Beryl Fuamazeh ’26, biology, and a minor in health, wellness, and aging, is on her way to Howard University College of Medicine. After connecting with Nancy Kusmaul, professor of social work, Beryl found her research interests piqued by learning more about healthcare and aging care. While at UMBC, Beryl worked as a nursing assistant at a retirement community and volunteered for an organization that supports people with disabilities and older adults. After presenting her research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day, she received the Erickson School of Aging Studies Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research.

Beryl transferred to UMBC from the Community College of Baltimore County through the Degrees to Succeed program, and says that the support and funding she’s received from UMBC has made her education affordable and given her time to focus on her passion: healthcare and aging. Outside of school and work, she loves watching Korean dramas.

Q: Tell us about someone in the UMBC community who has inspired you.

A: Dr. Nancy Kusmaul is my research mentor, and she has been instrumental in my undergraduate research journey. The work she does to support the aging community has deeply inspired me. I have also been greatly influenced by Professor Mary Carter, an English professor here, who taught me how to better express myself through writing—a skill that was invaluable during my medical school application process. The support and guidance both faculty members have given me have truly shaped my experience at UMBC.

Q: Tell us about what you love about your academic program.

A: I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Erickson School of Aging Studies through my minor in health, wellness, and aging. Many of the classes I’ve taken have been meaningful because I can directly apply what I learn to my work as a nursing assistant in a retirement community. My biology major has also given me a strong foundation as I prepare to matriculate into medical school.

Q: What’s one thing you’d want someone to know about the support you find here?

A: Because it’s a smaller university, I’ve been able to build meaningful one-on-one relationships with professors, which has been incredibly valuable. I’ve also loved being surrounded by students who are passionate, driven, and genuinely supportive of one another, especially within the sciences. UMBC is a very supportive community. 

Q: What brought you to UMBC in the first place?

A: I wanted to further my education while building meaningful relationships along the way. As someone pursuing the pre-med path, I knew it was important to be surrounded by supportive, like-minded people, and UMBC provided that for me, especially as a transfer student from the Community College of Baltimore County.

I was also drawn to the smaller campus environment, which made it easier to adapt and connect with professors and peers. Through my community college’s Degrees to Succeed partnership program, I was introduced to UMBC and the opportunities it offered, including research experiences, mentorship, and a strong academic community.

Right: Fuamazeh next to her poster at URCAD 2025.

Q: Tell us about the people who are helping you grow at UMBC.

A: Dr. Nancy Kusmaul has been incredibly instrumental in helping me grow at UMBC. She helped me kickstart my undergraduate research journey, which initially felt very daunting. All it took was reaching out to her by email, and she was immediately supportive and responsive. She took time out of her busy schedule to help me develop an individualized research study focused on aging, a topic that has become deeply meaningful to me and the communities it impacts.

Q: How have you connected with the community?

A: I have been involved in community programs, like volunteering with the Trusted Ride Program at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, which supports older adults and individuals with disabilities by helping them get to medical appointments safely. Experiences like this have allowed me to stay connected to the community while pursuing my interests in healthcare and aging.

Q: What would you tell others who are in your shoes about UMBC?

A: I transferred to UMBC from the Community College of Baltimore County, and through scholarships and financial support, including merit-based awards, UMBC helped ease the financial burden of pursuing higher education, which allowed me to focus more on my academics and future goals. I also felt well supported as a transfer student through the Degrees to Succeed program, even before officially transferring to UMBC. The transition felt smooth, and I always felt like there were people willing to help guide me along the way.

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

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

On a fall Saturday morning, Mohammad Arshad, an information systems senior, greeted clients arriving at the Erickson School of Aging Studies looking for a fresh start with the help of UMBC’s first Expungement Clinic. After completing the intake forms, Arshad passed the files to pro-bono lawyers and staff from Maryland Legal Aid and pro-bono lawyers from the Baltimore County Bar Association. They carefully reviewed each client’s criminal records to determine eligibility for clearing or sealing certain charges or offenses that can create barriers to jobs, housing, and education

When Jessica Cook, associate director of the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar Program, noticed that Loyola University has this program, she connected with Molly Timko, UMBC’s pre-law academic advisor, and discussed bringing the program to UMBC. They established the clinic with funding from UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life. As soon as a call was made for 20 student volunteers, the response was overwhelming.

Sometimes it’s hard to get internships as an undergraduate student, notes Timko. “The exposure to public interest law—doing law for the greater good—and to network with lawyers in various fields broadens students’ understanding of what being a lawyer can look like beyond arguing in a courtroom,” says Timko, a licensed attorney in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and New York. In her role at UMBC, Timko provides career pathway counseling and law school application support for UMBC students of all majors, as well as alumni.

“It was the first time I saw a law-related volunteer opportunity on campus,” said Arshad. He serves as the senate president of the Maryland Student Legislation (MSL), a model Maryland General Assembly. Currently, there are 15 college delegations, governed by the Council of States, a group of six college students elected by MSL members. Arshad serves as the lieutenant governor.

This experiential learning experience teaches students how to draft original legislation and debate bills, navigate parliamentary procedures, and understand the legislative process. At the end of the year, all of the legislation adopted by the students is shared with members of the Maryland General Assembly for their review. “As someone interested in the legal field, I saw the Expungement Clinic as a meaningful way to deepen my understanding of the legal process.”

The expungement clinic was streamlined to assist as many clients as possible. No appointment was needed. Lawyers arrived equipped with laptops and printers, prepared to complete and file paperwork. Angus Derbyshire, director for Pro Bono at Maryland Legal Aid, who spearheads expungement clinics across Maryland, reported that 14 clients were served at the UMBC Expungement Clinic, and 10 of them had cases that were deemed potentially eligible for expungement. “This resulted in the preparation of 24 expungement petitions, which is a meaningful outcome for both the clients and the community,” said Derbyshire.

As a first-generation college student, Arshad had never seen the legal process in action firsthand, let alone been part of it. What surprised him most was the collaboration and community focus. “I had always assumed legal work was mostly done behind the scenes, but this clinic showed me how much personal interaction and empathy are involved,” said Arshad, who plans to practice intellectual property law defending the rights of inventors, entrepreneurs, and developers. “It also gave me a better understanding of expungement and how access to legal resources can significantly improve someone’s future opportunities.”

All majors to the legal field

Despite the overwhelming response from volunteers for the expungement clinic, Timko has noticed that many students still assume a political science major is required to pursue a career in law. Like Arshad, Timko is a first-generation law student with a major outside of political science. She majored in anthropology and art history, with a minor in Italian, but wasn’t sure if she wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in either field. “During my master’s program in higher education and student affairs administration, I studied abroad in South Africa and took a course on social reform in post-apartheid South Africa. It sparked my interest in education and advocacy law,” says Timko. 

One of Timko’s bigger goals is to help students discover their spark. “It’s important for students to know you can major in anything. There are so many ways to be a lawyer. There’s the stereotypical trial lawyer, but there are also lawyers focused on research and writing that never set foot in a courtroom,” says Timko who is also the advisor for UMBC’s Pre-Law Society that helps student prepare for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and network with area schools. “You don’t have to be super extroverted or argumentative to be a really good lawyer.” There is also no expiration date on when you can decide to pursue a legal career.

This is why she was excited when Shannon Ziegler ’14, fine arts, and Alexander Langsam ’22, biology, reached out to her for guidance on applying to law school. Both had initially worked in their respective fields, which unexpectedly led them in new directions—Ziegler in the financial technology industry and Langsam in civil service, which then spurred in them an interest in law.

After completing the pre-med track at UMBC, Langsam dove into studying for the Medical College Admission Test and worked as a medical assistant. When he saw firsthand the challenges faced by providers and patients, he pivoted and decided to pursue a master’s in public health policy instead, while continuing to work in civil service. There, he spent time learning about the work of the general counsel, which confirmed for him the impact lawyers can have at the federal level.

“I had never considered law school before, so when I began to think of it as a possible career, I looked up UMBC pre-law advising and emailed Molly out of the blue. She guided me through the law school application process,” said Langsam. “If you can, expand your career options beyond your degree because there are so many things you can do in this world that may not be obvious in undergrad.” He will complete his masters in May and continue to the University of Baltimore Law School in the fall.

Ziegler is about to finish her first year of law school at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. In the decade before law school, she balanced being a business manager for Baltimore’s Center Stage by day and acting by night. She then checked off living in Chicago from her bucket list, where she worked at Venmo, launching a career at the crossroads of financial regulation and technology, the topic of her law school admissions essay. 

Timko is on the Law School Admission Council directory as an undergraduate pre-law school advisor and receives an alert when an alum takes the LSAT. As soon as she was sent Ziegler’s results, she touched base with her. “It had been so long since I left UMBC that I didn’t think of reaching out. Molly gave me great advice on how to focus my application better and what to prioritize in my search,” said Ziegler. “She helped me slow down to think about what my goals are. I found that reframing really helpful.”

Making the LSAT accessible

At the core of the pre-law advising programming is a mission to create a supportive community where UMBC’s law school hopefuls can develop the skills, strategies, and confidence to navigate the various steps between studying for the LSAT and the first year of law school. This spring, Megumi Fukuzawa ’23, political science, who is currently studying for the LSAT, understands the need for support. Like many undergraduate students, Fukuzawa’s schedule was jam-packed. Whenever she carved out time to study for the LSAT, she felt lost and discouraged. “I needed help understanding the materials and advice about how to study effectively,” said Fukuzawa, a research assistant at the Howard County Historical Society’s Archives and Historical Center. “The only flyer I saw on campus was during my junior year, advertising a $1,000 introductory LSAT course. At that point, the LSAT felt like a massive wall I couldn’t break through.” 

Thanks to a professional development grant from the American Studies Department, she was able to access study materials during her senior year. This spring, Fukuzawa asked Timko if she could lead an LSAT preparation information session.“By hosting this LSAT prep information session, providing free tutoring, and forming an online study community for UMBC LSAT students, I hope to make LSAT prep, and by extension, a legal education, more accessible to UMBC students and alumni,” said Fukuzawa. Arshad is also championing the need to help fund LSAT preparation materials, for Fukuwaza, himself, and other pre-law students who can’t afford expensive study aids. Arshad is collaborating with peers and community members on a long-term solution to establish a UMBC partnership with an LSAT coaching provider to offset LSAT preparation costs. 

Advocacy and fairness are Arshad’s core values. They have defined his student work as well as his career plans to practice intellectual property law. “My background in systems and data gives me a unique perspective on how legal services, like the Expungement Clinic, can be streamlined and made more accessible through innovation,” said Arshad. “Volunteering at the expungement clinic made me think about how I can apply my tech skills to create more efficient and equitable legal solutions.”

Learn more about UMBC’s Expungement Clinic and pre-law advising.

Cierra K. Reeves knew there was a wide world of careers she could pursue with a psychology degree, but it took some prayer, a conversation with her mother, and a chat with her advisor before she settled on a minor in management in aging services that would define her next steps. Cierra is a non-traditional, online learner who was looking for advice on how to focus her studies. After speaking with James Hamilton, director of academic advising in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, she honed in on the minor from the Erickson School of Aging Studies. She now sees herself working toward opening a facility that uses art therapy for older populations. Tell us all about it, Cierra! 

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

A: My name is Cierra K. Reeves, and I am a woman of God on this beautiful journey called life. I am a psychology major minoring in management of aging services with the goal of opening my own facility geared towards art therapy in the geriatric field. I love all things art, and I love to help others and see others smile. And I feel like what I’m doing now is my calling because I’m able to combine my love for art and helping people. 

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

A: One person in particular that has helped to fuel, inspire, and ease my nervous system in this entire process, has been, Mr. James Hamilton. He is my tried and true advisor. He is so patient, and his career story has helped to motivate me and has kept me pushing along in school when things feel tough. I believe he is most definitely a Godsend! 

He always gives me a motivational nugget to keep going. He’s so calming to my spirit and he’s just so patient. And I feel like I really need that. I look for people like that because in this world we’re always hustling and bustling. Not many really take time with people, but he’s dedicated to his job and serving others in that role. 

My mom has also inspired me to follow my dreams—despite any adversity she always strives for greatness. She always stands in her authentic self and embodies and empowers me to do the same. She’s taught me how to stay physically active and how to better take care of myself now that I am getting older.

Q: Tell us what you’re excited about in your academic area. 

A: I have had the privilege of growing up with my elders and they have most definitely inspired my love for the geriatric field. My great-grandmother, Dr. Lucy Mason Reeves Jones, was the first African American female podiatrist in Baltimore. I remember growing up with her and how she taught me to make carrot juice and the importance of expanding my mind and vocabulary. And I remember being around my elders and my grandmother—my mom’s mom (Beona Campbell), my favorite grandmother—who was just so, so strong. I mean, so resilient. She taught me about fashion, about thrifting, about keeping God close and just instilling those morals and values in me at a young age. 

I’ve always kept older people close to me. And so when I learned about the management of aging minor and took my first class, I loved it. 

Q: How did you know what you wanted to study? 

A: During the pandemic, I really honed in on what God wanted me to do, and I had a lot of time to reflect and pray upon that. And I was given this answer: psychology. I’ve always been interested in psychology, but I was always nervous to pursue it because I know that it’s really, really difficult. 

But I’ve always loved the challenge. I’ve always been into books. I just love to learn. I love to expand my mind and learn new things. And so this felt like the perfect avenue, especially because when the pandemic was happening, I started to think to myself like, ‘Okay, what could I do to fulfill the purpose that God has for me, but also give back to the community and also make sure that I will be okay for my family monetarily and that I would also feel fulfilled in?’

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

A: Some teachers and faculty will go above and beyond when it comes to helping you learn. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Always use your voice, because your voice matters. 

James Hamilton, director of academic advising in CAHSS, has been instrumental in Cierra’s academic trajectory, but he wants to make sure she’s not alone in finding her path. Since 2017 when he started, Hamilton has built out the advising capacities in CAHSS and brought on multiple professional advisors to walk CAHSS students through the first few years of their studies. 

Previously faculty members were responsible for the day-to-day advising needs of most students, but Hamilton recognized the need for dedicated advisors to translate the academic requirements for students in order to promote student success and retention. 

“Our goal has been to offer centralized advising services for students’ first and second year with a professional advisor,” says Hamilton. “Then, for the third and fourth years, they would be with a faculty member where that mentoring role could take place. Because at that point, they already know about their requirements and how to register and how to do all of the nuts and bolts stuff, so they can use their time with faculty member talking about career options, internship opportunities, study abroad, mentoring, and more.” 

*****

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

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

UMBC’s graduating Class of 2024 knows a thing or two about resilience. Many of this year’s 1,900-plus graduates began their collegiate journey at the onset of a global pandemic. 

This week, as they walked across the Commencement stage adorned in black and gold regalia and mortarboards elaborately decorated with sayings such as “The tassel was worth the hassle,” “I did it,” and “The end is here,” the Class of 2024 reveled in the celebratory moment of reaching this milestone in the face of much adversity. 

“Resilience is a dynamic process. It’s a journey that we embark on in the face of challenges. Resilience is not just bouncing back or being able to recover—It’s the ability to bounce forward,” said graduate student speaker Grace De Oro, M.P.P. ’19, a Ph.D. candidate in public policy and president of the Graduate Student Association. 

“We’ve all bounced forward to get here, right now, in this moment. This journey of resilience has not only brought us here, but it’s transformed us into stronger and more capable individuals.”

Service as a Retriever

During Thursday morning’s undergraduate ceremony for students in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; School of Social Work; and Erickson School of Aging Studies, co-valedictorian Nyla Howell ’24, geography and environmental systems and sociology, spoke to the value of service and how the graduating class will “serve with more than our degrees.”

“We all serve those around us daily by using our time and talent to encourage each other, give advice to each other, and take care of one another,” Howell said. “I believe that if we approach this next phase of life, despite all its uncertainty, with the intention of genuinely caring for others and living out our personal understandings of service, we will have the launch pads we need to do more than we ever believed we could.”

Howell, who is the first McNair Scholar to be a valedictorian at UMBC, has dedicated much of her time as an undergraduate in service to local communities and engaged in research examining how vulnerable and underrepresented communities can be better protected when disasters strike. Since 2021, Howell has worked as the food pantry manager of Retriever Essentials helping to combat food insecurity at UMBC. Howell’s leadership and public service efforts earned her scholarships from the France and Merrick Scholars Endowment and the Jacqueline C. Hrabowski Endowment. 

She will continue her studies in geography as a Ph.D. student at Rutgers University as a fellow of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. 

A dedication to STEM and the arts

During the afternoon ceremony for the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; College of Engineering and Information Technology; and Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, co-valedictorian D’Juan Moreland ’24, biological sciences and music, shared with his fellow graduates the lessons he has learned, particularly ones imparted to him by his mother.

Congratulations to our Engineering and Computing students #UMBCgrad @UMBC #UMBCengineering #UMBCComputing pic.twitter.com/M3gk0HkFLu

— Jamie Gurganus, PhD (@JamieRGurganus) May 23, 2024

“The first [lesson] is to celebrate yourself even in the little victories. The secondis to recognize who supported you. The lastis to set a good example because other people are watching your every move,” said Moreland. “Part of our achievement today is to set a strong example for those who are watching us right now. They don’t just see our success, but also our perseverance, as encouragement and inspiration for themselves.”

During his time at UMBC, Moreland, a Meyherhoff Scholar, balanced and even found a way to intertwine his interests in biological sciences and music. He was a 2022 – 2023 recipient of a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, for which he used his research on the song syllable use differences in female and male songbirds as the basis of his application. Moreland’s original composition “Ascension” won the inaugural UMBC Symphony Orchestra Composer Competition last year. 

Additionally, he is a recipient of the Thomas V. Marsho and Martin Schwartz Memorial Fund scholarship and a recipient of the Ronald and Kathryn Shapiro Meyerhoff Mentoring scholarship. Moreland has dedicated much of his time to mentoring younger students, a passion that inspired him to create a mentoring program at his church for young Black men in middle and high school. Following graduation, Moreland will pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. 

“The DNA of UMBC”

The lineup of this year’s Commencement speakers included Mina Cheon, M.F.A. ’02, imaging and digital arts, the dean of undergraduate studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art and a 2018 UMBC Alumni Award winner. Farah Helal ’24, political science and global studies, also delivered remarks as the University System of Maryland student regent representative. 

Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the National Science Foundation, received an honorary doctor of science degree during the afternoon ceremony. He dazzled the crowd with an energetic speech advising new graduates to follow “the 10 C’s”—words like “commitment,” “courage,” “collaboration,” and “curiosity”—as they go on to the next chapter of their lives.

After grad, Chiad Onyeje, chem eng, will go to Johns Hopkins via the new Vivien Thomas Scholars Initiative program. His research will concentrate on the development of drug delivery biomaterials to open up new opportunities for disease & trauma treatment & prevention. #UMBCgrad pic.twitter.com/pVZ10ieEVs

— UMBC (@UMBC) May 17, 2024

“Retrievers, you have the DNA of UMBC,” Panchanathan said to the graduates. “That DNA is about lifting people up…and making sure people are given chances, making things accessible, and inspiring people.” 

Congratulations to the Class of 2024! Please continue to share your messages of congratulations on social media using #UMBCgrad. Read more about Class of 2024 graduates on the UMBC News Site. 

Meet Tim Besse, M.A. ’17, management of aging services, a veteran of the United States Army who now works as an advocate for veterans with neurological injuries or diseases. As a student in the Erickson School, Tim made connections with a fellow student that sticks with him to this day. Thanks for sharing your story, Tim!

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

A: As far back as I can remember, I aspired to go to college and pursue a career that was dependent upon my college education. I enlisted in the U.S. Army (USA) at age 18 to take advantage of the GI Bill for education. During my 1973 – 1980 USA years, I completed the first three years of a University of Maryland Global Campus baccalaureate degree. In 1981, I completed my degree that was focused on social sciences, and I started a Department of Defense civilian career that ended in my 2016 retirement.

I was active in my community during my career, working with older adults, people with disabilities, and refugee families. In September 2016, two weeks into retirement, I entered the Erickson School at UMBC to earn my M.A. in the management of aging services. Today I am an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, wherein I advocate for veterans who are neurologically injured or who suffer from neurologic diseases.

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

A: That support will be a gift to themselves for a lifetime.

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

A: I have many who supported me on my journey through the Erickson School. The person who stands out is my classmate Cynthia Garner [’16, M.A. ’17, management of aging studies]. The classmate closest to my age was 10 years younger than me. The classmate furthest from my age, Cynthia, was 40 years younger than I am. We were kindred souls, out to prove something to ourselves as well as to others! We were committed to each other not to let the other one fail. Cynthia once said to me: “Because I am young, people don’t think I know anything!” I responded to her, “Because I am old, people don’t think I know anything either!”

Regardless of the difficulty of the assignment, and regardless of the tight timeline, working with Cynthia, I knew we would pull through it! Cynthia was not only very bright, but she was ethical, unafraid to work hard to be successful, always gracious, and shared her talents to help others succeed too! On the day we graduated, I said to myself, “If there are just a few more like Cynthia, the world will be okay!”

Q: What did you love most about your program of study at UMBC?

A: The Erickson curriculum strives to enable its students to understand the needs of older adults and to be able to bring resources to meet those needs. For many of my classmates, the course content was abstract; it pertained to others and not yet to themselves. The course content was personal to me because I am an older adult. Many scenarios are used as examples, such as aging parents, changes in physical stamina, and cognitive changes. Also, traits that may improve with age include resilience and crystallized intelligence (wisdom) are current life events.

The curriculum enabled students to grasp the difficulties encountered by older adults and potential solutions for those difficulties. For those students who are older adults, the course content was as much about them as it was about an entire aging cohort. Every day, I work with older adult veterans and their families. My insight into myself allows me to understand the constraints age has placed on these veterans. My insight enables me to recognize their right and their need for self-determination and explain to well-meaning family members why it is vital for their veterans to guide their lives.

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: I came to UMBC because it offered the education I needed to work with older adults at my desired level of expertise. I stay engaged with UMBC and the Erickson School for the aid it provides me to improve my job skills.

Q: Where are you working now, and what do you like about it most?

A: I am a national service officer in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our veteran population is aging. The average age for a veteran is 68. The average age for a Vietnam-era veteran is 72. Besides being older adults, these men and women have an extra layer on top of being an older adult. Veterans are more likely to contract Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Multiple Sclerosis.

PTSD is more prevalent amongst veterans, especially combatant veterans. Veterans are more likely to fall than non-veterans. And then there is loneliness. It is gratifying to work with these older adults with their special needs. At my age my credo is if it’s not fun, I’m doing it! I anticipate I am not going anywhere.

* * * * *

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

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

Meet Diane Tichnell ’70, a political science graduate of UMBC’s very first class of Retrievers! As a member of UMBC’s “Founding Four” group of alums from the university’s first four graduating years, Diane has stayed involved with her alma mater, participating as an editor of This Belongs To Us, a collection of Founding Four stories, and establishing the Tichnell Aging Gracefully Graduate Scholarship to support students in the Erickson School of Aging Studies. Take it away, Diane!

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

A: I have been a loyal Retriever since that first day on campus, September 19, 1966, and have tried my best throughout the development of my family life, career, and alumni activities to maintain that Retriever spirit!

Q: What would you want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you found here?

A: Frankly, once you are a member of the UMBC community, you are a member of a solid family! You are always welcome on campus. Faculty, staff, and even the students take time to chat with an alum!

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

A: Mimi Haw Dietrich ’70 has encouraged me through her continuous involvement and support of UMBC to maintain contact with our Retriever roots consistently. Together with two other alums we feel we have helped to preserve some of our Founding Four history by editing a collection of stories by Retrievers on campus those first four years and publishing the collection this year.

Q: Tell us what you love about being involved as an alum.

A: The UMBC Alumni Association reaches out frequently to keep alumni engaged in and aware of all the great things happening within the thriving, growing UMBC community. We stay connected no matter where we are in the world. The connection is lifelong and beyond! The association can help an individual stay engaged through a number of legacy giving opportunities which can actually extend long after life ends!

Q: What brought you to UMBC in the first place? Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: My “why” in 1966 was a desire to receive a solid education for my future in a way that was affordable to me. My parents had many compelling financial obligations then and could only provide me with a limited amount of financial support for higher education. UMBC was in close proximity to my home, was a choice of many of my friends, and offered an exciting opportunity to be a kind of pioneer at a brand new university in Maryland.

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

A: The creative and competent faculty and staff at UMBC in 1966 made me totally comfortable with my decision and made me excited about the career in journalism which I had dreamed of. I had planned to possibly transfer to College Park to complete the journalism major, but I totally fell in love with the unique UMBC environment and changed my major to political science, which was still an awesome preparation for a journalism career. My political science professors as well as the incredible visiting personalities of those first four years prepared me with an open mind and solid principles on which to base my future. Professors in every area of my studies played an integral part in shaping my ability to think, plan, envision, and experience what I needed to do to follow my dreams. UMBC was just what I needed to equip me for my life and its effects are with me even today.

Q: As an alum, what’s your favorite part of Retriever Nation?

A: Seeing the great growth and the direction that UMBC is heading make me so happy to be a part of Retriever Nation! We had no idea in 1966 that this campus would become the amazing, accomplished place it is! What a thrill it is to experience it as it continues to thrive and become much more than just a college campus! It is having a significant impact on the entire area surrounding it and beyond!

Q: You recently established the Tichnell Aging Gracefully Graduate Scholarship to help students in the Erickson School of Aging. Tell us about what that means to you.

A: The Erickson School of Aging Studies intrigued me from the moment of its conception! It is not just a program designed to teach students how to administer senior communities! It goes way beyond that by insisting that students examine every facet of the aging process! Looking at the psychology of aging, as well as the physical, social, and economic realities of that time of life equips the students with a total understanding and appreciation of the process. I recently began the process of endowing a scholarship for graduate students in the Erickson School of Aging Studies. It was easy to do and I am so excited to participate in it!

Partnering with UMBC is really just an extension of being here all those years ago. It makes me feel that I have never left the campus I walked onto that first day. Its growth and current compelling state have never left me behind! I love being a part of it still!

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For more than a decade, Rita Choula was the primary caregiver for her late mother who lived with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), a lesser known form of early onset dementia that typically affects people under the age of 60.

“My mother started saying things like ‘I don’t feel like myself. I feel like I’m losing my mind.’ She used to be someone that was really engaged and outgoing and she started to pull back a bit. She used to be very empathetic, very people-loving, and showed a lot of concern, and it reached a point where that empathy went straight out the window,” recalls Choula ’95, information systems management, M.A. ’16, aging services.

The process of learning what was affecting her mother, who passed away in October 2020, was a long and challenging one for Choula and her family. That’s why in her current role as the senior director of caregiving at the AARP Public Policy Institute, Choula advances equitable, culturally responsive policies and practices by elevating the unique nature of each caregiving experience.

After four years of misdiagnoses and cycling through several neurologists and medical practitioners, Choula’s mother, at age 60, was finally diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD, a subtype of early onset dementia that doesn’t specifically impact memory, but instead causes personality changes, apathy, and a progressive decline in socially appropriate behavior, judgment, self-control, and empathy. 

“It was a true battle to determine her diagnosis. The lack of an early diagnosis left me bitter because it took away a lot of opportunities for us to just be with her,” says Choula. “So much of our journey was me figuring it out and having to educate professionals on it.”

Developing as a leader in aging services

But how did she go from a frustrated family caregiver to a leader in the aging studies field?

Nearly 20 years after receiving her undergraduate degree, Choula returned to UMBC to continue her academic journey at the Erickson School of Aging while in the throes of caring for mother. Her caregiving experience encouraged her to learn more about how to more adequately and holistically care for aging adults and the caregivers that supported them, like herself. 

“The program was shaped in a way that allowed a working caregiver and mother to be able to pursue her dreams of getting a degree, while still helping me navigate a really difficult time in my life,” says Choula. 

Becoming a critical thinker

In the 1990s, UMBC was one of Choula’s top university choices, stemming from the keynote speech delivered at her high school graduation by none other than UMBC’s then-president, Freeman A. Hrabowski, III.

“Hearing this educated Black man speaking about the importance of education and quoting Langston Hughes’ ‘A Dream Deferred’ made me say ‘[UMBC] is where I want to go.”

Choula, who hails from Suitland, Maryland, was interested in information systems management because of UMBC’s strong computer science programs. She found value in coupling her major with a minor in Africana Studies. Her educational experience helped her to “broaden how I saw myself as a Black woman in this world,” Choula shares. 

Choula cites professors emeritus Acklyn Lynch and the late Miriam Decosta-Willis as mentors who helped expose her to many Black scholars and thinkers across the African diaspora. 

“I was challenged across my courses to critically think about what we were learning, to ask those difficult questions, and to work together as a student body on many different issues to push forward change.”

A personal touch

When Choula returned to earn her degree in the Erickson School, she says the professors imparted much more than academic knowledge—they also assisted her in her personal caregiving experience, especially when it came time to transitioning her mother into living at a nursing home facility. “I went to several of my professors and asked how I should navigate this. They picked up the phone to make calls to care facilities on my behalf—it impacted me tremendously and taught me the importance of seeing a student as a whole person.”

Choula’s experience as a Retriever laid the foundation for the work that she does in support of family caregivers. She specifically remembers a class with Joseph DeMattos, president of the Health Facilities Association of Maryland— the state’s largest and oldest long-term care association. Choula noted how DeMattos’ guidance on leadership helped to inform her current career pursuits. “DeMattos taught me how to position myself as a leader, the different types of leadership styles, and what type of impact I want to have not just on my work but on the people who I’m leading,” says Choula.

Choula applies all that she’s learned at UMBC to bring together policy, research, and practice—the three critical areas of aging services. With her expertise, she works to bridge the three areas, centering on identifying and supporting the needs of diverse family caregivers across ethnicities, cultures, and generations.

“I learned so much about myself as a UMBC student. My experience taught me to take on issues from a place of critical thinking and ensure that we center the needs of people while working with them to affect change and impact.”

UMBC is a young institution—and not only do we have active alumni from the first four graduating classes still working to make an impact on campus and beyond, we are still discovering new stories about the establishment of the university and the ways the campus community was invited to co- create UMBC at its inception.

In fact, Diane Tichnell ’70, political science, describes the impetus for the Founding Four’s book, This Belongs to Us (2023), as its own sort of inception. Several years ago, she had a dream—literal dream while she was asleep. In it, she was attending a lecture given by then-President Freeman Hrabowski. He was talking about the books he had written, and afterward, Tichnell went up to speak to him. In her dream, she said, “We need to get the first four years of UMBC documented because soon we’re all going to be gone. Maybe in a hundred years, somebody will write it down, but why not do it now?” Dream Freeman replied, “Write that book.”

Mimi Dietrich ’70, American studies, remembers an event at the Wisdom Institute—UMBC’s association for retired faculty and staff—where a UMBC professor expressed surprise by Dietrich’s story about the plywood sidewalks that connected campus during the construction in the early years. “What do you mean you’ve never heard that story?” Dietrich responded—she figured everyone remembered what it was like in the beginning. “So Diane and I, and later Dale [Gough ’70, American studies] and Bob [Dietrich ’70, biological sciences, Mimi’s husband] came together on this; and we just started saying, ‘We have to do this. We have to do this right now.’”

Left: Co-authors Mimi and Bob Dietrich in UMBC’s 1970 yearbook Skipjack. Right: Dale Gough (pictured with Betty Huesman ’70) in the 1969 Skipjack.

Those four brainstormed the idea and knew that this labor of love would need to be as inclusive as possible. “We needed to engage the collective memory of everybody that we could possibly ask to write a story from the first four classes who were on campus,” says Tichnell. They sent newsletters, emails, mail, and even knocked on doors to capture the voices of as many graduates as possible.

In the end, 84 authors contributed more than 100 stories to This Belongs to Us, a kaleidoscopic retelling of the colorful and authentic story of UMBC. Proceeds from the book (at the clever price of $19.66) go to several scholarships supported by the founding four classes. 

The Founding Four marvel at what their young institution has grown into. “All those flags in The Commons are so incredible to me,” says Joan Costello ’73, social work, a contributing author. “Because they’re from different countries. But when we came here, we were just from different neighborhoods.”

Since 2009, as part of its Alumni Awards celebration, the UMBC Alumni Association has named one “Rising Star” recipient each year who exemplifies early career and professional achievement. In the coming weeks, we will spend some time with awardees from the past decade to see where they are now—and how they’ve grown in their fields while maintaining ties to UMBC. In this installment, UMBC Rising Stars Galina Madjaroff Reitz ’08, psychology, M.A. ’11, aging studies, Ph.D. ’18, human centered computing, and Sondheim Scholar Aaron Merki ’05, political science, discuss their mutual goal to uplift the dignity of elderly, cognitively impaired, and low-income individuals. Reitz is using tech to assist older folks and Merki is creating accessible communities through a different path—law and philanthropy.

Using tech the ‘right way’

Growing up in an intergenerational household helped focus her research with assistive devices, says Reitz, who received UMBC’s Rising Star award in 2016. Although during her childhood, she says, her family functioned without a lot of technology. “It was just stories,” Reitz clarifies. “It was a lot of talking to my grandparents, hearing their perspective on life, and getting a lot of advice, solicited or unsolicited,” she laughs, “but in retrospect, I’m actually kind of glad that we didn’t have so much tech around us. I think that really gave space for reflection and to kind of connect on a different level. But now that we are so consumed by it and it’s all around us, I think it has to be incorporated into our lives the right way.”

Reitz confers with participants of her research into assistive technologies. Photo courtesy of Reitz.

Now, after teaching at UMBC for 12 years, Reitz is now the faculty program director of the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies and also an affiliate faculty at the Trace Center, which develops technology with the end goal of increasing the accessibility of information and communication technologies for people with disabilities.

Finding intuitive tools

Reitz also consults for Google and Amazon on their Echo and Alexa products to make the tech more helpful for older, cognitively impaired adults. But she didn’t come up with this idea on her own. About six years ago, in a conversation with a research participant whose wife had dementia, Reitz asked him about what technologies he already used. When he mentioned Amazon Alexa, Reitz was immediately interested. It had so much potential—it was an intuitive tool already built for consumers and at a moderately affordable price point, two things that often inhibit the accessibility of assistive technology.

Reitz with (from left) Dr. Judah Ronch, her mentor, President Freeman Hrabowski, and then-President of the UMBC Alumni Association John Becker ’01. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

“For a long time we were developing tech that was, I think, infantilizing, and we didn’t understand the needs of older adults,” says Reitz, who explains that what older adults wanted was the devices they already used to better assist them. “So we’ve been really focused on building this ecosystem of tech that can support somebody—so they can stay in their home as long as possible, feel like themselves and continue to focus on their personhood versus just disease management.”

Long-lasting mentorship

Headshot courtesy of Merki.

Merki, who was a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar at UMBC, tries to carry the values of the program’s namesake and his mentor—the late Walter Sondheim—into his own work in creating accessible communities. Merki was just 17 when he first met Sondheim, but the 93-year-old civic leader made a lifelong impact on him. “Everything about him as a leader went contrary to what you might envision,” says Merki. “He was such a humble, gentle man, and everybody trusted him, which enabled him to get so much done.”

“We only provide grants to direct service providers—no policy, no research, no higher education, just direct services in the field of combating poverty,” says Merki.

Now, as managing director of programs and grants at The Weinberg Foundation—one of the largest grant makers in the older adults and aging space in the United States—Merki oversees approximately $130 million a year in grant distributions from the foundation, all focused on meeting the basic human needs of people experiencing poverty. 

Staying connected

Like Reitz, Merki sees the need to ground himself in the experiences of the populations he’s working with. “It’s easy to become disconnected when you work in philanthropy,” says Merki, who was a Rising Star recipient in 2010. “It’s easy to get an inflated sense of your own importance and capacity for impact. And it’s important to remember that it’s not you who’s doing the real work on the ground, that you are simply a partner and a supporter for those nonprofit leaders, for those people who are out there meeting the needs of older adults and children and families every day.”

Merki with Alicia Wilson ’04, right, and Paul Pineau and Susan Leviton, at the Alumni Award ceremony in 2010.

To combat distancing himself, Merki says he and his team go out in the field a lot. “We are traveling to the communities that we work in. We are meeting people and making sure that the projects that we’re funding are top notch. You really have to make it a priority to be with the people who your grants serve.”

Twenty years after meeting Sondheim, Merki says, “He is still a guiding force in my life, and I try to live up to his example. Walter’s life of service was focused on bettering the lives of other people, largely disadvantaged and vulnerable populations throughout Baltimore—he was just so fundamentally concerned with everyone else and the community at large, more than himself.”

Read more about other Retrievers rising together and stay tuned for more information about UMBC’s 32nd annual Alumni Awards in October.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Dr. Hrabowski discusses his experiences in the Civil Rights movement on the Kojo Nnamdi Show
• Amy Hurst, information systems, studied assistive technologies in the maker community and created tools to help the public make useful objects.
• Maryland Unites: UMBC Community Service Leave
• Justin Vélez-Hagan, School of Public Policy, Weighs in on Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Crisis
• Erickson School and Sociology and Anthropology Featured in the Baltimore Sun for Work with St. Agnes Hospital
• UMBC’s student conduct referral rate is mentioned in an article about the University of Maryland, College Park’s on-campus drug violations.
• Greg Simmons, institutional advancement, discusses UMBC’s successful fundraising efforts, which are expected to double the university’s goal for the year.
• Clifford Murphy, American studies, is the new director of folk and traditional arts for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Chris Corbett, English, recounts the actions of Baltimore police and political leaders in the months after Freddie Gray’s death.

Read more at UMBC Insights!