This past summer, WTCI launched its newest professional development program for college students, Global Pathways for Students (GPS). Partially funded by visionary founder and former McCormick & Co. executive Jim Albrecht, GPS aims to connect 25 globally-minded college students to international corporations in the region. We are seeking your help to identify students who are goal-oriented, professional, open-minded and have a passion for global work, and ask that you share this opportunity with those who meet these criteria.

 

The GPS Program is designed to prepare Maryland college students for the competitive job market upon graduating. By leveraging our vast regional network, 25 top students from various universities around the region will have the opportunity to get their foot in the door of nine different globally-minded companies, jumpstarting their professional network. Concurrently, this cohort of students, deemed Albrecht Fellows, will strengthen their professional skills through a series of supplemental development workshops.

 

By participating in GPS, Albrecht Fellows enhance their network and global knowledge, become more marketable, and increase their likelihood of being hired upon graduation.

 

Candidate Pre-requisites:

·         Must be a rising sophomore, junior, or senior

·         Must be able to participate in full 10-day program, from Wednesday, May 29^th to Friday, June 7^th

·         Program fee of $250 (Need-based scholarships are available)

 

Students can apply using the following link: http://www.wtci.org/gps/apply/.

Congratulations to the following faculty, students, and alumni for their recent accomplishments! 

Matt Baker, Geography and Environmental Systems, discusses the flooding in Ellicott City and stormwater management. With new plan on pause, Ellicott City business owners feel stuck (WTOP)

Amy Bhatt, gender, women's, and sexuality studies, discusses her new book High-Tech Housewives: Indian IT Workers, Gendered Labor, and Transmigration. H-4 and H-1: Time for Indian immigrants to speak up on immigration policy, says author Amy Bhatt (The American Bazaar)

Chris Curran, Public Policy, discusses the final report of The Federal Commission on School Safety. Recommendation to Give Teachers Guns Misses the Mark (The Globe Post)

Erle Ellis, Geography and Environmental Systems, shares the latest climate change research on the impact of humans on the environment. How 300 Years of Urbanization and Farming Transformed the Planet (City Lab)

Felipe Filomeno, Political Science, wrote a piece about the range of forces impacting migration. “Who is responsible for migrants?” (The Conversation and Houston Chronicle)

Carolyn Forestiere, Political Science and her coauthor Filippo Tronconi (U. of Bologna) have recently edited an issue of the journal Contemporary Italian Politics. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Brian Grodsky, Political Science, discusses the impact of the growing protest movement in Bosnia. Could Mysterious Death of Student be the Spark that Sets Off Bosnia (The Globe Post)

Erica Lozy, Psychology, and Jolene Sy, Psychology, recently published an article in #JABA. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

Roy Meyers, Political Science, weighs in on the history of federal government shutdowns: Shutdowns Are ‘All Games of Chicken.’ Here’s How They’ve Evolved (The New York Times) and This Friday, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss their first paycheck (Vox)

Kerwin Miller, Political Science, has been named to the Harford County District Court bench.

Gov. Hogan names Kerwin A. Miller Sr. to Harford County District Court bench (The Baltimore Sun)
Meredith Oyen, History, took part in a “US-China 2018 Year in Review: A New Cold War?” Panel at the Kissinger Institute.

Colin Studds, Geography and Environmental Systems, worked with a team of researchers to discover the full life cycle of a dragonfly.  Dragonflies Embark on an Epic, Multi-Generational Migration Each Year (Smithsonian)

Claire Welty, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, and Chris Swan, Geography and Environmental Systems, reflect on the work that has happened and the future of funding for the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. Science foundation cuts 20-year-old Baltimore ecological study’s funds (Bay Journal)

James C. Willett, Jr. '05, Economics, noted as a rising star in law firm. Semmes Bowen attorneys (Daily Record)

The Women's Center is excited to announce that the Returning Women Students Scholarships Application for 2019-20 is now available. The deadline for submission has been extended to the end of the business day on Friday, April 5th. 

This common application enables eligible students to apply for more than one of the Returning Women Students Scholarships using the same application. The four available scholarships are:

• Charlotte W. Newcombe Scholarship & The UMBC Scholarship for Mature Students
• AEGON Scholarship
• The Richard & Roselyn Bryson Neville Memorial Fund for Returning Women Scholarship
• The Rosalie Tydings Business and Professional Women’s Scholarship

All undergraduate students over the age of 25 and with at least 60 credits may be eligible. You must be completing your first undergraduate degree. Each scholarship has additional eligibility requirements which can be found on the common application instructions. 

The application is attached to this announcement (click on the download document button below). Please be sure to read over the eligibility requirements before applying. 

If you have any questions concerning the application process or the scholars program requirements, please contact the Women's Center director, Jess Myers, at womenscenter@umbc.edu. 

We will also be hosting 2 different information sessions in the Women's Center related to the application process and scholars program requirements on: 

• Tuesday, February 12th from 4-4:45pm OR 
• Monday, March 4th from 12-12:45pm

Each year, applicants submit applications with errors that often impact their consideration for a scholarship. We highly encourage all applicants to attend an info session before submitting their application. If you cannot attend one of the sessions in person, a live-stream option will be available via Facebook Live. Please contact the Women's Center for more information. 

Applications are due now due Friday, April 5th, 2019. 

A post curated by Women’s Center director, Jess Myers.

Last week, the Women’s Center celebrated our Returning Women Student Scholars graduating this semester at our pinning ceremony. This event has become a tradition in the Women’s Center as a means to celebrate our continuing and graduating returning women students who are UMBC students 25 years and older seeking their first undergraduate degree. These students are called “returning” because they often have various circumstances that have kept them from what our popular culture deems as a traditional college path and they are now “returning” to college to pursue their degree. Student scholars in this program not only receive scholarships to help financial supplement their tuition, but also benefit from tailored support and programming from Women’s Center staff through individualized meetings, programs, and events that meet the specific needs of older students on campus. Each year we have between 20-25 scholars and affiliates participate in this unique program.

Returning Women Student Scholars celebrating the end of the semester and our December graduates at the pinning celebration.

Anyone who has spent time in the Women’s Center knows that working with this special group of students is one of my favorite experiences in my role as director of the Women’s Center. It is with great joy that I invite you to join me in celebrating these fantastic students and their accomplishments. Below are some of our graduating students who in their own words share what they were involved in at UMBC, what’s next for them after UMBC, and some sage advice for other adult learners. Happy Graduation!!!

Ariel Poirier

Ariel and Jess at the Returning Women Student Scholars pinning celebration

I became a full-time student at UMBC in the fall of 2016. Before this I was working through my associates at AACC and completed that with a degree in general studies and photography. My major at UMBC and what I’ll be graduating with is environmental studies and geography! I’m so excited to finally end this long journey to my Bachelor’s degree.

My future plans are to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I had a great experience interning with them last summer in Jacksonville, Florida. I also plan on returning to school within the next few years to earn my Masters degree in ecology.

My advice to returning women students is to connect with your professors! I had such great relationships with my professors and that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been bold and introduced myself. This goes a long way with building a rapport and establishing trust. Another thing I would say is to try not to become discouraged! You’re here for a reason!

Laura Newman

Laura and Jess at the Returning Women Student Scholars pinning celebration

I was a UMBC dropout in 2004 when I could not continue as a student. I spent years struggling with mental health issues and my family has told me how they had thought I would never be capable of going to school again. A genetic test called GeneSight helped determine what medicine to take and I quickly began to recover. I went to communtiy college for a semester and got As and gained confidence to return to UMBC. My grades have been above 3.5 my whole time here. I am proud to be graduating and already employed full time. I hope to be an inspiration to anyone who has struggled with the balance of mental health and school.

My advice to returning women students is to connect with the Women’s Center which provided me amazing professional development support for me as I began to transition into a full career. Additionally, the scholarship program provided me additional financial support and helped me work an internship that led to an awesome job. The Women’s Center had helpful workshops, including salary negotiation and helpful tips on Google apps. I was surprised how much I learned!

Lauren Hall

Lauren and Jess at the Returning Women Student Scholars pinning celebration

Stay tuned for more from Lauren in her own words. In the meantime, let’s celebrate Lauren who is graduating with a degree in English Literature. We’re excited that Lauren will be staying on campus as she pursues a Masters in the Art of Teaching for secondary education beginning this spring. Happiest of birthdays to her son who is very excited to be celebrating his birthday on Lauren’s graduation day!

For more information about the Returning Women Student Scholars + Affiliates program, visit the Women’s Center website. Returning Women Students at UMBC are also encouraged to join the group’s Facebook group.

Moms and parents who plan on using the Women's Center lactation room throughout the winter term are encouraged to reserve their preferred reservation times. 

All parents who reserve times will be added to the lactation room google calendar and a group email list in order to support communication and best navigate multiple people using the space. 

Reservations are not required but are highly recommend for parents who plan on using the lactation room on a regular basis throughout the January term. Due to the Women's Center being open during limited times throughout January, it is important for parents to communicate with the Women's Center about needing access to the room to ensure entry. 

For questions and concerns, stop by the Women's Center during our hours of operation, give us a ring at 410-455-2714, or send us an email at womenscenter@umbc.edu.  Parents are also encouraged to join the myUMBC Moms + Parents group. 

About The Internship

Senator-Elect Clarence Lam seeks a Communications and New Media Intern to assist his office with its legislative, constituent outreach, and community advocacy activities.

We are seeking a highly motivated individual who is familiar with all forms of media and social broadcast services and is comfortable working with digital media files, navigating and uploading them to content sharing and social media sites, and video production.

The ideal candidate has good research skills, is adept at using multiple social and traditional media platforms, and can create social media infographics and charts using the Adobe Creative Suite of design products or similar programs. In addition, the candidate should be a good writer, and have some experience working on a website’s back end content management system (CMS) -- Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Wordpress, etc. Successful applicants are people-oriented and excel in roles that call for imagination, rigor, attention to detail and creativity.

Direct responsibilities of the intern include the composition and scheduling of daily postings, general maintenance and upkeep of the Senator-Elect’s online presence. The intern will also perform social media outreach, manage and update the Senator-Elect’s social bookmarking and networking site accounts and profiles (ie Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and on our website. Intern will also assist in drafting and designing a weekly newsletter to be sent to constituents. Depending on experience with web-based systems and graphic design applications and coding knowledge and interest, the intern will have the opportunity to work with our design team on the rebuilding and rebranding of our website and other social media design activities.

Applicant should have experience with video production and editing, or willingness to learn need skills. Intern will be responsible for recording videos to be posted on the Senator-Elect’s website and social media platforms. Experience with adobe premiere or other similar software preferred.

Intern will receive a stipend to assist with transportation expenses.

Requirements

We are seeking an intern to work from January 9, 2019 to April 9, 2019. Number of hours per week is flexible, with a minimum of 8-16 hours per week preferred. Internship will be located primarily in Annapolis.

Application Process:

Please send cover letter and resume (which includes the name of your institution and expected date of graduation) to Clarence.Lam@house.state.md.us. Please put “Communications Internship” in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

About Senator-Elect Lam

For the last 4 years, Senator-Elect Lam has been working to build an open and accountable legislative and community advocacy agenda that protects people and advances our state and local priorities. He believes strongly that an active and informed citizenry is one of the ways we create a just and democratic society in which every individual can thrive. Toward that end, Senator-Elect Lam wants to ensure that his constituents in the 12th District and across the state of Maryland understand the vital role of government; we produce and disseminate educational tools and communications materials that are resources for policymakers, the media, advocacy groups, community organizations, and the public, as well as materials to demarcate and explain Senator-Elect Lam’s legislative priorities.

Russia has begun actively interfering in US democracy, but what do you 
know about the country? As the Mueller investigation appears to be 
coming to a close, time to learn more! POLI 475 - Russian Politics - is 
being offered in January as an online class and still has space! No 
prerequisites - we'll start building your knowledge on Russia with the 
assumption that the country is new to you. Questions? Contact Dr. 
Grodsky, bgrodsky@umbc.edu.