As fall 2026’s first full week of classes wrap up, Retrievers across campus—newly minted and returning—are finding their place. In addition to learning to navigate to the right classroom, they are bringing their unique strengths and voices to this ever evolving community. 

This year’s incoming class of over 2,000 Retrievers boasts a median GPA of 4.0. Among them is Rodney Oglesby, an aspiring musician and a Gates Scholar. Oglesby was one of 750 students awarded this high honor among a pool of over 61,000 applicants nationwide. 

“We are thrilled to welcome another impressive entering undergraduate class, with a 15 percent increase in enrollment from Baltimore City, and, overall, students representing 42 countries,” says Dale Bittinger, M.P.P. ’16, assistant vice provost for strategic undergraduate engagement, partnerships, and pathways. “They are academically talented and engaged and we look forward to all they have to offer to our campus community.” 

Joining Oglesby is Saad Bin Waqas, a new student who traveled nearly 7,000 miles from his home in Pakistan to address the UMBC community at this year’s Fall Opening Meeting. At just 16, this Sondheim Scholar and geography and environmental studies major is looking forward to planting some roots after growing up in a military family. 

“After moving from place to place for much of my life, I am really excited to have a new place I can call home,” shared Waqas. 

A place to flourish

Junior Sabirah Burt is joining UMBC as a transfer student from Howard Community College. Her aspirations to ultimately become a physician’s assistant are shaped by her own experience grappling with a medical condition. If you had asked Burt a few months ago to describe herself, she’d say “ticking time bomb.” In June 2025, she was rushed to the hospital for an agonizing headache. Medical professionals eventually discovered she had an active brain bleed and underwent emergency surgery. 

“I believe graduating with a public health degree from here will allow me to flourish when continuing my education and applying to graduate school in the future,” she said. “After going through my tough experiences last year, it’s made me even more passionate to pursue medicine, now more than ever before, and help those lying in hospitals wondering if it will be their last day.” 

Strengthening connections—early

Some new Retrievers got a jump start to the year and arrived on campus over the summer to dive into work-integrated learning (WIL)—an educational approach that prepares students for a rewarding career after college by pairing what they are learning in the classroom with hands-on, authentic work experiences. In July, more than 100 incoming first-year and transfer students spent a night on campus, connected with an instructor and teaching assistant, and spent a day participating in service on site at five different community partner locations. 

WIL students will participate in service with the same sites throughout their full first year at UMBC, deepening engagement and strengthening connection to their peers and faculty as well as to the campus and community.

“I believe a program like this is an excellent cohort building model. I was able to have individual conversations with all of them, learning what they cared about going into their unique UMBC journeys,” says Emily Passera, the senior program coordinator for community-engaged learning through The Shriver Center at UMBC, who led a group of students to Patterson Park in east Baltimore and will teach the same students in a first-year experience course called UNIV 101. 

A community for all 

With a full lineup of events, this year’s Welcome, Retrievers efforts ensured that students started to find their place from the minute they stepped onto campus. Student volunteers (“Haul Stars”) were on hand to keep things moving as they helped new students with their belongings and offered directions. 

Students weren’t the only ones getting in on the fun. Retriever Fest gave families the opportunity to meet with campus partners and learn more about everything UMBC has to offer—while enjoying refreshments and picking up some swag. Jake Diaz, inaugural assistant vice president and dean of students in the Division of Student Affairs, had a ball welcoming new students. 

Throughout the weekend, students continued to enjoy Retriever 101 events, like First Night, an Student Events-Board-sponsored takeover of The Commons with inflatables, prizes, games, and plenty of other activities that cemented the first night as one students will remember for years to come. 

Events like the Taste of UMBC, Your Story Belongs Here, and the annual New Retriever Photo bonded students and filled their camera rolls. The first weekend concluded with Convocation, the official opening of the fall semester. President Valerie Sheares Ashby addressed the new students, reassuring them that UMBC is where they’re meant to be. 

“…I want to make sure you hear this from me: You belong here. You have come to an institution that wants you here and believes that you can be successful here, even if you are not yet completely sure of that yourself.” 

When Demetrie Garner moved from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to Baltimore, he found a wealth of opportunities in Baltimore, a strong spiritual practice, and a supportive network of friends and family. They became necessary anchors for recovering from opioid dependency and managing the workload of a full-time job while earning a bachelor’s, a master’s, and now a doctorate in public health from UMBC. 

“My story has a lot of twists and turns. I came to Baltimore in 2018 for treatment for opioid use disorder after experiencing homelessness, incarceration, hospitalizations, and treatment programs. Recovery was a process of 26 years,” says Garner, who now works in the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response. “When I came to Baltimore, I had a clean slate. I was able to go through an expungement process of criminal records, which was a list of misdemeanors that happened during my drug and alcohol addiction. My journey to UMBC began as an adult learner, at 40 years old, after a year in recovery.”

Understanding the bigger picture

The inspiration to pursue a bachelor’s degree came from working as a recovery specialist at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore County, where he supported patients who had overdosed or were experiencing substance use disorders, many of whom faced significant social and economic conditions that negatively affected their health. Although he connected patients to treatment and recovery resources, he questioned why so many returned to the emergency department with the same challenges. That curiosity sparked a desire to better understand the systems, policies, and social factors driving addiction and recovery. 

“I wanted to understand how healthcare is failing people in recovery,” says Garner. “I decided to go back to school. The logical step was to study public health.” Making the leap from working full-time and being a full-time student without a driver’s license posed many challenges. Thankfully, in addition to his faith, friends, and family, Garner also had a team of mentors at UMBC’s School of Public Policy that continue to support him to make his vision possible.

Garner immersed himself in public health research and learned about comorbidities, where patients are managing multiple health needs like substance dependency and mental health. He found that having multiple health needs with little to no healthcare is also exacerbated by homelessness, lack of transportation, inconsistent healthcare, or an environment not conducive to recovery. The emergency room could treat the symptoms but not the root causes. 

“My undergrad journey into public health was transformative because the curriculum I was learning for the core courses in public health also exposed me to psychology and epidemiology,” says Garner. “UMBC helped me understand what was needed for me to actually serve. If I wanted to be of service, then I needed to understand not just what leads people into substance use disorder but also what drives the research.”

No limits in sight

Each learning moment inspired great curiosity. Garner sought faculty for advice and opportunities. A game-changing moment came in a research methods course with Pamela R. Bennett, professor of public policy. Bennett encouraged Garner to think beyond what was stated in the research and analyze what was in between the lines.  

“I got a D in one discussion post, so I went to Dr. Bennett’s office hours. She told me to stop synthesizing information and to start thinking critically,” says Garner. “That was a game changer because I translated what she said to me into my work.”

Another game-changing moment came in Lauren Hamilton Edwards‘ class. Hamilton Edwards, associate professor of public policy, told the class at the beginning of the semester that everyone had an A until they didn’t. Garner interpreted that as an incentive to do his best every day. “From the beginning, she gave me the kind of nurturing I needed,” says Garner. “Now, when I have an intern, I make sure that I’m the “Dr. Lauren Hamilton Edwards” to that intern, as she was with me.”

Additional supports like the McNair Scholars Program gave him the foundation and confidence to pursue graduate school, and his first experience presenting his research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day was a humbling experience, he says. 

Garner is thriving thanks to the support of the faculty and staff in the public policy and sociology, anthropology, and public health departments, who recognized his potential.

“Associate Professor Andrea Kalfoglou called me Dr. Garner long before I believed it myself. My faculty advisor, Katie Birger, associate teaching professor, recognized my potential early on and encouraged me to pursue the B.A./M.A. pathway,” says Garner. “Now, with Professor Nancy Miller‘s mentorship, I am on track to finish my coursework by the end of the fall semester and begin my dissertation proposal in the spring of 2027.”

“Don’t be afraid”

As Garner’s expertise in public health and policy grew, so did his career opportunities. Today, he serves as the quality assurance manager for Baltimore City’s Behavioral Health Consent Decree. His work focuses on improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, and behavioral health crises, giving him a unique perspective on how public safety and public health intersect to advance overdose prevention and crisis response.

“I no longer see those 26 years to recovery as a period of failure. They gave me lived experience that I now use to help others entering recovery,” says Garner, who, throughout that time, drew strength from the unwavering faith of his grandmother, Hazel Parker; his sister, Shontell Cooper, and his mother, Clara Turner, who never stopped believing change was possible. He hopes his story inspires others to begin their own path to healing. 

“UMBC offered me, someone with a lived experience of homelessness and substance use disorder, a door that I would normally not have access to,” says Garner. “College is an opportunity to discover who you are and what matters to you. Don’t be afraid to engage with professors, challenge ideas, and use your voice.”

Learn more about UMBC’s public health programs.

Two student-led UMBC start-ups have been selected to receive 2026 Pava LePere Innovation Awards, granting them $50,000 each from the state of Maryland to support their business, as well as access to mentorship, training, and strategic support from the Maryland Student Venture Core Advisory Board and representatives from a network of entrepreneur support organizations across the local tech ecosystem.

The first start-up, called iBraid, was founded by Velma Funebe, a junior studying public health. She is building an augmented reality braiding app to help users part faster, see more clearly, and confidently braid their own hair.

The second start-up, called Strike Sense, is led by Charles Nerad, a sophomore studying media and communications and financial economics, and Aidan Fleischer,and Abhinav Patel, both sophomores studying mechanical engineering. The team is developing cost-effective attachments to transform any existing martial arts chest protector into an electronic, gamified system with sound effects and a “health bar.”

The teams were recognized at the Maryland Student Venture Showcase, held February 18 in Baltimore. 

Aspiring entrepreneurs can tap a wealth of resources at UMBC. The Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, led by director Kevin Fulmer, supports the entrepreneurial mindset with courses, speaker series featuring business leaders, start-up accelerator programs, and assistance with business ideas and networking with experts.

Last spring, Strike Sense competed and won second place in the technology and innovation track at the Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition, established by Greg Cangialosi ’96, English, an entrepreneurial leader in Baltimore. The competition provides UMBC student entrepreneurs with real-world experience, pairing them with mentors and connecting them to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Winners receive valuable support, including free legal and accounting services, a six-month affiliate membership at the bwtech@UMBC incubator, and guidance for fundraising and pitch development.

This year marks the second in a row that UMBC teams have won Pava LePere Innovation Awards, following the success of Elastic Energy, co-founded by mechanical engineering junior Samuel Bendek, at the inaugural awards in 2025.

“We are excited about the continued exposure and opportunities our student ventures are receiving in the broader Baltimore entrepreneurship community. It is validation that the programs we’ve put in place over the past few years are starting to pay dividends,” says Fulmer. “The ideas students are coming up with continue to be very impactful in creating economic and social impact in addition to being a great learning experience.”

One way to describe Dave Anguish’s journey with UMBC is as a trip around the world and back again. Anguish came to UMBC in 2008 to study political science as well as modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication. After graduating in 2012, he hopped on a plane to Mexico City to conduct political science research thanks to a research grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. He later returned to UMBC to earn an M.P.P. in public management in 2019 while working in UMBC’s International Education Services (IES)—an opportunity that allowed him to travel the world and inspired his first career in international education leadership. Now, it is leading to his second career as he prepares to graduate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Take it away, Dave!

Q: Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: In 2008, I came to UMBC as an undergraduate student because it offered something different, something I didn’t see at other schools. I liked that it was “medium-sized” and that the buildings were arranged in a grid, almost like a small city. It was so easy to meet new people, whether they were classmates, staff, or faculty. Everyone was open to making connections. At the time, I was surprised that an undergraduate student had so much access to people of greater stature. I came to understand that reducing the power differential was a deliberate choice and part of the university’s culture. It’s something I’m so glad still lives on today.

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

A: After graduation, I moved abroad for a year and then came back to work at UMBC. When I returned, it took a few years to find my passion. An urgent need for an advisor in IES ended up being my big break. I discovered that it wasn’t simply getting to meet and work with people from all over the world that appealed to me; it was also learning and explaining to others the complexity of immigration law. That seed of an idea blossomed into the (eventual) decision to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer focused on deportation defense and justice for immigrant communities. I could never have foreseen how far a frontline advisor position in the “visa office” would take me, or how it would reveal my professional path.

Q: What do you love about working at the Center for Global Engagement (CGE)?

A: I’ve been part of CGE since it was called International Education Services. Back then, we were a small but mighty team of five or so people. Today, CGE has nearly thirty staff, and while our teams focus on different areas, we all seek to forge connections between UMBC and the world. 

I’m so inspired by the work CGE does. My team handles immigration services for the thousands of international students coming to UMBC to study, as well as those who have graduated and are working around the country in exciting fields, getting practical training. 

My colleagues in Education Abroad enable students to break through the confines of campus and explore new lands, gaining crucial intercultural skills, learning languages, and learning more about themselves and their role in the world. Other CGE teams coordinate English language training and design special programs for groups to visit UMBC over the summer for intercultural experiences and training. 

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

A: For several years, I was on a two-person team serving all of UMBC’s international students. My co-worker, supervisor, and friend, Michelle Massey ’10, intercultural communications, taught me so much about how to be the best version of myself for those I serve. She is the reason why my emails are littered with happy exclamation points, and why I try to communicate in the most positive and friendly way with people who may not be as familiar with U.S. culture, and why I keep in mind that the work we do matters, because it has such an impact on every student’s life, career, and dreams. Michelle left UMBC to join the foreign service several years ago, but her example of servant leadership has stuck with me and set a standard that I try to live up to in my work.

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: It’s clichéd to say “it’s the people” that make UMBC what it is, but it’s true. I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many people who work hard every day to make the place run. Maybe it’s our relative youth as an institution, but there is a sense that even a university of our size can be nimble and adjust to new realities. We’re writing the story of UMBC every day. It’s been fascinating to see how much UMBC has changed since I was an undergraduate, but how the ethos has remained constant. We’ve had many changes in leadership over the past few years, and this new era at UMBC is an exciting one to watch and even more exciting to participate in.

Although I returned to UMBC shortly after I graduated, really, I’ve been all over the place: through my work at UMBC I’ve been able to travel the world, meet so many wonderful people, and learn new skills. Two graduate degrees later, my time at UMBC is coming to a close as I transition into an attorney role in another organization. But UMBC has been such a significant part of my life for so long that I know this isn’t truly the end.

* * * * *

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 UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement.

When Johnny Olszewski walks the halls of the Longworth House Office Building across the street from the Capitol dome, he stands head and shoulders above most of his peers. And while his height may be the first thing that sets him apart from the flood of new legislators in Washington, D.C., his consistent dedication to his homebase constituents—including much of Baltimore County where he was born, raised, and eventually earned a Ph.D. in his backyard at UMBC—has helped him arrive as a first-term representative in Congress with a solid reputation preceding him. 

“All around the Capitol, people are learning how to say ‘Johnny O, Johnny O.’ They were saying it the first day,” shares Olszewski’s fellow congressman Kweisi Mfume, who represents Maryland’s 7th district, which includes UMBC.

To say that public service in the Baltimore area has defined this Retriever’s career would be a bit of an understatement. Prior to getting sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in early January 2025, Olszewski, Ph.D. ’17, public policy, served as the Baltimore County executive, leading the 73rd most populous county in the country. He came to that role with two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates. When he originally won the delegate position, Olszewski was a 24-year-old social studies and special education public school teacher.

How does a first-generation college student from Dundalk work his way up to the District? “There’s a saying in D.C.,” explains Olszewski, “that you’re generally one of two types of politicians—you’re a show horse or you’re a work horse. And my grounding at UMBC and elsewhere has me really wanting to come and do the right work and find solutions for some really important, but also very challenging and sometimes divisive, issues that are facing our country.”

From classroom to Congress

Many students daydream about an out-of-state school experience, but for Olszewski—seated in his congressional office with an extra-large painting of a crab with a can of Old Bay across from him—staying local was the goal.

“UMBC was a no-brainer,” says Olszewski, who points to his diploma hanging high on the wall, “first and foremost, because of the reputation of the institution. Secondly, the availability of and the reputation of the specific program—public policy. And then also, I do believe in taking advantage of it being a state school, and it’s in my county.”

With his personal experience of electoral politics and other hands-on practice as a Maryland delegate, the public policy professors eagerly welcomed Olszewski into the program. While originally Olszewski saw his Ph.D. as more of a personal project, he quickly realized how impactful his growth and connections gained on campus would be in governing. 

Roy Meyers, professor emeritus, was Olszewski’s dissertation chair. “It was a great benefit to have him as a current legislator in the classroom,” says Meyers. “Other students learned from the real-world examples he provided, either confirming or improving on what I taught.” 

Meyers notes that there’s a potential drawback for mid-career students with government experience—they might rely too much on that experience, and fail to pick up what the academic experience can provide: exposure to different theories, perspectives, and methods. “That was not the case with Johnny, quite the opposite,” says Meyers. “It was clear that he intended to use much of what he learned from all the courses in the program. An example is how Johnny emphasized transparency and communications with constituents on the Baltimore County budget, a big improvement from previous practice.”

Renee Whitby, M.P.P. ’15, one of Olszewski’s fellow students in a summer sociology course at UMBC, says that, “Johnny was smart, down to earth, and had a good sense of humor. We often have a preconceived notion about politicians, but he proved to be a regular person.” Whitby, who now works in Towson University’s College of Education, was so excited to cast her vote for her former classmate in his congressional run. “Johnny brings a wealth of knowledge and common sense that will benefit the constituents of District 2 in shaping federal legislation,” she says.

Meyers, who was occasionally tapped by Olszewski in his prior role to lead groups about spending affordability or process modernization, knows first hand that Olszewski is well-equipped to make the leap from county executive to congressman. “That he was elected by fellow Democratic freshmen to be their representative on the influential Steering and Policy Committee is a sign that he is already a respected member, and I expect that he will be visible,” says Meyers. 

Olszewski now represents the majority of Baltimore County, Carroll County, and a northern sliver of Baltimore City—as well as global reach with his committee assignment to Foreign Affairs—and he’s ready to call on his academic background and history of legislative experience to lead on a larger scale on issues like affordable housing, gun safety, workforce development, and other areas he took on as county executive. The congressman has a word of advice for students and constituents alike: “Don’t wait your turn. I think if you have a burning passion to get involved, there are so many ways you can do it.” 

Common sense to scale

Olszewski is not naive about the polarization of federal politics but he wants the chance to scale some common sense bipartisan change like he aimed for in Baltimore County. 

“One of the things that I prided myself on as county executive was just how open, accessible, and transparent we were about what was going on, how we made decisions, and what was happening. And I expect very much to continue that approach here,” says Olszewski, sweeping his hands around his congressional office space. “We passed bipartisan police reform. We had Republicans and Democrats voting unanimously for budgets, which is just unheard of these days.”

Olszewski’s public policy dissertation at UMBC explored conditions under which lawmakers actually use evidence to drive policymaking as opposed to other considerations. What he discovered is that, “policymaking, unfortunately, isn’t just an academic exercise,” says Olszewski. “A lot of academics and researchers spend a lot of time coming up with really thoughtful research and understanding of the world…and there might be really compelling policy prescriptions that will move the needle on any number of issues. But there are folks across the aisle who, because of personal beliefs or political considerations, just can’t support that.” 

“It’s still a little humbling and inspiring to know that a kid from Dundalk, who was the first in his family to go to college, is now part of a group that is responsible for leading our nation, but also still just being a kid from Dundalk,” says the freshman representative.

His commute and his title have changed, but Olszewski plans to still bring the best of himself, all 6 feet 6 inches to the job at hand. “Compromise is possible without compromising values,” he says. On this day in January, where the sidewalks are lined with stacks of disassembled but not yet removed barricades following the inauguration, he adds, “And that’s where it gets complicated. It might not be the pure, perfect answer, but I think that there are places where we can still find that common ground.”

Meet Ridwan Islam Sifat, an M.P.P. graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree at UMBC’s School of Public Policy researching healthcare disparities among intersex individuals in the United States. Ridwan joined UMBC as an international student after earning both a B.S. and M.S. in development studies from the Bangladesh University of Professionals, where he studied the social exclusion of Hijra (third gender) people in Bangladesh, examining the effects of government policies and healthcare access. Ridwan was awarded the UMBC Adam Yarmolinsky Fellowship, which supports graduate and doctoral students whose research addresses poverty alleviation, social programs for low-income populations, and international diplomacy and peace. Ridwan appreciates the opportunities UMBC has afforded him and the community that supported him through it all. Thanks for sharing, Ridwan!

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

A: I’m a public policy Ph.D. student in the School of Public Policy and a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health. I work with the American Political Science Association and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, mentoring graduate students, offering support with graduate admission applications, and research guidance. I also serve as an associate editor for the International Journal of Public Health Science and an article editor for SAGE Open. I have served four times as a judge at the United Kingdom’s Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition, the world’s oldest international schools’ writing competition.

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

A: I came to UMBC because of its strong public policy program, particularly, the health policy concentration. The opportunity to study in a supportive environment with access to faculty expertise and resources, aligned with my passion for researching public policy issues made UMBC the perfect place for my academic journey.

My research interests include the intersection of public health policy with artificial intelligence, equity and social justice, and global health systems. I’ve co-authored several journal articles on these topics, including “Transformative potential of artificial intelligence in global health policy,” and “Food‑based domestic violence and anemia among women in sexual unions in Nigeria.”

Q: What clubs, teams, or organizations are you a part of? What do you love about them?

A: I was a Graduate Student Association senator representing the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and a committee member for Equity of Funds during the 2023 – 2024 term. I also worked with the Academic Engagement and Transition Programs as a graduate intern and worked with the Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising as an orientation advisor. UMBC’s Bangladesh Student Association promotes diversity by sharing our traditions and fostering cross-cultural understanding within the UMBC community.

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: The support at UMBC is exceptional—faculty and peers genuinely care about our success. From personalized mentorship to collaborative opportunities, the community is dedicated to helping us achieve our academic and professional goals. It’s a place where you feel valued, encouraged, and empowered to thrive.

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

A: My dissertation chair, Dr. Nancy Miller, and my co-chair, Dr. Loren Henderson, offer unwavering support, encouraging me to think critically and providing invaluable feedback on my research, helping me refine my ideas and stay focused. Also, my academic advisor, Dr. Zoë McLaren, guides me with relevant resources and opportunities, ensuring that I am well-prepared for the challenges of academia. Their combined mentorship has been essential to my growth as a scholar.

Q: What have you learned from being a graduate teaching assistant?

A: As a teaching assistant, I have worked with various professors who have helped me develop teaching skill sets that will be useful when I lead my own classes. My first in-person teaching assistant roles were in Dr. Sarah Chard‘s SOCY 619: Qualitative Methods in Social Research, Dr. Aubrey Jackson Soller‘s, and Dr. Mercedez Dunn-Gallier‘s SOCY 101: Basic Concepts in Sociology. In these classes, I learned to facilitate in-class activities, which allowed me to engage directly with students and observe their understanding of course material. I continued to practice these skills in spring 2024, as a TA for Dr. Brandy Wallace‘s SOCY 101 online class. I also worked on assessing students using rubric-based grading and providing them with constructive feedback. This semester, I have returned to Dr. Jackson Soller’s and  Dr. Mercedez Dunn-Gallier’s classes where I am applying all of these aspects of teaching.

Q: Tell us about what you love about your academic program or an organization you’re involved in.

A: I love the supportive and collaborative environment at the School of Public Policy, where the faculty’s dedication to student success, interdisciplinary research, and real-world policy impact creates an enriching academic experience. As a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health, I’m continually developing my skills and knowledge, preparing me for a future in academia.

* * * * *

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.

Explore opportunities at UMBC’s School of Public Policy and Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health.

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 Poulomi Banerjee, a double alumna—earning her degree in health administration and policy in 2016 and her M.P.P. in 2021—and current public policy Ph.D. student at UMBC who believes in the power of this community! She has her sights set on becoming just the 141st triple alum in UMBC history (bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. from UMBC). When she’s not working toward Retriever history, Poulomi works as the associate director of annual giving and alumni communications at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In her spare time (we’re just as surprised as you that she has any), you can find Poulomi with her camera taking family portraits, at a Philadelphia Union soccer game, or reading with her best friend, Sarah Lilly ‘17, information systems, and her two cats, Gizmo and Dolly. Take it away, Poulomi!

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

A: I love the practicality of the grad programs in the School of Public Policy. Throughout my time in both the master and Ph.D. programs, I’ve been able to have my assignments directly correlate with my work and research goals. In fact, my professors have made it such a wonderful experience that I continued after my master’s degree with my Ph.D.—something I never thought would be in my academic journey.

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

A: I attribute a lot of my UMBC experience to my best friend, Emma Hagen ’14, media and communications studies. She made me excited about going to UMBC from her Tumblr posts before I became a student and we’ve made amazing memories together as students and continue to as alumni.

(Pictured left: Banerjee sitting on the True Grit statue after her undergraduate Commencement.)

Q: What is your WHY? What brought you to UMBC?

A: I came to UMBC because they accepted me. It’s not glamorous or inspiring, I know. I’ve lived in Maryland my entire life and people who know me know I did not want to go to UMBC in the first place. I wanted to transfer after my first semester, but now I’m working on my third and final degree here and I think that’s an important story to tell. As I mentioned earlier, I used Tumblr to get excited about UMBC once I was accepted and that’s where I found Emma posting about a zip line, a cotton candy machine, and concerts from the Student Events Board.

I also would spend time talking to Yoo-jin Kang ’15, interdisciplinary studies and modern languages and linguistics, and Asif Majid ‘13, interdisciplinary studies, whom I went to high school with, about their experiences at UMBC. I wanted to find a community, and I wanted to have a purpose and a meaningful experience at UMBC. From my conversations with Yoo-jin and Asif, I felt hopeful about being able to do that.

Q: What’s your favorite part of Retriever Nation?

A: The unlimited Google storage space with my UMBC email. Just kidding! My best friends and so much of my community comes from UMBC. So much of who I am today is because of the people I met and continue to meet from UMBC. When you lean into the Retriever spirit, there’s really nothing you can’t do with the support that this community provides.

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

A: To tap into the magic that is UMBC, you have to seek your community. Everyone who is a part of my network didn’t come into my purview on their own. I found people who would help me enjoy my time and be as successful as possible at UMBC and beyond. Once you find those people, the opportunities you can receive are endless.

Q: Tell us about your HOW. 

A: I started getting involved in different groups to find my community and purpose. I joined organizations like SGA, the Student Events Board, Tea Club, and started researching sororities at UMBC. What really changed everything for me was the STRiVE Leadership Retreat. That’s where I truly learned the impact I could make at UMBC and in my community. It’s where I started forming my network at UMBC.

STRiVE is why I fell in love with UMBC and why I’m still a student to this day. Once the spring semester started my first year, I hit the ground running at UMBC and haven’t looked back since. I grew closer to Emma through the Student Events Board and she ended up bringing me into commonvision, UMBC’s design and print center, where I learned about graphic design and printing. Sarah Lilly, Kelly Robier ’15, political science, and Bentley Corbett-Wilson ’17, M.A. ‘20, all taught me about leadership and organizing, and all of them, along with Emma, are also always helping me grow and be a better person. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

There is an endless list of staff, faculty, and students who are now alumni who have shaped me into the person I am today. I attribute so many of my accomplishments to the folks I’ve met at UMBC. Had I not stayed, had I not found my community, and had I not made the effort to take advantage of what UMBC had to offer, I, 100 percent, would not be as successful as I have been both in my personal and professional life.

Q: Tell us about your current job. What do you like most about it?

A: I’m the associate director of annual giving and alumni communications at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My favorite part of fundraising in higher education is getting to help students have an incredible experience while on their academic journey. I studied public health in undergrad so being back in that space is a nice full-circle moment for me too.

Q: What drives you to support UMBC?

A: As someone who works in and studies higher education funding and fundraising, I understand that there’s so much a university wants to do to help students but can’t because of limited funding or not wanting to significantly increase tuition. That’s where the alumni community comes in.

I’m happy to donate to Retriever Essentials or The Women’s Center so they can provide the most resources to students during their time at UMBC. I’m of the belief that every dollar counts. I graduated with a hefty amount of student loans, but I know that I can give $10 or $20 every year on a day of giving or when I get an email from the dean and still make an impact on a student’s life.

(Pictured right: Banerjee wearing a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health sweatshirt.)

* * * * *

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.

Written by John Rennie Short, professor emeritus of public policy, UMBC

New York City is poised to launch the first congestion pricing plan to reduce traffic in a major U.S. metropolitan area. Like many journeys in the Big Apple, this one has been punctuated by delays. Once the system starts up, however, it’s expected to significantly reduce gridlock in Manhattan and generate billions of dollars to improve public transit citywide.

The basic idea is simple. To enter the Congestion Relief Zone, which covers Manhattan south of 60th Street, large trucks will pay $36, small trucks $24, passenger vehicles $15 and motorcycles $7.50. Ride-share vehicles and taxis will pay $2.50 and $1.25, respectively. Peak hours run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends; overnight tolls are discounted by 75%.

Evidence from cities around the world shows that charging motorists fees for driving into city centers during busy periods is a rarity in urban public policy: a measure that works and is cost-effective. Congestion pricing has succeeded in cities including London, Singapore and Stockholm, where it has eased traffic, sped up travel times, reduced pollution and provided funds for public transportation and infrastructure investments.

As an urban policy scholar, I’m looking forward to seeing New York’s plan go into effect. There may well be surprises and adjustments as officials see how it works in practice. But given the heavy costs that traffic imposes on public health and productivity, I’m encouraged to see a major U.S. city finally test this approach. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbYFpKeVTO0?wmode=transparent&start=0 Congestion pricing in New York City has traveled a long and winding road to adoption.

Nudging drivers

Congestion pricing is a response to externalities – costs or benefits that are generated by one party but incurred by another. Clogged city streets and air pollution are externalities created by urban car users, many of whom live outside the city.

This concept has been around for some time. British economist Arthur Pigou discussed it as early as 1920 as part of his attempt to remedy the suboptimal workings of the market system. In Pigou’s view, taxing harmful activities would discourage people from engaging in them.

Other thinkers took up this idea. In 1963, Canadian economist William Vickrey, a future Nobel laureate, argued that roads were scarce resources that needed to be valued by imposing costs on users.

This approach is behind behavioral economics, the policy strategy of using “nudges” that preserve choice but encourage certain actions. Congestion pricing assumes that increased prices will make people heading into New York think more carefully about their travel patterns, and about alternatives to driving.

New York City public transit receives priority

Congestion pricing in a city a big as New York is no small step. The New York plan was presented to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in November 2023 after years of study and a detailed environmental impact assessment, required by federal law.

Project sponsors, which include several city agencies and the state transportation department, stated in the impact assessment that on an average weekday, an estimated 1.86 million people entered lower Manhattan by motor vehicle. Travel speeds in Manhattan’s central business district, below 60th Street, declined by 23% between 2010 and 2019, from 9.1 to 7.1 mph. The traffic was generating air and noise pollution, wasting travelers’ time, increasing business costs and preventing emergency vehicles from responding quickly to accidents.

The agencies estimated that the proposed toll system would reduce traffic in the Congestion Relief Zone by 17%, with an associated decline in air pollution. It also would generate US$15 billion for capital improvements to the city’s public transit system, including making stations accessible for passengers with disabilities and buying new electric buses and commuter rail and subway cars.

More than 75% of all trips into the central business district are made by public transit. The system has been plagued by breakdowns over the past decade. The Metropolitan Transit Authority recently adopted a $52 billion capital improvement program to update its network, some parts of which are more than 100 years old.

Over several months of public hearings, the MTA heard both broad support for congestion pricing and thousands of requests for credits, discounts and exemptions, most of which were denied. The limited number of exemptions includes private commuter buses, school buses and city-owned vehicles, including emergency vehicles.

In addition, drivers who travel via Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive on Manhattan’s eastern edge, the West Side Highway on its western edge, or the Carey Tunnel between Brooklyn and Battery Park will not be charged if they do not enter any street in the Congestion Relief Zone. Drivers from the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island will be eligible for rebates and discounts on certain bridge tolls.

There were widespread complaints from New Yorkers in the outer boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, and from car commuters who live outside of the city. New Jersey is suing the MTA, arguing among other things that the plan is unconstitutional because it burdens interstate commerce. This suit could delay the start of congestion pricing.

Nonetheless, the board adopted the plan with just one dissenting vote, from a representative of Nassau County on Long Island.

Starting the journey

Many questions will only be answered once the system starts up in June 2024, or later if it is delayed by lawsuits. Will toll prices be high enough to spur people to switch to another mode of transportation or combine trips, while still generating enough revenue for the MTA’s ambitious capital improvement program? How will toll revenue be spent? And how will commuters respond when they find that trains and subways initially are more crowded, before capital upgrades improve the system?

Some low-income and minority communities that already experience heavy traffic, such as the Bronx, could see increased congestion as drivers detour around the toll zone. To help mitigate some of these effects, the transit authority is planning to invest millions of dollars to reduce pollution in these environmental justice areas through steps such as installing air filters in schools, planting more trees and electrifying trucks at the massive Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx.

No one likes to pay for something that was previously free. But freedom for car users has imposed health and economic costs on millions of New Yorkers for many years. Congestion charges do raise equity issues, but only 5% percent of people who commute into the central business district travel by car, and most of those drivers have relatively high incomes.

The MTA may need to adjust tolls, the zone’s borders or other aspects of the plan. But if New York’s experiment succeeds, it could provide a model and valuable insights for other traffic-clogged U.S. cities.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.

UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) program, a cohort-based master’s program focused on local environmental research, held its first annual ICARE CoNavigator Day on Friday, February 23, in the University Center Ballroom. The all-day event consisted of research planning activities for ICARE trainees, poster sessions highlighting the trainees’ research, and a keynote address given by Jalonne White-Newsome, senior director for environmental justice in the White House Council for Environmental Quality. The Maryland deputy and assistant secretaries of the environment and representatives from the League of Conservation Voters also attended.

“ICARE is a unique training model in which master’s students in the environmental sciences and engineering are co-mentored by UMBC faculty mentors, professional scientists or engineers, and community leaders. This day brought together all the trainees and their mentors to conceptualize their research through CoNavigator and present their research in well-attended poster sessions,” shares Tamra Mendelson, ICARE director and professor of biological sciences. 

CoNavigator is a unique three-dimensional concept mapping protocol the ICARE trainees and their thesis committees used to brainstorm. The structured format encouraged creative thinking about their projects’ goals and implementation.

Danish researchers created CoNavigator in 2015, and “UMBC was a big part of the genesis of this,” shared Katrine Lindvig, one of CoNavigator’s founders who facilitated the ICARE session. UMBC was one of the first institutions to apply the unique protocol, Lindvig said.

White-Newsome said in her keynote that addressing environmental problems “takes multiple perspectives; it takes creativity; it takes ensuring that those folks who are most impacted are part of and given the space to implement and co-solve and create solutions that will benefit us all.” 

She also encouraged the ICARE trainees: “To read about the questions you’re asking, and the way you’re going about answering them— your work is so important.”

Learn more about ICARE.