Public Policy Ph.D. student John Olszewski has been named one of the Daily Record’s “20 in their twenties.” The list honors Maryland’s up-and–comers who are successful by or before the age of 30 based on their professional accomplishments, civic involvement and impact of achievement. John is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 6 in Baltimore County. He also leads the 21-member Baltimore County Delegation in the House of Delegates as its Chairman—the youngest ever to be elected to that position.

Dance Fest

Perfected Praise

Sunday, April 29, 2012

6:00pm

University Center, Ballroom

UMBC ID = FREE

General Admission = $5.00

Ticket #: 4 of 280

Gym Class Heroes

Student Events Board: Quadmania 2012

Sunday, April 22, 2012

9:00pm

The Retriever Activity Center (RAC)

All Guests = $18.00

Ticket #: 662 of 700

SEB River Rafting Trip

SEB Bus Trip

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 12pm

All Guests = $40.00

Ticket #: 10 of 35

Photo courtesy www.retrieverweekly.com

Left: Computer Engineering Alumnus Delali Dzirasa speaks with a student during the Raymond V. Haysbert, Sr. Entrepreneurship Lecture back in March.

The Retriever Weekly talked to UMBC alumnus Delali Dzirasa (CE, '04) about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Dzirasa, the founder of Fearless Solutions, LLC–a team of software engineers and web developers that help clients solve problems through Data Visualization, Web Application Development, Software Engineering, and Rapid Prototyping–knows from experience. Here's what he had to say:

" Dzirasa of Fearless Solutions told stories of how he used to run a barbershop when he lived on the UMBC campus to make money.

"I am a serial starter of things," he said. "My advice for you is to believe in yourself… Never give up and hold onto your vision." "

Check out the full article HERE.

This year’s QuadMania is shaping up to be a great place to try some awesome food! With a ton of help from Stefanie Mavronis, I’ve put together the Official QuadMania 2012 Eating Guide for the Casual UMBC Foodie. Or as I like to call, the OQM2012EGFTCUMBCF. These vendors will be supplying the main source of sustenance throughout the day. Bring some cash for these guys.

Baltimore Polytechnical Institute Smoothie Booth

Come try a freshly blended smoothie made right in front of you with your choice of ingredients. This booth will be using funds collected at QuadMania to help put together the 10 year high school reunion for the 2003 graduation class. Your support would be greatly appreciated!

Carnivore BBQ

This BBQ truck features locally sourced and made-from-scratch food. They will be serving up pulled pork and beef brisket along with some homemade BBQ sauces.

Tweet @carnbbq

Dangerously Delicious Pies

While on the road with The Glenmont Popes, founder Rodney slung slices and hocked pies at his merchandise table, in shows’ parking lots, and traded pie for lodging so the band could tour, and thus, PIE AND ROCK AND ROLL was born! Each pie is handmade from scratch with no additives or preservatives. Dangerously Delicious offers a full line of sweet and savory pies.

Tweet @dangerouspies

 Grids Waffles

Hailing from Washington DC, Grids Waffles offers delicious savory and sweet wrapped waffles. Try the best-selling Nutella waffle (“Nitty Griddy”) or the delicious pizza waffle! Another tasty-sounding concoction is the Grids S’mores Waffle which features chocolate chips, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and whipped cream. You haven’t had your favorite breakfast entree like this yet!

Tweet @GridsWaffles

Top Dog Truck

This big orange truck uses high-end and locally sourced ingredients to transform the familiar hot dog into a Top Dog. Top Dog specializes in two types of dogs: The Sonoran, hailing from Tucson, Arizona, a bacon-wrapped all beef dog served on a buttery brioche bun with great toppings; The Boss, a Hungarian debreziner sausage – a caraway seed, red pepper, pork artisan sausage – served on a brioche bun; and finally some love to the vegetarians – the Not Dog.

Tweet @topdogtruck

Be sure to try all of these options at QuadMania on Saturday, April 21^st on the Quad from 12noon – 10pm. I’d like to give a huge shout out to Stefanie Mavronis for co-writing this post!

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

This summer’s Hot Hollywood hype is starting early.

First of the action flicks is the new Rian Johnson sci-fi action thriller Looper. This films stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a hitman in a futuristic society where time travel sends him back to take out his employer’s enemies before they have a chance to cause them any trouble.

The thriller part comes in when JGL finds his next assignment is his older self, played by Bruce Willis, who he is determined to hunt down despite the obvious consequences. Check out the trailer below.

Rian Johnson’s previous efforts were the indie films Brick and The Brothers Bloom (we recommend both), and he really doesn’t have much name recognition to the average audience but the studio is doing their best to get the word out.

They released three brief featurette interviews: a sneak peek, a little commentary about the futuristic world, and a background look at the makeup transformation to make JGL resemble Willis. You can also watch the trailer with the director’s commentary.

With action blockbusters dominating summer such as The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises smaller films like Looper do their best to create a buzz to raise their profile with audiences.

Do these tactics get you interested in a little-known film? Based on what you see here do you plan to see Looper?