STRiVE 2026 in January was the 18th year and 20th iteration of the leadership for public purpose program, hosted by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life with support from SGA. Forty three UMBC undergraduate students spent five days exploring their stories, values, talents, and identities; developing strong relationships with other members of the UMBC community; learning how to enact meaningful and sustainable social change; and leaning into their power to intentionally create empowering, connective environments in which everyone can thrive.
STRiVE 2026 was facilitated by a team of 12 UMBC undergraduate student and staff coaches trained by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. The student coaches — all of whom had participated in STRiVE in 2024 or 2025 — were Ben Bazarsuren, Carly Shearer, Francheska Burrola, Keven Guruswamy, Maryada Bhattarai, Nate Cullen, and Vannessa Morant. (Maryada and Vannessa took on special responsibilities by serving as our "site coordinators," managing materials and logistics throughout the week.)
The staff coaches were Dr. Ciara Christian (Center for Social Justice Dialogue), Dr. David Hoffman (Center for Democracy and Civic Life), Dr. James DeVita (Division of Student Affairs), Dr. Jasmine Lee (Division of Institutional Equity/Center for Social Justice Dialogue), and Tess McRae (Center for Democracy and Civic Life).
During the week, other staff members from UMBC visited the program to support the participants' learning. Angelina Jenkins (The Mosaic: Center for Cultural Diversity), Matt Hoffman (Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Pluralism), Michael Canale (Office of Student Disability Services), Dr. Ricky Blissett (Center for Democracy and Civic Life), Tiffani McGronan (Office of Health Promotion), Tori Ciorra (Student Engagement), Trentqual Rhone (Center for Democracy and Civic Life), and Wendy Low (Center for Social Justice Dialogue) served as "stakeholders" by meeting with small groups of students exploring topics of interest and concern at UMBC (Accessibility, Civic and Political Engagement, Equity and Justice, Finding Community, and Well-Being) and connecting with students as thought partners and co-creators. Blissett also co-facilitated select STRiVE sessions, and Dr. Renique Kersh, vice president for student affairs, visited to connect with and inspire STRiVE participants.
"STRiVE gave me a community unlike any I've experienced before, and I am incredibly grateful to be a part of it. Learning in STRiVE was incredibly empowering with what I've learned about myself, my place in my community, and what I can do as a leader," said Lexi Malenfant '29, computer science, one of the STRiVE 2026 participants.
The Center for Democracy and Civic Life's evaluation data from STRiVE 2026 indicates that the program was a phenomenal success. Out of 38 students who completed the program evaluation:
100% indicated that they strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement "Because of STRiVE, I feel a greater sense that I belong at UMBC." (73% answered "strongly agree" and 27% answered "somewhat agree.")
97.3% indicated that they strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement "Because of STRiVE, I feel more confident in my ability to engage in groups and communities." (76.3% answered "strongly agree" and 21.1% answered "somewhat agree.")
97.3% indicated that they strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement "Because of STRiVE, I feel more empowered to work alongside others to create positive change." (94.7% answered "strongly agree" and 2.6% answered "somewhat agree.")
100% indicated that they strongly or somewhat agree with the statement "Because of STRiVE, I feel like I have changed for the better as a person." (78.9% answered "strongly agree" and 21.1% answered "somewhat agree.")
100% indicated that they would recommend the program to another UMBC student.