Daniel Morris
B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Lexington Park, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

UMBC connected me with professors and mentors who could guide me toward my career goals. They taught me how to be an effective researcher, a helpful teacher, and an avid learner.

Daniel Morris proves that UMBC students need not choose between STEM and the arts and humanities. As an enthusiastic researcher in Michael Summers’ biochemistry lab, Morris contributed to the group’s work studying HIV. As a member of UMBC’s Honors College, Morris excelled in the classroom and the lab, receiving the Faculty Award for Excellence in Biochemistry and the Roger Michael Davis Endowed Scholarship in recognition of his research.

Morris has also enjoyed helping other students learn molecular biology concepts, working as a teaching assistant for molecular and general genetics. “The faculty and staff here have helped me to discover my three academic passions,” he shares, “a love of learning, an excitement about pursuing new knowledge, and the fulfillment I get from teaching.”

Outside the world of STEM, Morris has enjoyed performing with the Down and Dirty Dawg Pep Band, the Musical Theatre Club, and in the theatre department’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. “Being involved with performing and social student groups helped me to appreciate the value of being a well-rounded individual,” he says.

Morris will continue in research at the University of Pennsylvania by pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology, virology, and parasitology.

Photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Summer Akhtar
B.A., Political Science, B.S., Financial Economics
Minor: Legal Policy and Economics
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Woodstock, Maryland
Plans: The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Participating in UMBC Mock Trial has taught me to think more openly, appreciate the perspectives of those that disagree with me, speak professionally and articulately, think on my feet, and advocate for the things I believe in.

Summer Akhtar has served as a leader of UMBC Mock Trial at a particularly exciting time for the team, as it has risen to new heights in recognition and achievement. In 2017, Akhtar helped make history as part of the first UMBC Mock Trial team to travel to Los Angeles for the American Mock Trial Association’s national championship tournament. The team, in which Akhtar serves as senior vice president, has continued to compete in major tournaments throughout 2017-18.

At a regional competition in Maryland this past fall, Akhtar received an all-region attorney award and UMBC earned a bid to the Opening Round Championship Series. Akhtar also received outstanding attorney awards at the Johns Hopkins Blue Jay Invitational in spring 2017 and the Tobacco Road Invitational in fall 2017.

“Mock Trial introduced me to my greatest passion: trial advocacy,” says Akhtar. She reflects, “I have come so far since I started my UMBC Mock Trial career,” noting that she feels privileged to have acquired such significant experience as a student attorney on both defense and prosecution.

Akhtar has also excelled academically in her time at UMBC, being recognized as an outstanding scholar-leader in political science and a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society and Golden Key Honour Society. She knows the rigor of her academic and extracurricular activities will benefit her as she enters law school.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Noah Zazanis
B.A., Psychology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Germantown, Maryland
Plans: Researcher, Quiton Lab, UMBC

UMBC has given me amazing opportunities for research that have helped prepare me for graduate school and my career and furthered my development as a student and scholar. The mentorship I’ve experienced at UMBC Shady Grove and on main campus has been life-changing.

As an undergraduate researcher, Noah Zazanis is already making waves through a groundbreaking study of the biophysical factors that affect pain perception. Zazanis has been able to pursue their interest in LGBT health psychology through work in the lab of Raimi Quiton, assistant professor of psychology, focusing on the biopsychosocial influences of pain and pain management, including how social environments and social inequality affect health.

“There is not a lot of research in LGBTQIA+ health disparities,” says Zazanis. “UMBC is impressive with the depth of undergraduate research opportunities, and encouraged me to actually spearhead research projects unique to my interests.”

Zazanis’s academic excellence and work in the Quiton lab has already earned them the psychology department’s Distinguished Achievement Award, as well as an academic achievement award from UMBC’s psychology program at the Universities at Shady Grove. They’ve also presented research twice at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Achievement Day. Beyond academic and research achievement, and advocacy for health equity, Zazanis also supports fellow students through tutoring in statistics, writing, and research methods.

Zazanis will begin work this summer on a new research project at the Quiton lab focused on pain perception among transgender people, with the hope of improving their health care services. With excitement to move forward in the research, they share, “I have developed strong clinical research skills well-suited for a future in the interdisciplinary field of health sciences.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Doopashika Welikala
B.S., Biological Science; B.S, Anthropology; B.A, Sociology
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Plans: MSPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

As a first-generation college student, I did not know much about navigating college when I started at UMBC. My time at UMBC has shown me that with dedication and perseverance we can achieve anything.

Doopashika Welikala understands the importance of access to opportunity. As the first person in her family to attend college, and someone who has traveled internationally to study health care, she has a very personal perspective on the impact that having access to education, healthcare, and other resources, can have on a person and on a community. She hopes to channel that understanding into a career in public health.

Welikala is already well on her way to developing the knowledge and skills she’ll need to become a global public health leader. She has completed an independent anthropology research project on childbirth and childbearing practices in Sri Lanka.

She also traveled to Kinazi, Rwanda to conduct research on family planning and contraception use through a National Science Foundation REU Fellowship in summer 2017. While there she spoke with young women at the Maranyundo Girls School who were applying for college about her experience as a first-generation college student, and she continues to stay in touch with them, providing the kind of supportive feedback she has received in her time at UMBC.

“The professors at UMBC were always open to discuss my career options and future plans,” says Welikala. “Professors went out of their way to help me pursue research opportunities that aided me to further my intellectual interests.”

Welikala also participates in community life at UMBC as an institutional review board member, senior advisor to the Sri Lankan Student Association, teaching assistant in chemistry and sociology, and Writing Center tutor.

In the fall Welikala will attend the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a graduate student in the population, family, and reproductive health program. She credits her success to the academic rigor at UMBC. “At UMBC I was part of a challenging environment that stimulated my growth and I can proudly say that it has prepared me for the next steps of my life after graduation,” she says.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Jonathan Werner
B.S., Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Glen Burnie, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

The Meyerhoff program taught me how to be a scholar and a life-long learner, and the professors and staff here at UMBC taught me how to use my natural curiosity and intellect to be successful in my chosen career path.

Jonathan Werner, M26, has been conducting research with Rachel Brewster, professor of biological sciences, since his freshman year. By studying zebrafish development, “we aim to provide the basic research necessary for the future clinical treatment of neural tube birth defects, the most common birth defects in humans,” he says.

Werner has co-authored two papers based on research in Brewster’s lab and is currently working on his first first-author publication. The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences recognized his efforts with the Faculty Award for Excellence. He is also a member of the academic honor society Phi Beta Kappa.

Werner was recently selected as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. The fellowship provides three years of funding for his graduate studies, which he will pursue at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state. Werner intends to blend his interests in experimental and computational biology in his Ph.D. work, a goal the fellowship will facilitate.

As a Meyerhoff Scholar and the Meyerhoff Student Council President, Werner is grateful to the Meyerhoff community for supporting his success and connecting him with exciting opportunities. “While here at UMBC, I have received phenomenal support in both my academic and research pursuits,” he says.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Joshua Massey
B.S., Computer Engineering
Hometown: Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Plans: Master’s in teaching, UMBC

UMBC’s values and commitments to diversity, education, and social justice allowed me to grow into the interdisciplinary thinker, problem-solver, and leader I am today.

Joshua Massey, president of UMBC’s Student Government Association (SGA), has been recognized across campus and by university partners for his leadership, his enthusiasm for community connections, and his passion for technology in education. 

Massey was one of the first recipients of the Northrop Grumman Scholarship for increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate students in the United States pursuing degrees in computer engineering and electrical engineering. Through the program, Massey had the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and attend mentoring events. Massey is a member of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, and also received the Meyerhoff National Security Administration Scholarship, which enabled him to connect with industry mentors regularly and to participate in monthly seminars.

In addition to receiving mentorship from faculty and professionals in technical fields, Massey also provided support to others as a peer mentor and a teaching fellow for a course in computational thinking and design.

On campus, Massey is known for his enthusiasm for the UMBC community. He served as a “Woolie”—a Welcome Week student leader—in addition to serving as SGA senator and chief of staff, before being elected SGA president.

One of Massey’s most memorable SGA moments was the 2017 SGA summer retreat, which he attended as incoming president. “At our annual summer retreat, new and returning students involved in SGA learn about the history and values of UMBC and the SGA, work cooperatively on plans for an upcoming year of campus change, and build relationships with one another as we continually create the story of SGA at UMBC,” Massey explains. He enjoyed facilitating sessions on the important role of students in UMBC governance.

Massey will continue on at UMBC after graduation, pursuing a master’s degree in teaching, with a focus on educating students in tech fields. “Looking forward to a future career in education and advocacy, I am reminded of the strong sense of community and shared ownership that is present at UMBC,” he says. “I look forward to carrying that forward in life.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.