A reflection written by Women’s Center student staff member Bria Hamlet

I’ve got a gap in my front teeth,
I make a mess when I eat,
I’m always late,
I’m hard to date,
I think Eminem is my soulmate

I rock an afro with piercings,
I exaggerate my feelings,
I watch YouTube instead of TV,
I choose to stray from normativity

You’ve just read my spin on Mary Lambert’s song “Secrets.” The melody has been stuck in my head for hours now. She sings about herself, throwing out the good, the obvious, the hidden, and the complicated. She tells us that she doesn’t care how the world perceives her and what they have to say about who she allegedly is.

Girl, I feel that.

I am really, really getting comfortable with no longer explaining myself to everyone. If I didn’t personally harm or wrong you, you get no explanation. I am giving myself permission to wear red lipstick to work, listen to Nickelback and then the Roots on the way, all while sporting a tailored skirt and Converse. Let me live.

As a Black American woman, I am subjected to harmful and negative stereotypes constantly. If someone isn’t policing my blackness, they’ve surely fixated on my hair. The next target is my complexion, followed by my clothing, and their personal favorite, my diction. I can’t just be Bria, I must be whoever you all think Bria is supposed to be. I am really tired of making everyone else comfortable. I don’t have to make “figuring me out” easy. I’m not easy.

And you, stop being lazy.

The Telling Our Stories project has given the members of the UMBC Women of Color Coalition (myself included) the opportunity to reclaim narratives that were written without them. It has challenged us to think critically about labels and microaggressions. We’ve discussed where these stereotypes come from and then participated in workshops to unearth the true natures of who we are. We are sisters, artists, intellectuals, comedians, introverts, extroverts, and progressives. We are ourselves.

I will now and forever continue to be unapologetically myself.

The following is a press release from Northrop Grumman and UMBC.

Smart Distribution Systems

Dr. Karen Butler-Purry
Texas A&M University

11:00-12:00 Wednesday, 22 April 2015, ITE 325b

Smart Grid refers to the computerizing of the grid via the addition of monitoring, analysis, control, and communication capabilities to improve its reliability, efficiency, and security. Smart meter devices, that include sensors to gather data and two-way digital communication between the smart meters in the field and the utility's grid operations center, are associated with the grid. The smart grid can take advantage of new technologies, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, various forms of renewable and conventional distributed generation, lighting management systems, automation technology that lets the utility adjust and control each individual device or millions of devices from a central location, and many more. This presentation will discuss some of the current research projects being investigated by Butler-Purry's group on smart distributions systems, in grid or island operation. One project investigates the impact of cyber attacks on the operation of smart distribution systems. The second project developed two new approaches to enhance the protection of smart distribution systems. One approach uses smart meters during distribution planning to improve selectivity of protection, and the other approach uses smart meters during operation to improve the sensitivity of protection.

Karen L. Butler-Purry, PhD, PE, is Associate Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University where she has served on the faculty since 1994. She received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1985 from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was awarded a M.S. degree in 1987 from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 1994 from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her research interests are in the areas of protection and control of distribution systems and isolated power systems such as all electric power systems for ships, mobile grids, and microgrids; cybersecurity protection; and intelligent systems for equipment deterioration and fault diagnosis.

Host: Prof. Gymama Slaughter, Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.

Karen Butler-Purry flyer

Name: Imani Spence

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Mindgrub Technologies | Title of Your Position: Associate Creative Copywriter (Marketing Intern)

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies and English: Communication and Technology track

Expected Graduation Year: May 2016

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I work on a lot of things at Mindgrub. The main focus of my position is doing research on potential clients that the company may contact as well as researching attendees for conferences that the President may attend. Sometimes I draft speech proposals for those conferences as well. I also keep up with all of their social media accounts, including LinkedIn to post relevant information on events, products and industry news.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I found this internship through UMBCWorks. I applied with a resume, writing sample and Cover Letter then I had a phone interview. During that interview we talked about my prior experiences and what I hope to gain from the internship. Then I came in for an in-person interview and brought materials such as PDF versions of email newsletters I designed, video samples and graphic layouts.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Career Center, UMBCworks

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

Mindgrub is FULL of UMBC alum. I have been really lucky to talk to them about their experiences at UMBC and see how I can take my UMBC education further. The company culture is also super amazing. Mindgrub is really into Ping-Pong and the company is small enough that everyone knows each other and gets along fairly well.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I learned how companies assess their potential client-base and what a typical workflow is like. In my last two internships I was the only intern, or the first intern, so working with other interns and within a process that already exists.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

GO TO THE CAREER CENTER. I have met with someone from the career center a few times and every time I go in a little panicked and confused, I come out with great ideas and I feel much better. The Career Center works so hard to make sure that every student has as many opportunities as possible, and it's part of their job to help you navigate the career search, USE THEM!

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

Apply for it all. I applied for about 15 internships before receiving this one, and the summer before I applied to about the same and got two different internships. Once you get the hang of the application process, it's easy.

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#UMBCintern

Two UMBC alumni who now work at Google will present a Google information session and two technical talks this coming Wednesday afternoon in the Library Gallery. It's a chance for both undergraduate and graduate students to learn about internship and full-time opportunities at Google. The Googlers are:

• Blazej Bulka is a currently a Senior Software Engineer at Google NYC. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMBC in 2009.
• Robert Banz is a Site Reliability Manager at Google. He received a BS in Computer Science from UMBC in 1995 and worked for UMBC's Department of Information Technology for many years before joining Google.

There will be an opportunity to network and ask questions between talks and an informal happy hour after the talks starting at 5:00pm at Flat Tuesdays in the Commons. Faculty, staff and frinds are welcome to attend the talks and happy hour.

• Noon-1:00pm Google Culture and Careers, Presented by Blazej Bulka and Robert Banz

  Google culture and mission presented by two UMBC graduates who work at Google. Brief history of Google, products and projects, and first-hand relation of how it is to work for Google. The second half of the talk will describe various career opportunities (both for full-time positions and internship), including information about the interview process.

• 2:00-3:00pm Engineering Reliability at Google, Presented by Robert Banz

  Keeping Google services up and running efficiently, reliably, and at scale.

• 4:00-5:00pm Research and Work at Google: Graduate Student Opportunities, Presented by Blazej Bulka

  How to do research and utilize skills learned in graduate school at Google.

• 5:00- Happy Hour at Flat Tuesdays, The Commons

Let Google know you are interested in opportunities and plan to attend some of the sessions by filling out this form.

Two UMBC alumni who now work at Google will present a Google information session and two technical talks this coming Wednesday afternoon in the Library Gallery. It's a chance for both undergraduate and graduate students to learn about internship and full-time opportunities at Google. The Googlers are:

• Blazej Bulka is a currently a Senior Software Engineer at Google NYC. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMBC in 2009.
• Robert Banz is a Site Reliability Manager at Google. He received a BS in Computer Science from UMBC in 1995 and worked for UMBC's Department of Information Technology for many years before joining Google.

There will be an opportunity to network and ask questions between talks and an informal happy hour after the talks starting at 5:00pm at Flat Tuesdays in the Commons. Faculty, staff and frinds are welcome to attend the talks and happy hour.

• Noon-1:00pm Google Culture and Careers, Presented by Blazej Bulka and Robert Banz

  Google culture and mission presented by two UMBC graduates who work at Google. Brief history of Google, products and projects, and first-hand relation of how it is to work for Google. The second half of the talk will describe various career opportunities (both for full-time positions and internship), including information about the interview process.

• 2:00-3:00pm Engineering Reliability at Google, Presented by Robert Banz

  Keeping Google services up and running efficiently, reliably, and at scale.

• 4:00-5:00pm Research and Work at Google: Graduate Student Opportunities, Presented by Blazej Bulka

  How to do research and utilize skills learned in graduate school at Google.

• 5:00- Happy Hour at Flat Tuesdays, The Commons

Let Google know you are interested in opportunities and plan to attend some of the sessions by filling out this form.

Two UMBC alumni who now work at Google will present a Google information session and two technical talks this coming Wednesday afternoon in the Library Gallery. It's a chance for both undergraduate and graduate students to learn about internship and full-time opportunities at Google. The Googlers are:

• Blazej Bulka is a currently a Senior Software Engineer at Google NYC. He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMBC in 2009.
• Robert Banz is a Site Reliability Manager at Google. He received a BS in Computer Science from UMBC in 1995 and worked for UMBC's Department of Information Technology for many years before joining Google.

There will be an opportunity to network and ask questions between talks and an informal happy hour after the talks starting at 5:00pm at Flat Tuesdays in the Commons. Faculty, staff and frinds are welcome to attend the talks and happy hour.

• Noon-1:00pm Google Culture and Careers, Presented by Blazej Bulka and Robert Banz

  Google culture and mission presented by two UMBC graduates who work at Google. Brief history of Google, products and projects, and first-hand relation of how it is to work for Google. The second half of the talk will describe various career opportunities (both for full-time positions and internship), including information about the interview process.

• 2:00-3:00pm Engineering Reliability at Google, Presented by Robert Banz

  Keeping Google services up and running efficiently, reliably, and at scale.

• 4:00-5:00pm Research and Work at Google: Graduate Student Opportunities, Presented by Blazej Bulka

  How to do research and utilize skills learned in graduate school at Google.

• 5:00- Happy Hour at Flat Tuesdays, The Commons

Let Google know you are interested in opportunities and plan to attend some of the sessions by filling out this form.