Join the UMBC Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the Professional Staff Senate (PSS) as we adventure to Heavy Seas Brewery for a private tour and evening of camaraderie.  Event details:

Taproom Opens:  3:00 pm
Private Room Opens:  4:30 pm
Tour Begins:  5:15 pm

Tour and visit are FREE, beer and sampling specials will be available for purchase on your own.

If you are late arriving and would like to join the tour, please let a staff member know you are from UMBC and they will direct you to the tour. The tour should last about 45 - 60 minutes.

Heavy Seas is located at 4615 Hollins Ferry Road, Halethorpe, MD  21227, approximately 10 minutes from campus.

In a few words, the mission statement of the National Alliance on Mental Illness at UMBC is this: To promote mental well-being and awareness about mental health on campus. The club consists of students that want to promote a safe environment for both coping with and learning about mental illnesses.

Junior bioinformatics major and treasurer of NAMI Veneeth Antony is aware of the stigma that surrounds mental illnesses. Antony said, “we feel there is a huge stigma and people don’t want to talk about it. We try to educate our members as much as we can and we use our general body members to reach out to as many people as we can.”

The club puts emphasis on all forms of mental health issues, ranging from depression and anxiety to stress about school. Mental illness is not limited to the major issues that students tend to hear about. Antony, and the rest of NAMI, are very conscious of this fact. Antony said, “People tend to go straight to depression, but there’s so much more than that. It is a very broad group. Even just dealing with stress and self-care is part of mental health.”

This year, NAMI has put an emphasis on working with other student organizations on campus to promote education about mental health. In fall 2017, they partnered with the South Asian Student Association and attended an event that SASA held. At this event, NAMI was able to present a video that showcased the relationships between students, parents and mental health.

The most constant, and largest, event that NAMI holds is called My Story. My Story is a time for students to speak publicly and openly about their experiences with mental health issues. NAMI has held this event every year it has been present on campus.

The president of NAMI, physics education major Phillip McGregor, spoke at a My Story event two years ago and has since expanded the event even more. He said, “My Story is a formal format for people to express their experiences with mental illnesses. Afterwards, a lot of people will tell the speakers that their story resonated with them and helped them with issues that they have been dealing with. It helps the speakers know that they aren’t alone, as well as helping the audience with the same thing.”

This year, My Story will be held in the Skylight Lounge on March 27. McGregor and the rest of NAMI are already working on ways to make it consistently better.

In future, the club aims to work with even more student organizations on campus to promote mental health education. It also plans on holding a NAMI festival, which will showcase how student organizations on campus are helping their own members with mental health issues, particularly stress — a mental health issue that NAMI feels has a big impact on college campuses.

With NAMI on campus, there will always be a safe environment for students to freely discuss mental health.

A bill is in the works at the Maryland General Assembly titled “Community Colleges – Veterans Advisers and Veteran Resource Centers – Established.” This bill requires that all Maryland community colleges incorporate a veteran adviser on campus to provide advice for veteran students, as well as create an on campus veterans resource center.

Even if it were enacted, this bill would not affect UMBC, as it is not a community college. However, the topic of student veterans is still important to address given the specific hurdles and differing experiences that veterans have on college campuses.

Right now, roughly four percent of students pursing an undergraduate degree are veterans, and that number is expected to grow in the coming years. There are different resources needed for these students as they are usually older than the typical undergraduate and may need extra help or guidance.

A veterans resource center could help veteran students find the information and support they need in order to succeed in school. UMBC has Michael Driscoll, a VA Certifying Official, who can assist when it comes to personal and practical matters, such as tuition costs and the GI Bill. However, he is just one person.

Mental health concerning college students has become an increasingly troubling issue. Twenty one percent of students who report to a campus counseling center are reported displaying severe symptoms of disorders. Similarly, there are at least 20 percent of veterans who suffer from PTSD, and many military counselors seem to believe that percentage is a conservative estimate.

Jason Stein, a veteran student at UMBC, stated, “I’m not too sure how heavily [the counseling center] is used so I don’t think we need something specific for vets if that’s not being fully utilized.” However, there are still a few changes that could be made to the UMBC campus to make certain aspects of the transition into becoming a student easier.

There are veteran services and socials on campus, but they are not well advertised. About 250 to 300 students at UMBC use the GI Bill according to Stein, who is active in the Student Veteran SGA. When it comes to events, Stein thinks UMBC should attempt to take College Park or CSM’s example and implement clubs, because “College Park, they have their Terp Vets, and that’s a full on club.” Additionally, CSM wants their own adviser in the department.

However, according to Stein, “I just wish we [student veterans] could be a tighter knit group, … we do monthly events like today we had a veterans luncheon … usually, on campus events, we have like 15-20 people.” This is a fairly small percentage of the up to 300 students using the GI Bill.

Overall, Stein had this to say about the veterans center at UMBC: “it’s efficient but not well advertised.” There is also potential that with the new Events Center that there will be room to add a veterans office or lounge, although this is currently unofficial and talks about the space are still underway.

The bill would be a positive step forward in guaranteeing veteran students the different kind of support they need in making the transition from work life in the military to becoming a student.

Celebrate Women's History Month with these great events happening throughout March! 

Inclusive Pedagogy

GUEST SPEAKER:

 

Dr. Karen Fleming is a Professor of Biophysics in the TC Jenkins Department of Biophysics at Johns Hopkins University. Her lab works in discovery to fill the scientific pipeline. “Her research is motivated by the power that a deep understanding of the physics/biology intersection can bring to disease, evolution, and biological design.”

Dr. Karen Fleming was awarded the 2016 Thomas E. Thompson Award from the Biophysical Society, a Department of Defense Career Award, the Arne Tiselius Young Investigator Award and the Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council award.

In addition to her scientific accomplishments, she has been a champion of Women in STEM, getting awarded grants to run workshops and seminars to overcome bias and barriers to women in STEM fields.

Please RSVP:

Registration requires a quick two-step process:

If you are part of the UMBC community: Go to the following link on my.umbc.edu: https://my.umbc.edu/groups/postdocs/events/57844 and click the “I Can Attend” button. We also ask that you register via CIRTL.net: https://www.cirtl.net/events/528

If you are not at UMBC: Please send an email to promisestaff@gmail.com with the subject “Inclusive Pedagogy” and add your name, campus, and academic department, and please register via CIRTL.net: https://www.cirtl.net/events/528

Make sure to mark your calendars and thank you!