Meet Corey Carter ’08, M.A.T. ’10, an award-winning educator, lifelong learner, and the director of the Sherman Scholars Program in the George and Betsy Sherman Center. He takes pride in meeting student needs through servant leadership and holistic mentorship that centers on the needs of scholars as developing teachers. Corey’s goals include diversifying the teaching profession, particularly increasing the representation of highly-skilled Black male educators. Outside of his work supporting culturally responsive educators, Corey loves exploring his interests in hip hop, technology, and science. Take it away, Corey! 

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

A: My family was coming home one day, and my dad stopped the car to introduce us all to the new neighbor. When I told LaMont Toliver that I was a high school junior and wanted to major in biology, he told me all about the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at UMBC. I knew I had to apply and was excited about the chance to continue exploring my passion for science amongst so many other brilliant young people. During selection weekend, my parents shared the table with another couple whose daughter was also applying to the program. That night, I met my future wife and best friend, Brittney Carter ’07, psychology.

Pictured right: Corey and Brittney Carter attending the wedding of one of their college friends. The couple has been married for 15 years and have three kids.

Q: Where have you found support in the UMBC community?

A: The support at UMBC has significance for me because it was also a place of consequential challenges. My academic and pre-professional identity was formed, broken down, and reformed over the years as I learned more of my truths. When I first began to accept that I might have a different career calling than a Ph.D. in biology research, it wasn’t without signs. The support I received from mentors, advisors, and tutoring centers helped me get out of the shame and disillusionment. Connecting again with the community in different aspects of my identity (Gospel choir, Meyerhoff Scholars, Sherman Scholars) was the key to me reclaiming my story and writing the next chapters of my life.

Q: Who, in particular, has supported you throughout your journey?

It’s hard to name just one person. I’m fortunate to have known the late Mr. Toliver, as he was my bridge to UMBC and then to the Sherman Scholars Program, which led to my current career. Mr Toliver’s influence on Rehana Shafi, who would serve as a mentor and support for me through teacher preparation, was an anchoring force of courageous truth and unwavering belief in potential. More recently, I’ve stayed connected to Mr. Toliver’s legacy through another pillar, cut from the same cloth, Sunji Jangha, M.P.P ’18, Ph.D. ’25.

Q: What do you love most about the Sherman Scholars program?

A: I’ve been involved with the Sherman Program since 2007. I love that we stand for centering students as whole people, that we live the values of social justice through education, and that we do this work with joy, love, and passion.

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

A: I love seeing our Sherman Scholars in the classroom and talking with them about teaching. Connecting with brilliant, passionate educators is so fulfilling because I am always stretched by the conversations. In this job, I’ve continued to grow intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. I’m grateful for the tears, the laughter, and the righteous anger—it’s all so valuable to me.

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

A: UMBC is a special place. If you align with the mission and values, I have no doubt there is good work and community for you here!

Learn more about the George and Betsy Sherman Center

Established by a visionary gift to UMBC from George and Betsy Sherman, the George and Betsy Sherman Center is committed to excellent urban schools that transform lives in the communities they serve.

We believe that in every community, public schools have an extraordinary and unique capacity to offer opportunity and change lives. Within each school, committed teachers are the most important factor in whether the transformational power of education becomes real for students and families. Surrounding each school, community and family partners are essential for children to thrive, particularly in a child’s formative early years.

What we do:

• Support excellent teaching with an emphasis on STEM and Early Childhood;
• Build deep and transformative educational partnerships with schools and communities;
• Expand community and school capacity to provide strong early childhood experiences;
• Support pathways connecting students in partner communities with educational opportunities at UMBC;
• Apply engaged research to guide and assess our work.

Learn more about the George and Betsy Sherman Center.

In Baltimore City, middle schoolers are making roller coasters out of insulation tubing and tape. High schoolers are dunking basketballs to learn math equations. And not too far away at UMBC, the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars are prepping to spread even more innovative, inclusive lessons throughout city schools.

The Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program began in the fall of 2007 thanks to the generosity of philanthropists George and Betsy Sherman. The goal of the program is to ​​support scholars to become culturally responsive and compassionate STEM educators in historically underserved, urban schools.

George and Betsy Sherman at the celebration of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program 30th anniversary in 2019. Photo by Jim Berger.

“They’re working in the school buildings that people tend to shy away from because they’ve got those ‘bad kids’ or they don’t have a lot of resources. Our scholars are gravitating to those spaces,” says program director Rehana Shafi.

George Sherman passed away earlier this year but the legacy he left continues to be felt in the lives of the scholars who bear his name. Fourteen years later, the program supports 80 current scholars who will one day join the 140 program alumni who are teaching in high needs schools in Baltimore and throughout the region. All scholars receive scholarships towards their education as well as advising and coaching to embody the Sherman Program’s values.

Putting the fun in active learning

Ben Davis ’11, biological sciences, M.A.T. ’13, was one of the first Sherman scholars to enter the workforce. Today he is teaching at KIPP Ujima Village Academy in Baltimore, where he tries to make sure his middle school science students do one hands-on project a week like making the roller coasters out of household materials or dissecting sharks or frogs. “The kids are able to use scalpels and surgical scissors and… look inside and see what’s going on, [asking] is this similar to what we see in a human or is this different?” says Davis.

Davis on campus with a group of his students. Photo courtesy of Davis.

Davis has also started a summer program to get middle-school girls onto the UMBC campus to attend college courses and engage in lab work like discovering a virus, sequencing its DNA, and even naming it. “They’re building that skill of optimism and grit and growth mindset,” he says.

Sherman scholar Maria Packard ’19, mathematics, M.A.T. ’20, meanwhile, is at Green Street Academy in Baltimore challenging the stigma that math is boring. She has her 11^th graders shooting basketball hoops for extra points, giving Algebra 2 an unexpectedly exciting and competitive edge for students she cherishes.

Both Davis’ and Packard’s jobs were made possible through connections made in the Sherman Program. Davis also credits Shafi and other Sherman staff with giving him much-needed support and guidance. “[Shafi] was the person really there every step of the way—she was there for me no matter if it was something that had to do with teaching or science or life,” he says.

Connecting with different lived experiences

Shafi has been with the program since its beginning, guiding it as it evolved from smaller to larger cohorts of students who are likely to teach in urban or other historically underserved schools. To prepare scholars for this, the Sherman Program requires applied learning experiences or volunteering in local classrooms. The program also provides coursework that helps scholars reflect on their own cultural lens and to understand the historical context of schooling in Baltimore. Experiences like this make space for scholars to embrace the humility required to listen to “kids whose own lived experiences are generally different from their own,” says Shafi.

That aspect of cultural humility and social responsibility is what drew Haleemat Adekoya ’22, political science, to UMBC. “I can’t engage my student in academics if I’m not engaging their mind and their soul,” says Adekoya, who plans to be an elementary school teacher who nurtures her students’ identities. “I’m not going to just start talking to you and teaching you—I cannot push you to where I think you should be or your biggest potential without engaging your community and the communities you come from,” she says.

Helping the Sherman scholars reach their own potential was important to George Sherman, says Shafi, and part of that is the scholarship money that helps keep scholars focused on learning. “He profoundly cared about people and their ability to be successful,” she says.

Today, the people in the Sherman program help each other succeed in a close-knit community, Packard says. Alumni get together to chat, discuss books on social issues, and support each other with advice in a challenging field.

Adekoya, student member of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, is optimistic about her future and that of the program. “I see the legacy of the Sherman program as a seed—it’s been planted and people will continue to water that seed…it will be one of those trees in a folk tale that does not die out because the community and the people who have benefited from its impact see the importance of that tree living beyond generations,” she says.

—  Karen Stysley

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Header image of Adekoya in the classroom, courtesy of the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program.

Headshot of Sauro by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Your favorite heroes are joining forces to fight Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Suddenly, you watch as one by one, they are dropped off on Sesame Street in New York City. You’re seeing the story unfold on the page because you’re creating a merged universe as an exercise to enhance your English language skills. What will happen next? Only you know.

This interplay of fanfiction in language learning and instruction is what Shannon Sauro, associate professor of education and faculty member in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program at UMBC, strives to showcase in her reading and writing courses. (Indeed, one of Sauro’s students proved that they could merge the Avengers and Sesame Street into one universe for a fanfiction project.)

Fandoms exist in numerous forms, whether related to movies, TV shows, novels, music, video games, or other aspects of pop culture. But how is it relevant to teaching and learning? As Sauro explains, quoting fan studies scholar Mark Duffett, a fan is “someone who has a strong, positive emotional connection to someone or something famous.” Her students come from different backgrounds with these connections under their belt, which makes it easier for them to form an emotional connection to the work as it unfolds. This ultimately helps them gain new language skills.

Learning for fun

Prior to moving to the U.S., Sauro lived and taught in Sweden, where she noticed that many students used fanfiction to develop their English language skills. These students took part not only in consuming media in English, but also discussing this media in their own fandom communities. 

Maryland language teachers take part in a workshop on fanfiction for foreign language teaching held by the UMBC TESOL program in November of 2019. Photo courtesy of Sauro, standing.

“We can see different cultural attitudes around fiction writing, and I found this refreshing in Sweden because in the Swedish national curriculum, they emphasize the learning of foreign languages not just for work, but also pleasure and the consumption of cultural products [and] self-expression,” shares Sauro. “So writing fanfiction is something you do with language. It’s not considered frivolous or not academic.”

In the U.S., this integration of fanfiction into language learning may not look as familiar to students and instructors. But fanfiction can enable students’ creativity while building on necessary reading and writing skills.

Gaining appreciation for the craft

Headshot courtesy of BB Kim.

Language-learning classes often stress the importance of reading and analyzing canonical texts to hone skills. But fanfiction allows students to play around with literary tropes, dialogue, plot, and character development—all within the context of their favorite fandom. BB Kim ’22, a TESOL graduate student, would have never guessed that she’d be writing about the Disney film, Frozen, for a fanfiction project in Teaching Reading and Writing to ESOL/Bilingual Students.

As an ESOL instructor herself, Kim saw the potential of fanfiction to engage students in fun, creative ways. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t skeptical at first about the idea of rewriting the plot of an existing movie.

Kim’s realization arrived only after she finished writing her take on Frozen. With a single click, she published her story on a fanfiction website for a real audience to read and leave comments on (imagine if Elsa embraced her powers from the start instead of hiding them away!). Kim wasn’t expecting her work to receive such attention, but seeing it on the website gave her an undeniable sense of accomplishment. 

Kim was especially appreciative of Sauro’s clear and organized instruction, as the students weren’t pushed into the realm of fanfiction without preparation beforehand. “I feel like it was a nice brain break from taking classes that are more theory-based… So it was definitely memorable,” says Kim, adding that Sauro’s teaching style has served as a model for how she conducts her own classes.

Finding yourself in the story

Sauro asks her students to interpret an author’s writing style and incorporate it into their own. Elements like structure and word choice require attention to linguistic detail, making the study of fanfiction quite the endeavor. 

The three-country project, FanTALES, in which Sauro was a contributor, has set out to tackle just this. With the collaboration of researchers and teachers from Sweden, Belgium, and Germany, the project has materialized as an online platform providing learning materials to students and instructors. What sets it apart from traditional language education is its emphasis on storytelling (i.e., fanfiction and interactive fiction), digital literacy, and multilingual avenues of learning and interacting with other language users. Students are given a platform to creatively and critically express their identities and perspectives through writing.

Language teachers and trainers participate in the 2019 FanTALES workshop held in Valencia, Spain, as part of the International Conference on Intercultural Learning in the Digital Age. Photo courtesy of Sauro, right.

“By inviting students to either play with the text, transform it, put themselves in it, or merge it with something they actually like, it gets them more engaged and involved with the text and more likely to commit that time to it,” says Sauro, who incorporates materials from FanTALES into the fanfiction project she assigns to students. Even after the students have written and published their stories, she asks them to reflect on the choices they made throughout the writing process. The bigger takeaways that some students gain reveal the value of personalized storytelling.

“I think for me the takeaway is don’t be afraid to do something different… Don’t be afraid to shy away and be creative and allow students to learn in different ways—to be flexible, to be open-minded,” says Kim.

What Sauro hopes for her students, in addition to increased language skills, is to recognize how they can write themselves into a text to express their truths and experiences. 

“Often when working with language learners, or young people in general with any different background, you can see that there are certain texts that get reified and selected as a canon, but they don’t represent all the lived experiences in society or in the classroom,” says Sauro. “And fanfiction is a way to give students a voice to talk back to that text, to correct that text, and to write themselves into the canon, into the literature, and into the media that their society or their classrooms celebrate and value.”

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Header image: Sauro connects with a student in her office. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

From the day UMBC opened its doors, the work of teaching and research has been at the heart of university life. The love of learning has been passed on by the university’s faculty across disciplines in lecture halls, laboratories, office hours, and in the field. We’ve selected some of the best images of a dynamic endeavor of teaching and exploration that has stretched from 1966 to the present day, aspiring not only to excellence but to greater access for all students to the wisdom and understanding that our faculty carry with them.

Each year at UMBC, a faculty member is chosen to receive the Carl Weber Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching Award. It honors a faculty member from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for exceptional dedication to teaching as demonstrated by his or her enthusiasm, up-to-date teaching materials, effective mentoring, community service in the teaching area, approachability, rigorous learning requirements, coherent teaching philosophy and inspirational teaching style.

The award was established in 2006 by his family in memory of Dr. Weber, Assistant Professor Emeritus and founding faculty member in the UMBC Department of Biological Sciences, as a tribute to his passion for teaching.

“Carl’s enthusiasm for his teaching was infectious,” says Mrs. Weber. She adds that it’s plain to see why each award winner has been chosen throughout the years. “They’re very inspiring enthusiastic teachers. Each one has been doing something innovative as teachers.”

The award has now been given for eight years. In addition to the endowment, a number of people, including Mrs. Weber, have continued to provide annual support for the award. It has successfully created a lasting legacy for Dr. Weber, and it has also given Mrs. Weber an ongoing connection to the UMBC community.

Each year, she has a chance to meet the award recipients. “That has been very nice for me,” she explained. “It keeps his memory fresh, and it’s very gratifying to see the wonderful people who are being honored.”

Now, Mrs. Weber has taken another step to continue support for the award through a trust she created in her estate plans. It’s a contribution that will play an important role in ensuring that Dr. Weber’s passion for teaching continues at UMBC, as the award encourages and honors new and innovative approaches in the classroom for years to come.

For Mrs. Weber, it’s not only another measure of support in memory of her husband, it’s also a very practical matter of planning ahead. “I established the trust to support the ongoing recognition enabled by the award,” says Weber.

Learn more about planned giving.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Roberta Sabin ‘90 Ph.D., computer science, about her career as a professor and her recent teaching excursion to Malawi on a Fulbright Scholar grant.

Name: Roberta Sabin ’90 Ph.D., computer science
Job Title: Professor Emerita of Computer Science at Loyola; Fulbright Scholar

Q: You were the first woman to graduate from UMBC with a Ph.D. in computer science. What did that feel like?

A: It was great, and it’s something I’m really proud of. It was an effort of myself and my family.

I feel like it was a quality degree that I’ve really been able to build on – the beginning of my research career was in the same area my dissertation was in and I was able to attend conferences and meet people from around the world.

Q: What is your favorite memory of UMBC?

A: My dissertation defense was pretty vivid. I spent many many many hours here working on my proposal and the final defense, and I remember the faculty – especially Dr. Samuel Lomonaco – being very supportive and helpful. I also remember that before I presented, I was puttering around and someone asked me about the coffee, because I was the only woman. It was a public defense so not all the people knew me. It was a definite indication of the time.

Q: How did it feel to be awarded the Fulbright? Why Malawi?

A: My motto is “try and try again.” I had tried in 2004 for a Fulbright to Vietnam and got close. I’ve had a lifelong interest in Africa, so I thought applying again for a Fulbright to Africa would be a good way to use my time after retiring from Loyola.

Q: What was your time like in Malawi?

A: We were there for one semester, from September of 2013 through February of 2014. It is truly a different world. It’s rich in many ways, especially regarding the quality of the people – they’re friendly, hardworking, and peace-loving – but it lacks natural resources like oil, coal, etc. so it’s very poor. College is a privilege and the students take it very seriously.

I’ve kept in touch with a number of the students since I left – I’ve heard from about 15 or 20. It’s wonderful to be able to continue a relationship and I’d love to go back.

Q: As you reflect on your career, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and why UMBC was your school of choice?

A: I’m a native Baltimorean and a product of an all-women education (secondary school and college). I was always interested in math and politics, and at one time thought I might be president. I got a lot of encouragement [growing up] – there was an assumption that women could do anything, and that underlined my whole education.

I taught secondary level mathematics for about 15 years. During that time I took a course in programming that was offered by the school system and was bitten by the excitement of programming. I also realized there was a tremendous need for instructors in computer science (this was about 1980), so I enrolled at Hopkins for a Master’s in just that. At that time I was teaching at Coppin State with Dr. Hrabowski – he was my dean, he hired me, so I saw him regularly. I completed my Master’s at Hopkins and was then recruited, in a sense, by Loyola to teach computer science. The big deciding factor to come to UMBC was Loyola offering to support me while I got my Ph.D.

Non-traditional students like me were welcomed [at UMBC]; they made my time here as smooth as possible. It was a stressful time for me – by then I was married and had two children under the age of six.

Q: What advice would you give to UMBC students now?

A: Computer science and teaching make an unbeatable combination. There are continuous changes and intellectual challenges [in computer science], and it’s a lively and active professional group. Plus, technology is so needed. People who are interested in communicating about technology are needed and that’s what teaching is all about. Especially if you’re female – students need to see young women who are excited about that.

Have a story of your own to share? Tell us about it!