Want to turn your 'To-Do' list into a 'Done' list this Friday?

Join us to learn more about WAGs and how we can help you achieve your writing goals! 

GEARS and AOK Library presents Writing Accountability Groups for Spring 2026! 

• What: Writing Accountability Groups (WAGs) are voluntary and facilitated by fellow UMBC graduate students.
• Who: WAGs are composed of a group of graduate students (usually 4–8 participants per group) interested in developing writing habits and accountability.
• Why: Develop habits of writing every day for a short, manageable period of time by setting goals and being accountable to WAG peers.
• When: WAG groups meet once a week for 60–90 minutes for 10–12 weeks. The group finds a weekly time mutually convenient to all group members.
  
• Where: The group decides on a mutually convenient location to meet, whether in person or online via WebEx or another videoconferencing platform.

Were you a participant in a TRIO program (Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services, McNair Scholars, Veterans Upward Bound, or Educational Opportunity Centers)?
If so, and you now work or study at UMBC, we want to hear from you!

February 28, 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of National TRIO Day, and as part of our celebration of these transformational programs, we hope to build a network of TRIO alumni on the UMBC campus.

UMBC's Office of Academic Opportunity Programs (AOP) is gathering the names of UMBC faculty, staff, and graduate students who are TRIO alumni from across the country. Whether your journey began in high school or college, your story is proof that TRIO Works — and we want to celebrate it.

Complete the short form here: TRIO Alumni at UMBC Google Form
(Please use your UMBC email address when submitting.)

Your responses will help us:

• Highlight the legacy and impact of TRIO programs across UMBC

• Build community among TRIO alumni on campus

• Inspire current TRIO students by showing them what's possible

Let's show just how far the TRIO network reaches at UMBC!

Apply to present your research or creative work at URCAD by Monday!

Come celebrate URCAD's 30th anniversary on April 22, 2026! 

The event will be moving to a bigger space in the RAC… how do you see your work being presented there? 

Posters, oral talks, films, exhibits, and performances are welcome. URCAD is open to all majors and group projects are accepted. You can present your capstone, Honors thesis, REU research, or you can be unaffiliated with a scholars program. 

Applications to present mentored research or creative work are due by February 23rd and require a 200-word abstract and mentor approval. See you at the RAC as we showcase UMBC student research and art and throwback to where it all began in the 90s!

Questions? Email: aprilh@umbc.edu

Two rooms available in a quiet, safe neighborhood close to UMBC.

Available Rooms:

• $500/month – 10x 8 sq. ft. room (lower floor) 

Shared Amenities

• Fully equipped kitchen

• Living room, dining room, and deck

• Centralized A/C and heat

• Laundry (washer & dryer)

• High-speed internet

• Water, gas, and electric included in the rent

Location:

• 1-min walk to UMBC shuttle

• 3-min drive to UMBC

• 5–10 min walk

• Very quiet and safe area

Details:

• 1-month security deposit required

• Looking for long-term tenants

Email: 5121westland@gmail.com

This semester's Culture Conversations are designed to bring staff and faculty together to reflect, share experiences, and explore how relationships shape campus culture. Through facilitated conversations, this series will create spaces for collective sensemaking around connection, care, and belonging in our everyday work.

Session Descriptions

1. Engaging Digital Spaces: Join us for an interactive, conversation-driven exploration of how digital environments can strengthen community, expand access, and support more affordable and inclusive engagement on campus.

Facilitated by Dr. Olivia M. Copeland

Olivia M. Copeland (she/they) is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas. She has worked across higher education contexts, from residential curriculum to LGBTQ+-centered work. Their scholarship centers on the role of identity, power, privilege, and digital spaces in the lives of undergraduate students, using critical interdisciplinary frameworks. View event details here: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doie/events/149150

2. Sustaining Transformative Relationships: Join us for a facilitated conversation on cultivating relational practices that strengthen connection, reduce harm, and support more sustainable ways of working together.

Facilitated by Janine Silvas

Janine Silvas (they/them/theirs) is imagining what abolitionist praxis looks like in higher education and in daily life. A fat, queer, nonbinary Pilipino American doctoral candidate in Higher Education at the University of Arizona, they write from over a decade in residence life and student affairs, alongside commitments to care, relationality, and justice. Their current work illuminates how student affairs professionals navigate carceral logics and seek more just ways of being with one another. View event details here: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/doie/events/149151

Register for sessions here: https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9YzNS55VsUBvkuG

To request accommodation(s) or to inquire about event accessibility, please get in touch with each program office directly. All sessions are open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal or state law and the University's nondiscrimination policy.