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!

Alumnus Jaimes Mayhew ‘10, imaging and digital arts, Icelandic Fulbright Scholar and IMDA MFA, will participate in an imaging and digital arts event along with Neja Tomšič, taking place on Thursday, November 6, from noon to 1 p.m. In 2008, Tomšič founded the Museum of Transitory Art in Solvenia. She deals with creating open platform media, public art projects, along with publications and interviews with international artists. Her goal is to bring more engagement with this genre of art forms to the U.S. Read more.

With almost 20 years of human resources experience in the senior living and healthcare industry, Shelli Giardino ’94, political science, has recently been recognized as the new Director of Human Resources at Devonshire at PGA National. She began working for Erickson Living in September 2003 as a senior human resources manager at Charlestown in Catonsville, Md. Over the years she worked her way up to becoming Director of Human Resources. At Devonshire she will be focused on improving the community’s employee environment. Read the full article.

Recently deciding to depart as executive director of Free State Legal, Aaron Merki ’05, political science, has taken on the role to work with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. As a co-founder of Free State Legal, Merki has been involved with numerous accomplishments relating to legal services of low-income Baltimore residents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. At the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Merki will focus on improving living for the city’s aging population. Read more.

In an interview with the U.K.’s Mirror, Matthew VanDyke ’02, political science, speaks about the tragic story of his friend, journalist James Foley. Foley went missing near Aleppo, Syria, in November 2012 where he was pursuing his passion as a conflicts journalist, and was tragically killed after being held captive. VanDyke pays tribute to his friend, while also discussing the danger and risks that come along with being a journalist in a country such as Syria or Iraq, even when taking all possible precautions. Read VanDyke’s full story.

Have a story of your own to share? Submit a class note.

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!

As Baltimore’s Gamescape, an exhibit at Artscape, moved out of MICA and into the Single Carrot Theatre, Jonathon Moriarty ‘13, computer science and visual arts, prepared to present his game, CAVE, to judges and guests.

Gamescape promotes the rise of “indie developers,” or those who don’t work for big companies.

Moriarty, who first got involved with the exhibit as a member of the game developers club at UMBC, returned for his fifth year at the exhibit as a full-time game developer.

“The rise of indie developers… it’s something that’s happening really the world over and it’s the result of tool sets previously unavailable due to large amounts of money,” said Moriarty to the City Paper. Read more in Technical.ly and the City Paper.

Danielle LaClair ’08, social work, had no reason to worry when her tuition payment plan for Howard County Community College was cancelled.

Recently, the Pathway Scholarship Program, which grants “a county government-funded scholarship designed to make college affordable for county residents in need,” gave $2.5 million to 1,300 student–including LaClair. “It’s eased a lot of my worrying. These scholarships make going back to school that much easier,” said LaClair to The Baltimore Sun. Read more here.

On November 6, 2014, the UMBC Department of Visual Arts IMDA (imaging and digital arts) program will host Neja Tomšič of Slovenia along with Icelandic Fulbright Scholar Jaimes Mayhew ‘10, imaging and digital arts.

This Catalyst event, which will take place from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., is designed to work with IMDA graduate students in the ITE 110 Flex Lab. Read all of the information here.

Alexandra Shaw Macchi ’14, M.F.A., was recently published in City Paper under her pen name Lexie Mountain. Throughout her article, she addresses the passing of H. Res 676, which gives citizens the ability to sue the president, and the epidemic of imported snails used for moisturizers eating away at Floridian homes. Find her full article here.

Jaimes Mayhew ’10, MFA in imaging and digital arts, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Iceland, where he will spend the next nine months working on a social practice art project, Autonomous Energy Research Lab.

Mayhew states, “Autonomous Energy Research Lab is an art research project that will investigate the idea of autonomy through conversations, art events, visits from other Baltimore-based artists and any other methods of research that may come about. All of these events will take place involving my research lab, which is a modified bike cart that includes a table, chairs, protection from the rain and is capable of producing and storing energy in a mobile battery. I will be using this lab to research ideas of autonomy, with special interest in Iceland’s use of geothermal power, of preservation of the Icelandic language and culture and, of course, in talking to people about Iceland’s economic collapse and strategies to recovery.”

See more about Mayhew’s work at his website:  www.enginesofthefuture.com

– Originally published on the UMBC Graduate School blog

– Read more about UMBC alumni on Retriever Net