Each year, the Alumni Association Scholarship program helps amazing students succeed at UMBC. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some of their stories with you. This week, meet scholarship recipient Gift Jayakar ’12.

A famous English poet/playwright once asked: What’s in a name?

For new grad Gift Jayakar ’12, his first name is so much more than a moniker. To him, “gift” is the way of life he lead as a student at UMBC — and it’s a philosophy that will follow him into medical school and beyond.

“As a son of a pastor and a public school teacher, I could have chosen a career in education or religion,” said Jayakar, who has family and friends in India. “My friend’s death in the 2004 Asian tsunami gave me a direction. I decided to pursue a career in helping people as a doctor.”

Jayakar, who majored in biological sciences and minored in sociology and emergency health services, will start medical school in India this fall, with the hope of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Uncertain about what he wanted to study at UMBC early on, he found his roots after stumbling into an EHS class his second semester.

“I just wanted to try it out. And I loved it,” said Jayakar, who jumped at the chance to participate in research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore department of immunology, and volunteer with Maryland Shock Trauma and the emergency room of St. Agnes Hospital through a partnership with the Shriver Center.

He was also incredibly active in numerous activities on campus, including serving as a senator in the Student Government Association and assistant speaker of the SGA Senate; serving as president of the Interdisciplinary Studies Council of Majors; and playing an active role in UMBC’s pre-med society, the Relay for Life, tennis club and other groups.

“Of all the leadership and community service positions I’ve held, I value my experience with UMBC Student Government Association the most. It helped me gain a lot of confidence and realize that I can make changes to the community,” he said.

“I learn a lot when I’m involved in service. I’ve learned patience, responsibility, commitment, and punctuality after being involved in service. To me these are life-time lessons that classroom alone can never teach.”

After the 2004 tsunami in India, Jayakar and his father volunteered as missionaries to help the victims, but he left wishing he could have done more. After med school, he hopes to someday build a hospital there where people can be treated for free.

“It’s so simple,” he says of his philanthropic philosophy. “Society gives you so many opportunities to live the life you want to live. It our responsibility — 0ur duty — to give back.”

Beth Wells, assistant vice provost for Academic Affairs, earned designation in April as a Board Certified Coach by the Center for Credentialing and Education.

UMBC recently asked its students a simple question: How does UMBC inspire you? But, instead of essay response customary for scholarship competitions, students were challenged to answer in video form.

As you might imagine, our students truly delivered. Twenty-seven students entered the UMBC Change the World Video Contest, which was sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions in conjunction with their award-winning Super Heroes campaign.

The winner, incoming sophomore Deanna Zare, submitted a video that picked up on the super hero theme and highlighted ways UMBC has helped her become a student leader:

“Everyone knows that UMBC is ranked the number one up and coming university, but not everyone realizes how this inspires underdogs or Retrievers just like me,” she explains in the intro.

Zare won a $3,000 scholarship for her efforts. Two runners-up won $1,000 scholarships, and four honorable mention winners took home prize packs from the UMBC Book Store. Great job, everyone!

Watch all of the submitted videos here.

Last night I received the following update from Kim Smith who has been at the Rio+20 events this past week:

Each day at Rio+20 brings volumes of new information about the state of our planet, the actions of civil society, and the conflicts between the governments. It is hard to reconcile my feelings between the contrasts of meeting so many amazing people who give me hope for the future and learning about the growing devastation of ecosystems and wondering, truly, if we will be able to respond fast enough. Not only do our governments have to lead a coherent and collaborative effort to create systems that facilitate major changes quickly, but our media must give accurate and solution-based information in order to educate, empower, and engage our citizens in actions to make a difference. There really is no other option and there is no time to wait. It is unfortunate that the US, Canada, Russia, and Venezuela are obstructing much of the progress.

I truly believe that higher education must be a leader in these efforts but we will not be effective unless we have a systems-based approach where our political, economic and social institutions work closely in collaboration with education across all ages and in much more applied and practical ways. The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative, launched by UNESCO and led by UN Asst Secretary Elizabeth Thompson, is a start, as it raises the recognition of higher education’s contributions to sustainable development efforts.

More of the issues themselves have been addressed by the non-profits. From struggling ocean ecosystems ("our blue heart") and mountain top removal to the extinction of indigenous cultures and the status of farmers, NGOs are leading the actions at the People's Summit, a huge civil society event coinciding with the Rio Summit. In the last few days, I have been fortunate to hear Vandana Shiva, Marina Silva, a woman from La Via Campesina, Sylvia Earle, Ted Turner, a team from the TARA ocean research project, and Ban Ki-Moon himself. They are all calling for global change.

This culminated yesterday in a huge march, with 1000s of NGO activists, students, and professors protesting in the streets. So intense, with countless signs, costumes, and voices. I feel blessed to have happened upon the education protests in Cinelandia. According to some students from another Brasilian state, the students and professors are really struggling with funding and resources, given World Bank structural loan adjustments. While we all make calls for sustainable education, many people are frustrated that the mission is not backed up with resource support.

I have been on the search for Hillary Clinton, who arrived yesterday. I hope to hand her information on our education efforts, but I cannot promise I will be able to connect with her. All of the world leaders are followed closely by security. They have actually given students and workers several days off in Rio to simply lighten the load on the transportation systems in town. The cavalcades for the delegates are particularly disruptive, with huge police escorts.

Despite all if the traffic, I cannot speak more highly of the kindness and hospitality of the Cariocas (Rio residents). I rarely have no trouble finding a place, as Brasilians will often go out of their way to help you and some even walk you to your destination.

Striking the Balance

Balance and focus. Those are the keys to success for student athletes. And, judging by their GPA’s, UMBC’s athletes have mastered both. This past fall, the Retrievers’ average GPA registered above 3.0 – the first time since the university started keeping track.

“In high school, you just had practice and games,” said Iman Kennedy ‘12, psychology, a member of the women’s volleyball team. “Here, you have practice, games, traveling, film, team meetings, coaches’ meetings, conditioning and lifting. There are all these things that go along with being an athlete. And on top of that, you still have classes. The professors aren’t going to come after you if you’re missing work or help you make up an exam. You have to stay in touch with them. All this stuff is on you. You have to learn that coming in.”

UMBC has several programs in place to help first year students adjust to their demanding schedules. The Academic Center for Student-Athletes (ACSA), located conveniently in the RAC, provides tutors and study space, and the Exceeding Common Educational Limits and Liabilities (EXCELL) program requires new students to attend study hall and advisor meetings while they acclimate to the rigors of college coursework.

“We have a terrific support system here with our EXCELL program, run by Jessica Hammond,” said Don Zimmerman, head coach of men’s lacrosse. “She and her staff do a terrific job. We want our guys to set their goals high, we want to win championships in lacrosse and we want to be outstanding students in the classroom. If we can develop a consistent attitude across the board, then that’s what we’re really striving to do.”

First-year athletes aren’t the only ones turning to the university for support, said Joseph Adewumi ‘12, biochemistry, a member of the men’s tennis team. “I know second and third years who go in, have their meetings with tutors,” he said. “The advisors know exactly how you’re doing in class, and your schedule can be made so you don’t fall behind.”

In addition to EXCELL, students take responsibility for helping their teammates develop strong study skills. “I tell our freshmen, ‘Get ahead of your work. Once travel starts, it gets crazy, so you need to make sure you know what you’re doing,’” said Michelle Kurowski ‘11, psychology, a graduate student studying early childhood education and a member of the women’s basketball team. “We help the freshmen and sophomores find their way through the transition from high school to college and playing sports.”

Striking a balance between academics and athletics is a challenging art, but those student-athletes who master it reap major rewards.

For Kennedy, her athletic life has prepared her for postgraduate life. “I’m going to dental school in the fall, and this past summer I did a program at UNC-Chapel Hill where they mimic the first year. The first year medical and dental school students were on an 8 to 5 schedule, went to classes all day and studied all night. And for them, they said, ‘There’s no time! I can’t get this work done!’ Even the instructors and TAs asked why I wasn’t freaking out. For me, it felt like life, like my schedule back at UMBC.”

(5/24/12)

Philippians 3:8-11 (NIV)

8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Reflection:

The way Paul embraces suffering might seem shocking, but it is not the suffering in and of itself that he is after. What drives him is his desire to know Christ. Compared to this, nothing else matters. Suffering is not just a necessary evil as if Paul is taking the good with the bad, but rather suffering has taken a whole new meaning because of Christ. Before, it was just a result of our sin and fallenness, but now it has become a signpost, a marker of Christ’s redemptive work and pointer to our eternity with the Lord. And nothing that Paul had experienced in this world before this compares. He is all in.

Responding to the Transmission:

Let’s pray that, like Paul, we would know the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Rather than responding to just trying to avoid suffering, let’s instead respond with hearts that look to Jesus and His glorious work. May times of struggle and difficulties serve as times where we can know Christ more deeply. May those times serve as signposts pointing to the eternity we will spend with Him.

As the heads of state have been meeting in Rio the past two days there appears to be little effort or desire to take on changing the text of the draft outcomes document that was provided by the Brazilian hosts at the beginning of the official conference. That document, that essentially eliminated all of the bracketed text (areas of disagreement), has been criticized as being watered down and a step backwards. The spokesperson for the NGO Major Groups has called the document a failure while others, including US negotiator Todd Sterns have been less critical. Stern said:
We have done some important things institutionally, including significantly strengthening UNEP in the UN system, also establishing a new high-level forum on sustainable development in the UN in New York focusing on a variety of ways to manage our vital natural resources more effectively and efficiently. And I think all of these things will not in any sense by themselves-but we hope push in a direction where sustainable development proceeds and we more and more have the ability, as was first discussed in the 1987 Brundtland Report, to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. And that is a nice kind of summary of what sustainable development is all about.

Despite a number of media, especially in the US, characterizing the conference as an environmental meeting, the draft outcomes document paints a very different picture. The second statement reiterates a major issue of the Brundtland report. It reads: Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and is an indispensable requirement for sustainability development. In that regard, we are committed to free humanity from poverty and hunger as a matter of urgency.

After the preliminary introductory comments and confirmations, Section III is entitled, “Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication." After a number of affirmations of existing and new principles, the paragraphs become a list of we recognize, we encourage, we acknowledge, we invite statements.

Section IV of the document, Institutional framework for sustainable development begins with subsection A – Strengthening the three dimensions of sustainable development. It is in section V. Framework for action and follow-up that we find the Thematic areas listed. The include: Poverty eradication; Food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture; Water and sanitation; Energy; Sustainable tourism; Sustainable transport; Sustainable cities and human settlements; Health and population; Oceans and seas; Small island developing States (SIDS); Least developed countries; Landlocked least developed countries; Africa; Regional efforts; Disaster risk reduction; Climate change; Forests; Biodiversity; Desertification; Land degradation and drought; Mountains; Chemicals and waste; Sustainable consumption and production; Mining; Education; and Gender equality and women’s empowerment.

There is more after that about implementation, financing, technology, capacity building, and trade. I think an important point is that the framework for the document provided by the list in IV.A. provides a pretty good idea as to why it may be hard to get agreement to strong language. In some ways it’s soup to nuts and in other ways it seems to be cherry-picking what counts and what is important in sustainable development.

It appears to me that if little changes in the document itself, the real outcomes of Rio+20 will mainly be in the various commitments made by civil society to hold themselves and their governments accountable for much more than is specified in these documents.