When Shaniah Reece ’23, information systems, now a Ph.D. student in computer science at Emory University, was navigating her academic journey at UMBC, there were times she felt like giving up. One evening, around 10 p.m. at night, she was exhausted and considering not submitting an important application. But then Michael Hunt, director of the McNair Scholars Program, with which she was affiliated, gave her a call.

“He said, ‘There are two hours left, and I haven’t seen any indication that you’ve submitted it,’” Reece relates. “I could hear his family and the TV in the background—he was off the clock, at home—but he still made that call. That moment was so impactful because he thought about me, believed in me, and pushed me in a moment when I was too weak to push myself.”

It’s just one example of the many times that Hunt ’06, applied mathematics, Ph.D. ’25, language, literacy, and culture, has shown up for students in just the ways they need. Since 2019, Hunt has directed the federally funded UMBC McNair program with a goal of empowering students from underrepresented segments of society to earn research-based doctoral degrees. Not only does he support the 30 students who enter the full program each year—he’s worked hard to extend opportunities to affiliated students, through a program now called the Retriever Graduate Preparation Network, and to spread the supportive culture of the McNair program across the university as a whole. 

On October 29, Hunt’s contributions will be recognized when he receives the 2025 Outstanding Staff award from UMBC’s Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Showing up for students

What makes Hunt such an effective mentor? For one thing, he asks students what they need and makes their voices and experiences a central part of his relationship with them. He strives to support them holistically, including emotional, cultural, and academic support. He wants the mentor-mentee relationship to be reciprocal, to honor the value of the mentee’s contributions, and to extend into a wider network of community support. 

The approach, called holistic critical mentoring, has been central to the McNair Scholar’s Program under Hunt’s leadership. Hunt even wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the subject and his interviews of former McNair scholars showed how much they valued the mentoring philosophy.

“I am one of the many UMBC students whose trajectory was forever changed by Dr. Hunt’s mentorship,” says Ting Huang ’21, psychology, the program coordinator for UMBC McNair Scholars Program and a former scholar herself. “I didn’t know my path until I stumbled onto McNair as an undergraduate. Through the program, I conducted research virtually for the first time during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the remote nature of those years, I had never felt more connected to a community. That sense of belonging was cultivated by Dr. Hunt and his team, showing how intentional leadership can overcome even the most isolating circumstances.”

Building community

Hunt says the experience of reaching out to current and former McNair program participants to request their help supplying information for his dissertation research was ultimately very gratifying. He wondered how many would respond, given their busy schedules, but a large number were eager to engage.

“I was genuinely surprised, I didn’t expect that number of responses. But then my mentor pointed out: That’s what happens when you build relationships,” Hunt says.

Hunt says the continued support of program alumni makes him feel like he is making a difference. He’s happy that former participants, some as far away as California, regularly offer to serve as volunteer mentors for current students.

This summer, Hunt had the opportunity to sit in on the dissertation defense of one of the first students to go through the McNair Scholars Program under his watch.

“It’s wonderful to see these alums thriving,” Hunt says. “We are building community. And while we stood on the shoulders of giants, we’re making sure to also be the shoulders that others can stand on next.”

Mark your calendars for the 2025 Alumni Awards on Wednesday, October 29, at 6 p.m., and consider joining the UMBC community at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena to celebrate Michael Hunt and the many remarkable individuals receiving awards. The event will be livestreamed for those unable to join in person. You can learn more at alumni.umbc.edu/alumniawards.

Congratulations to these UMBC alums whose accomplishments have been recognized both inside and outside of UMBC. Take a moment to read what they have been up to!

The Kennedy Center recently hosted a benefit performance called “After the Storm” in support of the survivors of typhoon Haiyan, the strongest recorded typhoon to ever hit the Philippines. Gretchen Quipeles ‘14, health administration and public policy, attended the event and praised its success. “It’s exciting to see the Filipino community come together in that one room seeing a great act, raising money for typhoon Haiyan,” she told Inquirer.net. Read the full story here.

While Prince George’s county may not be known for academic success, Dr. Hrabowski and Donald Richardson ‘14, mathematics, discussed how engaging students in a cooperative community provides a supportive background for black students. “[UMBC] was a big transition from public school, where everybody was trying to make it on their own,” said Richardson to The Washington Post. Find more here.

Kyla McMullen ‘05, computer science, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in computer science, knew there was something missing from a Business Insider list of the 50 sexiest scientists when she noticed no African-American women were featured. “If the current generation is going to be engaged in scientific careers, we need to dispel the stereotypical image of a scientist as being a white, glasses wearing, socially-inept nerd,” said McMullen in one of her articles. “Business Insider went one step in this direction, but not far enough.” She decided to fill this void by creating her own list of sexy, black, female scientists. You can find it on her website.

After an operation left a friend’s dad $40,000 in debt, Ethan Steininger ‘14, health administration and policy, started a website called Compared Care. It allows users to compare the prices of medical professionals based on what the patient is looking for before having the exam or operation. “You don’t know what you’re getting [charged] until after you get it,” said Steininger to Technical.ly Baltimore, and his website is made to help users find the best medical attention they can afford. Read more here.

“But Mom, when am I going to use all this math stuff anyway?”
For parents, it’s a frequent refrain from kids of all ages, and sometimes in the age of spreadsheets and computer desktop calculators, it’s a question that’s as tough to answer as sample problems from the math section of the SAT.
But don’t say that to Kimball Martin ’99, who has turned his inquisitive nature and love of challenges into a robust career as an assistant professor of mathematics specializing in number theory.
“Math is not about numbers, but about ideas and problem solving,” he said. “Doing math helps you learn how to think and solve problems in general. As all of us have to deal with problems or make decisions constantly, I believe mathematicians constantly use their mathematical experience in daily life.”
“Two of my friends have at some point run their own construction businesses,” said Martin. “The first was an engineer, and was quite good at math, but the other was not so strong. The first one told me about how he used trigonometry all the time, to figure out things like how many steps and what size they would need, or how long they should cut beams for the roof, and it was very easy and efficient.
“The other friend said they climb up on the roof and measure how long the beams should be, or experiment to see how many steps are needed, and as a result it took him and his crew much longer to finish their job. I believe having some proficiency in mathematics often comes up in surprising ways down the road. After all, life is full of surprises.”
Martin, a former Goldwater Fellow, was known for always pushing onward to the next challenge during his time at UMBC. A native of Mechanicsburg, Penn., he took college courses while still in high school and consistently surprised his UMBC professors with his desire to take and excel in advanced level courses. He went on to get his Ph.D. from Cal Tech, did his post-doc work at Columbia University and is now an assistant professor of math at the University of Oklahoma.
Martin specializes in the study of prime numbers – numbers such as 2, 5, 7 and 13, which are divisible only by one and themselves. “They’re a fundamental building block of arithmetic. There’s no apparent pattern to them. Somehow primes occur seemingly randomly but they also display statistical patterns.”
Martin initially wanted to be a visual art and computer science major as a freshman, but then settled into a double major in computer science and math. “By my junior year, I began to realize that most of the things I liked in computer science were the math aspects of it,” he said.
He interned at the National Security Agency for a summer, and was encouraged by the support and mentorship he received from the math department. “The math department here was small so I got to interact a lot with faculty. I spent most of my days here in the department, made a lot of friends there and in the dorms and apartments.”
To Martin, mathematics is a discipline that combines elements of art and science. While a math career may not be for everyone, to Martin there are certain traits essential for success in the field.
“You need curiosity, creativity and courage to be a mathematician,” he said. “Curiosity is first because mathematics is about understanding and discovering new things. Creativity, which is something that seems very mystical to me, is what allows us to see the new in things. Finally, courage is needed because math is not always easy. In fact, the interesting math is almost never easy.”
Martin recalls a particular homework problem from his post-doc days, which was assigned by his mentor, adjunct faculty member John Dillon. “Once you started, your formulas just started getting worse and worse, and you couldn’t see any way out of this hole you were getting yourself into. One of the students the class it was due said he couldn’t get it, he just wound up with these horrific equations, and Dillon said ‘Be brave. You have to be brave. If you just keep going, you’ll get the answer in the end.’ And he was right. I encounter and struggle with this sort of thing all the time in research.”
Martin is quick to point out that “A Beautiful Mind”-style stereotypes of the brilliant mathematician with poor social skills isn’t the reality. “Most of us are relatively normal with a slight tendency towards thoughtfulness,” said Martin. “Plus I like to play jokes,” he said. “I once hid live crabs in someone’s office. I had accomplices, though. I didn’t act alone.”
So what is the answer for the teenager who doubts that he or she will ever use this stuff?
According to Martin, math is like any other subject: you get out what you put in.
“Beyond basic arithmetic and algebra, most people probably won’t use what they learn in the textbooks after school. However, most college students don’t use the contents of their courses in their subsequent jobs either. Nevertheless, during the process of going through the course and learning the material and doing the assignments, I firmly believe you learn much more than what’s in the book. Furthermore, you often do use the content of a course in later courses in school, whose value is not to be underestimated.
Martin closed his interview with wise words for students of any subject. “If you treat one class as a waste of your time, then your subsequent classes will also be a waste of time, because you won’t be able receive what your teachers have to offer.”
– Chip Rose
Originally posted July 2008

“But Mom, when am I going to use all this math stuff anyway?”

For parents, it’s a frequent refrain from kids of all ages, and sometimes in the age of spreadsheets and computer desktop calculators, it’s a question that’s as tough to answer as sample problems from the math section of the SAT.

But don’t say that to Kimball Martin ’99, who has turned his inquisitive nature and love of challenges into a robust career as an assistant professor of mathematics specializing in number theory.

“Math is not about numbers, but about ideas and problem solving,” he said. “Doing math helps you learn how to think and solve problems in general. As all of us have to deal with problems or make decisions constantly, I believe mathematicians constantly use their mathematical experience in daily life.”

“Two of my friends have at some point run their own construction businesses,” said Martin. “The first was an engineer, and was quite good at math, but the other was not so strong. The first one told me about how he used trigonometry all the time, to figure out things like how many steps and what size they would need, or how long they should cut beams for the roof, and it was very easy and efficient.

“The other friend said they climb up on the roof and measure how long the beams should be, or experiment to see how many steps are needed, and as a result it took him and his crew much longer to finish their job. I believe having some proficiency in mathematics often comes up in surprising ways down the road. After all, life is full of surprises.”

Martin, a former Goldwater Fellow, was known for always pushing onward to the next challenge during his time at UMBC. A native of Mechanicsburg, Penn., he took college courses while still in high school and consistently surprised his UMBC professors with his desire to take and excel in advanced level courses. He went on to get his Ph.D. from Cal Tech, did his post-doc work at Columbia University and is now an assistant professor of math at the University of Oklahoma.

Martin specializes in the study of prime numbers – numbers such as 2, 5, 7 and 13, which are divisible only by one and themselves. “They’re a fundamental building block of arithmetic. There’s no apparent pattern to them. Somehow primes occur seemingly randomly but they also display statistical patterns.”

Martin initially wanted to be a visual art and computer science major as a freshman, but then settled into a double major in computer science and math. “By my junior year, I began to realize that most of the things I liked in computer science were the math aspects of it,” he said.

He interned at the National Security Agency for a summer, and was encouraged by the support and mentorship he received from the math department. “The math department here was small so I got to interact a lot with faculty. I spent most of my days here in the department, made a lot of friends there and in the dorms and apartments.”

To Martin, mathematics is a discipline that combines elements of art and science. While a math career may not be for everyone, to Martin there are certain traits essential for success in the field.

“You need curiosity, creativity and courage to be a mathematician,” he said. “Curiosity is first because mathematics is about understanding and discovering new things. Creativity, which is something that seems very mystical to me, is what allows us to see the new in things. Finally, courage is needed because math is not always easy. In fact, the interesting math is almost never easy.”

Martin recalls a particular homework problem from his post-doc days, which was assigned by his mentor, adjunct faculty member John Dillon. “Once you started, your formulas just started getting worse and worse, and you couldn’t see any way out of this hole you were getting yourself into. One of the students the class it was due said he couldn’t get it, he just wound up with these horrific equations, and Dillon said ‘Be brave. You have to be brave. If you just keep going, you’ll get the answer in the end.’ And he was right. I encounter and struggle with this sort of thing all the time in research.”

Martin is quick to point out that “A Beautiful Mind”-style stereotypes of the brilliant mathematician with poor social skills isn’t the reality. “Most of us are relatively normal with a slight tendency towards thoughtfulness,” said Martin. “Plus I like to play jokes,” he said. “I once hid live crabs in someone’s office. I had accomplices, though. I didn’t act alone.”

So what is the answer for the teenager who doubts that he or she will ever use this stuff?

According to Martin, math is like any other subject: you get out what you put in.

“Beyond basic arithmetic and algebra, most people probably won’t use what they learn in the textbooks after school. However, most college students don’t use the contents of their courses in their subsequent jobs either. Nevertheless, during the process of going through the course and learning the material and doing the assignments, I firmly believe you learn much more than what’s in the book. Furthermore, you often do use the content of a course in later courses in school, whose value is not to be underestimated.

Martin closed his interview with wise words for students of any subject. “If you treat one class as a waste of your time, then your subsequent classes will also be a waste of time, because you won’t be able receive what your teachers have to offer.”

– Chip Rose
Originally posted July 2008