Meet Lola Akinmade Åkerström ‘98, M.S. ‘02, award-winning visual storyteller, international bestselling author, and travel entrepreneur. Originally a geographic information systems professional, she eventually made the shift to rely on her passport and storytelling skills to travel the world. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Lonely Planet, Forbes, and many more. She has collaborated with commercial brands such as Dove, Getty Images, Mercedes Benz, and National Geographic Channel, to name a few. Take it away, Lola!

Q: Tell us about your current job. What do you want Retriever Nation to know about you?

A: As an entrepreneur, I run the Stockholm-based creative storytelling agency Geotraveler Media and online academy, Geotraveler Media Academy, which runs photography experiences around the world and is dedicated to visual storytelling and helping the next generation of travel storytellers put the heart back into the craft.

I am honored to be one of Condé Nast Traveler‘s 2024 “Most Powerful Women in Travel.” I’m also an award-winning visual storyteller recently shortlisted for the Global Peace Photo Award and an international bestselling author.

My book, Due North, received the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Best Travel Book. I am also the author of the international bestseller LAGOM: The Swedish Secret of Living Well, available in over 15 foreign language editions. My internationally acclaimed novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black, was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, Apple Editors’ Pick, Amazon Editors’ Pick, Independent UK’s “Best Thought-provoking Story,” and was shortlisted for the Bad Form Review Book of the Year. My latest novel, Everything Is Not Enough, is an NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literature, Jennette McCurdy Book Club Pick, and a Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Amazon Editors’ Pick, among others.

Q: What is your WHY? What brought you to UMBC?

A: My WHY really is to fight isolation within my sphere of influence by using my work to make people feel seen, heard, and acknowledged through cultural connection. But I didn’t always start out in the creative industry.

I started at Montgomery College, in Rockville, Maryland, a few days after I turned 16 years old. After a year, I transferred to UMBC to study information systems, while minoring in geography.  I got my bachelor’s from UMBC at the age of 19.

Pictured left: Lola holding an issue of UMBC Magazine in the snow, next to a reindeer.

Q: What are some long-term takeaways from your years at UMBC?

A: My time at UMBC remains one of my most memorable life experiences—from joining the women’s rugby team and African Student Association (ASA) to getting into geographic information systems (GIS) through my minor in geography and meeting my favorite math professor, Manil Suri.

Q: What’s your favorite part of being a part of Retriever Nation?

A: UMBC helped tease out my passions and true career paths. Once I graduated, I went on to specialize in GIS, first as a programmer, and then as a system architect for 12-plus years before switching to my current career as a visual storyteller. 

Many Nigerian parents have a cultural mindset that feels being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer means their children have become successful. Understandably, my parents were worried when I decided to freelance full-time as a writer and photographer. Ultimately, they both wanted me to be happy. Now they are my biggest fans.

As a storyteller, I have been featured on Condé Nast Traveler‘s 2024 Women Who Travel Power List. I was named one of the 2023 Most Influential Women in Travel by Travel Pulse, a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine, and the 2018 Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year. I was also honored with a MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent) Award within media and culture in 2018, and with a Newsweek 2021 Future of Travel Award – Storytelling.

Q: How have you stayed connected with the UMBC community?

A: Through the lifelong friendships I’ve created in both the rugby team and African Student Association that has seen us through marriages and children too. I am still in contact with some of my former colleagues and fellow students from the geography department as well. 

My days with UMBC rugby led me to form the Dayton Women’s Rugby Club, which previously had only a men’s team. I walked onto the field and said, “I’m here to help you start a women’s rugby team.” Their expressions were priceless. It became my international community in Dayton and the team went on to win their division and develop some of the best rugby players in Ohio. 

I then went on to play for an elite team in Northern Virginia before relocating to Sweden. 

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: Once a Retriever, always a Retriever. As an example, from taking Professor Manil Suri’s calculus class in 1996 to still connecting with him in 2024 over social media is a testament to the lifelong impact the incredible people I’ve met through my UMBC community have made on me.

Pictured right: Lola’s UMBC women’s rugby jacket.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

On a warm and humid day in January, about 40 children, five teachers, and 10 volunteers spill out of a school bus at the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam—one big bundle of anticipation, full of chatter and bounce. The children, who live at a home for orphans and rarely get opportunities like this, are especially excited. 

The busload fans out across the zoo in small groups led by enthusiastic college student guides, searching for answers to “challenge questions” that encourage them to learn about the animals. The trip, envisioned and organized by rising senior Nhi Nguyen—an international Vietnamese student at UMBC—is one of her many endeavors to use her talents to serve others. When the groups reconnect over lunch, they share what they learned. Most groups managed to complete the vast majority of the challenges, and the children’s curiosity and imagination inspired even more questions. Finally, exhausted but happy, the group piles back into the bus and heads home. 

Our “presence matters”

Nguyenhas made it her mission to find ways to improve others’ lives, whether through conducting cancer research in Chuck Bieberich’s lab at UMBC or at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, proposing a winning project to increase the availability of freshwater for agriculture, or supporting Retriever Essentials at UMBC. She also tutors in the Academic Success Center and Chemistry Tutorial Center and serves as the vice president for the Biology Council of Majors. The zoo outing, organized under the auspice of ToTheZoo, a non-profit Nguyen founded, was one of her most ambitious endeavors to date. She hopes to repeat it in the future.

Nguyen’s personal journey has inspired her efforts to serve others: An evolutionary biology class at UMBC helped her overcome depression by opening her eyes to the miracle of every human being. After the class, “I was more thankful to be born as a human with unique value and identity,” she shares, noting the lengthy evolutionary process required to arrive at Homo sapiens and the originality of every human. “I hope people around me will feel the same way I did,” she says, “that their presence matters, and their existence is invaluable.”

Taking children to a zoo—where they could explore the variety of living things found on Earth—was a natural fit. The project satisfied both of Nguyen’s goals: “to make people aware of their wonderful existence through biology knowledge and to inspire people to pursue education.”

A driving force for good

There were plenty of challenges in organizing the event—everything from building trust with the children’s shelters in Vietnam, to recruiting volunteers and fundraising—but Nguyen persevered with the support of mentors at UMBC. Ariel Barbosa, program coordinator for Retriever Essentials, provided guidance for starting up a new organization, grounded in Barbosa’s own experience growing Retriever Essentials at UMBC. Maria Cambraia, assistant director for research and international affairs in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS), also offered support as Nguyen’s mentor through the CNMS Scholars program.

“As an international student—she moved by herself to the U.S. when she was only in high school!—Nhi’s journey has given her a unique perspective on life,” Cambraia shares. “This experience has instilled in her a strong sense of compassion and a genuine desire to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Her ability to empathize with people from all walks of life is truly remarkable and serves as a driving force behind her endless dedication to helping others.”

Making the world brighter

In the future, Nguyen says she would like to organize a similar trip or an in-house science fair for children at The Children’s Home, which is less than two miles from UMBC. As a biochemistry and bioinformatics double major, she is also hoping to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. so that she can continue to contribute to biomedical research and education and inspire the next generation of young people in the sciences. 

As a believer in the butterfly effect, Nguyen says, “I think even my small actions can help light up a person’s day, or I can inspire others to bring positivity into the world.” In the end, her philosophy is simple, and she strives to live it every day: “This world would be brighter if people helped other people a little and appreciated what they have.”

Anil Shaji was pretty content going to UMBC for classes and returning to his home in Elkridge, Maryland, as soon as his academic obligations were over. Until one day, a notice on myUMBC caught his eye—the Career Center was organizing an exploratory trip to Morgan Stanley for potential interns that week. As a senior studying political science, Shaji had originally imagined a role for himself at a security agency or somewhere in politics, not a financial institution. But expanding his perspective, he stepped out of his comfort zone and thought, “Why not take the trip?” 

Shaji took a UMBC bus with about 20 other interested students and spent the day chatting with Morgan Stanley recruiters about what the three-month, full-time paid internship would look like. Shaji went home and quickly updated his resume, completed a virtual interview, and submitted his application. Later, Shaji was invited to SuperDay, where top candidates undergo multiple rounds of interviews with the firm. Eight months later, he’s wrapping up his placement as an operations summer analyst in Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities group and he sees a viable future using his major in a financial services career.

“There are multiple paths—many that are not linear—to get to your longer-term goal,” says Marykate Conroy, associate director of internships and employment in UMBC’s Career Center who often coaches students through the internship application process. “Diverse experiences also may open doors for students that they didn’t even see as possible.”

Hundreds of Retrievers are completing internships this summer, putting their skills to use in real life settings and trying out roles in industries they might want to pursue after graduation. Many of these students are discovering how their goals could be supported and strengthened by an internship not originally on their radar.

Looking for creative freedom

When Kayla Moore saw a LinkedIn post advertising a graphic design internship for the communications department at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), she was initially hesitant to apply for several reasons. Moore, a senior studying visual arts, was aware of Johns Hopkins, but didn’t know anything about APL, and she was nervous about the communications-side of things—would she be required to write? She didn’t see what she did yet as a designer as a way of communicating content to an audience.

She went into her internship search “wanting to find something in the middle of having creative freedom and being structured. And this role has been ideal,” Moore says. So far, she’s designed graphics for papers, posters, and her favorite project—a sticker for a company family fun day. She pitched the design as a “draw your own picture” sticker that includes an APL logo or phrase, and to her surprise, that’s what the team went with. 

The biggest skill she’s learned so far? Communication, she laughs. In past roles, she says, she’s finished her design and passed it along to her supervisor or professor and that was it. At APL, “I have to talk to at least four or five people before anything goes to print,” says Moore. “Someone reviews my design and offers feedback; someone checks for spelling. And then I need to talk to the print shop and ask if things look good. So communication was definitely the biggest thing that I’ve learned in order to make sure I’m not slowing down the process to get a project out.”

Let your motivation lead you

Misan Ayomike is spending the summer at the University of Chicago in an economics internship with Pietro Veronesi, a preeminent economist and a dean at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The catch? “I’m not really that cognizant in the econ field,” Ayomike freely admits. “I’m an information systems major senior.” But Veronesi was open to any major “with strong quantitative and analytical backgrounds” and good references to work on his project researching the R&D costs for oncology, and Ayomike knew she’d get what she wanted out of the internship—feedback on her own ongoing research project. 

Left: Headshot of Misan Ayomike. Right: Ayomike at the Leadership Alliance Conference after presenting her own research project conducted during her internship at the University of Chicago. Photos courtesy of Ayomike.

When Christine Routzahn, director of UMBC’s Career Center, brought this opportunity to Ayomike, she jumped at the chance to earn a sizeable stipend, experience life in a different city, and have dedicated time and feedback while conducting her own manual and statistical review on how accurate and efficient Chat GPT’s 4o AI model is at reviewing and replicating data from annual reports of pharmaceutical companies. The internship, coordinated through the Leadership Alliance, culminated in a conference where Ayomike presented her work. 

Ayomike’s advisor Bill Ryan, a lecturer in information systems, was one of her references when she applied. Looking back, he knew she’d be a good fit because “she liked and enjoyed research, as well as understood and sought out articles of interest in her topic areas,” he says. “This opportunity would provide her with that research opportunity and to also demonstrate some of the learning she’s done in information systems. It was an opportunity to pull everything together that motivated her.”

Relying on different strengths

Within his major, Shaji says, his favorite classes have been intelligence-based or about international relations, so originally he thought that meant pursuing an internship at a place like Northrop Grumman or the CIA. But after visiting Morgan Stanley, he saw the social sciences connection. “The banking industry is heavily regulated and there are laws in place that banks need to follow, so what Congress passes affects the firm as well as the clients.” 

For Shaji’s role at Morgan Stanley, he’s looking at new types of data every day. “When we lend securities out to hedge funds, we need to observe whether they’re in compliance—whether Morgan Stanley is properly making those transactions or actions—and we’re ensuring that we’re following all protocols internally as well as with government regulations,” says Shaji. “We are working to ensure that the numbers are all adding up correctly as they should.”

Shaji’s biggest takeaway from Morgan Stanley was how necessary voices are from all perspectives. “When you bring in a group of people who are quantitative majors or political science majors and art majors and you put them into a group,” he says, “they can truly build out some awesome solutions to existing problems. But it requires all those different perspectives—all those different strengths—put together.”

Right: Anil Shaji in the offices at Morgan Stanley in downtown Baltimore. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC).

No such thing as a “perfect internship” 

While some students may have difficulty thinking about options other than their ideal placement, says Conroy in the Career Center, eventually students become excited about the increased options and opportunities that won’t throw them off track with their future goals. “The pressure to get the ‘perfect internship’ is released,” she says.

Moore, at APL, was excited to dive into the world of digital design but says she knows now she wants to explore positions that also let her work with her hands. When thinking about advice for other Retrievers looking for internships, she says, “Think about it as an extended job interview—there’s always a chance you can get hired on afterward, but also it’s an experience for you to see if you actually really like this industry.”

Ayomike concluded her internship by presenting her own research at a Leadership Alliance conference in Harford, Connecticut. Thinking back over her summer at the University of Chicago, she says, “I hadn’t ever really thought of going into econ or research, so this experience broadened my field of thinking. I learned about a lot of things I did not know that I did not know.”

A few weeks into her summer internship with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, rising senior Ortisemoyowa “Moyo” Ikomi, chemical engineering, attended an event celebrating a milestone in the company’s construction of a new drug manufacturing plant in Rockville, Maryland. During the event, the organizers played a video featuring a young girl whose seemingly terminal cancer was cured with immunotherapy drugs—the same type of drugs that would be manufactured in the new facility.

“This girl was in hospice care, at home with her family who thought they might just have to wait for her life to end, and this drug gave her a new lease on life. It drove home for me how important this work is, and how I would love to keep working in the pharmaceutical industry,” says Ikomi.

Ikomi landed her internship with AstraZeneca after talking with a company representative at the UMBC Career Fair. She worked on the company’s management of the planned Rockville plant, investigating a software tool that could track construction progress.

“It’s not traditional chemical engineering, more within the realm of project management of large-scale engineering projects. I’m definitely enjoying it,” Ikomi says. “I’ve learned so much during the internship. The experience has made me think I’d like to continue working in the engineering project management sphere.”

Ikomi credits the UMBC Career Center with supporting her throughout her internship application process—consulting with her on application timelines, uncovering resources for finding job openings, and offering tips for honing her resume and interviewing skills. “They offer an invaluable service,” she says. “Even more students could benefit from using them.” 

Ikomi, who came to UMBC from Lagos, Nigeria, says she arrived thinking she wanted to be a scientific researcher. When she realized basic research wasn’t the best fit for her, faculty and fellow students listened as she talked through her dilemma and offered advice on other options. She found that her true passions lay in shepherding discoveries from the lab to the wider world, where they could directly impact people’s lives.

Since that celebration event at AstraZeneca, Ikomi says she often thinks back to the video of the young girl who was cured of cancer. “When I think of this internship as a whole, my mind always goes to that experience. That moment crystallized that this type of work is what I want to dedicate my career to.” 

With plans to become a professional photographer, Luna Siesko, a rising senior in visual arts, has already generated an impressive portfolio of work, ranging from portraiture to landscapes to event photography. But Siesko knows that in order to succeed as an artist, in today’s world, that also means succeeding as a small business owner—promoting herself and her work in the marketplace.

For Siesko, a summer internship at the Baltimore County Arts Guild (BCAG) in nearby Catonsville provided a key opportunity to broaden her skills, expanding her background in social media, website posts, space management, and event planning, developing capabilities that she feels will ground her in the future. “I’ve always had this dream of having my own studio space, and some sort of exhibit space for my work,” Siesko says. “And so this internship has been really applicable to that—making sure that the space is managed and accessible, and everything is running smoothly.”

Young artists like Siesko who study in UMBC’s dance, music, theatre, and visual arts programs often choose to establish themselves as independent practitioners, whether performing on stage, creating artwork, or expressing their work in other ways. Siesko says this will allow her to continue doing what she loves: “I just really enjoy working with people and being able to capture how multifaceted people can be.”

Engaging the community in the arts

A special focal point of Siesko’s work this summer was promotion of BCAG’s Arts & Drafts Summer Music Festival, held at Guinness Open Gate Brewery in late June. “A lot of the work I’ve been doing for them I would consider to be outreach work,” Siesko shares. “So I’ve been making posts on their website and doing social media. And for Arts and Drafts, I voiced a video, a little commercial they made to promote the festival.”

Established in 2012, the non-profit Baltimore County Arts Guild fosters the arts throughout Baltimore County, and is also the managing entity of the Catonsville Arts District, which is centered along downtown Frederick Road. “Luna’s creativity always shines through in her work,” says Gloria Fajimolu, programs and events manager at BCAG, who supervised Siesko’s internship. “Throughout her internship, she’s engaged with clients for rentals, liaised with contractors, established connections with a myriad of businesses, and fostered collaboration with talented artists.She’s always exploring new ideas and growing, despite any challenges along the way.”

Two untitled portrait photographs by Luna Siesko, courtesy of Siesko.

On campus, Siesko has been able to hone her skills through work at commonvision, UMBC’s print and design center, where she has focused on event photography and videography—images of people on campus and signature events such as Homecoming and Quadmania, as well as helping film a promotional video for the Woolies at UMBC.

Looking forward to what comes next

Siesko gives a special shout-out to the Career Center, where she  found her summer internship opportunity. “My first two years at UMBC I didn’t really go to any career fairs, because I wasn’t sure what I was looking for at all. But then I went to one to try to find an internship, and that was very helpful to me,” says Siesko, “and that’s how I am where I am now.”

After graduation next spring, Siesko plans to continue work as a freelance photographer, basing her work in the Baltimore area. “I’ve really fallen in love with the arts scene, and have met a lot of great people here,” she says. “I can’t imagine myself ever being too far away from Maryland.”

In early August, 124 students from seven states and the District of Columbia participated in UMBC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF), sponsored by the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS). The students came from UMBC and other universities, community colleges, and three high schools, and they presented 106 posters and gave six “lightning talks” about research projects they completed over the summer. Almost all participants had completed their research under the mentorship of UMBC faculty.

CNMS Dean William R. LaCourse encouraged the students to carry their experience at UMBC with them after the summer ends. 

“I hope this summer has lit a flame of passion that will drive you to greater undertakings, accomplishments, and accolades. I hope that you did it all with joy and wonderment,” LaCourse said in his opening remarks at SURF. “It has been our privilege to host you here at UMBC—your spirit is an inspiration to us all. We hope that UMBC will always be a part of you.”

A grand scholarly community

SURF included student researchers involved in 14 different programs, such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute HHMI Scholars Program, Beckman Scholars Program, National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and National Institutes of Health-funded research opportunities such as the U-RISE program and the National Institute on Drug Abuse internship.

Student projects included research on cancer biology, neuroscience, alternative energy, machine learning, and so much more. In addition to the presenters, their mentors, and members of the UMBC community at large, CNMS invited faculty members at other institutions affiliated with UMBC’s Build a Bridge to STEM Internship program to bring their students to SURF. Prince George’s Community College brought 15 students to observe, learn, and be inspired.

The student research on display at SURF impressed Provost Manfred H.M. van Dulmen. “I truly enjoyed learning more about all the research being conducted on campus this summer, including how experimental research with flies can improve people’s lives,” van Dulmen shared after his first experience with SURF. “I loved talking to several students and learning about how their research experience plays a critical role in their education and prepares them for their future journey.”

Preparing students for their next steps is exactly what LaCourse hopes summer research and SURF will accomplish. “This event defines the summer STEM experience, where the focus is on high-quality STEM classes, opportunities for research and applied learning experiences, and building a strong scholarly STEM community,” he says. “By practicing and applying the skills of performing research this summer, you follow in the footsteps of great scientists and researchers—making you part of a grand scholarly community, and a community of support.”

“What did you say?” is the phrase most likely to be heard when you’re walking the halls at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) and the answer is most likely drowned out by a cacophony of barks, meows, and even some bird chirps. But Liz Willman wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As most animal lovers do at some point in childhood, Willman decided she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. But unlike most kids, it wasn’t just a phase for this rising senior. That passion for pets brought her to UMBC—where she’s pursuing a major in biological sciences on the pre-vet track—and she’s honed her animal care skills as far as Scotland and as close as BARCS, just a few miles down the road from UMBC.

Dog days of summer

After starting as a volunteer dog walker at BARCS in fall of 2022, Willman accrued experience and staff there asked her to consider moving to the next level of volunteering. But she countered with the request to find an internship opportunity working with their medical professionals. They accepted, and in January 2023, Willman was able to start getting  hands-on experience in her field. For the last several months, Willman has been continuing her work with BARCS medical staff with one short break to  to work with animals across the pond as well. 

“The best part for me is getting to see an animal come for intake on their first day, and then seeing the progress they make,” she says. 

Left: Willman takes a minute to give Ovenmitts (with her extra thumbs!) some love. Right: Willman reviews daily medication and the animal schedules with a BARCS staff member. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

Each day, Willman performs a variety of tasks, including distributing medication, checking weights, collecting samples, and more. The staff at BARCS have been especially supportive, taking care to seek out Willman and offer opportunities for hands-on learning. 

“Any time they see something that might interest me, they come find me,” she says. “They know I plan to go on to veterinary school, so they’ve been taking the time to teach me how to do a lot of things vet techs struggle with.” 

Taking to the sky

In addition to her classroom education and work at BARCS, Willman spent six weeks this summer interning with the Scottish National Wildlife Rescue Center. When Willman originally approached UMBC’s education abroad office, trying to find summer trips with a pre-vet focus there wasn’t an existing program, but the office worked with her to find one that would fulfill her requirements. 

Photos of Willman with the animals she worked with in Scotland, courtesy of Willman.

During this time abroad, Willman worked to rehabilitate birds that were injured or abandoned by their parents when they were still too young to care for themselves, performing daily exams and helping to build their strength to prepare them to return to the wild. This experience abroad was one with several firsts for Willman, including her first time leaving the country and her first foray into working with wildlife. 

“It wasn’t only a new experience for me to be working with wildlife, but it was also wildlife that you don’t see in the U.S., like finches native to the United Kingdom,” she says. 

Returning to Maryland this summer, Willman had both her work at BARCS and her own family zoo waiting for her. It’s no surprise an interest in caring for animals hits close to home for her—especially considering her family home in the outskirts of Frederick County has goats, sheeps, dogs, pigs, chickens, and even a registered emotional support turtle named Rumpelstiltskin who accompanies Willman to campus. But her internship experiences added an extra boost in confidence.

“It has just really reaffirmed that I’m not just trying to live out my childhood dream,” says Willman. “I’m meant to do this.” 

Peter Wilschke ’24, economics and political science, hit the ground running after graduation in May, beginning a two-year research assistant position at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. He is working on the quarterly Z.1, a report on the financial assets and liabilities, transactions, and balance sheets for households, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Additionally, Wilschke assists economists with research projects. For Wilschke, these tasks are a welcome set of challenges—he thrives on long-term projects that combine both his majors and allow him a level of independence he nurtured successfully at UMBC.

Just weeks before graduating, Wilschke’s article “Political Drivers of State Fiscal Cyclicality” was accepted for publication in the State and Local Government Review, the official journal of the Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management of the American Society for Public Administration. Wilschke published as the sole author, which is rare for an undergraduate researcher.

A few weeks after graduation, Wilschke was celebrating again. This time, with his teammates Arvind Kuruvilla ’25, financial economics and philosophy, and Matthew Dyson ’25, political science and computer science. Their paper, “Improving American Retirement Prospects: Policy Solutions for the Financially Fragile,” was one of two winning submissions chosen by the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) 2024 iOme (I Owe Me) Challenge national student competition. It was the first time in the 20 years since the challenge was established that two teams held the winning title. UMBC’s trio of undergraduates proudly shared the spotlight with the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business graduate student team.

While these accomplishments came one right after another, Wilschke has been successfully merging his two passions—political science and economics—for some time.

“Once you take statistical analysis and research methods classes in economics or political science, your world is open to how empirical research is actually conducted in those fields. I would not have known where to start without these classes,” says Wilschke, the 24th recipient of the Pittman Family Scholarship, established in 2006 by Kenneth Pittman ’79, economics, and Patricia Pittman ’78, political science, who shared Wilschke’s majors.

“Peter’s accomplishments and that of his colleagues at UMBC are very impressive,” says Kenneth Pittman.“Congratulations to everyone on the iOme team!”

With a little help from my mentors

His desire to see the impact of policy for the long haul keeps Wilschke open to inspiration. A couple of years ago, Wilschke attended the economic department’s Mullen Lecture, presented by Carlos A. Vegh, the Fred H. Sanderson professor of international economics at Johns Hopkins University. Vegh discussed his research on how fiscal policy is conducted over the business cycle in developing and developed countries. What intrigued Wilschke was how developed countries contract their fiscal policy when the economy is doing well and expand fiscal policy during an economic downturn while developing countries do the exact opposite. He wondered if individual states reflected similar cycles and, if so, whether other factors influenced the expansion and contraction of fiscal policy. 

“I explored whether and how political factors—political polarization, turnover, and electoral competition—work to explain why some U.S. states tend to spend more in good times and less in bad times, unlike the federal government,” says Wilschke, who presented the paper at UMBC’s 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. 

This was Wilschke’s first time leading a research project. “I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into,” says Wilschke. He shared the idea with Carolyn Forestiere, professor of political science and his professor of research methods, and she connected him with Eric Stokan. 

Stokan, associate professor of political science and now Wilschke’s mentor, says he enjoyed working with Wilschke weekly for over two semesters, which helped him think through all aspects of the work. He taught Wilschke R, a statistical computing and data visualization programming language. Stokan also suggested pieces of literature on the topic, which helped Wilschke think through the operationalization of his variables and analytic specifications and framing policy. 

“For each session, I would consistently say, ‘Okay, your next step should be X,’ and he would have done X, Y, and Z,” says Stokan. “It was amazing. Peter learned R more quickly than anyone I have ever met.” Wilschke adds, “It was very helpful to have a mentor who had gone through this process multiple times before.”

“Eric and I encouraged Peter to submit his work to a professional journal,” says Forestiere. “We figured that it would be a learning experience even if it were rejected.” They were all delighted when the journal—which only accepts about 14 percent of submissions—asked Wilschke to revise and resubmit. “We were ecstatic when it was finally accepted for publication!”

WISER choices

Doug Lamdin, professor of economics, mentored Wilschke,Kuruvilla, and Dyson to the finish line of the WISER iOme Challenge. The competition raises awareness among university students about the impact of retirement security on society’s social and economic well-being. Students nationwide respond to the annual iOme Challenge question with a policy paper. This year, students were asked to imagine that Congress named them to an independent commission on retirement, with instructions to re-evaluate and modernize the retirement system from the perspective of Gen Zers (those born between 1997 and 2012).

“I put the team together,” says Wilschke. “I knew Matthew from classes and volunteering at UMBC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance club, and Arvind was a co-worker of mine in the Admissions Office. It was a lot of fun to work with them and much easier with three people than it would have been by myself.”

Lamdin has ushered four iOme winning teams through the process, starting in 2018 with Evan Avila ’18, economics and political science, now a financial analyst at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avila has served as a co-moderator for the iOme winner’s presentation for the last two years. Lamdin’s mentoring approach—based on guiding mentees toward independence—has stayed consistent since he first mentored Avila. Lamdin assists them in developing a timeline for producing the essay by the due date that aligns with the judging criteria and provides students with background reading materials. From there, Lamdin steps back, trusting the team to work independently, with weekly check-ins to monitor their progress and provide feedback on their drafts. 

Lamdin notes that Wilschke was proactive and professional. He appreciated his ability to find relevant research, interpret data, and consider new possible retirement policies. 

“It is a rewarding experience for the students and me, so I hope to continue doing it,” says Lamdin. “I have never had a team I mentored not win, so maybe I will stop doing this when the winning streak ends—kidding, sort of.”

Motivation to follow a hunch

While Wilschke was conducting his research for his papers, he was also interning at The Hilltop Institute at UMBC, a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people and communities. He worked for Morgan Henderson, principal data scientist and affiliate professor of economics, and Morgane Mouslim, policy analyst, on a research project funded by the National Science Foundation on hospital pricing transparency. His two-year internship entailed helping to organize data collected from hundreds of hospitals and writing a news brief, “The Impact of Market Concentration on Hospital Pricing,” and presenting it at URCAD 2024. 

“Peter is an excellent researcher who helped our hospital price transparency project significantly over the past two years,” says Henderson. “The quality of his work is top-notch—we predict that he’ll go far.”

Wilschke did not plan on contributing empirical research to the field of political science as an undergraduate student. Looking back, he is grateful for the classes and opportunities UMBC afforded him that prepared him to follow a hunch. Wilschke said that he felt that some students don’t look forward to statistical analysis or research methods classes in economics or political science because they’ve heard the classes can be difficult and may appear irrelevant at the moment.

“Most of what I accomplished as an undergrad was something I had to decide I wanted to do without having anyone to tell me I should do it,” explains Wilschke. “I’ve learned how far I can go if I try everything I can think of. It gives me motivation and a little bit of pressure to keep up that level of work throughout my time at the Fed Reserve and, hopefully, in grad school.”