Welcome back, Retrievers!

Another semester means another opportunity for you to support your classmates who are struggling to eat while they're on campus.

The Save a Swipe Program provides free meals to True Grits for students who have been identified as food insecure by trained staff. Are you struggling to eat while you're on campus? Email retrieveressentials@umbc.edu to see if you qualify.

Did you have extra meals left on your meal plan last semester? Consider signing up to donate 5 or 10 meals from your meal plan to Save a Swipe to help a classmate in need. Last semester 280 meals were donated which were able to feed 23 food insecure students. Help us reach and surpass those numbers this semester!  Consider doing your part in helping Retriever Essentials bridge the gap between hunger on campus and academic success by signing up to donate online from now until 2/15/19.

Donated meals will be distributed to students in need through Counseling Services to be used in True Grit’s. 225 Block meal plans will have 5 or 10 meals deducted when you sign up. Recurring meals per week (Flexible 10, 14, Terrific 12, Savvy 16) will have one meal deducted each week starting February 25th-May 6th. Ultimate Meal Plan holders will be donating their Friday lunch meal, students on the Ultimate will not be able to use a meal from 11:00 am - 4:00pm on Friday. Ultimate plan holders can still use their flex, Retriever Dollars or food funds. By donating these meals you agree to this form, these meals are non-revocable once submitted. You may sign up during the beginning of the semester until the drop/add date (February 15th, Spring 2019).

• GAO found that there are nearly 1 million college students at risk of becoming food insecure, marking the first time the federal government has acknowledged food insecurity on campus in a significant way.
• The federal government spends billions of dollars on higher education each year, and this report finds that some students are at risk of dropping out because they cannot eat.
• “[The report] put it very clearly for us that we can see that especially first-time students, first-generation students, students who are raising children, single parents, face increasing obstacles to be able to complete that critical college degree,” Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate’s education committee says.
•  Middle-class students, those who are “too rich for Pell and too poor to afford college,” struggle as well. And they may not be as likely to use things such as the food pantry.
• Murray says that addressing food insecurity is one of her top priorities as Congress negotiates a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the major federal law governing colleges and universities. “Often, we just talk about the tuition costs and dealing with that,” she says. “It has to be broader than that— [it has to be] all of the costs that come to a student as they try to complete college, including food and housing.”
•  Sara Goldrick-Rab, a higher-education professor at Temple University and a leading scholar on campus hunger, put it more bluntly. The report shows “that food insecurity is a college-completion issue,” she says. “We’re undermining our federal investment in financial aid by not paying attention to this. We have to stop pretending like living expenses are not educational expenses.”

Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for how you can help support Retriever Essentials as we begin taking steps toward institutionalization and securing sustainable support for our students years to come.

About NREL

At NREL, we focus on creative answers to today’s energy challenges. From breakthroughs in fundamental science to new clean technologies to integrated energy systems that power our lives, NREL researchers are transforming the way the nation and the world use energy.

More on their link: https://www.nrel.gov

“Join us in building a clean energy future. At NREL, you’ll discover how you can make a difference in the world while also growing professionally. We combine our mission with our heart, making NREL a place where you can grow your passion inside and outside the lab.”

More information about opportunities at NREL: https://www.nrel.gov/careers/discover-nrel.html

Active job opportunities (last checked January/2019):

• Postdoctorate – Chemical/Mechanical Engineering for Thermal-Fluid Modeling
• Postdoctoral Researcher – Buildings Materials and Thermal Science
• Post Doctoral Position in Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue Analysis
• “Commercial Buildings Research Engineer – Energy Modeler” (Los Angeles)
• Graduate Intern Position in Solar Collector Optical Characterization using Image-Processing
• Geothermal-Modeling and Simulation Scientist
• Building Research Engineer – Electrical Power Systems
• Researcher – Control and Optimization
• Post-Doctoral Researcher –Development of system engineering tools for wave energy converter applications
• Post-Doctoral Researcher – Structural and Mechanical Engineer in the Water Power Program
• Postdoctoral Researcher – Design and Systems Engineer in the Water Power Program
• Postdoctoral – Integrated Transportation-Energy Systems Modeler

“Students Maya Hanna, MPH, and Juan-David Rueda, MD, received the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research’s (PHSR) Student Travel Scholarship to present their research at the 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting in Europe. Other PHSR awards to graduate students included the Harris Zuckerman Scholarship to Yoon Hong, PharmD, the Donald O. Fedder Memorial Fellowship to Jacquelyn McRae, PharmD, and the Dr. Arthur Schwartz Memorial Scholarship to Chengchen Zhang, MPH.” (pages 8-9)

Please see page 16 regarding our STAR-PREP Fellows. This is outstanding news!

More about this message from the Presiden in the December 2018 edition at the following link: https://www.umaryland.edu/media/umb/president/the-presidents-message/2018-19/December-2018.pdf