’ve been interested in for a long time. There are inherent risks involved and it’s kind of scary trying to piece it together. But I learned that I know what I’m doing. It helped give me the confidence.” 

Finding community

Jameka Wiggins ‘21, chemical engineering, remembers when representatives from UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) visited her high school in Prince George’s County, Maryland. They offered a glimpse into the kind of experience she might have as a CWIT Scholar, including a tight-knit community of mutual support. She was accepted into the scholars program and says, simply, “CWIT was my community coming into UMBC. They always made sure we had a community of supporters, that we were engaged in the program, and that we felt welcome at the university.”

That community proved particularly important when Wiggins struggled with the transition to college life, worrying that she didn’t belong. Working through that challenging time motivated her to shift from focusing on lab research to engineering education itself as a career path.

During her sophomore year, Wiggins, who is also a member of the UMBC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, decided that she wanted to gain research experience. She applied to the NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, which supported her summer research on optimizing oleaginous yeast cell factories in UMBC’s chemical, biochemical, and environmental engineering department. 

The next year she accessed a very different kind of experience as a Shattuck Fellow through the UMBC Career Center and as a participant in the Maryland Technology Internship Program for Entrepreneurship. These initiatives allowed her to intern multiple semesters for the start-up Athena Environmental Sciences, with Sheldon Broedel, associate director of UMBC’s master’s in professional studies in biotechnology program.

As she was exploring these opportunities, Wiggins realized that she was not the only student who would benefit from academic support outside of the classroom. She and a group of her peers worked with the UMBC Academic Success Center to provide tutors for upper-level engineering courses. And she also began looking at career pathways in engineering that were focused on community and belonging.

Change agent

In fall 2020, Wiggins, also a McNair Scholar, began working with Jamie Gurganus, associate director of engineering education, on a project that would shape her trajectory. They conducted research on the engineering mindset and experiences of Black first-year students, including those who are and are not in scholars programs.

Wiggins and Gurganus explored how to foster a sense of community among these students, which has been demonstrated to support resilience and degree attainment. Their study found that participants experienced particular challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as isolation and difficulty finding their footing in classes.

In addition to her interest in supporting college students, Wiggins committed time to supporting younger students as well. She volunteered for the Refugee Youth Project’s College Journey Upward Mentoring Program (College JUMP), where she mentored a high school student in Baltimore City and helped her with the college admissions process. This experience led Wiggins to become a leader in the program, creating curricula for students and supporting mentors. 

She also worked with some of her peers to create the LIFT Mentoring Program, which connects upper-level students with underclassmen in the same or similar majors to support informal mentorship and guidance outside of the classroom. 

And along the way, she took on other leadership roles through UMBC’s Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center and UMBC’s Inclusion Council.

These research, mentoring, and leadership experiences have inspired Wiggins to pursue a Ph.D. in engineering education. Her emphasis will be on developing undergraduate student support services to increase the retention and representation of underrepresented populations in engineering. “I will serve as a change agent,” she says.

Banner image: Kiaron Bailey, second from right, with her classmates in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Bailey.

When listeners tune in to the Retriever Tales podcast hosted by Tirzah Khan ‘21, information systems, who is graduating this week, they’ll hear UMBC voices sharing their journeys of finding and creating community. Moving, inspiring, funny, and thought-provoking, the show is a testament to Khan’s own UMBC experience and a broader culture of co-creating community at UMBC.

One key experience kick-started Khan’s growth as a student leader: STRiVE, a leadership for social impact retreat led by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life (CDCL). “Everything began for me when I went to STRiVE during my sophomore year,” she shares. “Before STRiVE, I stuck to myself and didn’t venture outside my comfort zone often. I gained so many insights about myself during the retreat, and I learned to reimagine the world as it could be.” 

Tirzah Khan. Photo courtesy of Khan.

After returning from the retreat, Khan says, “I developed the confidence to get involved in other organizations,” like hackUMBC (becoming a design team lead) and the Student Events Board (as vice president for design). Along with STRiVE 2019 members Shrijana Khanal ’21, economics; Sofía Encarnación ’22, economics and mathematics; and Juhi Naik ’21, history and political science, she also founded the TEDxUMBC student organization, launching her work as a community storyteller.

Reimagining the world through stories

When Khan dives into something, she does it in a big way. She committed to UMBC community work through CDCL, serving as a ConnectionCorps intern to create Retriever Tales; helping to coordinate Election Night Extravaganza, an election night returns watch program; and joining other community members in facilitating and organizing “Together Beyond November” post-election discussions. She also participated in initiatives like the fall 2020 Cast Your Whole Vote campaign, featuring events to encourage the UMBC community to recognize voting as just one of many ways to make a difference. 

Tirzah Khan. Photo courtesy of Khan.

Khan is passionate about the intersection of graphic design and social impact. She worked as a social media engagement and design intern with the Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity, and she has also been active with Retriever Immigrants United and the Women of Color Coalition. 

In her final semester, Khan wanted to focus on bringing the UMBC experience to community members who had largely been away from campus for a year due to COVID-19. She brought the Retriever Tales podcast to life, featuring authentic conversations with Retrievers about what brought them to UMBC, what it means to them to be here, and what hopes they have for the UMBC community. Khan shares,“These conversations have truly reshaped my understanding of what it means to be part of a community, and what it means to be part of UMBC’s community.”

“As students we have the opportunity to try and mold UMBC’s future and its impact,” says Khan. “There’s this idea that I think describes UMBC’s culture really well: that we’re all co-creating UMBC. What that means is everyone here has the ability to help shape this institution in some way. We all have both the opportunity and the responsibility to create the UMBC that we want to see together.”

Visible, actionable change

Like Khan, graduating senior and Honors College member Brandon Liu ‘21, biological sciences and visual arts, says STRiVE and CDCL transformed his time at UMBC. 

As a first-year student, Liu and friends Ella Hawkins ‘20, biochemistry and molecular biology, and Manny Ali, ‘20, computer engineering, who is hard of hearing, learned UMBC didn’t offer American Sign Language (ASL) classes or clubs, so they co-founded Sign of Life. The club teaches ASL and educates students interested in being more involved in the Deaf community. “This was my first experience collaborating with friends, reaching out to stakeholders, and making a visible, actionable change on something as large as a university campus community,” says Liu.

Building on that experience, Liu attended the STRiVE retreat in his second year at UMBC. Over the next three years he returned to STRiVE as the campus civic engagement intern, supporting faculty, staff, and student coaches who guided groups of undergraduate student participants. 

“The Center’s Alternative Spring Break and STRiVE are the most important experiences I can recommend, especially for those who don’t feel like they have what it takes to make change or think that change doesn’t happen,” says Liu. “STRiVE transformed me from a student that kept my head down and didn’t think I was powerful enough, smart enough, connected enough to make change into someone who knew that coming as I am, I am already valuable and capable of affecting my communities.” 

Strength in community

Those around Liu quickly began to see his impact and his potential as a leader. In 2018, he received the Lavender Award for Emerging LGBTQ+ Leader from the Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging. He kept his focus on community leadership and, today, says the agency students have at UMBC is what makes a UMBC education so valuable.

“As assistant speaker of the senate for our Student Government Association (SGA), one of my biggest responsibilities was coordinating undergraduate participation in UMBC’s shared governance committees,” says Liu. “I connected the undergraduate senators with chairs of key university committees, to make sure undergraduate voices were heard in campus decision-making.” 

Seeing fellow students grow in their ownership of the UMBC community and learn to increase student agency on campus was both gratifying and motivating to continue the work, he shares. 

“The real strength of UMBC is within the community,” says Liu. “I’ve been able to learn so much more about myself and surround myself with many other genuine, compassionate, caring, and active people. The academic rigor allows students to receive a valuable degree, but the community is what makes UMBC a home.”

Liu is graduating as a Sherman STEM Teacher Scholar and will soon begin his master of arts in teaching for secondary biology at UMBC. He shares, “I know that UMBC values the same things I do. And with a master’s in teaching from UMBC I know I’ll be able to take on the responsibility of building and supporting communities in the schools and classrooms where I’ll teach in the future.”

Creating shared spaces

Meghan Lynch ‘18, political science, and M.P.P. ‘21, will soon become a double alumna of UMBC, after earning her master’s in public policy. She says she still thinks about one particular class on civic agency during her undergraduate years, which shaped her UMBC experience, her career path, and her perspective on the world. Her a-ha moment: “I realized that the idea of creating shared spaces and bringing democracy into the classroom was a very concrete way to realize the power we all have in every space,” she says. 

Lynch describes UMBC as a place that supports, nurtures, and encourages political engagement in all forms. Creating spaces for community dialogue and mutual support was especially important during COVID-19 and the intense election cycle. As vice president of UMBC’s Graduate Student Association (GSA), Lynch is proud of how the group helped to offer space for dialogue and build community as a co-host for the CDCL’s “Together Beyond November” post-election discussions. 

“Amidst all the fatigue and difficult news in the world, the Center, SGA, and GSA were able to coordinate very meaningful and well-attended events leading up to and after the election,” says Lynch. “It was clear that the UMBC community wanted to spend time coming together to think about our role in bringing about change and hearing about the issues. I left every one of these events feeling refreshed in a humble and grateful way.”

Resources for success

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynch and other GSA officers created a well-being committee, recognizing the importance of students’ mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. “We’ve had an excellent turnout to committee meetings in part because people are looking for a place to reflect on how to help each other,” she says.

“Amidst all the chaos and uncertainty, I’m so proud that GSA has found ways to connect students to the resources they need and serve as a gathering space–even virtually,” Lynch says. “I’m also proud of the strides we are making to ensure that graduate students are intentionally included in programming and other opportunities across campus.”

Creating community, Lynch reflects, “is a way for people from different departments across campus to collectively work towards solutions that benefit all of us.” And every new relationship or new project “starts from just one conversation,” she shares, so “there’s beauty in just talking with people.”

After graduation, Lynch will teach an introductory political science class at UMBC and serve as the new director for the Catonsville Chamber of Commerce. She says, “I hope to take all of the transformative experiences I’ve had at UMBC beyond Hilltop Circle to help others realize their ability to make their communities better for everyone.”

One person who looks forward to seeing the impact of her work is CDCL Director David Hoffman Ph.D. ‘13, language, literacy, and culture. Hoffman shares that Lynch, Liu, and Khan all “embody the idea that we can bring our whole, unique selves to the work of shaping our communities.” He says, “Their contributions have helped make UMBC even more deeply and visibly what it has been all along: caring, inclusive, and engaged.”

Featured image (l-r): Mariam Abalo-Toga, Roy Prouty, Anjali Dassarma, Brandon Liu, President Freeman Hrabowski, and Lilly Keplinger stand by True Grit, 2018. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Article written by Eleanor Lewis, communication specialist in the Division of Student Affairs.

Due to the pandemic, the NCAA has offered senior college athletes around the country a waiver to compete for an extra year. Many fourth-year student-athletes at UMBC and around the country will take advantage of this opportunity, but others decided to press forward with making the most of an unusual senior year before shifting gears to the next phase of their lives.

Among that group in Retriever Nation are a pair of lacrosse players, a swimmer, and a diver who will earn undergraduate degrees this month. All four are recognized for outstanding achievements during a very challenging time for student-athletes. And all four share that support from UMBC Athletics staff was instrumental in helping them reach their goals and move forward along their paths. 

From sports to sports journalism

Nick Doyle ‘21, media and communication studies, has been a steady contributor for men’s lacrosse, including during UMBC’s America East championship run and NCAA Tournament win over Marist in 2019. He’s also a voice of UMBC Athletics, both on air and behind the scenes.

Doyle assisted with player interviews on “The Ryan Odom Report,” provided on-air analysis on women’s soccer’s streamed game broadcasts, and led social media takeovers for the men’s lacrosse Instagram account, among other projects. He also wrote game recaps, gained experience behind the camera, shadowed on-air talent, and learned how to construct a sports broadcast. 

“UMBC’s partnership with ESPN+ allowed me to receive hands-on experience inside the tech truck with producers, directors, replay personnel, and graphics,” says Doyle. The San Diego native worked for his hometown Padres’ flagship station in the summer of 2019 and put those recap writing skills to good use. 

“UMBC Athletics has been an invaluable source of support, guidance, and confidence for me,” Doyle shares. “Since I introduced myself to Steve Levy [‘85, interdisciplinary studies], he has taken me under his wing and has done an amazing job getting me into positions of opportunity and experience.” 

He also noted that Zach Seidel ‘12, media and communication studies, M.S. ‘15, human-centered computing; Dustin Roddy ‘14, American studies; and Shanna Moser have “all played instrumental roles in advancing my experience at UMBC, not just as a student-athlete, but in sports journalism.”

Doyle will pursue his master’s degree at the University of Maryland, College Park’s Philip Merrill School of Journalism in the fall.

Community leadership

Like Doyle, Cassie Evans ‘21, biological sciences and psychology, is a defender on the lacrosse field. She has started in all 33 UMBC’s women’s lacrosse contests since 2019 and earned America East All-Academic Team honors in 2020 and 2021. She’s also a 4.0 student who earned the UMBC psychology department’s 2020-21 Distinguished Achievement Award. And she got there, she says, thanks to the support of a caring advisor.

Evans serves on the executive board of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, for which former UMBC Athletics’ Academic Advisor Kristin Ferris served as staff advisor. “Kristin has always believed in me,” Evans shares. “I always went to her when I was stressed or struggling and she actively worked to create a plan of action that helped me approach problems with ease. She advocated for me in so many settings.”

Ferris shared that Evans “has been tremendously effective as a community leader despite challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic.” In summer 2020, Evans coordinated a virtual 5k that raised over $2,000 for Baltimore’s Living Classrooms organization in support of anti-racism and social justice. She later organized an equipment drive for the Children’s Home, collecting over $3,300 of sports equipment and art supplies for displaced children.

Evans shares that Ferris introduced her to leadership opportunities she didn’t know existed, such as serving as the student-athlete representative on UMBC’s Athletics Policy Committee. Of Ferris, Evans says, “I respect her so much and have learned so much from her. She has taught me through her own actions the importance of work ethic, persistence, reliability, accountability, and determination.”

Currently studying for the MCAT, Evans will continue volunteer work in Baltimore and El Salvador prior to medical school. Her long-term career goal is to support those who do not have access to affordable medical treatment.

Team support

As a men’s swimming team captain for two years, Jeremy Gates ‘21, mechanical engineering, has spent a lot of time thinking about how to support his teammates in connecting with and taking care of each other and competing at a high level during a pandemic. Part of his approach was hosting outdoor, small-group team-building activities that met COVID-19 protocols. Another major piece was being present for other swimmers who needed one-on-one support.

“I have tried to make myself available for my teammates whenever they need it,” says Gates. While he doesn’t always know the perfect thing to say, he shares, “I have found that simply lending an ear as a friend is a good start.” 

Gates also found it was important to reach out to others for support, and to make sure he was managing his own stress. “I am no help to anyone if I don’t take care of myself first,” he says. “The great thing about this team is that there are numerous people I can go to if I need someone to lean on.”

One person that Gates and his teammates leaned on was Brian Amenta, director of strength and conditioning. Amenta, a six-year UMBC veteran, completely revamped all 17 UMBC Athletics’ teams training regimens to meet COVID health and safety guidelines, and understood the pressures Gates was experiencing.

Amenta became a fixture in the lives of Gates and his teammates. Starting in fall 2020, Amenta worked with the team twice each week twice each week at 6 a.m., with dry land training. He provided Gates with a model for working effectively with a large group of student-athletes while supporting team members’ individual needs. 

After graduation, Gates will reconnect with family in California before starting as a systems engineer through Northrop Grumman’s Pathways Program.

“One of the toughest years”

After injury-plagued sophomore and junior campaigns, diver Isabel Rayner ‘21, biological sciences, was looking forward to a strong finish to her UMBC career as team captain. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Rayner helped her team feel connected and supported at a time of great uncertainty. The cancellation of a meet in fall 2020, just three days before it was scheduled, was a particularly challenging setback. 

UMBC diver Isabel Rayner. Photo courtesy of UMBC Athletics.

“My biggest goal in being captain is to make everyone feel that there is support all around them,” said Rayner. Her greatest challenge was taking care of herself. “I was so focused on making sure that everyone else was okay that I struggled to find a balance,” she says.

Rayner’s injuries started in her sophomore year—chronic bicep and shoulder strains and a sprained ankle in 2018-19. That same year, athletic trainer Meghan Sullivan (at UMBC since 2011) was assigned to the team. “Meghan has been there for me without fail,” says Rayner. “These injuries were never severe enough to keep me out of diving, but they did require physical therapy. I was in the training room every day with Meghan. And she was always there for emotional support.”

Last season, Rayner suffered a wrist injury when entering the water and was back in the training room daily. She was able to compete in the 2020 championships and climbed the ladder for the final time as a Retriever in an April 2021 meet, placing second on the three-meter board. 

She’s grateful to Sullivan for helping her get to the podium one more time in her senior year. “Meghan has been invaluable to me and others as a support system while we’ve gone through one of the toughest years of our lives,” Rayner says. 

After graduation, Rayner will work as a diving coach prior to graduate school.

Article written by Steve Levy, associate athletic director for athletic communications. Featured image: UMBC lacrosse player Nick Doyle. Photo by John McCreary for UMBC Athletics.