Here at UMBC, we take pride in what our alums accomplish after graduation. Take a moment to see which Retrievers have been on the move and making news!

Last week, Joseph T. Jones ’06, social work, was interviewed on “Baltimore’s Future,” a feature segment on WYPR. Jones talked with host David Warnock about the difficulties ex-offenders face in gaining employment and how one can support the Center for Urban Families.

Jones founded the CFUF in 1999 as a means to strengthen urban communities by helping fathers and families achieve stability and economic success.

You can listen to Jones’ interview here.

Last week, the Baltimore Business Journal posted a new interview with Gib Mason ’95, economics, which focuses on his experiences both as an educator and entrepreneur.

In the interview, Mason, who is the chief operating officer of UMBC Training Centers, shares lessons he learned working as the chief operating officer at Big Bang, a Baltimore sportswear company that popularized foldable wraparound ear warmers. He also discusses his passion for teaching entrepreneurship and the essential role of failure. “Be open to the perspective of the people around you,” he advises. “Don’t ever believe you have it all figured out.”

Click here to read the interview. (subscription required).

Last month, Micaela Perez Ferrero ’13, political science, published an article on Gazette.Net thanking the teachers that helped shape her own path to becoming an educator.

Ferrero goes on in the article to discuss her frustration with an unequal education system, her work with Teach for America, and her own experiences as a teacher in Baltimore striving to give her students the keys for their academic success.

Click here to read her article.

Hadieh Shafie ’04 M.F.A., imaging and digital arts, has her first one-person show coming up in New York this spring. Surfaced will be on view from February 26 through April 11 at the Leila Heller Gallery. The exhibition will feature twenty new works from Shafie that both build on her past work as well as explore new territory and mediums. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, February 26, from 6 – 8 pm.

For more information, click here.

Shafie was also named an Outstanding Alumna for 2014 by the Alumni Association and was honored during last year’s Alumni Awards. Click here for a brief interview we conducted with her.

The long Homecoming Weekend was kicked off in a big way on Thursday, October 9, with the annual Alumni Awards Ceremony.

This year, the ceremony was held in the stunning Performing Arts and Humanities Building Concert Hall, with receptions preceding and following the event in the Dance Tech Studio.

Those in attendance were treated to speeches by the honorees, as well as lots of smiles and laughter.

And of all of the quotes about the night, Director of Alumni Relations Stanyell Odom said it best: “This year’s winners are an outstanding representation of UMBC. All of the members of our community should be proud of their accomplishments and contributions to the campus and their respective professions.”

Congratulations, Alumni Awards winners of 2014!

Please enjoy a slideshow of pictures taken at the event by photographer Marlayna Demond ’11.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to this year’s Alumni Award winners. The UMBC Alumni Association proudly honors distinguished alumni and faculty for their accomplishments and dedication to UMBC. Today we’re talking with Gib Mason ‘95, economics, about his career working as the Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Center for Leadership and Innovation by improving the UMBC Training Centers.

Name: Gib Mason ’95, economics
Job Title: Chief Operating Officer & Director of the Center for Leadership and Innovation, UMBC Training Centers
Award Category: Distinguished Service

Q: Why did you choose to attend UMBC, and how do you continue to be involved with the university?

It had been a decade since I had left my first foray into the University setting, and I was looking for a place to finish my education. I was interested in learning more about economics in order to better support my business. My decision to attend UMBC started as a skill building opportunity, but ultimately led to a five-year relationship that drove me to sit for the CPA exam as a result. My current involvement with UMBC is multi-faceted. I serve as a board member for the Alex. Brown Entrepreneurship Center, where I partnered with faculty fellows to develop the Minor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. I presently teach and develop curriculum for both the FYS and ENTR program, and act as a faculty advisor within the INDS program. I have also facilitated strategic planning for multiple departments within UMBC. In addition, I provide leadership development training for all members of the UMBC community.

Q: Is there a particular class or professor at UMBC who really inspired you?

Elizabeth Gerkin taught my very first class (Accounting 101) and in turn, inspired me to extend my stay at UMBC. Brad Humphreys was another inspiration for me. He was an economics professor who provided me with a much broader perspective of the influence and impact of finance on communities. My experience at UMBC is what inspired me to want to teach and complete a Master’s degree.

Q: Please tell us a little about the trajectory of your career and what you are working on now.

There are three concepts that encapsulate my career trajectory: entrepreneurship, opportunity, and passion. Entrepreneurial pursuits, belief in the opportunities in organizations for growth and change and development, and underlying under that is a rabid passion for what I get the opportunity to do. Currently, I’m working on putting UMBC’s Training Centers in a position to live into its fullest potential. Really, that’s about developing the people of our organization, which will allow us to increase our reach and the reputation of the University. Within my work for our Center for Leadership and Innovation, I also have the opportunity to enable other organizations to live into their fullest potential.

Q: What has been the greatest success in your career? The greatest challenge?

The greatest success of my career was the rolling up of the B4students foundation into Big Brothers and Sisters. The greatest challenge has been balancing the dichotomy of being both a CPA and an MSOD. My career has a lot of breadth, with significant depth in two very different areas. It’s a healthy challenge – I fight with myself all the time.

Q: What are your proudest personal achievements?

My service to youth over a 30 year period, including 25 years of coaching little league baseball and basketball, 17 years of board service for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the development of the B4students foundation, and the last 8 years focused on the development of undergraduates at UMBC.

Check out the other Alumni Award winners.

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University. Throughout the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing you to each award winner individually, but for now, we would like to congratulate them all on their wonderful achievements. 

The UMBC Alumni Association proudly honors these distinguished alumni and faculty for their accomplishments and dedication to the University:

Engineering and Information Technology
Dr. Claudia Pearce ’89 M.S., ’94 Ph.D., Computer Science
Senior Computer Science Authority, NSA

From UMBC Magazine Fall 2011: How to Grow Your Big Idea.  Featuring Dean Bill LaCourse, Vivian Armour, and Gib Mason. Video by Jenny O’Grady.

With Vivian Armor ’73, director, Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship

You wake up one morning with a big, bright light bulb bobbing above your head. You start your day, feed the dog, the light getting brighter by the minute. Pretty soon, it’s keeping you up at night. Well, congratulations. Your “big idea” has arrived – and with it, a world of possibility.

So, now what? Do you cash in your life savings for seed money? Get a fancy business degree? Buy the book by that guy in the suit covered in question marks?

Maybe you take some (absolutely) free advice from Vivian Armor ’73, American studies. She is director of UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and has some tips about how to move ahead safely and smartly so you can make all your wildest dreams come true.

— Jenny O’Grady

Step 1:
Reality Check

our idea is precious and perfect and unique like a snowflake. But, how does it stand up to the scrutiny of others?

“Nobody wants to hear the baby’s ugly, but maybe it needs braces,” says Armor. She suggests running your brainchild past a few friends or family members you trust to be honest with you, as well as professionals in the industry related to your idea. Doing so can help you step away from your idea, and more objectively assess the pros and cons. The more feedback you get and the more open-minded you are about tweaking your idea to address potential flaws, the better chance you have of starting off strong.

Step 2:
Write a Business Plan

Once you’ve put your idea through the blender, it’s time to write up some solid plans. Questions to consider: What is your timeline? What kind of support will you need to execute your plan? How will you promote your idea to potential buyers? Who are your competitors and why is your idea better? How much work is this really going to be?

“It helps to take out a piece of paper and really think about these things,” says Armor. Questions like these may take a bit of the wind out of your sails, but they’re important to answer early on.

Step 3:
Perfect Your Pitch

A concept is never enough on its own – you also need to be able to quickly convince investors why it’s a great idea that they should care enough about to support. And that means perfecting your so-called “elevator speech.”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re selling, but if you can describe it well, you’ll help people to connect the dots,” says Armor, who again suggests turning to friends for practice. If you find you can’t describe your plan quickly and easily, you might need to take a quick detour back to Step 2.

Step 4:
Know There’s Help Out There

As in so many steps before, one fact rises above the rest in the world of entrepreneurship: it’s rarely a one-person show. Counting on trusted partners to refine your plan and give you new ideas is crucial, but so is relying on the many resources available to you as a budding entrepreneur.

Armor cites the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship as a one-stop shop for all things “start-up.” The center works with faculty to help infuse courses across UMBC’s curriculum with entrepreneurial material. It also offers a campus “Idea Lab” and mentoring and internship opportunities. In addition, Armor touts the center’s Raymond V. Haysbert, Sr. Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, which provides a platform for successful entrepreneurs to candidly share their experiences and insights with the public.

“People are here to help you,” she says. “We want you to succeed.”

* * * * *

Video: Intro to Entrepreneurship

What’s it really take to succeed as an entrepreneur? UMBC entrepreneurship experts Armor, “serial entrepreneur” Gib Mason ’95, economics, and Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences William R. LaCourse discuss how passion, creativity, determination – and a combination of the right skills – can open up a world of opportunity to young entrepreneurs. WATCH THE VIDEO

Via the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship:

In the spirit of entrepreneurship itself, the Alex. Brown Center is pleased to announce a new minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation this fall. This new minor will not be housed under any one major, allowing any student to declare it and any faculty member to incorporate it in their curriculum. Faculty Fellow Bill LaCourse says the initial spark for the minor was to “infuse entrepreneurship into the university, looking for methodology and pathways that don’t disrupt the system.” He goes on to explain that everyone at UMBC is an entrepreneur – everyone here is in the “business of education,” from learning and teaching to grant writing and research.

Two new entrepreneurship courses will be introduced this fall. Both courses will give students a good entrepreneurial mind set and skill set that will be invaluable to them as they head into their own disciplines. Entrepreneurial Mindset, taught by guest instructor and serial entrepreneur Gib Mason ’95, will give students the tools necessary to apply entrepreneurial thinking to their studies, work and life. Through case studies, texts, projects, magazines and blogs, students will explore what it means to think like an entrepreneur, and how they can establish and leverage an entrepreneurial mindset to achieve career success. Mason says, “I am a very passionate person. My hope is that I can instill in the folks that take the class a passion behind one’s ideas and desires.” He is excited to return to a campus he knows very well and to “unlock the entrepreneurship in all of us.”

Learn more…