ROOM FOR RENT

$450.00/month

4205 Euclid Ave., Baltimore, 21229

(gas, electricity, water, laundry and Internet included)

•  2 rooms available on the 2^nd  floor of the house, built-in closets, windows

•  Currently only 2 female UMBC/CCBC students in the house

•  Two full bathrooms with showers, central air

•  Kitchen with gas stove, two fridges, microwave, etc.

•  Fully furnished:  bed, desk, chair, window AC, etc.

•  Free parking, library/common area, backyard

•  Arbutus/Irvington UMBC shuttle bus, MTA bus # 10, 20, +

•  3.25 miles (or about 10 min drive) to CCBC and UMBC campuses

•  20 min to Downtown, 10 min to Ellicott city,

15 min to BWI, 5 min to MARC

From 695 exits # 12, 13 (toward Irvington) or 14 (East)

For more info please contact:

Tel. (316-371-1462) (410) 340-2720   or   wghann1@umbc.edu

Name: Katie Swanson

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Google

Position Title: Engineering Practicum Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Computer Science

Expected Graduation Year: May 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I am a software engineering intern at a huge company whose goal is to make all of the world's information more accessible. I was on the Play Analytics team, creating a visualization of the Play Store data for the business analysts and other higher ups to better see where the Play Store stands in different statistics. Day-to-day tasks included programming in java and javascript, lots of meetings to discuss plans for my project, and there were fun things scheduled in, too! I am expected to be responsible for my project, finish my milestones by their deadlines, attend meetings I am expected to attend, and to enjoy my summer by maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I finished about one change-list per week. Change-lists are chunks of code that improve my project. My hosts and other full-timers have to review it and comment on it to make sure what I added is perfect before it can be submitted to the official Google code-base.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I was looking for summer internships Freshmen year, and I heard Google had an amazing internship program. I heard both from word of mouth from trustworthy sources, as well as from the movie The Internship. It seemed like a perfect fit, so I Googled "Google Summer Internship 2014" and it took me right to the application page. I applied directly on the Careers@Google site and it was a pretty easy application. I had to submit basic information, my resume, and an optional cover letter. Later on, I received an email from the University Recruiting Team asking me to respond to five essay questions and send in my transcript. I applied in September, I received that follow-up email about a week later, then in November, I received an email asking if they could interview me for a summer intern position. I replied with my availability, and I scheduled an interview right after finals ended in December. I had two technical interviews over the phone using Google Docs. They included algorithms and data structures which I completed it in Python, including a section I had to code myself. I got a call at the end of January from my recruiter saying I got the job! It was a very exciting, rewarding process, and I am proud of myself for not using any connections and working hard to obtain this position on my own.   

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I love the emphasis the company puts on work-life balance and treating their employees right. You are not going to get a good product if your workers are upset or treated poorly. There are plenty of opportunities to have fun, and taking breaks from work (not for too long) is proven to increase efficiency. There isn't much pressure to succeed and do well here in the sense that our competitors are more like friendly competitors, like "Wow you did that better than us, that's impressive, can we see how?" It's just a big fun relaxed family that wants to make the user experience better and change the world a little.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe I have made a significant impact on the Google Play Store on all Android devices. I have created an internal tool to visualize the data and usage of the Play Store so business analysts and other important people can use it to make important business decisions about the Play Store. For instance, they could see that including the wallet logo next to the purchase button was actually lowering sales, so they would decide to remove the wallet logo, and the sales numbers would go up. What I did impacts Google's business and monetary intake as well as improving the user experience of the Play Store.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Apply for everything. Put yourself out there by contacting recruiters and being very enthusiastic about wanting to work for their company. I applied to maybe over 60 summer internships, and one had to have accepted me. The odds are high at that point. Create a LinkedIn and add all of your classmates and people who have similar career goals so you can support each other. Message recruiters from companies first on the company recruitment email (aka careers@google.com), then through anyone you may know who works there, then find a good recruiter on LinkedIn and send them a personal message expressing your interest. It is absolutely essential that you make connections and use them. You can help others out as well so it is a huge web of interns helping other interns get internships. If you network enough, you will have connections at companies you want to work for, then getting a contact through them (either a project manager or a recruiter) will be very beneficial. It is having an insider connection/referral and companies take those into more consideration than someone who applies out of the blue with no context. If you make a friend at a Women in Computing Conference who works for Facebook, you could ask her to connect you to her recruiter so you could possibly get an internship there as well. It is very beneficial to network and create as many connections as possible, it will open so many doors and opportunities you otherwise wouldn't have known were there.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

Welcome to UMBC!  We are thrilled your student has chosen UMBC to launch their career.

THE UMBC CAREER CENTER MISSION

Our team of talented and dedicated career professionals want to help all students turn their strengths and interests into meaningful careers.  To that end, we offer an array of services and opportunities for students to begin to build their careers in order to compete in today’s workforce.

WHY SHOULD YOUR STUDENT VISIT THE CAREER CENTER?

The benefits to visiting the Career Center are many!  We assist students with:

Exploring/clarifying their major: Research shows that 50% of all students who declare a major upon entering college will change that major at some point.  Even if your student is not sure, he/she is in good company!  The Career Center offers an array of assessments designed to help students clarify their values, interests and abilities and select a major/career path that is most suitable for them.  All of our assessments may be accessed and completed online – we like to make it easy!  Students are then encouraged to schedule an appointment with a Career Specialist who can help interpret the results and guide students towards majors which are the best fit.

Resume development/Interview preparation: Gaining experience via internships, research or other learning is essential to “test the waters” early and to apply what they are learning to a “real-world” setting.  Learning to craft a well-written resume and how to convey qualifications in an interview are essential components to landing an experiential learning opportunity.

Career Events & Programs (fall/spring) – Our academic calendar of events is full of many exciting, engaging events designed to help your student grow professionally, meet with employers both on campus or off campus in the form of employer site visits (On the Roads; Exploring Outside the Loop series), as well as Career Fairs, employer-led panels and information sessions. We want to connect your students to employers and opportunities throughout their time here at UMBC. 

Access to jobs & connections to employers: Through our UMBCworks database, a job/internship database with over 15K registered employers, student can view and apply to positions 24/7.  Students can manage all their documents and receive invitations to participate in on-campus interviews. 

Additionally, the Career Center and the Welcome Week Committee are co-sponsoring a Campus Jobs Fair on August 25^th from 12Noon to 4PM in the UC Ballroom.

How soon should a student come to the Career Center?

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day!  Neither is a meaningful, rewarding career! 

We encourage all students to visit the Career Center as soon as possible!  Our message is “Visit early!  Visit often!”  The best advice you can give your student now is to visit the Career Center!  We will do our best to equip your student and help him/her to transition from learner to professional, one who is confident in his/her chosen career path and who possess the skill employers seek in today’s competitive world of work!

 Susan DuMont

Student Life

Students, faculty and staff across campus put together a fun and informative Welcome Week program geared specifically toward new Retrievers.  These events are a great first opportunity for students to take an active role on campus and learn more about the UMBC community. Not to mention those who get involved in campus life are more successful academically and enjoy their collegiate experience the most!

Welcome Week is designed to help students get familiar with campus, make friends, and feel comfortable and confident as classes begin.  We encourage new students to check out the many great events we have planned for Welcome Week 2015:

• Students have the opportunity to kick start their semester at Playfair on Saturday, August 22^nd where they can meet their new classmates and participate in a ton of hilarious and fun icebreakers.
• Back by popular demand, Dr. Maura Cullen will inspire and engage students with her entertaining and interactive presentation on Respect and what it means at UMBC on Sunday, August 23^rd.
• Students can hit the water slides and dance the night away in the long-anticipated Foam Party on the Quad on Sunday, August 23^rd.
• Starting the week off right on Monday, August 24^th, current student leaders will give a few Public Service Announcements about life at UMBC followed by the New Student Book Experience small group discussions.  Be prepared, President Hrabowski has been known to facilitate a discussion!
• An outdoor showing of Marvel’s “The Avengers II” movie will be on the big screen to end the night with a bang on Monday, August 24^th.
• Tuesday, August 25^th, students will attend Convocation to receive their official welcome from President Hrabowski and later stop by Big Crazy Fun Night to join the dance party on an LED stage, play carnival games, and win tons of great prizes in the Commons.

            This is just a sample of all of the events that are going on during Welcome Week!  Check out http://www.umbc.edu/orientation/welcomeweek.html for a complete schedule of events.

Another event not to miss at the beginning of the school year is Involvement Fest. The Quad is the place to be on Wednesday, September 2^nd from noon-3pm. Members of the 200+ organizations on campus will be available to talk to new students about opportunities to get connected to campus life.

When Anne Spence, mechanical engineering, began her undergraduate studies in engineering, she noticed that a number of fellow female students dropped out of the program before graduation. She wondered if a female professor might have made a difference and decided to dedicate her career to serving as a role model for young women. In an interview with CBS Baltimore earlier this month, Spence shared her passion for the recruitment, training, and retention of engineering majors.

“Here at UMBC, we are training almost 300 teachers each year to teach engineering in elementary, middle and high school,” Spence said. “We believe that exposing children early to engineering will encourage them to stay interested. We also work to retain women and minorities in engineering.”

She also shared resources and advice for youth to encourage interest in engineering and STEM fields. “Don’t listen to those who tell you that you cannot succeed,” she advised. “If I had listened, I would not have the exciting career I have today.”

Read “UMBC Professor Setting Example For The Next Generation” in CBS Baltimore.

Here at UMBC, we take pride in what our alums accomplish after graduation. Take a moment to see which Retrievers have been on the move and making news!

Ahmed Mahmood ’15, political science, comments on the external tension Muslim-Americans face when addressing issues of terrorism. After a spate of attacks, area Muslims reached out during Ramadan to foster a better image. In an article from The Washington Post, Mahmood shares that “there is a ‘healthy environment’ on [UMBC’s] campus and that Muslim students have gotten consistent support from officials for their religious requests, including establishing Friday prayer services at the campus interfaith center and planning to add halal food, which is ritually blessed for Muslim consumption, to the cafeteria menus.”

Click here to read the full article.

Justin Velez-Hagan, Ph.D. student in public policy, explains Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. In a recent interview, Velez-Hagan discussed the debt crisis and explained that the territory owes its creditors over $72 billion, an amount the U.S. government refuses to front in order to bail out the Puerto Rican government. The creditors, which are American investors, recently met with Puerto Rican officials to discuss payments, however the territory can only afford to repay about $1 billion, a sum that will be extinguished come September.

To watch the full interview, click here.