Testimony by Assistant Director of Retriever CARE Brandyn Holtzinger, entitled, “From Gut Instinct to Objective Decision-Making: How NABITA Transformed My Approach” was published on the National Association for Behavioral Intervention Association (NABITA) website on May 5. Three years ago, the Retriever CARE team partnered with NABITA and its parent organization, TNG Consulting, to adopt a more evidence-based approach to their work. NABITA’s experts conducted a complete policy and program review, led customized case management training, and provided ongoing consulting support. 

Holtzinger said that this led to a complete change in staffs’ approach, ensuring the work was more student-centered and visible. “...we changed how we present ourselves and engage with the campus community. To better reflect our supportive mission, we rebranded from the Behavioral Risk Assessment and Consultation Team (BRACT) to Retriever CARE. This change shifted how students perceive us. 

“We also introduced a streamlined, anonymous referral form and began specific outreach to students. As a result, we have seen a significant increase in student self-referrals, which were once rare. Our total case volume has more than doubled in two years, showing that people are finding us more easily and allowing us to provide support sooner. Consequently, we have seen a decrease in high-acuity cases, suggesting our proactive approach is working. Our team structure has also evolved. Following BIT Standard 5: Team Membership, we expanded from three people to a multi-tiered system with core, inner, and outer circles. This structure now includes representatives from Residential Life, the Academic Success Center, the Provost’s office, Human Resources, the Office of Equity and Civil Rights, UMBC Police, Student Conduct and Community Standards, the Graduate School, Accessibility and Disability Services, Financial Aid, and the Office of International Students and Scholars.” Holtzinger also shared that Retriever Care plans to fund a database update in the near future.

Holtzinger added, "This shift has made our work more proactive, visible, and impactful, and our efforts were even recognized as a success during our recent Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation review.”

Learn more about the Dean of Students office and Retriever Care.

Finley Bandy spent last summer in the cool temperatures and dim light of UMBC’s Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery Special Collections—the perfect environment to preserve rare books, photographs, manuscripts, archives, and artifacts. As part of UMBC’s 2025 Co-Lab interdisciplinary undergraduate summer research program, Bandy learned techniques to produce “Special Collections 101”, an informative video about how to use the resources in the collections. Bandy also loves being surrounded by thousands of historical narratives and working with Special Collections staff Beth Saunders, associate director and curator, and Lindsey Loeper, reference and instruction archivist. The infinite possibilities housed in Special Collections and the people who ensure historical narratives aren’t forgotten have inspired Bandy to join the cadre of museum and archive professionals. 

“I was accepted into UMBC’s master’s program in historical studies,” says Bandy. “I love the process of using my historical and archival research to write about what I’m finding so that other people are aware that this piece of history exists. That’s why I want my master’s research to be an online exhibit that is accessible to the world.”

Museums and archives are only two of Bandy’s passions. When Bandy transferred to UMBC from Lamar Community College in Colorado, they brought their love of Russian language, history, and culture, and their deep love of Baltimore City.  

Q: Did you come to UMBC already knowing what you wanted to study?

A: When I started at UMBC, I was all set to learn Russian and study Soviet history, but then I decided to go broader and major in history. I did finish all the Russian language courses, so I can speak Russian. I’m still interested in Russian history, and I love Russian music. I really love the language and like Eastern European culture.

Q: Where does your passion for Russian language and culture come from? 

A: In my community college, I took a 20th-century world history class, and learned about the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991. A lot of the history really broke my heart. It made me want to learn more about it. I took a lot of Russian history classes and started reading Russian and Soviet literature. I really love how unique it is. 

Q: Is there a modern piece of Russian culture that you enjoy, or are you focused on the history?

A: I think it’s really interesting to see how Soviet culture is beginning to meld with Western culture.

Soviet rock bands are really, really cool. There’s this great rock band that has been around since the ’70s called Akvarium or Aquarium. They were underground for a long time due to the war. I listen to them a lot. There’s also a current pop musician named Monetochka. She’s really cool. 

I’ve never travelled abroad or have a passport, but one day I would like to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg, and travel all over Eastern Europe and the Balkans. 

Q: Do you have a community to speak Russian with and immerse yourself in Russian culture?

A: Yes! UMBC’s Russian Club is a really tight-knit group. In the past, we hosted many holiday celebrations. In post-Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe, they still celebrate Christmas, but New Year’s is celebrated more because during the Soviet era, atheism was promoted and New Year’s didn’t have religious ties. Towards the end of the fall semester, we organized a giant Novy God [New Year’s] celebration. And then in the spring, we celebrated Maslenitsa. In the Russian Orthodox Church, this is the last week to feast before a period of fasting that ends at Easter. We also hung out a lot and talked about different Eastern European cultures. It’s called the Russian Club, but we have students from all over Eastern Europe—Ukraine, Armenia, and Belarus. 

Q: Why do you love Baltimore City?

A:. Even though I was in Colorado for community college, I spent a lot of my childhood in Baltimore City because my grandmother worked in the city and my mom lived there. I have a connection to Baltimore, but I never really knew its history. I took “The History of Baltimore” at the Lion Brothers Building downtown. Every week, we took field trips to historic sites in Baltimore City to connect what we were learning with real-world experiences. 

Q: Why did you change your major from Russian to history, and who has inspired you in this path?

A: I decided to switch majors from Russian to history while doing research in Professor Melissa Blair‘s “The History of Baltimore” class. It inspired me to pivot and focus my work on Maryland’s transportation history. The experiential learning and field work inspired me to better understand Baltimore and its history. I think Baltimore is a very unique city with a rich history that is often ignored by the historical record. I enjoyed interacting with other public historians and museum professionals within the city through that class.

I’ve also worked a lot with Professor Nicole King in American studies—I took her “Preserving Places, Making Spaces in Baltimore” class twice. In 2025, we worked with the Poppleton Now Community Association and the Southwest Partnership Historic Preservation Committee on a Public History and Preservation Study. It included my research on the “Highway to Nowhere,” a 1.4-mile stretch of U.S. Route 40 in West Baltimore, built in the 1970s, that ends abruptly. The highway cuts off a section of Poppleton, one of the city’s oldest historically Black neighborhoods. We also created an online story map. 

Q: Why are you passionate about transportation equity?

A: I don’t have a car, so I rely on Baltimore’s terrible public transportation. I love public transit, and I need it to be better. In the Baltimore history class, I realized the bus schedules, the bus routes, and the history of highway construction in the city have limited transportation, not expanded it. I conducted research with American studies Professor Michael Cassiano, my public humanities advisor. I presented my research, “Our City Is a City Without an Expressway: A Historical Review of Transportation Injustice in Baltimore City,” at URCAD. I’m interested in exploring these topics in my master’s program. 

Q: What is a challenge that you love?

A: I love creative writing. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I think it’s a natural segue into history, because history is narrative-based. It’s very humanistic. I won’t say it comes naturally to me. It takes me probably an hour to write a sentence because I overthink my word choices a lot. But I love using language to evoke certain feelings and really press home on an idea. I try to choose the right word to fit what I’m talking about and its context. I also try to support students in the writing process as the History Student Council president. Last semester, we organized a bi-weekly writing group to encourage community and motivation within the major.

Q: What advice do you have for undergraduate and transfer students?

A: For undergraduate students, I would say to be realistic. Don’t put too much on your plate. That’s been the biggest challenge for me. I’ve been suffering a lot of burnout, because, in addition to my classes, I am a teaching assistant for “Introduction to the University for Transfer Students.” I started getting better at saying no to things. I encourage students to get out there, explore new things, but also recognize their limits. Prioritize making space for something that brings you joy.

For transfer students, I would say time management. Most of us work full-time or part-time, are raising families, and have other commitments. We’re not fresh out of high school and can sometimes internalize a feeling of being behind or not doing college “right.” It’s important to get over that because it doesn’t really matter. When I was 18 years old, my coworker was 40 years old. They had been working for decades. Once you leave high school, age doesn’t matter the same way—people are people, and everyone is busy.  I wouldn’t focus on trying to get things done in a way that’s expected of you. Instead, focus on what you need to do to succeed.

Read more Class of 2026 stories.

The survey is still open, and we need your opinion! 

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In April, Dr. Rowena Winkler, assistant director, graduate student career development in the Career Center, and collaborator Rex Jarrett, director of professional programs in the Division of Professional Studies received the first-ever Janet C. Rutledge Graduate Student Well-Being Award! Their winning proposal, "The Dos & Don’ts of Networking," champions a human-centered approach to professional development. By replacing high-pressure tactics with low-stakes, community-based storytelling, the initiative aims to reduce "networking anxiety" for graduate students. The award funding will allow the team to scale these community-centered experiences to reach more students across UMBC. 

In June, Dr. Winkler will be heading to Sacramento, CA, to present at the Graduate Career Consortium (GCC) Annual Conference. The session, "Roots of Engagement: A Multi-Method Study on Meeting the Career Needs of Graduate Students," addresses the "Engagement Gap" — the discrepancy between student service awareness (85%) and active engagement (54%). Utilizing three years of longitudinal Handshake data and in-depth interviews with international, master’s, and doctoral students, this research offers a replicable methodology for universities to transform complex data into high-impact, student-centric interventions.

Photo caption (from left to right): Dr. Christa Porter, dean of the Graduate School; Rex Jarrett, standing next to his daughter Skylar and behind his sons Aamir and Nasir; Dr. Rowena Winkler, standing behind her daughter Kerrigan; Janet C. Rutledge, former dean of the Graduate School; and Dr. Robin Cresiski, associate vice provost of the Graduate School.

The survey is still open, and we need your opinion! 

The University System of Maryland is conducting a survey to understand current attitudes toward and opinions of public higher education in Maryland and how it is perceived to impact the state. Because you are a student at a USM institution, we would value your participation. Please consider taking a few minutes to share your opinions by taking the survey.

TAKE THE SURVEY

The survey is being conducted by our marketing partner, BVK, on our behalf. Your responses will remain anonymous and will be automatically submitted to BVK and analyzed only in aggregate with others.

The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and, as a thank you for participating, you will be given the opportunity to enter a drawing for a chance to win one of fifty $25 Amazon.com gift cards.

Review full drawing rules.

Thank you for your consideration.

TAKE THE SURVEY 

If you have questions about the survey, please send them to USMStudentSurvey@BVK.com

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Kitchen Assistant / Food Expo
$17/HR, Part-Time, Non-Exempt
Expected to work 15hrs per week, onsite.

KITCHEN ASSISTANT
$17/HR, Part-Time, Non-Exempt
Expected to work 15hrs per week, onsite.

BARBACK
$16/HR + Tips, Part-Time, Non-Exempt
Schedule varies week to week, not to exceed 20 hrs. per week.

OUR MISSION: Motor House is a creative crossroads rooted in the culture of Baltimore. We are a non profit arts hub, gallery, and performance space that encourages new visions, bold experiments, and emerging voices to celebrate the artistry of our city.
OUR VISION: Motor House envisions a world where creatives are empowered and thriving in their careers.

BARTENDER
$16/HR, Part-Time, Non-Exempt, tips
Schedule varies week to week, not to exceed 20hrs per week.

If found, please either contact me at ge50858@umbc.edu OR turn the umbrella in to the Campus Information Center (CIC) located in the Common's lobby, or the Library Circulation Desk at AOK Library, and leave a comment on this post.