By: Jacey Lizer

Photo Credit: Jacey Lizer 

Meeting Grace Cavanagh, she is calm and confident, she's found herself at UMBC. Now a senior, she is moving through a story of rediscovery, academics, and learning to see the world through a critical and creative lens. 

Grace's life before UMBC was, as she puts it, "boring." She grew up in Maryland but her childhood was shaped by moving around frequently. Home has always been a lively, multigenerational space. Yet she still felt lost before coming to UMBC. It wasn't until she transferred that her story came to life. 

Originally a hospitality management major at East Carolina University, Grace reached a point where she knew something wasn't aligning. She has always been drawn to stories, language, and the way the media frames the world around us. Growing up she loved books and the power of words, even if she didn't have the language for turning that passion into a profession. When she made the decision to transfer to UMBC, she chose MCS because it was the closest fit to what she loved. The match ended up being better than expected. 

The decision to attend UMBC was rooted in practicality and legacy. Its location close to home made the transition smoother, while also having family members who attended UMBC, she created a quick connection with our community. What she didn't expect was how quickly she would find her place here. "I came to UMBC and found my forever friends, and a sense of self," she says. "I didn't really have that before."

The moment she truly fell in love came during MCS 101. The class showed her that storytelling isn't just about entertainment, it's about structure, interpretation, culture, and communication. It's about how people make meaning from the world around them. Not every class was easy though. Like most MCS majors, Grace was almost taken down by MCS 499. Her Capstone project focused on romance novels and their women readers, a subject that challenged yet pushed her to analyze an enjoying genre from a deeper perspective. The course forced her to grow. 

Balancing academic work with home life isn't easy. Living at home means juggling family duties, work, class, and independence all at once. For Grace, the key to this is time management, and learning not to sacrifice her social life in the process. 

The MCS major has helped her blend practicality and creativity in a natural way. While focusing on theories, frameworks, and critical thinking, there is still so much room for expression and narrative building. Both ends only fuel each other, not compete. Her academic insights lead to stronger, more thoughtful media, and the creative sides see theory as more than a concept, unit as a tool. 

When it comes to the kind of storytelling that excites her the most, the answer is simple, novels. Books were her first love, and they've never stopped being her favorite form of media. Her favorite book of all time? Pride and Prejudice. It's a classic that continues to shape how she thinks about narrative, character, and communication. 

A typical day for Grace follows a full and steady routine. Wake up, go to class, fit in homework, work a shift, then carve out whatever time is left for friends, sleeping, and her cats. Speaking of, Millie and Milo play a major role in her everyday joy. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about MCS, she says, is the belief that media students spend all day behind a screen or buried in writing. In reality, this work requires a surprising amount of public facing interpersonal skills. You have to talk, collaborate, present, listen, and really put yourself out there. "There are a lot of personable skills people don't realize we need."

Looking forward, Grace has a clear vision for where she wants to go. Her dream job is to become an intern personal PR associate at a publishing company, merging her love of books with her passion for communication. She hopes her work will give people clear, straightforward access to information. In five years she sees herself living in a big city, working in the industry she loves, alongside her sister. 

She's already working on building the skills she'll need to get there: soft skills, analytics, technology, professionalism, and a strong understanding of media theories. These aren't just academic skills, they're life skills that will carry her far beyond UMBC's campus. 

What excites her the most about the future of media and communication? The people, the places, the possibilities. Media is global and constantly evolving, and she wants to see where it can take her. At the same time, she's aware of the challenges. The hardest part of studying and working in a public facing world is cancel culture. "A lot of people are afraid to speak," she says, and she understands why. But she also believes communication is essential; fear shouldn't silence the voices that need to be heard. 

In the end, Grace has found her place, her people, and her purpose. What began as a "boring" start transformed into a path of ambition and identity. She came to UMBC looking for a major and she found herself. 

The AOK Library Gallery is once again offering a series of workshops for graduate students.  See the attached flyer for details.  

TODAY

What are some of the best strategies and tips for writing a literature review? Whether you are just starting out with your research or have been involved in your project for a while, this workshop is for you. 

Note: This workshop is being offered in a hyflex modality, so feel free to join either in person in Library 259, or online via WebEx. 

By: Bryan Dang

Photo Credit: Zion Murphy 

Meet Zion Murphy, he is a man of many things. A filmmaker, cultural worker, and educator, you immediately get the feeling that every part of his life story has been driven by a passion and belief in the power of storytelling. Zion graduated from UMBC in 2022 and the following years after that followed a path of revelation through artistic rigor, leadership through his community and wanting to spread his passion of expanding people's views on how we understand the world through media. 

Zion started at UMBC as a double major in Media & Communication Studies and Linguistics, but over time he slowly developed a stronger passion for MCS. He said that after taking MCS 222 with Professor Kathalene Razzano, he found that he was "falling in love with analyzing the media that shapes the world around us", and how culture, communities, and politics are all shaped through media. So after two semesters he primarily focused on MCS. This growing curiosity for media grew into a larger passion: a desire to create films that challenge dominant narratives, inspire audiences, and create stories that have authentic cultural roots.

For Zion, filmmaking is more than a passion and craft, it is a way of understanding humanity. He describes cinema as "the most complete art form. It combines photography, writing, sound, music, movement, speech, color, and much more." This complexity is what drives him in his passion for filmmaking. He states that it is "a very powerful tool for both social change and documenting important, globally-connected, human values." This belief is seen through his projects as he creates films that disrupts the current system, gives rise to marginalized voices, and prompts viewers to see the world differently.

After graduating from UMBC, Zion chose to take a gap year to dedicate it to perfecting his craft. During this time, he improved his extensive portfolio in which he was shooting music videos, taking still photos and wrote articles for the website Screen Spec. The year served as a time for creative freedom while polishing his skills in the career he wants to pursue. His work paid off as he was accepted into Howard University's Graduate Film Program, one of the top and respected MFA programs in the country and is an HCBU. He is on track to graduate with his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Spring 2026. During that time he has written and directed multiple short films and worked in every department in order to expand his view of filmmaking. 

While working on his masters, he is also working as a graduate assistant and teaches two undergraduate film classes at Howard University. He creates the curriculum for both classes in hopes to inspire his students to improve their craft. His favorite part of the job is "being able to mentor younger filmmakers and seeing both their love for film and their technical skills grow during the semester." His teaching philosophy reflects his own personal standards in film. Being critical, intentional, and lastly passionate. 

Zion started his college career at Howard University then transferred to UMBC saying it was his first choice for a college. What he learned at UMBC shaped the person and professional he would become. UMBC changed his global perspective on media through a respect for intercultural communication, and he learned that media is a powerful tool for political and social change. He thanks the MCS program for teaching him to look beyond the broader sense of media and to look at media with awareness of its history in historical context, political impacts, and identity. He said that certain classes did change his perspective on media. He said that "MCS 311 'Films of Resistance' started me on a path of subversive and revolutionary filmmaking by exposing me to films made outside of the traditional Hollywood model." He also said that capstone classes like MCS 399 and 499 with Professor Fan Yang and Dr. Elizabeth Patton opened his mind "to how the history of media and communications is paired with progressive politics." He learned from many MCS theorists such as Marx and Engels, Bell Hooks, Stuart Hall, Antonio Gramsci, Laura Mulvey, Marshall McLuhan changed his perspective on how he consumes media and forced him to look at it more actively rather than passively and to create products that promote positive radical change. One highlight in his UMBC career was he was featured on UMBC's episode of The College Tour on Amazon Prime, which was his first experience seeing professional filmmakers in action. It reaffirmed his passion that he wanted to be behind the camera creating his own stories.

When asking Zion about a piece of advice he would give to MCS students that want to work in filmmaking, his answer is a simple one: "Just start." He emphasizes that filmmaking comes from the individual, not what equipment they have. "Don't worry about your camera's quality or working with a big time actor," he says. "Focus on finding your own unique voice and way of seeing the world, then translate that into images." Lastly, he shares a phrase that was given directly to him from legendary filmmakers: "Tell your grandma's story." So what does this mean exactly? It means to "not shy away from your background, create stories from your own cultural context that are important to you and find your community. Lean on that community to find your passion and ultimately your creative voice.". In the end for Zion, filmmaking is not just the process of creating art, it's about building a connection with the viewers through a collected vision, and he hopes to do that in many films in the future. 

By: Jacey Lizer
Photo Credit: Holly Avella

Meet Dr. Holly Avella, the newest addition to UMBC's Media and Communication Studies department! She works effortlessly to bridge psychology, counseling, media theory, and all the ways technology makes us feel. With a Ph.D. in Communication, Information, and Media from Rutgers University and a background in counseling, psychology, and media studies, she brings a grounded approach to digital mental health. Her research explores mood-tracking technologies, digital therapy, AI support tools, and everything in between. 

She previously taught communication and media psychology while working as a counselor, and she realized media "was such a rich and fun way to examine our thoughts, feelings, practices, and the cultures through which we experience them." What is most fascinating is how naturally she is able to blend her counseling experience with media theory. She mentioned how popular culture and pop psychology are powerful influences; they quietly shape how people understand themselves, their feelings, and decide what "healthy" looks like.

Dr. Avella decided to pursue a Ph.D. in media studies because to her, she can get some really important questions about the world, not to mention she simply loves studying media. While she has always gravitated toward mental health, her academic focus sharpened around the relationships media technologies and emotions can have, especially as they play a huge part in mental health. 

It's interesting to see how she uses her background to open up bigger questions, and not reduce media behavior. "I liked that I could do broader kinds of analysis with media research than how media affects or works with individual psychology. Having studied psychology has always informed the way I think about media." What she's really interested in is what happens when media becomes a part of pop psychology, and how platforms start mediating information and emotion. "I started asking questions about the portrayal of psychology in media—entertainment media, social media, journalism, advertising—and how the attempts to mediate our emotions and mental health through media/technologies shapes our lives, society, and worldview." A lot of people scroll past "TherapyTok" but Dr. Avella uses media study to "contextualize TikTok trends historically, politically, economically, and culturally in some fascinating ways." Lately she has been studying the phenomenon of AI chatbots that are encouraging delusions, which is often referred to as "AI psychosis." It'll make you rethink every AI therapy you've ever seen.

"Social media has encouraged discussion of mental health in some great ways that help people feel like they are not alone." Many users discover a language they never had offline, but she sees a shift in viewing suffering through the lenses of individual diagnoses, she worries that obscures bigger social and environmental contributors. In this way, medical mental health messaging becomes consumer marketing. 

Dr. Avella hopes her students leave her courses loving media and seeing it in new and exciting ways, while also forever looking at it with a critical eye. Her first semester at UMBC, fall 2025, she is teaching Intro to Media and Social Media. In spring 2026 she will be adding Public Relations. "Once you learn about public relations, you'll start seeing it everywhere!" She said someday she'd love to teach a course in media and mental health/wellness, even though she integrates it into many of her classes. Dr. Avella hopes to be here for a long time, "it is such a great collaborative atmosphere… I love to see how supportive everyone is of each other in the classroom, and also how they challenge each other."

In order to take care of her own mental health, she prioritizes sleep. She also loves walks around campus, usually with a podcast. If you've ever spotted her power walking around, that's her recharging! Then there's her puppy, who is making "the aforementioned unwinding and care pretty difficult." She also admitted she enjoys scrolling social media and can say it's research. 

"I would love to meet more MCS students. Come by my office or stop me to chat!" Given how engaging and thoughtful she is, I can't imagine anyone regretting taking her up on that. Welcome Dr. Avella, it's a pleasure to have you as a part of our UMBC community! 

By: Mika Lopena
Photo Credit: Chung Wei Huang

No creative journey looks the same between two people, and Professor Chung Wei Huang is no exception. Growing up in a small but lively town in Taiwan, she was surrounded by an environment shaped by curiosity and learning. Her mother worked as a middle school teacher, her father was employed at a telecommunications company, and young Chung Wei spent much of her childhood reading. "I'm gonna be a writer!" she remembers thinking as a kid, long before she discovered filmmaking. What began as a love for reading would eventually spark a career built on storytelling in many forms.

During her undergraduate years at National Taiwan University, Professor Huang majored in international business while completing an art and design certificate. Although her major was practical and academically focused, she felt an early pull toward creative expression. A study abroad program in Spain transformed that interest into something deeper. She enrolled in pre production and development courses taught by American professors and realized that these classes aligned with her passions in ways her previous film studies courses never had. Her time in Spain made filmmaking feel real, and made the idea of pursuing it long term begin to take shape.

After returning to Taiwan, she gained her first industry experience as a script supervisor on the TV drama I Love You So Much. The position gave her valuable insight into the production world, but it came with heavy demands. She worked six and a half days a week under intense pressure and very low pay. Entry level jobs in Taiwan's production industry were notoriously difficult, and even though the role opened doors, it was not sustainable. Leaving the job was a turning point. It pushed her toward what she truly wanted: a chance to study filmmaking in America.

This decision brought her to Temple University's MFA program in Film and Media Arts, where she earned the Presidential Fellowship. Her time at Temple not only strengthened her skills but also expanded her creative identity, shifting her interest from documentary work toward narrative filmmaking. She later began exploring experimental forms as well, including dance for the camera, blending movement, emotion, and storytelling in new ways. After marrying and moving to the Baltimore area for her husband's long term job, she found the opportunity to teach at UMBC.

Now a lecturer in the Media and Communication Studies Department, Professor Huang teaches filmmaking, screenwriting, and media literacy. "I love being able to teach screenwriting in a very hands on way," she shared. She appreciates the supportive environment of her colleagues and the chance to work closely with students who are finding their voices as storytellers. Coming from a film school background, teaching in a communication studies program introduced her to new ideas and broadened the way she thinks about media. "I now pay attention to a wider range of disciplines," she said, reflecting on how the transition has shaped her approach as both a filmmaker and educator.

Her creative accomplishments reach far beyond the classroom. Professor Huang's films have screened at major festivals such as the Cleveland International Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, VC Film Festival, The Female Eye Film Festival, and the Maryland Film Festival. She received the Rubys Artist Grant for her film "Days without End" and funding from the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund for her short film "Squeegee Boy". She has also been a semifinalist for the Sondheim Artscape Prize and a Baker Artist Award winner.

Most recently, "Squeegee Boy" is concluding its international festival run at the Byron Bay International Film Festival in Australia, where it is featured in the festival's High School Program. This milestone highlights not only the global reach of her work but also the film's ability to resonate with younger audiences, reflecting her commitment to stories about lived experiences, social issues, and personal perspective.

Looking back at her undergraduate years, she remembers the excitement of curating an art exhibition for her art and design certificate program, a project called Doppelganger that involved securing a historical building and finding local artists to contribute. She also recalls a "work and travel" summer in California that left her with a strong impression of life in the United States and influenced her desire to stay. "Traveling in California gave me a really good impression of my future prospects," she said. "I wanted to stay in the U.S."

Her advice for students today is simple and heartfelt. "Studying is important, but try different things and make new friends. It's one of the most important things in undergrad." And when asked to summarize her entire journey in a single sentence, she chose words that reflect every twist, risk, and leap she has taken.

"Follow your heart."

Applications are now being accepted for the Center for Social Science Scholarship Summer Fellowship.  The purpose of this fellowship is to support significant social science research by tenure-track or tenured faculty in the UMBC College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, resulting in a submittable product by December 2026.  Up to two fellows will receive a $6,000 award during the summer of 2026. 

CARAT, the CAHSS Creative Achievement & Research Administration Team, invites CAHSS faculty to participate in an individual Mini Consultation on Wednesday, February 18 or Thursday, February 19. CARAT's Research Development team will be available to discuss your research/creative achievement project ideas (at all stages). 

Reserve a mini consultation session by February 13: https://forms.gle/SJ83nfWvqyumUfL7A. 

We will confirm with a time and Webex link (if online). Consultations will be scheduled in the order in which they are received, and a waitlist will be available.

You can make a consultation appointment (15 minutes, one person per slot) on either February 18, from 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. (virtual or in person in Public Policy, room 451), or on February 19, from 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (virtual only). Arts faculty should request February 18 only. Humanities and Social Science faculty may request either day.

• February 18: 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. (Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences) Meeting slots: (1) 11:30-11:45; (2) 11:50-12:05; (3) 12:10-12:25; (4) 12:30-12:45). Indicate a first and second time preference, and whether you would like to meet in person or on Webex.

• February 19: 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Humanities, Social Sciences) Meeting slots: (1) 1:15-1:30; (2) 1:35-1:50; (3) 1:55-2:10; (4) 2:15-2:30). Indicate a first and second time preference. All sessions will be on Webex.

Questions? Contact Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director for Research Development   rbruba1@umbc.edu

Not available for a mini session? Contact Sara Qureshi, Sr. Specialist for Grants and Research Development, saraq1@umbc.edu or visit our Pre-Award Services page to complete a consultation request form.  

Note: If you have already identified a funding opportunity and would like to begin an application, please complete a proposal development form on the Pre-Award Services page to request pre-award support. We look forward to working with you at all stages of your research and creative achievement process.

Have you been seeing more announcements or emails related to AI tools or usage on campus?Do you have questions regarding the recent guidelines that were shared on the use ofartificial intelligence (AI) tools in the classroom? Would you like your voice heard, or would appreciate having student perspectives brought to the forefront of these conversations relating to AIpolicy and guidelines? 

The AOK Library would like to hear from you! If you would like to come together in a safe space to discuss AI use on campus, please stop by room 259 in the Library for two student only, student focused, in-person listening sessions happening Wednesdays (please see dates and times below and in our events page). Faculty will not be present, and conversations that occur within the space will remain anonymous to protect students' identities. All majors are welcome! 

There will be free pizza and drinks, and participants will be offered the chance to grab free swag, in addition to bonus library privileges! 

Session 1: Wednesday, February 25th, 12:00pm-1:00pm (Room 259)

Session 2: Wednesday, March 4th, 12:00pm-1:00pm (Room 259)

We encourage students interested in participating to add the individual events to their calendars!

These listening sessions are supported by the AOK Library, in partnership with Computer Science & Electrical Engineering, Information Systems, and the Dresher Center for the Humanities. We thank you for your support!