The weeks around Homecoming offer multiple ways for the UMBC community to reconnect with our Retriever pride and celebrate the accomplishments of our amazing alumni. Two marquee events during this time are the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame Induction and Alumni Awards ceremonies.

Athletics’ legacy of excellence

The UMBC Athletics Hall of Fame first launched in the 1970s and was later made an annual ceremony in 1990. This celebratory event recognizes UMBC community members for their athletic excellence and contribution to the university. To date, 129 members have been enshrined. And this year, Brian Barrio, UMBC Director of Athletics, made a key change, moving the popular event to Homecoming weekend to capitalize on the #RetrieverNation excitement.

“We are thrilled that the Athletics Hall of Fame has been moved to the Homecoming weekend, and grateful to UMBC’s Office of Alumni Engagement who have been great partners in the re-launch of this event,” says Barrio. After postponing the event for two years due to COVID 19, says Barrio, Athletics is eager to celebrate their community. “This class is a diverse and talented group that set high standards of excellence for Retriever Nation.” 

The 22nd edition of the Hall of Fame inductions took place on Friday, October 7, in UMBC’s Skylight Room honoring:

• Steve Levy ’85, interdisciplinary studies—associate director of Athletics/director of athletic communications, 1986 – present
• Dana Eberly Keiner ’97, biological sciences—volleyball, 1993 – 1996
• Jean Salkeld Battista ’98, sociology—softball, 1997 – 1998
• Mohamed Hussein ’14, mechanical engineering, M.S. ’17, systems engineering—swimming, 2011 – 2014
• Levi Houapeu ’15, financial economics—men’s soccer, 2007 – 2010
• Mercedes Jackson ’15, psychology—track and field, 2011 – 2015)

Recognizing alumni excellence 

Later in October, UMBC will celebrate another cadre of Retrievers at the 2022 Alumni Awards, hosted by the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors. This year’s ceremony and reception takes place on Thursday, October 27, at 6:30 p.m. in UMBC’s Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall.

“This is one of my favorite events because it brings the UMBC community together in such a beautiful way,” says Stanyell Odom, Director of Alumni Engagement. “We are proud to continue to support the Alumni Association and its board of directors in this annual celebration of excellence.”

Brian Frazee (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Three different types of awards are given to alumni during the ceremony: Outstanding Alumni of the Year awards (by major or field affiliation), Distinguished Service, and Rising Star (Young Alumni). The alumni board also recognizes one Outstanding Faculty member who has demonstrated commitment to student success beyond the classroom.

“The UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors is excited to honor our 2022 Alumni Award winners,” says Brian Frazee ’11, political science, M.P.P. ’12. “This year’s honorees represent the very best of our alumni community, and their contributions are making a difference all over the world.”

This year’s awardees are: 

• Dr. Josiah Dykstra, Ph.D. ’13, computer science—Outstanding Alumnus in Engineering & Information Technology
• Dr. Karsonya ‘Kaye’ Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy and culture—  Outstanding Alumna in the Humanities
• Dr. Joy Haley, Ph.D. ’01, chemistry—Outstanding Alumna in Natural & Mathematical Sciences
• Dr. Keith Elder, Ph.D. ’02, health policy, policy sciences—Outstanding Alumnus in Social & Behavioral Sciences
• McKenzie Chinn ’06, theatre—Outstanding Alumna in Visual & Performing Arts

• Benjamin Garmoe ’13, political science—Distinguished Service
• Stefanie Mavronis ’12, media and communication studies, political science—Rising Star
• Dr. Carolyn Forestiere, Professor of Political Science—Outstanding Faculty

Learn more about the 2022 Alumni Award winners and register for the event. 

Alumni in the filmmaking industry are behind the scenes of UMBC’s new brand video.

Last week, UMBC rolled out a sparkling new brand based on more than a year’s worth of community input. With it launched a fresh new homepage and icon, as well as a video meant not only to pull at the heartstrings of #RetrieverNation, but to welcome new Dawgs into our special community.

Woven through the video are scenes and sentiments that many in our community will immediately recognize. But what you might not know is that there was as much Retriever effort put in behind the scenes as there was captured by the camera. Here’s a sneak peek at the Retriever alumni—directors, producers, gaffers, and makeup artists—who helped make this video a success.

Reconnecting and Directing

For UMBC’s video producer, Corey Jennings ’10, economics, this project was the culmination of months of collaboration with campus partners—partnerships that he created as a student on campus. In directing a video to announce the launch of the University’s new brand, Jennings instinctively knew the strengths of his alma mater to highlight.

In the UMBC community, he says, “we all knew in the back of our minds there’d be this flashpoint where we could say ‘look and see.’ The 2018 NCAA upset and our first Rhodes Scholar [Naomi Mburu ’18, chemical engineering] gave us an opportunity to tell our story in a larger way, and through this brand launch we’re given the chance to refocus the narrative of UMBC.”

Jennings points to an unscripted moment of the production that made the cut when President Hrabowski is chatting with students on set. “It was just Freeman being Freeman,” says Jennings. “Your character is who you are,” Hrabowski said to the small group gathered. “Through his words, we found a story we didn’t even know we were telling. Something like this happens in almost every interaction with leadership here,” says Jennings. “They truly care about the community.”

While Jennings knew that the project’s executive producer, Liz Norton, was also a fellow alum, the rest of the Retrievers on set were a surprise to him, but only slightly. “The University is deeply ingrained in the local production industry,” says Jennings, whose wife Carly Faye Engelke ’08—a Linehan Scholar and a dance major—is active in the Baltimore performing arts scene. Even the project’s videographer Kyle Deitz can trace his Retriever roots through his mother, Mary M. Deitz, who earned her degree in economics from UMBC in 1982.

Through the investment of students and alumni and staff in the UMBC community, says Jennings, “this video allows us to reflect on who we already are and the truth that we’ve always been this way, but maybe the outside world just didn’t know.”

A Makeover for the Ages

Alexis Arenas ’01, history, didn’t anticipate being the makeup artist for a film production at her alma mater, but as a history major, she knows the importance of returning to the past. “It’s an honor to play a part in telling the story of the future. I enjoyed my time here so much, I want to bring UMBC to a wider audience.”

Tucked away in a corner of The Commons, Arenas stood by her makeup staging area, ready to touch up the faces of the UMBC talent on set. In the past, she’s brushed the faces of Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, but today’s star is someone slightly more familiar: President Freeman Hrabowski. Between shots, Arenas commented on the many campus changes in the past two decades—in her time, she said, students’ central hangout space was the University Center.

As a member of the Makeup Artist Union in New York and having trained in London, Arenas sees a clear tie from her roots at UMBC to her career based in Ellicott City today. “UMBC taught me research skills, and research is necessary to what I do,” said Arenas, who often works on period piece films and vintage projects. “History is integral to being a top notch makeup artist.”

Putting UMBC in the Best Light

Daniel Stack ’10, fine arts, the gaffer—or the chief lighting technician—of the film crew, boasts quite the UMBC family tree. His parents both graduated in the first decade of graduating student classes, and his mother is a member of the Founding Four (Anne Brant Stack ’72, English, and W. Stewart Stack ’78, interdisciplinary studies). His wife, Elise Stack ’03, English, is also a UMBC alumna, as is his brother, and several cousins.

One thing people should know about UMBC, said Stack, is this: “If one person in your family comes to UMBC, everyone else will come to UMBC, at least that’s what I’ve learned.”

Stack was a Linehan Scholar who immediately started working in the family business. His father started Serious Grip and Electric in 1983 (we recommend their website for the most thrilling About Us page on the internet). As the gaffer on set for this project, he’s literally in charge of letting the best parts of UMBC shine—from lab beakers to sports bleachers.

Nerd Pride Production

Liz Norton ’06, visual arts, is the executive producer on set. Another former Linehan Scholar (who showed up to the first day of the shoot in her UMBC vs. University of Virginia bracket t-shirt) was clearly happy to be back on campus, repping her Retriever pride. Norton works at Three Seas, a collective of boutique creative companies. She reached out to UMBC creative services after UMBC’s NCAA 2018 upset. With reignited pride in her alma mater, she suggested collaborating on future projects.

Thinking back on what’s stayed the same since her time on campus, Norton immediately replies: “Nerd pride. We’re here and we’re ourselves. We’re proud to be excited about whatever cool is going on at the University.”

After coordinating the project behind the scenes weeks in advance—including organizing the crew and equipment and managing the timeline and budget—Liz now watches her production advance smoothly throughout the day, Norton notes, “there’s so much diversity here that the video captures so well. There’s diversity among the students, but the students also pursue diverse interests.”

On the last day of the shoot, again wearing black and gold, Norton reflects on the project, “The creators’ vision for this video resonates with me in terms of community and character. UMBC has stayed really consistent with these things over time.”

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All photos courtesy of Marlayna Demond ’11, Raquel Hamner ’20, and Ana Isabel Martinez Chamorro for UMBC.

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Cast: Giavanni Powell, Kennedy Lamb, Linda Wiratan, Joe Sherburne, Ryan Odom, Lloyd Ekpe, Laura Schraven,  Mia Rickenbach, Darian Garcia

Crew:

Director of Content Development: Jenny O’Grady
UMBC Video Producer/Director: Corey Jennings
Executive Producer: Liz Norton
Producer: Dave Willis
Director of Photography: Kyle Deitz
Assistant Camera: Nate Spivey
Gaffer: Dan Stack
Audio: Lorenzo Millan
Hair/Makeup: Alexis Arenas
PA: Alex Papalitskas
PA: Andrew Hwang

Special Thanks: UMBC Athletics, Center for Art Design and Visual Culture, Campus Life Operations, Commonvision, UMBC Dance Department, Michael Summers, Summers Lab Staff, UMBC Transportation, Residential Life