Nicole King, associate professor and chair of American studies, received the Presidential Teaching Faculty Award in recognition of her community-engaged pedagogy. King focuses on helping students develop a deeper understanding of Baltimore and its residents, whether studying gentrification or local environmental concerns. “It is especially wonderful to be honored for my work teaching at UMBC because UMBC has exceptional students,” she said.

King shared two core lessons from doing public humanities work, lessons she works to share with students: “showing up matters” and “listening is essential to learning.” To fulfill UMBC’s mission, she argued, “We must bring more voices into conversations at our public university today and we must better listen to one another because that is truly what teaching and learning are about.”

The story of OCA Mocha begins with a question Gib Mason, professor and executive director of the Center for Leadership & Innovation, had for his Entrepreneurship 340 class: how could Arbutus become more of a college town?

“We were just given a challenge and were told: run free with it, and we just figured it out on our own,” said Krishna Gohel, a senior biological sciences major and entrepreneurship and innovation minor working on OCA Mocha. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are really grateful for that. Because we have been able to grow through this experience so much more because we weren’t told what to do.”

After a month of filling up whiteboards with ideas, the students came up with the idea of OCA Mocha. A coffee shop with a community space that also houses the headquarters of the Office of Community Affairs, a new organization designed by the students of ENTR 340. Its goal is to increase communication between UMBC and neighboring communities.

“Community members expressed to us … an interest in how could businesses in Arbutus attract more UMBC students, faculty and staff into the area for entertainment, for services, for dining and so forth,” said Lisa Akchin, Assistant to the President and Associate Vice President for Engagement.

Another goal of the Office of Community Affairs is to connect students to service opportunities in the local community.

“If they just want to get involved in community and anything. That’s eventually going to be the place to go,” said Madison Koenig, a senior working on OCA Mocha and an interdisciplinary studies major in innovative business management, minoring in entrepreneurship and innovation. “Plus they can come study if they want to [or] perform if they have any artistic skills. We are looking for people to perform there and display their artwork there.”

OCA Mocha also includes a community space which will be the first UMBC space located off-campus. This space is open for students to host events, club meetings and performances. The space is also available to members of the community for events unaffiliated with UMBC.

“What surprised me very pleasantly [is] that the students have focused not only on the space as a place for students but a place for community members as well,” said Akchin.

After ENTR 340 concluded in the spring of 2017, work on OCA Mocha continued in Mason’s fall semester class, FYS 102. The team worked on raising funding and expanding transportation options that fall. In partnership with the UMBC Transit Department, students working on OCA Mocha upgraded UMBC’s bike-sharing program with more bikes. Also, the team reworked UMBC’s transit routes to include a stop in front of OCA Mocha.

OCA Mocha hopes to open in September and will be on East Drive in Arbutus, less than a mile from campus. The business hopes to attract both UMBC students and members of the community. By doing so, OCA Mocha hopes to accomplish its initial goal of making Arbutus more of a college town.

“I think you could say our challenge is that we are just students who have never started a business before,” said Koenig. “So, it’s been a big learning curve, but I think with all of us working on it … it’s been coming along.”

As a student majoring in an arts, humanities, or social science discipline, you may be asking yourself:

"What are my career options?"
"How can I apply my studies in the real world?"
"What skills can I offer to employers?"
"How can I find meaning in my future career?"

This year, the UMBC Career Center has partnered with the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) to co-sponsor the first-ever CAHSS Careers Conference on Thursday, April 12 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. in the UC Ballroom. Join us for an evening of getting to know the value of your unique degree and the resources your college and Career Center have to offer you.

The agenda will include:

• Stories from successful CAHSS alumni
• Employer panel discussing the benefits of your degree in the workplace
• Opportunities to connect with fellow CAHSS students
• Heavy hors d'oeuvres and dessert

Registration is required for this event. Please click here to reserve your spot and view the full agenda. Students of all arts, humanities, and social science disciplines are encouraged to attend. Please be aware that because this is a catered event, we must charge a no-show fee to those who cancel less than a week in advance.

If you have questions or need accommodations, please contact Kacie Lawrence, Associate Director of Internships & Employment, at klawrence@umbc.edu.

The 2018 Masters of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition features work by seven UMBC graduate students who are expected to receive Master’s degrees in Intermedia and Digital Arts in spring 2018. The exhibition addresses topics such as isolation, diversity, mass surveillance and the complex role of language in expressing embodied experience in sound, text and video. The exhibition was organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture in association with the Intermedia and Digital Arts Program. The student exhibit showcases the culmination of each graduate’s experience in the UMBC MFA program.

Mollye Bendell’s piece Wander/Wonder explores the nature of speculation through two separate but connected apps: Wander, a street map of Baltimore city that only displays psychic reader businesses; and Wonder, a fly-through digital astral plane. Users roll a crystal ball to control both sides of the project simultaneously. Bendell says, “my hope is that the UMBC community will take more interest in electronic and interactive media. The skills I learned to build this piece are a logical next step for many of our undergraduates.”

Another student artist, Parastoo Aslanbeik, made an installation that explores discriminatory policies targeted towards immigrants, such as President Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim countries. Her piece combines an old photographic technique called wet plate collodion with sound, light and sculpture. For instance, one of her art pieces uses tree branches and cardboard boxes as a metaphor for equality.

Kusum Dhakal, a senior business & technology major, states, “I really like Aslanbeik’s piece because it is based on such a big issue recently. I think her art would help in bringing solidarity within the community by creating a dialogue about the discrimination faced by many immigrants. Events like the MFA Thesis Exhibition are a great platform for students to express their ideas and thoughts in a visually compelling way.”

“The event is fascinating because it brings so many different talented people together. This can inspire others who don’t know much about the arts and design field. It’s eye-opening to see those seven graduate being able to share their experience and work with us,” said Rabia Cheema, a sophomore computer science major. Towards the end of the event, several attendees stayed to ask student artists questions about their pieces.

The current exhibit features works by Parastoo Aslanbeik, Mollye Bendell, Jeffrey L. Gangwisch, Christopher Kojzar, MJ Neuberger, Mitchell Noah and Idil Yakut. The exhibition is free and is located in the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture inside of the Fine Arts Building. The exhibition is open from April 3 through April 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.