Marc Schultz
B.S., Political Science and Global Studies
Minor: Chinese Language and Culture
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Columbia, Maryland
Plans: Fulbright researcher, China

I have found the faculty at UMBC to be overwhelmingly encouraging, helpful, and engaging. Their support has made it possible for me to accept unique professional opportunities in D.C. and in China.

For Marc Schultz, UMBC has been a key to the world, giving him access to opportunities that, a few short years ago, he didn’t know would be possible.

Schultz started at UMBC with a focus on developing his academic credentials and broadening his horizons. By sophomore year, he earned an internship at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. His next step in exploring his interest in China was to earn a Boren Scholarship, which provided $20,000 to study Mandarin and urban development at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China during his junior year. After graduation, Schultz will return to China to study urban planning policy in Chengdu through a Fulbright research award.

“I am not sure that I would have come as close to mastering the Chinese language as I have without attending UMBC,” explains Schultz. “Brian Souders, associate director of international education services, really encouraged me from the beginning of my university career to keep up my grades to be eligible for more international opportunities.” He followed Souders’s recommendation and is graduating with the Outstanding Senior Award in political science as well as memberships in the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.

Schultz has also remained engaged in the campus community, serving as co-head delegate for UMBC’s Model United Nations, event programmer on UMBC’s Student Events Board (seb), an academic tutor, and a volunteer with the Refugee Youth Project. He shares, “Throughout my four years, the UMBC community has pushed me to be a better student, researcher, and community member.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Max Poole
B.S., Computer Science, B.S., Mathematics, B.A., Economics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Takoma Park, Maryland
Plans: Site Reliability Engineer, eBay

UMBC provides extensive opportunities and support for students to get engaged and involved in service beginning in their freshman year. The UMBC Shriver Center has been incredibly supportive of every service endeavor I wanted to do.

Max Poole wants to live in a society where everyone can access an education, is informed, is open to hearing new ideas, and is willing to work together to achieve great things. With this ideal in mind, he is completing three majors in three different colleges, which has enabled him to explore problems from a range of angles. He has also pursued collaborative service-learning opportunities through the Shriver Center since his freshman year, with a focus on promoting college with middle school students and boosting access to computer science education.

“The amount of students with access to computer science in middle school is minuscule,” says Poole. Knowing that computing skills will be important for many kinds of jobs of the future, he suggests, “If you can get kids interested, learning, engaged, and involved as early as possible it prepares them to be successful.”

Poole has been recognized for his commitment to service with the 2016 Newman Civic Fellowship. He is also a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and a member of the Honors College, with stellar academic achievements that have garnered him recognition through the national honor societies Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa.

“I have this need inside of me that pushes me to always be improving the world and myself, to create and collaborate,” explains Poole. “I feel like service is deeply ingrained in my DNA. It is something I have to do.”

Beyond UMBC, Poole even pursued service opportunities while a summer intern at eBay. He looks forward to resuming those projects when he begins a full-time position with the company after graduation.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Kaylin Corsiatto
B.S., Psychology
Minor: Sociology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Middletown, Maryland
Plans: International development

UMBC has given me a well-rounded education. I have had the opportunity to participate in both research and practice related work in the field of psychology. These diverse experiences have helped me realize my passions for international development and fighting to prevent intimate partner violence.

Kaylin Corsiatto sees herself as a global citizen, ready to get to work addressing major challenges related to violence, public health, human rights, and development.

In her psychology studies at UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove (UMBC@USG), Corsiatto has worked closely with Chris Murphy, professor, and chair of psychology, whose research focuses on understanding and preventing intimate partner violence. Her work earned her a Psychology Distinguished Achievement Award in spring 2018.

Corsiatto came to understand the potential international applications of violence prevention research while working in Thailand with a non-profit that seeks to prevent human trafficking through outreach and education. “During my time studying in Thailand I fell in love with working on such a foundational level,” she says.

Corsiatto has also been engaged in local community outreach in Baltimore, through projects that question privilege, equity, and access to resources. She helped to plan and execute two major civic engagement programs focused on education and service: the interactive privilege walk “A Mile in My Shoes,” and meal donation for hundreds of people experiencing homelessness. In her UMBC@USG community, Corsiatto serves on the Peer Advisory Team and is president of the Tau Sigma Honors Society at the Universities at Shady Grove.

As to the future, Corsiatto is thinking globally. She feels inspired “to continue working in international development, disaster relief, and public health.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.