Faculty and staff gathered at the Fall Opening Meeting on August 20, 2015 to celebrate UMBC’s 2014-15 accomplishments and mark the start of a new academic year. The meeting featured remarks from incoming freshman, transfer, and graduate students, a speech by Provost Philip Rous, and the annual State of the University address by President Freeman Hrabowski. Maria Packard, incoming freshman in mathematics and Sherman STEM Teacher Scholarl; Sean Radaskiewicz, incoming transfer student in visual arts; and Bridget Patton, incoming master’s student in public policy and a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow, shared their personal stories, academic interests, and what attracted them to …