Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

The UMBC Alumni Association is pleased to offer scholarships to outstanding current UMBC undergraduate students. This year, the Alumni Association was proud to award scholarships to four deserving students. Eligible students may apply for general and legacy scholarships worth up to $1,500. Applicants for general scholarships must:

Be a rising senior scheduled to graduate in the 2011-2012 academic year

• Have completed at least one semester of study at UMBC
• Have earned a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher
• Have unmet financial need

Applicants for the Legacy Scholarship must:

• Be the child or grandchild of a UMBC graduate
• Be a degree-seeking undergraduate student with at least 45 credits
• Have completed at least one semester of study at UMBC
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Demonstrate campus or community leadership and involvement

The 2011-2012 winners are…

Melanie Dell ’12 (Legacy Scholarship), English
Melanie has a passion for knowledge and encouraging others to pursue research. As the editor of the UMBC Review: Journal of Undergraduate Research, she reads, selects and edits undergraduate research papers from various disciplines. She has also worked at the Catonsville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library for more than five years, which has helped her in identifying her own career goals. Melanie plans to pursue a master’s degree in Library and Information Science, with a goal of attaining a managerial librarian position in a prominent public library system. Her father is Dwayne Dell ’82 Visual & Performing Arts.

Jatnna Fortuna ’11, Psychology
Jatnna is currently an AmeriCorps member, working with middle school students who have been identified as high risk for gang involvement. She teaches life skills, tutors these students, monitors their grades, and serves as a role model for them. After graduation, she would like to work as a school social worker while also earning her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work, helping to fill the need she sees for more mental health professionals in the schools.

Gift Jayakar ’12, Biology
Gift keeps himself busy with involvement in the Tennis Club, Relay for Life, Student Government Association, and many service-learning experiences through The Shriver Center. Underlying all his involvement is a deep interest in helping others and effecting change in the community. Gift has completed more than 800 hours of community service during his five semesters at UMBC and plans to continue this service through the rest of his time here. He plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2012, with a career goal of becoming a cardiologist.

Paige Khoury ’12, Dance
With a dream of becoming a professional dancer, Paige will graduate in May 2012 with a degree in dance and a minor in psychology. She is a Linehan Artist Scholar as well as a resident assistant and Community Action Board member through Residential Life. Being a resident assistant has helped Paige develop a strong desire to help others, especially those going through difficult times. Within the year following her graduation, she hopes to join the Peace Corps or the Mennonite Volunteer Service in order to serve others abroad before continuing on toward her goal of dancing professionally.

Learn more about the scholarships or make a gift to support them!

In The Daily Record‘s inaugural year of recognizing Maryland’s top “Twenty in Their 20s,” three UMBC alumni made the list. Eduardo Gonzalez ’06, attorney with Hearne & Bailey in Salisbury; Aaron Merki ’05, associate with Venable LLP in Baltimore; and Alicia Wilson ’04, associate with Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC in Baltimore, were selected by The Daily Record staff for this recognition. Honorees were chosen on the basis of professional accomplishment, civic involvement and impact of achievement. According to The Daily Record, “the program celebrates the best and brightest under 30…whose creativity and spirit are already contributing to a new energy in Maryland.”
Learn more about the awards and see video from the recent awards ceremony.

The UMBC Alumni Association is pleased to offer scholarships to outstanding current UMBC undergraduate students. This year, the Alumni Association was proud to award scholarships to four deserving students. Eligible students may apply for general and legacy scholarships worth up to $1,500. Applicants for general scholarships must:

Be a rising senior scheduled to graduate in the 2011-2012 academic year

• Have completed at least one semester of study at UMBC
• Have earned a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher
• Have unmet financial need

Applicants for the Legacy Scholarship must:

• Be the child or grandchild of a UMBC graduate
• Be a degree-seeking undergraduate student with at least 45 credits
• Have completed at least one semester of study at UMBC
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Demonstrate campus or community leadership and involvement

The 2011-2012 winners are…

Melanie Dell ’12 (Legacy Scholarship), English
Melanie has a passion for knowledge and encouraging others to pursue research. As the editor of the UMBC Review: Journal of Undergraduate Research, she reads, selects and edits undergraduate research papers from various disciplines. She has also worked at the Catonsville Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library for more than five years, which has helped her in identifying her own career goals. Melanie plans to pursue a master’s degree in Library and Information Science, with a goal of attaining a managerial librarian position in a prominent public library system. Her father is Dwayne Dell ’82 Visual & Performing Arts.

Jatnna Fortuna ’11, Psychology
Jatnna is currently an AmeriCorps member, working with middle school students who have been identified as high risk for gang involvement. She teaches life skills, tutors these students, monitors their grades, and serves as a role model for them. After graduation, she would like to work as a school social worker while also earning her master’s degree in Clinical Social Work, helping to fill the need she sees for more mental health professionals in the schools.

Gift Jayakar ’12, Biology
Gift keeps himself busy with involvement in the Tennis Club, Relay for Life, Student Government Association, and many service-learning experiences through The Shriver Center. Underlying all his involvement is a deep interest in helping others and effecting change in the community. Gift has completed more than 800 hours of community service during his five semesters at UMBC and plans to continue this service through the rest of his time here. He plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2012, with a career goal of becoming a cardiologist.

Paige Khoury ’12, Dance
With a dream of becoming a professional dancer, Paige will graduate in May 2012 with a degree in dance and a minor in psychology. She is a Linehan Artist Scholar as well as a resident assistant and Community Action Board member through Residential Life. Being a resident assistant has helped Paige develop a strong desire to help others, especially those going through difficult times. Within the year following her graduation, she hopes to join the Peace Corps or the Mennonite Volunteer Service in order to serve others abroad before continuing on toward her goal of dancing professionally.

Learn more about the scholarships or make a gift to support them!