Kevin Cepelak ’05, political science, has a job that comes with a pass that gets him into any Major League Baseball (MLB) park. And when he gets to his office near New York City’s Grand Central Station each day, he rubs elbows with former greats of the game and a chance to work with former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and former New York City Police Department investigators. And he spends his days compiling reports that help MLB officials tackle problem issues in professional sports ranging from steroids to gambling.

Cepelak’s work as an analyst for MLB’s Department of Investigations – professional baseball’s internal watchdog on a variety of issues involving the sport’s integrity – is heady and somewhat surprising stuff for a recent UMBC graduate. After all, the sport that Cepelak played as a Retriever from 2002 through 2005 involved sticks, not bats.

“I never thought in a million years that I’d go from lacrosse to working in baseball,” says Cepelak over lunch at an Italian restaurant near MLB’s Park Avenue headquarters.

Read the full story in the Summer 2011 issue of UMBC Magazine.

The grace of a ballerina. The poise of an equestrian rider. The flexibility of a gymnast.
Those are the qualities baton twirlers like Stasi Kowalewski ’10 need to have, according to Stasi’s mother Mardel Kowalewski ‘81. And Stasi, who is the world and national two-baton champion, possesses not only those traits but also a desire to learn.
“You need to have time and patience for this sport,” Stasi said. “You need to want it bad enough to learn it. It still takes me a long time to perfect my routines.”
Stasi, who regularly performs at UMBC men’s basketball games, has been twirling since age seven. She picked up the sport as an alternative to soccer, a game in which she naturally excelled. Always wanting a challenge, Stasi decided to give twirling a try instead. Her mother Mardel, both a former twirler and coach, supported Stasi’s decision.
“Being a former coach, I have the opportunity to help Stasi as both a mother and a coach. But learning when to be a coach and when to be a mom is important,” Mardel said. “Sometimes she just needs me to be her mom.”
Stasi took to twirling immediately and her once-a-week practices at age seven turned into 40 hours a week in the gym today, when she’s not in school. Her normal routine consists of stretching, working on “tricks” and running routines. When she’s not twirling, she works as a coach, providing individualized support to young twirlers. Her rigorous schedule and continuous dedication have resulted in her winning the title of World and National Two-Baton Champion not once – but three times, receiving awards in 2008, 2006 and 2005. She’s performed both in individual and group settings, winning awards throughout categories.
But twirling has its setbacks. Stasi has dislocated her knee three times and has literally lost her teeth in the gym. She once caught the baton and the momentum of the catch forced her hand directly to her mouth.
“I was standing there with my teeth in my hand,” Stasi said. “I was hysterical. It was one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.”
“I never pushed Stasi,” said Mardel. “But I always told her when you’re done, you’re done. She just kept on going.”
The continuous practice, recovery from injuries and love for the sport has only enforced Stasi’s dedication to perform – that and that fact that most twirlers “hang up their shoes” at the early age of 25. But both Stasi and Mardel have twirling plans for the future.
“One of the things we’re looking to establish is a scholarship for twirling,” said Mardel. “We need to get the sport out there.”
Stasi hopes to eventually pursue a law degree. She’s currently working on her bachelor’s in political science and American studies. When it comes to studies at UMBC, both Stasi and Mardel are in agreement.
“UMBC is the best kept secret in Maryland,” said Mardel. “It’s a public school with a private feel. You have to be smart to go to UMBC.”
“I came to UMBC because I wanted a challenge,” said Stasi. “You get what you want out of this school.”
But she also hopes to continue her work as a coach.
“Every twirler’s dream is to coach,” said Stasi. “I would love to pass on my knowledge and someday teach a national title holder.”
Stasi’s immediate plans for the future include twirling for the Washington Mystics and a AAA baseball team. She will also be competing with the seven-time reigning world championship team (the Dynamics) in the 2009 twirling competition in Belgium.
Originally posted February 2009

The grace of a ballerina. The poise of an equestrian rider. The flexibility of a gymnast.

Those are the qualities baton twirlers like Stasi Kowalewski ’10 need to have, according to Stasi’s mother Mardel Kowalewski ‘81. And Stasi, who is the world and national two-baton champion, possesses not only those traits but also a desire to learn.

“You need to have time and patience for this sport,” Stasi said. “You need to want it bad enough to learn it. It still takes me a long time to perfect my routines.”

Stasi, who regularly performs at UMBC men’s basketball games, has been twirling since age seven. She picked up the sport as an alternative to soccer, a game in which she naturally excelled. Always wanting a challenge, Stasi decided to give twirling a try instead. Her mother Mardel, both a former twirler and coach, supported Stasi’s decision.

“Being a former coach, I have the opportunity to help Stasi as both a mother and a coach. But learning when to be a coach and when to be a mom is important,” Mardel said. “Sometimes she just needs me to be her mom.”

Stasi took to twirling immediately and her once-a-week practices at age seven turned into 40 hours a week in the gym today, when she’s not in school. Her normal routine consists of stretching, working on “tricks” and running routines. When she’s not twirling, she works as a coach, providing individualized support to young twirlers. Her rigorous schedule and continuous dedication have resulted in her winning the title of World and National Two-Baton Champion not once – but three times, receiving awards in 2008, 2006 and 2005. She’s performed both in individual and group settings, winning awards throughout categories.

But twirling has its setbacks. Stasi has dislocated her knee three times and has literally lost her teeth in the gym. She once caught the baton and the momentum of the catch forced her hand directly to her mouth.

“I was standing there with my teeth in my hand,” Stasi said. “I was hysterical. It was one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.”

“I never pushed Stasi,” said Mardel. “But I always told her when you’re done, you’re done. She just kept on going.”

The continuous practice, recovery from injuries and love for the sport has only enforced Stasi’s dedication to perform – that and that fact that most twirlers “hang up their shoes” at the early age of 25. But both Stasi and Mardel have twirling plans for the future.

“One of the things we’re looking to establish is a scholarship for twirling,” said Mardel. “We need to get the sport out there.”

Stasi hopes to eventually pursue a law degree. She’s currently working on her bachelor’s in political science and American studies. When it comes to studies at UMBC, both Stasi and Mardel are in agreement.

“UMBC is the best kept secret in Maryland,” said Mardel. “It’s a public school with a private feel. You have to be smart to go to UMBC.”

“I came to UMBC because I wanted a challenge,” said Stasi. “You get what you want out of this school.”

But she also hopes to continue her work as a coach.

“Every twirler’s dream is to coach,” said Stasi. “I would love to pass on my knowledge and someday teach a national title holder.”

Stasi’s immediate plans for the future include twirling for the Washington Mystics and a AAA baseball team. She will also be competing with the seven-time reigning world championship team (the Dynamics) in the 2009 twirling competition in Belgium.

Originally posted February 2009

In many ways, Kelly Kwedar ’98, visual and performing arts (photography), leads a double life. A clinical practice supervisor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, by day, Kwedar manages a staff of forty doctors and twenty other hospital workers who take patients through the cancer treatment process.
By night, she is known to her friends in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby as “Lil Red Terror,” goddess of jamming, blocking, and dishing out pain in the rink.
“Roller derby has been my most amazing experience in New York. I’ve made the most amazing friends. I was never an athlete, but I like to put on some skates and go real fast and knock people over,” said the part-time photographer. “Who woulda thought?”
Artsy Beginnings
As a photography major at UMBC, Kwedar stayed extremely involved during her four years on campus. She worked as a phone operator in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and was a “huge newspaper nerd,” serving as both the arts and opinions editor for the UMBC newspaper, The Retriever Weekly.
Kwedar was also very involved in the photography department at UMBC. She frequently organized her own photography shows and feminist performance art pieces in the halls of the Fine Arts building, and – like so many UMBC students – took her studies very seriously.
“I did the whole insane college kid thing: taking eighteen credits and staying up until five in the morning way too often.”
After graduation, Kwedar packed up her camera and moved to New York, where she worked as a studio manager of a company that created murals for restaurants and fancy homes. After 9/11 however, the market for her artists’ opulent murals slowed, so Kwedar decided it was time for a more stable career.
“An Amazing Place to Work”
Through a friendly connection, she found her career as a clinical practice supervisor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where she now manages several outpatient clinics within the hospital. As a manager, Kwedar works to make these clinics function more efficiently through staff development to improve the overall patient experience.
“I really love it. It’s an amazing place to work,” she said. “It’s like seeing little miracles every day. Cancer touches people in so many ways, like seeing their families, everyone who works here just cares a lot, and it shows in their work. It’s super intense, but it’s really rewarding at the same time.”
The Derby Discovery
Then there’s the “Lil Red Terror” side of Kwedar.
After reading about the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, she debated for a month whether or not to try it out. After she met the founder of the league, and the members of the team, she knew it was the perfect sport for her.
“My roller derby personality is tough and kind of crazy,” said Kwedar, who captains the Brooklyn Bombshells. “I always wear little shorts underneath my skirt that say something funny, so after I score a bunch of points or something, I’ll flash the audience.”
Kwedar was one of the original members of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, playing in their first game in 2004. Since then, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has expanded to almost twenty teams nationally, and other leagues have formed in Canada and Ireland. The New York travel team is composed of players from the four base teams: Bronx Gridlock, Queens of Pain, Manhattan Mayhem, and Brooklyn Bombshells, which Kwedar calls her own. The travel team won the East Coast regionals last year, and headed to Austin, Tex., to play the top four nationally ranked teams.
Kwedar’s injuries are also something for the record books, but she wears them as badges of honor. She has suffered black eyes, countless bruises, and a hemorrhaged retina, which left her literally seeing red. She even had to wear an eye patch for about four months.
NYC Girl
As a Brooklyn resident and roller derby queen, Kwedar stays true to her UMBC roots in her lifestyle and in her hobbies. Kwedar is staying artsy, selling her photography on the popular www.etsy.com.
“There’s art everywhere around here, and I appreciate it a lot, even if I’m not doing it as my day job,” she said. “You think you can move to New York and just become a famous artist. The reality of that is a lot different, especially if you go out to bars and clubs every night, which is really easy to do. You really have to be pretty smooth to make it happen, and that’s just not me. I enjoy doing it for fun.”
As an artist, she finds her current home constantly inspiring.
“There’s such diversity in New York, and I think UMBC was a good starting point for that. There was everything you could ever imagine there. Every race, every ethnicity, every group is here,” she said. “I live in Brooklyn now, and I love it. I don’t think I’m ever going to leave. I just love the feeling of it. Most Tuesday nights I’m just at home goofing off on the internet, but I could be at 10 different bars, a burlesque show, or going to see a band. The same is true for roller derby. It’s the gamut of every kind of woman you could imagine, and they all play roller derby, and it’s so much fun.”
– Melissa Gilden ’10
Originally posted May 2008

In many ways, Kelly Kwedar ’98, visual and performing arts (photography), leads a double life. A clinical practice supervisor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, by day, Kwedar manages a staff of forty doctors and twenty other hospital workers who take patients through the cancer treatment process.

By night, she is known to her friends in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby as “Lil Red Terror,” goddess of jamming, blocking, and dishing out pain in the rink.

“Roller derby has been my most amazing experience in New York. I’ve made the most amazing friends. I was never an athlete, but I like to put on some skates and go real fast and knock people over,” said the part-time photographer. “Who woulda thought?”

Artsy Beginnings

As a photography major at UMBC, Kwedar stayed extremely involved during her four years on campus. She worked as a phone operator in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and was a “huge newspaper nerd,” serving as both the arts and opinions editor for the UMBC newspaper, The Retriever Weekly.

Kwedar was also very involved in the photography department at UMBC. She frequently organized her own photography shows and feminist performance art pieces in the halls of the Fine Arts building, and – like so many UMBC students – took her studies very seriously.

“I did the whole insane college kid thing: taking eighteen credits and staying up until five in the morning way too often.”

After graduation, Kwedar packed up her camera and moved to New York, where she worked as a studio manager of a company that created murals for restaurants and fancy homes. After 9/11 however, the market for her artists’ opulent murals slowed, so Kwedar decided it was time for a more stable career.

“An Amazing Place to Work”

Through a friendly connection, she found her career as a clinical practice supervisor at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where she now manages several outpatient clinics within the hospital. As a manager, Kwedar works to make these clinics function more efficiently through staff development to improve the overall patient experience.

“I really love it. It’s an amazing place to work,” she said. “It’s like seeing little miracles every day. Cancer touches people in so many ways, like seeing their families, everyone who works here just cares a lot, and it shows in their work. It’s super intense, but it’s really rewarding at the same time.”

The Derby Discovery

Then there’s the “Lil Red Terror” side of Kwedar.

After reading about the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, she debated for a month whether or not to try it out. After she met the founder of the league, and the members of the team, she knew it was the perfect sport for her.

“My roller derby personality is tough and kind of crazy,” said Kwedar, who captains the Brooklyn Bombshells. “I always wear little shorts underneath my skirt that say something funny, so after I score a bunch of points or something, I’ll flash the audience.”

Kwedar was one of the original members of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, playing in their first game in 2004. Since then, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association has expanded to almost twenty teams nationally, and other leagues have formed in Canada and Ireland. The New York travel team is composed of players from the four base teams: Bronx Gridlock, Queens of Pain, Manhattan Mayhem, and Brooklyn Bombshells, which Kwedar calls her own. The travel team won the East Coast regionals last year, and headed to Austin, Tex., to play the top four nationally ranked teams.

Kwedar’s injuries are also something for the record books, but she wears them as badges of honor. She has suffered black eyes, countless bruises, and a hemorrhaged retina, which left her literally seeing red. She even had to wear an eye patch for about four months.

NYC Girl

As a Brooklyn resident and roller derby queen, Kwedar stays true to her UMBC roots in her lifestyle and in her hobbies. Kwedar is staying artsy, selling her photography on the popular www.etsy.com.

“There’s art everywhere around here, and I appreciate it a lot, even if I’m not doing it as my day job,” she said. “You think you can move to New York and just become a famous artist. The reality of that is a lot different, especially if you go out to bars and clubs every night, which is really easy to do. You really have to be pretty smooth to make it happen, and that’s just not me. I enjoy doing it for fun.”

As an artist, she finds her current home constantly inspiring.

“There’s such diversity in New York, and I think UMBC was a good starting point for that. There was everything you could ever imagine there. Every race, every ethnicity, every group is here,” she said. “I live in Brooklyn now, and I love it. I don’t think I’m ever going to leave. I just love the feeling of it. Most Tuesday nights I’m just at home goofing off on the internet, but I could be at 10 different bars, a burlesque show, or going to see a band. The same is true for roller derby. It’s the gamut of every kind of woman you could imagine, and they all play roller derby, and it’s so much fun.”

– Melissa Gilden ’10
Originally posted May 2008