The Best of Baltimore Grant, a UMBC initiative started in fall 2025, is changing how students from Baltimore City imagine college: not as a distant possibility overshadowed by debt, but as a tangible, financially supported path forward, and right in their backyard.

For first-year student Essence Jones, who went to Baltimore City College, a high school in east Baltimore, “that financial freedom really pushed me towards UMBC,” she says, describing the moment she learned the grant would cover what other aid could not—including room and board. A double major in biological sciences and psychology, Jones is already thinking ahead to a future in forensics, drawn by what she calls “the puzzle problem-solving aspect” of analyzing crime scenes. But her present focus is simpler: adjusting, learning, and finding her place and people.

Embracing the ‘B’ in UMBC

The Best of Baltimore grant grew out of President Valerie Sheares Ashby’s desire to see a greater number of Baltimore City high school students become Retrievers. And the grant is just one part of a bigger initiative, says Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, vice provost for enrollment management and planning: “This year, we have been more intentional with our outreach efforts—partnering with community based organizations such as CollegeBound and College Track to continue to help us get the word out about the many benefits of a UMBC education and specifically how the Best of Baltimore grant can make a UMBC education attainable for all Baltimore City residents.”  

The grant is designed to cover remaining billed costs after federal grants, subsidized loans, and other scholarships are applied—closing gaps that often prevent students with demonstrated financial need from enrolling. 

Early results suggest momentum. In its first year, the program offered awards to nearly 140 students, with dozens ultimately enrolling and receiving grants ranging from $1,100 to $22,000. Just as importantly, Mozie-Ross notes, the early promise of financial support helped families make confident decisions about college. And the increased outreach methods are paying off—applications from city residents grew by 20 percent for fall 2026.

UMBC, Jones says, meets her at her pace and provides lots of student support. She points to spaces like the Learning Collaboratory, where students gather to work through complex chemistry problems together. “You’re both teaching and learning,” she explains. “That helps solidify the information.”

That sense of shared effort—of not struggling alone—has defined her early college experience. Whether studying with friends from her STEM courses or working quietly on the sixth floor of the library, Jones has found community. Her path to science was shaped before UMBC. At Baltimore City College, she was inspired by teachers who looked like her—women of color leading classrooms in biology and chemistry. “Being able to see them in that space… really helped me enjoy science,” she says. Now, she hopes to carry that sense of belonging forward.

Support fosters success

Deylon Moy Joseph, a mechanical engineering first-year student and another Best of Baltimore awardee, echoes Jones’ observations about support and community at UMBC. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he arrived in the United States in 2022 and enrolled at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School—a mile north of Jones’ school. From the start, financial reality shaped his college search. “It was necessary for me to get some type of college funding,” he says. “I didn’t want to be stuck with really heavy student loans.”

At UMBC, he found a layered support system: the prestigious Meyerhoff Scholars Program, and unexpectedly, the Best of Baltimore grant. “We didn’t have to apply, but when we were accepted to UMBC, we received letters saying, ‘Congratulations,’” he recalls. “It was amazing.”

For Moy Joseph, that confidence extends into the classroom. He describes his technical coursework as demanding but manageable—especially with the right support. He credits faculty like Joseph Washington ’97, mechanical engineering, an assistant teaching professor whose open-door approach allows students to work through complex problems in real time. “Having the professor right there to give pointers… it really made retention much easier,” he says.

Outside class, in spaces like the Retriever Learning Center, students gather around whiteboards filled with equations, working through concepts together. “It’s so easy to study with someone,” Moy Joseph says. “And it’s satisfying to help people, too.”

That reciprocity—learning, then teaching—is central to many Retrievers’ experiences. It reflects a broader culture at UMBC, one that merges academic rigor with connection, starting in our very own neighborhood.

If you surveyed UMBC’s Class of 2026 and generated a word cloud, the word “community” would instantly dominate the screen. You might be tempted to dismiss it as a buzzword until you see how many graduating students highlight the communities they found and the communities they made as their defining experience of being a student at UMBC. “I can be myself here and I’m not going to be judged. Community is truly the word to describe UMBC,” says Shawn Bearam, Jr., computer science.

Who are the graduates of the Class of 2026?

It’s safe to say they contain multitudes: There’s an engineering management graduate student from India who devoted time to helping Marylanders complete their taxes; an English and political science student who volunteered as an educational and workforce advocate for Baltimore City youth; a mathematician—and Survivor hopeful—teaching game theory and disease modeling to students in Rwanda while also helping them understand the U.S. college admissions process.

What do they have in common? If you meet a Retriever from the Class of 2026, you will walk away from the encounter feeling hopeful for the future. These leaders and educators and entertainers and researchers are making room in the world for each person’s voice to be heard and heeded. We can’t wait to see where they take it from here!

“It’s the people”

If community is the key takeaway from the Class of 2026, where are students finding their niche groups? Vunnathi Ankem, psychology, saw a way to bridge multiple areas together. As a resident assistant, a researcher, and a multifaceted student leader, she has spent her four years both building community and studying its impact on the human experience. From hosting public-service retreats in Baltimore to interviewing members of the South Asian diaspora for her thesis, Ankem’s work bridges the gap between community- centered research and heartfelt advocacy. 

As a newly awarded Fulbright Scholar to India, Ankem leaves behind a campus made stronger by her leadership and a personal roadmap focused on healing, mentorship, and global research. “When I think about what I’m proud of, it’s not the awards, it’s the people,” says Ankem. “I remember all the people who were there when I needed support—those people meant more to me than any accomplishment. My advice would be to think about what you’ll look back on. It will most likely be community—the people who were there when you weren’t at your best.”

Bearam in computer science was not content to confine himself to one campus community. He puts it plainly: “I found communities where it seemed that everyone was having fun together, and I wanted to be a part of that,” he says. He had roles with the events staff in Athletics, at UMBC’s research and technology park, bwtech@UMBC, and working as a lead

office assistant for the vice president of student affairs. If that wasn’t enough, he also served as a lead resident assistant and a first-year ambassador for the Student Government Association.

“I started to see that I was able to learn so much here,” says Bearam. “I saw people who looked like me in different spaces, and I knew they would be able to understand me, so I wanted to get involved.”

Rileigh Mansfield, mathematics, also made it her goal to build connections across a variety of UMBC communities. As a Meyerhoff Scholar, she served as a peer advisor and conducted research with multiple math professors, “but honestly,” she shares, “some of my most meaningful involvement has been more informal. Last spring, I was having a tough semester when I got invited to join a group from the math lounge to play the board game Catan on Tuesdays. It became a little community and something to look forward to every week—a much-needed step back from school and work. I actually play in competitive Catan tournaments now, and I’m even hosting an official tournament this spring through the math honors society.”

“Just see it through”

Often, the defining moment in a student’s successful academic trajectory is a challenge that they can point back to. When Chinonso Ezeobi decided to pack up his life in Nigeria and come to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at UMBC, he was thrilled at the prospect of finding a program that would bring him fulfillment. However, financial struggles and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly threatened Ezeobi’s plans for the future.

“Once I navigated through one challenge, another one came in,” he says. “But at the end of the day, it was worth it. I was able to pull through all of those challenges. I was also able to transition from being an international student to having a green card through self-petition and self-advocacy, so I’m able to graduate without the additional pressure of thinking about my visa status while looking for jobs. My faith and the community at UMBC were essential in navigating through all challenges. The motivation was that I had a community of people who wanted my success, people who I felt would advocate for me even when I’m not in the room.” 

Never one to be derailed, Ezeobi found mentors across campus who made it their mission to keep him on the path to his Ph.D. Ezeobi recognized how invaluable their support was and found his own ways to give back to the place and people who gave him so much, including keeping his door open to any students who may need an advocate on their side. 

At one point, Maia Turman Cooke, English and political science, was thinking about backing out of her scholar’s program opportunity. In the end, though, she was surprised by how the McNair Scholars Program changed her life. “At the beginning of the application process, it seemed like a lot, and I wanted to quit—I didn’t want to join. The director of the McNair Scholars Program, Dr. Michael Hunt [’06, Ph.D. ’25], called me and said, ‘Just see it through, see it out. If you don’t like it when you get more involved, then you can leave.’”

Turman Cooke processed the expectations of the programs—like pursuing graduate school—while recognizing she had so much to learn about how research worked. “I was so overwhelmed because I thought I had to solve every world problem. But my peers convinced me to stay. Soon, that work became a normal part of my schedule. I had no idea what research was, and now it’s something I’m super passionate about,” says Turman Cooke, who starts her Ph.D. in English at the University of Maryland, College Park this fall.

“A person who needs a path”

Sometimes the way forward is clearly marked, and other times Retrievers forge their own way. Kayla Nemirovsky, mathematics and financial economics, had a love for international travel and a scholarship with the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program but wasn’t sure how those interests combined with her majors.

Nemirovsky, who is staying at UMBC to pursue her master’s degree in teaching, charted her own route at UMBC as an Education Abroad ambassador, sharing widely with her peers the importance (and accessibility) of studying abroad for any major. Her Sondheim mentors connected her with an internship at the Maryland State Department of Education, and this experience helped her solidify her interest in math education curriculum and policy.

“I’m a person who needs a path,” says Nemirovsky, who has traveled to more than 30 countries and counting. “I realized once I got to college that there’s kind of no more path—I have to make my own. At was really scary to me, so having mentors who can help me make this path…give

me advice and offer suggestions, that was extremely helpful. I really believe you have to choose the people you look up to and kind of aspire to be them.”

Over his two years of graduate study at UMBC, Yash Bhatt, M.S., engineering management, saw his time at UMBC as much bigger than “just earning a degree.” He charted a path to contribute meaningfully to both the university and the greater Baltimore community. As a graduate student, Bhatt arrived at UMBC with an undergraduate degree and professional experience, but he says he was not yet the confident leader he is today.

Outside of the classroom, Bhatt dedicated himself to enhancing student life for his classmates. As a member of the Indian Graduate Student Association and the Black and Gold Student Advisory Board, he advocated for international students and contributed to university decision-making. Bhatt also joined two Alternative Spring Break experiences. Starting as a participant and returning as a program leader, Bhatt immersed himself in what he considers a genuine “American student experience,” building local friendships and making connections within local government and community organizations, in addition to the service the participants provided to the community.

“The best part of my UMBC experience has been the people and the sense of community,” says Bhatt. “UMBC has this unique balance—it’s diverse and full of opportunity like a larger university yet still close-knit enough that you truly feel seen and supported.”

Read about more members of the Class of 2026.

Each plant, whether a small wild buttercup or a massive oak tree, starts out as seed—packed with potential to grow well beyond its original size. By this logic, The Garden’s new Little Seed Library—co-sponsored by Retriever Essentials and the Office of Sustainability and installed by Facilities Management—is seeded with infinite potential. 

Based on the now-familiar concept of Little Free Libraries that spread access to the love of reading, the Little Seed Library, down the sidewalk from UMBC Police, is set up for people to donate seeds (perhaps harvested from the adjacent garden) and those who want to put their green thumb to the test can take what they need to get started.

The idea stemmed from conversations Michael Berardi, assistant director of Retriever Essentials, was having with folks on campus about tangible ways to grow interest in the community garden while wanting to grow awareness of where our food actually comes from. “We want to help campus engage with our food in a more deep and meaningful way,” says Berardi ’19, M.P.S. ’25, who was also a co-founder of the campus-adjacent coffee shop, OCA Mocha. 

Andrew Eisenhardt ’21 was one of the people talking to Berardi. He remembers: “We were hiking in the woods of Patapsco State Park brainstorming some ideas for Retriever Essentials. I had recently seen a YouTube video where a community put up seed libraries and people could go to get new seeds and donate their excess. I figured it could be cool to have something like that at UMBC.” Eisenhardt, who already graduated with a double major in geography and environmental systems and media and communication studies and is currently pursuing another bachelor’s in computer engineering, started working in The Garden during his first time at UMBC when he needed a break from doing homework and wanted to see what opportunities were on-campus to get outside and work with nature. “The Little Seed Library serves as a great starting point for community members to participate in and learn about this work,” he says. “Just get a seed, throw it in some soil and see what happens! Worst case scenario, your seed never germinates. Either way you’ll learn something about plants and you might even make some friends along the way who are trying to grow a better future.”

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Jessica Graziano, who has been tending a plot in The Garden for several years, only foresees fruitful outcomes for the Little Seed Library. Eventually, in addition to seeds and instructions for planting, Graziano would like to see folks donate gardening tools and horticultural resources. Graziano, the current president of The Garden club, says her favorite thing to grow is perennials. “My current favorite is False Indigo, which I’ve had growing in my plot at The Garden for about two and a half years,” she shares. Recently recognized with a UMBC Community Impact award at SGA’s 2025 – 2026 CelebratingOrgs event, The Garden is lush with promise. 

Nicole Wolf, UMBC’s sustainability coordinator, says that the Office of Sustainability has some nutrient rich ideas coming up in connection with the other organizations that help support The Garden. But in the meantime, “access to free seeds and gardening space removes the barrier of not knowing where to start, or even having to leave campus if they choose to use the community plots,” says Wolf. “We will continue to foster this culture by hosting regular ‘seed save collection’ events on our campus to keep the library stocked while teaching attendees about native plants and how to harvest ethically as we go.” 

Manav Narendra’s story has been shaped by constant motion. A math and computer science double major, who graduated from UMBC this spring, Narendra grew up moving frequently between India and the United States, adapting to new schools, cultures, and environments every few years. Raised by a single mother who was always striving to create a better life for them, Narendra grew accustomed to change—but also to the challenges that come with it.

Coming to UMBC marked a turning point. Narendra sought out a smaller, close-knit academic environment where he could build community, form lasting friendships, and explore what it means to belong somewhere. In this Office Hour, President Valerie Sheares Ashby—who has also been at UMBC for four years—and Narendra reflect on growing rooted to a place and what effect those lasting connections can have.

UMBC Magazine: Manav, tell us about your background and what brought you to UMBC. 

Manav Narendra: I’m originally from India, and I’ve spent about half my life there and half in the U.S. Growing up, I moved a lot because my mom would switch jobs for better opportunities. By my senior year of high school, we had just moved to Maryland. I applied to a vast array of colleges, but I ultimately chose UMBC because I wanted a smaller, more personal environment where I wouldn’t feel lost.

And here, I’ve met people in so many different ways—through classes, the Honors College, tutoring, tennis, even the Career Fair. It’s been really meaningful.

President Valerie Sheares Ashby: You wanted a place where you could feel seen—that is powerful. And these smaller communities within UMBC can really shape your experience.

UMBC Magazine: How did moving so often affect your ability to build relationships?

Narendra: It was difficult. I became more introverted over time because you don’t really get the chance to build lasting friendships when you’re always leaving. I just didn’t realize how much I was missing in terms of long-term connections until I got here. Nevertheless, I’m forever grateful to have met so many incredible people from such beautifully different walks of life—they’ve all shaped who I am today.

President Sheares Ashby: I understand that. I am an introvert, too, and I think those kinds of experiences can really shape how you connect with people. It is not always easy to keep starting over. When I moved to Baltimore, I did not know anyone here, but from experience, I knew what I needed to put in place in order to feel like I am grounded and rooted in community. I learned how to do that when I was your age. In college and in graduate school, I started to ask myself: “What is it that I need to feel grounded?” And then I would go get it—I do not wait for it to happen.

UMBC Magazine: How has UMBC shaped your conception of community?

Narendra: I’ve made friendships that have lasted all four years, which still surprises me. I’ll see someone on campus and think, “Wow, I’ve known you for so long.”

President Sheares Ashby: That is such a special realization. I always tell students that those relationships are one of the most important parts of college. You learn so much in the classroom, but those connections—those are what stay with you.

UMBC Magazine: What does “home” mean to you now, after having moved so much?

Narendra: Growing up, home was my mom. Wherever she was, that’s where home was. She was the only constant in my life. I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 13, and my mom and I went through it together. I dealt with the physical pain, but she carried the brunt of the emotional and mental burden. She quit her job to take care of me. I couldn’t have done it without her. Now, I feel like I have another home here. I have a place where I belong, where I feel valued. It’s comforting to be in one place and not have everything constantly changing.

UMBC Magazine: How did that experience influence your future goals?

Narendra: It’s made me want to give back. I’m looking at various roles, ranging from data and actuarial science to software and astrophysics—seeing where I can best utilize my skills to make a difference: something that helps people and advances our collective understanding of the world. I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life, and I want to use it well.

President Sheares Ashby: Often, our experiences guide us toward that sense of purpose. There is this idea of finding where your talents meet the greatest need—that is where meaningful work happens.

Magnets often attract curious minds. Einstein told of his profound sense of hidden order after witnessing the invisible forces of the Earth’s magnetic field guide the needle of a compass. For Ethan Bowers, it was the wonder of learning Maxwell’s laws—equations developed by 19th-century Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell that unite magnetism, electricity, and light—that really pulled him in.

Now a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, Bowers is building a massive, one-of-a-kind research magnet. It weighs more than 2,300 pounds and will be capable of generating a magnetic field of 7 tesla (roughly 140,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field and more than twice as strong as the field in most MRI machines).

Making the magnet has been the labor of multiple researchers over more than a decade, led by mechanical engineering associate professor Carlos Romero Talamás, who plans to use the magnet to conduct experiments on plasma, the superheated soup of particles found in stars, lighting, and the Aurora Borealis, and which makes up more than 99 percent of the visible universe. 

An initial magnet design and analysis was completed by Evan Bates, M.S. ’15, Ph.D. ’18, mechanical engineering. In 2023, Bowers, who had returned as a student to UMBC following a stint in industry, joined the project. He redesigned key aspects of the magnet and began the meticulous work of assembling and testing it. In the coming months, Bowers plans to run the magnet up to full strength. Then the real fun begins: Unleashing the new tool to help answer the questions curious minds dream up.

Tools of the trade

• Mechanical and electrical know-how
• Perseverance
• Heavy-lifting equipment (custom designed)
• A serious power source and some chilled water (things are going to get hot)

Step 1: Brush up on your magnet basics

Say “magnet,” and many people think first of the objects affixing their kids’ artwork to the fridge. Refrigerator magnets are an example of permanent magnets: materials in which the electrons permanently align in a way that generates a magnetic field. Permanent magnets can get quite strong—such as the rare earth neodymium magnets used in some maglev trains—but they top out at about 2 tesla.

To get an even stronger magnet, engineers can turn to a phenomenon that’s captured in the Maxwell equations that captivated Bowers: Electricity and magnetism are intrinsically linked. 

Electrons flowing through a wire generate a magnetic field. Coil the wire and you can create a field similar in shape to a permanent bar magnet, with distinct north and south poles. This is the electromagnet. Higher current and more coils make a stronger magnet. However, high current also risks melting your magnet into a puddle and mangling it with the enormous pressure from the magnetic field pushing on the moving electrons (called Lorentz forces). 

Superconducting electromagnets, which use material with the almost magical property of showing virtually zero electrical resistance when cooled with liquid helium, can eliminate the melting risk, but are expensive and finicky to operate, and have other limitations.

Another (more old-school) solution is called the Bitter electromagnet, invented in the 1930s by American physicist Francis Bitter. In place of coiled wires, circular metal disks separated with insulating spacers create a helical path that concentrates the current. The disks are shot through with holes for circulating water to whisk away heat and the structural design counteracts the mechanical stresses. “We chose a Bitter magnet because it offered the right combination of features for the tasks we wanted to perform,” Bowers says.

Step 2: Design, test, refine, repeat

The UMBC team’s initial vision was to create a 10-tesla Bitter magnet, with space in the center for a relatively large vacuum chamber to hold plasma. The magnet could generate either a steady or pulsed magnetic field, depending on the needs of the experiment. Bates analyzed the disk shape, stacking methods, cooling hole geometry, heat transfer, mechanical stress, and electrical properties of the magnet to optimize the design. He validated it by constructing and testing a 1-tesla prototype.

In 2023, the team decided to change the desired magnetic field profile, making it slightly higher on the ends of the magnet than in the middle, so that charged particles would be pushed toward the center. They didn’t want to redesign the Bitter disks, so they had to lower the maximum field strength to 7 tesla. They also had to vary the coil density, making tighter turns at the ends to get the stronger field.

Bowers analyzed the new field profile and worked out a clever trick of adding a tapered insulating disk to seamlessly transition between the areas of tighter and looser turns. He also performed a structural analysis of the whole assembly.

Step 3: Pallets, cranes, and painstaking planning

The final design called for 439 copper Bitter disks, four insulating transition disks, and 434 regular insulating disks housed inside a pressure vessel. Outside companies manufactured the disks, but Bowers personally inspected every single one, removing any with defects, and cleaning the copper ones with isopropyl alcohol. He built a custom pallet to hold the cylindrical assembly in place in the lab, and started stacking. 

The process took about a month, and near the end “I was so sick of the monotony,” Bowers says. To push it across the finish line, he worked straight through the weekend, stacking the last disk on a Sunday afternoon in February. “It happened to be my friend’s birthday so I celebrated that completion and their birthday together,” he says.

Next up was moving the approximately 2-foot-high stack of disks to a movable swing set, created by a UMBC mechanical engineering capstone team to serve as a mobile and rotatable platform for the magnet. Bowers built a custom crane fixture to lift the assembly onto the platform and spent weeks planning every step of the move. “It was the last major place the structure could fail before we power the magnet,” he says. After one stressful day, Bowers says he was elated when it all went according to plan. “I felt genuinely grateful for all I had been given the chance to work on, and grateful that God had given me the ability to succeed.”

Step 4: Test some more

With the core of the magnet assembled, Bowers has also begun the detailed process of testing its electrical properties, using a host of measurement equipment. 

At first, he is powering the magnet with lower currents, but eventually he will send 15,000 amps through the disks, about half the current that flows in an average lightning bolt. The voltage will be about five times the voltage in a wall socket. 

Safety is of paramount concern to the team when working with such high power. When the magnet is operating at full strength, the energy in two cubic feet of the magnetic field alone will be more than the energy of a small SUV zooming by at 60 miles per hour.

Bowers is working on a set of detailed instructions to address all conceivable operating, maintenance, and failure scenarios. “We’re safe. We do all our due diligence,” he says.

Step 5: Serve up some science

Once the magnet is fully up and running, the science experiments can start. Bowers and Romero Talamás have a few ideas for initial experiments, including investigating how a high magnetic field affects when a gas will suddenly switch from being an insulator to a conductor, allowing current to arc through it. They are also interested in how the magnet might be used to separate different forms of hydrogen—particularly two forms that may form the fuel for future fusion reactors to supply clean and near limitless energy. 

Bowers grew up in rural Hagarstown, Maryland, a kid who enjoyed exploring everything from the rocks on the side of a path to the electrical motors his grandfather would wind. Research has offered him the chance to constantly challenge himself. After graduation, he’ll move on to new questions at the scientific frontiers, perhaps working at a fusion energy start-up or a national lab. But the 7T Bitter magnet will remain at UMBC, a gift to curious students who come after him.

It was around five o’clock on a Wednesday in May, and Michelle Jabès Corpora ’03, English and theatre, was on her sofa watching her favorite British murder mystery on TV. It had been a long shot to think her newest book, His Face Is the Sun, would hit the New York Times (NYT) bestsellers list, and since she hadn’t heard anything and it was getting late, she figured it wasn’t meant to be. 

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Suddenly, she looked down at her phone to see a FaceTime call from five different numbers—most of which she didn’t recognize. She quickly answered and saw her agent, editor, assistant editor, and publicists in the group of smiling faces before hearing the four words every author dreams of hearing: “You’re on the list!”

“I just started crying,” recalls Corpora. “I couldn’t believe it.” 

His Face Is the Sun stayed on the NYT Bestsellers Young Adult Hardcover list for five weeks, which the author says was “absolutely unbelievable.”

Where it all began

Corpora’s journey to becoming a NYTbestselling author was not a straight line—far from it. Corpora initially came to UMBC as a Linehan Artist Scholar to study theatre. Because she’d always been passionate about writing and literature, however, she added English as a second major to supplement her studies.

“Learning about drama helped significantly with my approach to character, plot, and pacing,” says Corpora. After UMBC, Corpora earned a master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Hollins University. Then, a few more twists and turns. Among other jobs, Corpora worked as a wedding singer, as a technician in a veterinarian’s office, and volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center before taking a big career leap and moving to New York City to try and get a job in children’s publishing.

Pictured left: Corpora as ‘Cleo’ AKA Fraulein Kost in a 2001 UMBC Theatre production of Cabaret.

New York state of mind

One catch: Corpora didn’t have a full-time job lined up. All she had were two unpaid summer internships at children’s publishing houses. 

“It was a real gamble,” says Corpora, “but I feel like my entire career has been a series of gambles, and they always seem to work out well.”

Corpora landed an editorial assistant position at Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, where she had the opportunity to work on books by legendary authors like Kevin Henkes and Sid Fleischman, among many others. Then came her own children and another career pivot. With the birth of her daughter, Corpora moved into book packaging services.

“Book packaging is an interesting, mostly unknown side of the publishing industry where groups of writers work as a team to create concepts for series fiction,” says Corpora. “The transition was challenging because you really have to let go of ownership over your ideas, and you have to be creative in a collaborative way, which doesn’t come naturally to most people at first.”

Despite the learning curve, Corpora admits that her work as a concept creator really helped her grow as a writer, as she was coming up with ideas, developing them, and also editing manuscripts. “It made me into a jack of all trades,” she says.  

From ghostwriting to ghosts

In 2015, Corpora got her first publishing opportunity after winning an audition to be a ghostwriter for a long-running middle-grade mystery series, eventually writing five books in the series. It wasn’t until 2021, however, that Corpora would see her name on one of her creations. Her next four books, all bearing the name Michelle Jabes Corpora on the cover, were what are known as work-for-hire projects.

“These are usually projects that you audition for,” explains Corpora. “It’s not ghostwriting because your name goes on the books, but usually the publisher has a concept for a book or series they want on their list, and they hire a writer to develop and write that project for them.”

This was the process for her two middle-grade historical fiction novels, The Fog of Warand The Dust Bowl, as well as her young adult horror duology, Holly Horror, which was created in partnership with the owners of the classic character, Holly Hobbie.

Each step in Corpora’s journey built her foundation as a writer. But at that point, her agent knew she was ready for more.

“She’d seen me grow through all of this, was basically like, ‘It’s time for you to stop auditioning and ghostwriting and start writing your story—something that’s meaningful to you and that’s yours,’” recalls Corpora.

Finding her story 

In 2023, Corpora took her next big gamble: creating not only her own original series, but writing something she’d never tried her hand at before. Epic fantasy. 

“It felt like a big leap of faith at the time. I still had two young daughters, a part-time job, and a very busy life,” says Corpora, “and I was planning to put a lot of hours into a project that might never sell. But once the idea was born, I knew there was no going back.”

The Throne of Khetara series, born from that fateful conversation with her editor, is an Ancient Egyptian-inspired trilogy about a kingdom in turmoil, a forgotten oracle, and four unlikely heroes: a princess, a priestess, a rebel, and a thief.

“My parents and three of my grandparents were immigrants born in Egypt,” says Corpora. “So I grew up hearing stories about Egypt, and became fascinated by Ancient Egyptian history from a very young age.” 

Corpora describes the series as “Ancient Egyptian Game of Thrones for young adults,” and is told from the perspectives of the four main characters.

“That seemed to really resonate strongly with people,” says Corpora, who wanted to showcase the different perspectives in ancient Egypt, including the non-royal population who were most affected by war and conquest.

The trilogy was picked up by Sourcebooks Fire and is currently being published in nine territories so far, including the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Hungary, and Greece. It has also won numerous distinctions, including being on the list of YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults in 2026. 

“It’s been a long and winding road to get here,” says Corpora. “But I’ll always remember UMBC as a place that allows people to find their way in the world, even if your journey might take you off the beaten path.”

Pictured right: Corpora, a New York Times bestseller, at a book signing event at The Strand Book Store in New York City.

Hailey Turney, M.A. ’21, first came to UMBC as a student pursuing an academic passion in the text, technologies, and literature program. She connected right away with faculty and other community members. Now, as an undergraduate academic advisor in the College of Engineering and Information Technology and an instructor teaching introductory English and university orientation classes, she helps current UMBC connect and find their own path, too. 

Hailey shares what she loves about UMBC and her advising job. Take it away, Hailey!

Q: Tell us about yourself. 

A: I am a COEIT academic advisor. I mostly work with mechanical engineering students now. I also teach a section of ENGL 100 each semester and UNIV 101 in the fall semesters. I love being able to help students and engage in my community, so advising and teaching feels like a great way to reach students on different levels. 

When I was an undergrad, I did not have the best advising experience, so being able to make a difference as an advisor now feels like an interesting, but great, twist of fate. I also like to play Volo soccer in Baltimore and do Dog’s Day Out at BARCS outside of work!

Q: Who are some of the people at UMBC who have most supported you?

A: My amazing boss Emily Abrams-Stephens is spectacular. She supports me and my fellow advisors every day. She is always advocating for us and showing us how much she cares everyday. Working with her, I never doubt that I am valued here. She always listens to our ideas and is a fantastic (and popular) morning chat partner.

I had a previous job that weighed on me every minute of the day—even outside of work. I missed the activities I loved to do because of it. At UMBC, I have a trusting team—my boss and my fellow advisors—that supports me. If I am ever away, I know my students will be taken care of by my colleagues. The trust I have in my team is something I will never be able to replace. The most remarkable thing about UMBC is the people.

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: There will always be someone in your corner. I did my master’s here and it was the first time I immediately felt seen in my academic career. When I came to work here, I immediately felt wanted and supported. There are so many resources available to the UMBC community and there is always someone there to help you find them. As an advisor, it is now my job and honor to help students find those resources and their own supporting community.

Q: What part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?

A: I love interacting with students and helping them find their way. Being that person that they can turn to when they don’t know where to go is the most important part of our job. We want students to succeed and feel secure in their place here at UMBC.

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

A: I came to UMBC because I wanted to expand my knowledge on a topic I was passionate about. The faculty in the English department had so many interesting areas of study that I knew I would be well-supported in finding my own. After meeting with some faculty members for a graduate assistantship, I felt hopeful that this would be an interactive community. The faculty responded to my emails right away, were interested in what I had to say, and were encouraging from the beginning. I came for the academics and stayed for the community. This continued as I found a job here at UMBC as well—I was hesitant to leave. 

Q: What would you tell someone who is considering a career at UMBC?

A: You will find a great community here. You will also find ways to continue to improve and learn no matter where you end up.

* * * * *

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.

Ten minutes south of True Grits, food is also being prepared for the local community. It’s 8:30 on a Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Arbutus United Methodist Church. To the right of the church building is the Southwest Emergency Services (SWES) office, where the clanking of canned goods on metal shelves and the rustling of brown paper bags echo in the back warehouse. Legacy volunteers, a UMBC Shriver Peaceworker Fellow, and Shriver Center undergraduate student volunteers quickly stock shelves and prepare to fill grocery bags with donated goods for families in the surrounding 21227 or 21229 zip codes in need of food assistance. 

Rosmery De Jesus Dinzey Santana, a senior psychology student, pops out of the dried goods room to check the first order. She writes the number three on a sticky note and sticks it to a grocery cart that gets passed around from volunteer to volunteer, until it gets all the way to the back to Joan Birmingham. She is clad in a long-sleeved flannel, baseball cap, and plastic gloves to keep somewhat warm as she moves in and out of freezers—one for chicken, one for beef, one for pastries. Birmingham, a volunteer of 20+ years, quickly spins the cart back around, pushing it down the long hallway, the wobbly wheel hitting the metal, making a ding sound like it’s announcing it’s ready to check out. 

While UMBC and SWES have been in close proximity for decades, it’s relatively new that an intentional cohort of Retrievers regularly volunteers there. This shift was led by a UMBC Peaceworker Fellow, Megan Hamilton, who began working with SWES for 20 hours a week in fall 2025. The Peaceworker Fellows Program, based in UMBC’s Shriver Center, offers a master’s degree in social change leadership for returning Peace Corps Volunteers. Fellows are required to complete 20 hours a week of service with community partner non-profits, government agencies, or campus-based service-learning for the entirety of the program, says Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24, language, literacy, and culture, an alum and current director of the program. “We now have weekly undergraduate volunteers working with the legacy volunteers, UMBC staff supporting grant writing, and a team of graduate students creating a data management system for them,” Keniston says. 

A call to serve

For Hamilton, the experience has been deeply fulfilling. “Community service is one of the happiest things I can do with my life,” she says. “I think in this particular time, people have lost track of the joy of service a little bit.” The Retrievers at SWES are working to bring that back.

Back at SWES on Wednesday morning, it’s getting close to 9:00 a.m., and a stream of cars fills the parking lot. Hamilton greets each client with a genuine ear-to-ear smile as they walk in the door.  When Hamilton sees Birmingham, she grabs the cart, calls on the family of three, and helps them get the cart out of the narrow doorway into the parking lot. Diane Moberg, a church volunteer and SWES board member, steps into the dried goods room to help unfold grocery bags while she waits for the next financial services client to arrive.

Hamilton has a booming, happy voice and laugh. She has deep roots in Baltimore’s grassroots organizing and co-founded the Creative Alliance in 1994, a performance and art community space in the city. Her big heart has also taken her around the world in the service of others, including her Peace Corps service in Albania. 

Hamilton was beaming this morning because the Maryland Foodbank, which donates food to SWES, had just conducted a site visit and was impressed with how SWES is committed to shifting to a choice food pantry—a labor of love for Hamilton. Choice food pantries function similarly to a grocery store, where clients select the food they take, increasing agency and reducing waste. 

“The loving energy catalyzed when the students meet, learn from, work with, and teach their elders is awe-inspiring,” says Hamilton. “It has meant worlds to the elders and the students, and those friendships are laying the groundwork for SWES’ long-term sustainability.

In the future, SWES is also looking to evolve its financial assistance program, where families receive partial funding to prevent evictions, utility shut-offs, and prescription costs. SWES covers part of the bill, and the family covers the rest. SWES hopes to leverage the renewed partnership with UMBC’s Peaceworkers and Shriver Center volunteers to develop a financial literacy skills program to help families become economically stable and prosperous, and pass those skills to future generations. 

Powered by volunteers inspired by the community

Hamilton says part of what’s making the relationship between SWES and UMBC work so well is the physical proximity, as well as a shared commitment to service in the Baltimore area.  

Dinzey Santana, the only Spanish-speaking volunteer, provides language support for Spanish-speaking families, helping to translate their needs to the rest of the team. She is quiet but fierce in her service, consistent, a master of organization, and overall just awesome, Birmingham says. 

“I went to high school in Silver Springs with a lot of Latinos. Coming to UMBC, I learned so much about what is possible, and yet there is still so much that I have to learn. I want to go back and work with other Latinos to show them that it’s possible to go to college and give to your community at the same time,” says Dinzey Santana, almost at a whisper, smiling, and gliding between carts, bags, and shelves without stopping or looking—muscle memory. While she started UMBC on a pre-med track, after taking some psychology and social work classes, she was drawn to community-engaged work. Birmingham, Moberg, and Hamilton can feel her resolve. “I want students not to get frustrated if their path is unclear. Sometimes, the best path for you is not the one you set your heart on. There isn’t one path, and there is help. Everyone deserves help.”

Working on a prayer

The UMBC volunteers serve alongside legacy volunteers from the community and surrounding areas who have, in some cases, been volunteering for decades. Star legacy volunteer Naomi Morris is ninety-two and has volunteered at SWES for thirty-years. Birmingham says that although SWES has seen its share of challenges, she is continually touched by the people she meets and the way they make it work.

Before becoming part of the SWES volunteer team, Birmingham worked in warehouses for 36 years, stocking and organizing shelves. “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do after I retired,” she says. “I found out that [SWES] needed help through my church. I thought I would give it a try.” She started hanging clothes for their clothing donation shop for a day or two. “But I saw everything that SWES was doing, and it was unbelievable. It touched my heart. The people I have met here are just unbelievable.” 

Moberg, who is a certified public accountant, joined the board and became a volunteer to support the financial assistance program. “I recognize things are really hard. Let’s face it, expenses have gone up exponentially. Gas, everything. Low to mid-range wages are not keeping pace. So, it’s really disheartening, which is why the finance mission is an extremely important one for me. “

Sometimes, when the pantry and the financial assistance dwindle, and there doesn’t seem to be an answer to how SWES will serve its community, Birmingham throws out a request to the heavens. “I learned it from my friend who volunteers with me. She just calls it out, ‘We need more of whatever it is,’ and sure enough, the next day someone walks in with what we need. Last week it was pasta, this year it was volunteers—both came in abundance, and Megan, Rosmery, and all the UMBC volunteers are now helping us legacy volunteers to keep it all going.”

Read more Alumni Magazine stories.

Kaleb Cave’s story is unique among almost all collegiate swimming and diving athletes: When he started college, he was not a strong swimmer.

He is, however, the youngest person ever to perform a standing double backflip. His athletic prowess had also earned him a spot on the USA Gymnastics national team in the Senior Elite Trampoline and Tumbling division.

So how did this mechanical engineering major and gymnast end up on the swimming and diving team? It started on Instagram: Cave’s account (@lub.lub), where he chronicles his athletic feats, has over 140,000 followers.

Junior computer science major Andy Vines, a member of the diving team, messaged Cave when he saw the tumbler was a fellow Retriever. “My mom always told me to find a way to get involved at UMBC, and I thought this might be it,” Cave says. “After reaching out to head dive coach Jeff Fisher, a few months later, I was on the team and in the water.”

From setback to success

While diving and tumbling have many similarities, the transition was anything but smooth water for Cave. 

“Learning how to dive was more of a mental than a physical battle for me. With my gymnastics background, the flipping and twisting came naturally. However, I struggled —and still struggle—with my approach and entries into the water,” Cave says. “Landing on my head was definitely weird to get used to, especially when I’ve been landing on my feet all my life. My aerial awareness is pretty good, though. As a gymnast, I’m used to doubles and triples, so when I have to dial it down, my body doesn’t quite understand.”

Cave officially joined the UMBC swimming and diving team as a sophomore. He had a solid rookie campaign, qualifying for the finals in both the one- and three-meter board events at the America East Championships. However, less than a month later, his diving journey suffered a big setback.

In March 2025, he ruptured his Achilles tendon at a tumbling national team camp. He had surgery five days later and started physical therapy eight weeks post-operation. 

“My physical therapist did an amazing job getting me back to where I need to be, and he is still helping me become stronger,” Cave says. “In the beginning, physical therapy frustrated me—seeing how weak I was and how long it was taking to gain back little bits of strength was taxing on my mental health.”

However, he persisted with rehab and returned to competition in October 2025, just under seven months after the injury—much faster than anyone expected. 

“It felt great,” said Cave. “My return didn’t feel rushed at all, just natural and smooth.”

Two for the team

In January 2026, Cave broke a 14-year-old school record en route to winning the three-meter competition at the Towson Diving Invitational. He qualified for NCAA Zones, the preliminary event for the NCAA Diving Championships, in the one- and three-meter events.

Two weeks later, Cave won bronze in both the one- and three-meter events at the America East Championships, helping lead the men’s swimming and diving team to its 15th title.

Cave’s two medals “contributed to the team winning that title, which means more to me than if I had felt like I didn’t contribute to it. Those were also my first diving-related medals ever, which is special to me,” he adds.

With two full seasons of diving under his belt, Cave feels ready to level up. “Next year, I definitely think I can start pushing the difficulty, now that I’ve cleaned up my form a bit since my very first season.”

Being a student athlete is time-consuming, especially when learning a new sport and alongside a technical major like mechanical engineering, but Cave says UMBC has allowed him to succeed.

“UMBC provides so much support for student-athletes, whether it be a quiet place for us to study or one-on-one tutoring sessions. Teachers are always here to provide help when needed and guide you through the course content.” It seems that Cave has landed on his feet after all. 

By Zachary Seidel ’12, M.S. ’15