UNITED Worship Night will be held Thursday, April 9th from 7:30pm-11pm in LH5/ENGR 027

The theme will be "God in our Campus"

Sincerely,

~~

Theophilus Aluko

UMBC Class of 2016

Mechanical Engineering Major

UMBC Adaptive Sports Committee

Bethel Campus Fellowship Conference rep

Hilltop Institute graduate research assistant and UMBC Public Policy Ph.D. candidate Pradeep Guin is co-author of an article recently published in the journal Health, titled Health Status and Access to Health Services in Indian Slums. The article presents the findings of a study that analyzed the status of health and access to health services among the urban poor in India, based on data from a primary survey conducted among 2000 households, covering 10,929 individuals from four cities of India. The results of the study indicate continued vulnerability of the urban poor, and the need for urgent government action. Guin presented a paper on this study at the Health Systems Reform in Asia Conference in Singapore which took place December 13-16, 2013. Citation: Gupta, I., & Guin, P. (2015). Health status and access to health services in Indian slums. Health, 7, 245-255.

Guin also presented a poster at the Association for Education Finance and Policy’s (AEFP) 40th Annual Conference on February 27, 2015, in Washington, DC, titled The Impacts of Exposure to Natural Disasters on Children’s Education and Health Outcomes. This dissertation research attempted to answer the question: Does (a) exposure to natural disasters and (b) economic losses from disasters have any impact on a child’s education and health outcomes? Guin found that there is no significant impact on a child’s outcome measures in a one-year exposure period due to various types of disasters. There is evidence, however, that disasters that lead to especially large economic losses can reduce students’ performance on math assessments.

Users of the Maryland Transit Administration's bus system will be able to track buses in their area via their smartphones and other mobile devices starting this fall, one of many changes announced Monday as part of the agency's multiyear bus improvement plan.

Riders will also see updated bus schedules, additional MTA supervisors showing up along bus routes and increased service to certain job centers, such as the rising Horseshoe Casino Baltimore on Russell Street.

The changes are part of the agency's Bus Network Improvement Project, which was launched last summer with the goal of improving service using the input of local residents. Changes under the program will be rolled out through next year, officials said.

"It's imperative that this system runs as efficiently and reliably as possible, and this comprehensive review will help us achieve that goal," said Robert Smith, the MTA's administrator and CEO, in a statement. "We will continue to work closely with riders, residents, businesses, elected officials, civic leaders and transit advocates to complete the Bus Network Improvement Project."

The initiative is part of Gov. Martin O'Malley's goal of doubling transit ridership in the state by 2020, and a response to riders' complaints that buses in the city and county are often late and sometimes never show up.

A final project report was meant to be released in April but was delayed. The changes announced Monday are the first under the stalled program to be made public.

Officials said updated bus schedules, a major component of the project, will be released Aug. 24. One change will realign the No. 51 line to service the casino. In February, a new route will service a planned Amazon distribution center in the city.

Also starting next month, the MTA will launch a pilot program intended to improve efficiency by better positioning stops, including by eliminating some. The pilot program will be tested on four local bus lines: No. 50, No. 53, No. 56 and No. 59.

The real-time bus tracking system will be available to riders in the fall, at myMTAtracker.com, and will be similar to the real-time light rail tracker launched in May.

The local bus system carries an average of 223,183 riders per weekday, the MTA said. The system has 57 routes.

krector@baltsun.com

twitter.com/rectorsun

IES Office OPT and CPT Workshop Schedule 

Spring 2014

All workshops take place in Admin 218

Immigration Options After Graduation Workshop: 

Learn from Immigration Attorney Lynn O-Brien about immigration options after F-1 status.

Monday, March 3, 12pm – 1pm, Admin 101

IES Office OPT and CPT Workshop Schedule, Fall 2013

All workshops take place in Admin 218

You did it. You’ve passed the qualifying exams and got admitted to that university abroad. You have your paper work all sorted out. You know how it works.

Now you’re in a strange land. You’re conversational with the country’s language but you’re not yet that fluent.  With all the adjustments you’ll have to make, what are the things you can do to ensure success? Here are some of the secrets of successful international students.

Make the Most out of Lectures

When attending lectures, it’s tempting to try to take note of everything the lecturer is saying. Listen carefully to the lecturer and take note only of the most important points. Don’t try to write down everything.

Find a study partner. We’re only human after all and we tend to forget a good part of a lecture. You can review the lecture with a partner or two and compare your notes over coffee. You can schedule this regularly after lectures to help your retention.

Use shorthand. Ideas are better understood when they are visualized. You can use mind maps or flow charts to better understand the lecture. This also facilitates better recall. Rewriting the lecture using your own words or summarizing it will also help you remember the important points of the lecture.

Listen for cues. Lecturers will use signpost words such as “we’ll begin with”, “next . . .”, “to summarize”, and others. Those are cues that an important point is coming up. That’s your cue to take note.

Talk with your instructors. It’s okay to ask the instructor to slow down a bit if you can’t keep up. Just remember to always be polite. Alternatively, you can record the lecture and review later with your study partner or group.

Don’t hesitate to talk to your instructors after class if there are some points that you don’t understand. Obviously, they are there to help you. They will also be extra helpful to international students like you.

Keep Your Goals in Mind

You went through all the trouble of getting admitted in a university or college in another country because you have goals. Perhaps you want a more rewarding career. Or maybe you want to learn skills that you can take back with you to your home country. Whatever your goals are, always keep them in mind.

It is particularly challenging if you have to juggle study and work. Stephen Covey has an excellent guideline on time management that everyone could benefit from. Basically, it tells you to make a list of all the things that must be done, rank them, and prioritize them according to your goals. Particularly useful is the The Quadrant Four model that categorizes tasks. A task can be 1) urgent and important, 2) not urgent but important, 3) urgent but not important, and 4) not urgent and not important. Covey advised to concentrate on the second quadrant and ignore quadrants 3 and 4.

Reward Your Self

Studying abroad is hard work. To keep on going, you need to recharge form time to time. Reward yourself and celebrate your small successes. They don’t have to be expensive rewards. Set clear study goals and reward yourself once you accomplish those goals.

By following these tips, you greatly increase your chances of success as an international student.

Author Bio

Stephanie Casidy is the managing director at Chambers Institute, an ESL school in Sydney, Australia. She studied Juris Doctor at Monash University and holds an MA degree in Biblical Studies.