Usable Security

UMBC Women Who Rock is a new blog series I’m working on throughout the 2014-15 academic year. In my role as Women’s Center director, I have some of the best opportunities to become acquainted with some of UMBC’s best and brightest women on campus. I admire the ways they live authentic lives unapologetically that challenge the stereotypes and assumptions that are often assigned to women. By debunking these stereotypes and forcing us to check our assumptions, they allow us to expand our notion of what a woman is and can be.

-Jess

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UMBC Women Who Rock!
Jahia Knobloch, UMBC First-Year Student

I love when I meet people and get that instant feel-good-feeling. The feeling of wanting to get to know the person more. The feeling of knowing this person is going places. The feeling of excitement of knowing this person is going to bring good conversations, good reflections, good challenges into your own life. I got that feeling before I even met Jahia earlier this semester while we were communicating over email. While Jahia probably doesn’t want me to share with the internet worlds that she missed our first meeting, she did… and she wrote me an apology saying that her recent hunger strike had left her exhausted and preoccupied. Oh, I’m sorry, come again? Students miss meetings with me on a regular basis but never because of hunger strikes. I instantly wanted to know more about this new student at UMBC.

Jahia at her high school graduation with her mom.

When Jahia and I finally had the chance to meet, she filled my office with such positive energy. We talked about her interests in social justice, feminism, and activism. I learned more about her hunger strike which also included an art performance that took place in a campus residence hall lobby. In later meet ups, Jahia went on the share more about her childhood and upbringing. She holds dual citizenship in Germany and the U.S. and very early on her parents instilled in her the importance of travel. She described herself as an adventurous spirit and reflected on how traveling allowed her to recognize her privileges. When she was eight years old, Jahia was diagnosed with childhood rheumatoid arthritis and spent a great deal of time in physical suffering until her body was able to respond to medication. She remembers feeling what it was like not to be able to do what others could easily do and understanding what it means to desperately want something. These formative feelings and understanding of life, ability, and disability shaped her into becoming the young woman she is today. Jahia’s adventurous spirit is also complemented by a deep awareness and commitment to civil rights and activism. Her mom is a civil rights lawyer and she joined in marches with her family to include protesting the war in Iraq and marching in support of voting rights. She is actively involved in the protests in Baltimore and UMBC related to the events around Ferguson, Eric Garner, and the Black Lives Matter movement. At UMBC, Jahia is a Gender + Women’s Studies major and is involved with Critical Social Justice and serves on the CSJ Student Advisory Board (check her out in the SAB’s newest CSJ video on brave spaces).

Jahia with her friend Jessie attending a protest in Baltimore.

For those of you who have been reading my UMBC Women Who Rock series, you know by now that I use the space not only to highlight awesome women but also to unpack some of my own assumptions and stereotypical narratives I have about gender and being a woman. As I reflected on what assumptions I might be able to explore something Jahia said to me in our last conversation stood out to me. She said, “I want to inject courage in every girl here.” She shared this bold statement in the context of how often she finds women in her life feeling afraid to make waves and ensuring their actions won’t make others mad. Jahia explains that she can’t be that kind of woman and how she wishes other women would have the courage to life unafraid. This is a narrative I know all too well in my own life.

Through not only the lens of gender but also the intersections of my whiteness and being raised Catholic, courage and I have a complicated relationship. Being a white Catholic woman means a lot of things for me. It included being socialized to be “nice,” to follow the rules, to sacrifice, and leave things uncomplicated. All very non-courageous things (to me at least). It wasn’t until I was in graduate school that I really allowed myself to explore my voice, to stand up for myself, and find the courage to be bold, say no… and say yes. Perhaps that’s why I am so unapologetic about my fandom over the Hunger Games and Divergent series. Katniss and Tris have a courage that speaks to me and leaves my heart aching with desire to be bold. They, and most certainly, Jahia, create a counter-narrative that beckons me, and other women to be brave, recognize their own importance, and consider pathways that exist outside of others expectations.

I wish I could have had a Jahia walking down the hallways of high school with me and in my classes in college, injecting courage into my voice, my values, and my understanding of myself. UMBC is lucky that we have Jahia and that it’s just the beginning of her journey her with us. As we were wrapping up our conversation, Jahia told me, “I’m not afraid of anyone… I’m not afraid to stand up.” And, that’s why Jahia Knobloch is a UMBC Woman Who Rocks!

Jahia’s adventurous spirit took her to Savage River Farm last summer as a WWOOF (work exchange on organic farms) volunteer. Here she is feeding an orphaned baby bunny.

Who are the UMBC women in your life that inspire you to think outside your expectations and assumptions? What are the counter narrative stories they’re sharing with us allowing UMBC and our greater community to be more of exactly who we want to be? Comment below and maybe you’ll just find them featured in a future UMBC Women Who Rock post.

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Check out other UMBC Women Who Rock:
Amanda Knapp (featured August 2014)
Susan Dumont (featured October 2014)

• Candidate should be a full-time, degree-seeking student at UMBC, enrolled in her/his sophomore year with a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
• Candidate will be required to submit a resume and an unofficial transcript.
• Candidate should submit a 500-word essay explaining actions that she/he has participated in that have contributed to improving the lives of Baltimore City youth.

Application Materials can be submitted to:

Application Deadline:

Questions?

Innovate Our World, an Ellicott City, Maryland educational nonprofit, is seeking one or more avid, experienced gamers who can help us on the business side to bring our new Moon game from tech demo status to a successful launch on Steam.

The upcoming 8th Continent game will give players a number of entertaining scenarios racing, exploring, and building on the Moon that will help meet IOW’s educational mission. We envision growing the 8th Continent like Kerbal Space Program through early engagement of the user community. Starting as a single player online game (and Oculus friendly), you will have strong input into how the game evolves and grows to meet player demand.

Candidates should have strong gaming experience, comfortable with emerging technologies, demonstrated success with crowdfunding, ability to use Steam and other forums to gain support, and strong social media skills.

Opportunity starts as an volunteer/internship and could evolve into a compensated position for the right person. Can be done on a part-time/remote basis in conjunction with school or work. Contact Ron (ron AT innovateourworld.org) to discuss. The opportunity begins ASAP.

Innovate Our World, an Ellicott City, Maryland educational nonprofit, is seeking one or more avid, experienced gamers who can help us on the business side to bring our new Moon game from tech demo status to a successful launch on Steam.

The upcoming 8th Continent game will give players a number of entertaining scenarios racing, exploring, and building on the Moon that will help meet IOW’s educational mission. We envision growing the 8th Continent like Kerbal Space Program through early engagement of the user community. Starting as a single player online game (and Oculus friendly), you will have strong input into how the game evolves and grows to meet player demand.

Candidates should have strong gaming experience, comfortable with emerging technologies, demonstrated success with crowdfunding, ability to use Steam and other forums to gain support, and strong social media skills.

Opportunity starts as an volunteer/internship and could evolve into a compensated position for the right person. Can be done on a part-time/remote basis in conjunction with school or work. Contact Ron (ron AT innovateourworld.org) to discuss. The opportunity begins ASAP.

The Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Chicago is at the forefront of research in molecular mechanisms underlying cell biology and organismal development. Current faculty work on fundamental problems in biology using a wide range of model systems including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, plants, nematode worms, fruit flies, fish and mice. With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department offers an exciting opportunity for talented undergraduates to acquire experience in research. This program is designed for students who are interested in attending graduate school and pursuing a career in science. MGCB Summer Internships allow students to devote themselves to research projects, working in collaboration with graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, to address important problems in biology.

Interns will be hosted by research laboratories in the department, most of which are housed in the Cummings Life Sciences Center, with several laboratories in a nearby building. Interns will have full access to the advanced instrumentation available in the host laboratories as well as in a large set of superb core facilities, including advanced light and electron microscopy, next generation DNA sequencing, and a wide range of biophysical approaches.

For the seventh year in a row, UMBC is the Baltimore-area host site for the Global Game Jam (GGJ).

In a game jam, people come together to make a video game — a hackathon for game development. Participants join small teams at the jam, and over a few days create new, unique and creative video games based on the jam’s theme and rules.

The GGJ is the world’s largest game jam event and takes place over 48 hours at 100s of physical locations worldwide. The 2015 GGJ will start at 5pm on Friday, January 23 and end at 5pm Sunday, January 25. For more information and to find out how you can register to participate at the UMBC site, visit the UMBC GAIM blog.

The JHU Summer Research Expeditions in Computational Sciences, Systems and Engineering program is an intensive, ten-week program to help undergraduates immerse themselves in research and taste the excitement of inventing. Participants will be part of a research team, including one or more JHU CS faculty and/or graduate student mentors and will be expected to make contributions to a challenging research topic. Example areas of research include Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Interactive Visualizations, Healthcare Cost-Effectiveness and Mobile Computing.

Participants will present their summer findings in a poster and a final presentation session. In addition to research, they will take in a class that teaches scientific presentation skills, go on lab and company tours and meet and socialize with peers from institutions around the country.

The program runs from May 25 to July 31 and includes a stipend of $4,500 and housing, if needed. Apply online before March 2 with your choice to two SRE projects and a copy of your resume and transcript. Two letters of recommendations are also required.

Email or call Anita Sampath (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. , 410-516-6841) if you have questions about the application process.

The JHU Summer Research Expeditions in Computational Sciences, Systems and Engineering program is an intensive, ten-week program to help undergraduates immerse themselves in research and taste the excitement of inventing. Participants will be part of a research team, including one or more JHU CS faculty and/or graduate student mentors and will be expected to make contributions to a challenging research topic. Example areas of research include Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Interactive Visualizations, Healthcare Cost-Effectiveness and Mobile Computing.

Participants will present their summer findings in a poster and a final presentation session. In addition to research, they will take in a class that teaches scientific presentation skills, go on lab and company tours and meet and socialize with peers from institutions around the country.

The program runs from May 25 to July 31 and includes a stipend of $4,500 and housing, if needed. Apply online before March 2 with your choice to two SRE projects and a copy of your resume and transcript. Two letters of recommendations are also required.

Email or call Anita Sampath (Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. , 410-516-6841) if you have questions about the application process.