The Baltimore Code Craftsmanship meetup group will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 18 at Betamore (1111 Light St.) in Baltimore (map). The meetup is for the students and software developers in the Baltimore area that care about the quality of their work and want to practice and improve their programming skills, share what they know and learn new things from others.

The meetup is a hands on coding user group with no presentations. Each meeting will be a dojo where we will go through a challenging software craftsmanship exercise that focuses on clean code, test-driven development, design patterns, and refactoring. We will pair up and practice on a kata in order to learn and apply the values, principles, and disciplines of software craftsmanship. It’s also a great way to meet others in Baltimore’s computing community to network and find out about internships and jobs.

The September meeting will go through the next Test-Driven Development (TDD) exercise focusing on solutions using pair programming, test-driven development, clean code and refactoring.

Come with your laptop equipped with your favorite programming and unit testing environment. Be prepared to pair up, code, learn, share and have fun!

Join the meetup and register to attend Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address. .

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Jonathon Brewster ‘15, computer science, who is an Alumni Association Scholarship recipient.

Name: Jonathon Brewster
Major: Computer Science
Extra Curricular Activities: Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 355
Scholarship received: Alumni Association Scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
I decided to attend UMBC because of UMBC’s reputation for having one of the best STEM programs. I had discovered this because my brother, who also attended UMBC, had told me about these programs and how UMBC would be a great school for me to attend.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
Computer programming and what I can do with it.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
Introduction to Computer Science for beginners (CMSC 104) changed my life. Before that class I did not know what I was going to do with my life, and I had no major. Then Mr. John Park, professor of CMSC 104, showed me many great ideas with programming a computer. After completing this course, I now have a major and a dream to be the best programmer I can be.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
It is very important. Students don’t have a lot of money, and it’s hard to pay for college when you have little time for a job from all the classes you are taking. With scholarship support, I am able to keep paying my way to a better job through quality education.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
Finding my career path and getting good grades.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
I would like to say thank you for helping support my future and keeping my dreams of being a great programmer alive.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
I hope to go to graduate school to get my Master of Science degree in Computer Science. After completing my masters degree, I would like to work for Google to help with projects like the Google car.

Donate to our alumni scholarships today!

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Jonathon Brewster ‘15, computer science, who is an Alumni Association Scholarship recipient.

Name: Jonathon Brewster
Major: Computer Science
Extra Curricular Activities: Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 355
Scholarship received: Alumni Association Scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
I decided to attend UMBC because of UMBC’s reputation for having one of the best STEM programs. I had discovered this because my brother, who also attended UMBC, had told me about these programs and how UMBC would be a great school for me to attend.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
Computer programming and what I can do with it.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
Introduction to Computer Science for beginners (CMSC 104) changed my life. Before that class I did not know what I was going to do with my life, and I had no major. Then Mr. John Park, professor of CMSC 104, showed me many great ideas with programming a computer. After completing this course, I now have a major and a dream to be the best programmer I can be.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
It is very important. Students don’t have a lot of money, and it’s hard to pay for college when you have little time for a job from all the classes you are taking. With scholarship support, I am able to keep paying my way to a better job through quality education.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
Finding my career path and getting good grades.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
I would like to say thank you for helping support my future and keeping my dreams of being a great programmer alive.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
I hope to go to graduate school to get my Master of Science degree in Computer Science. After completing my masters degree, I would like to work for Google to help with projects like the Google car.

Donate to our alumni scholarships today!

Congratulations to Ali! He passed his PhD proposal exam and he is now a PhD Candidate.

Name: Danny Rosser

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: GE Aviation

Major(s)/Minor(s): Financial Economics

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.

At GE Aviation's subsidiary, Middle River Aircraft Systems, I worked alongside other interns to complete task varying from safety, to quality. GE Aviation manufactures reverse engine thrusters for different planes. Their biggest program is building the reverse engine thrusters for Boeing's 747 super jet.

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

I was having my resume looked over at the career center and the lady who was helping me told me about this new internship that had just been placed on the myumbcworks site. I filled out the application online, submitted my resume, had an interview and was accepted to the ten week program!

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Career Center, Career Fairs, UMBCworks, Faculty Connections

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

I really enjoyed being able to work as a team with other interns to accomplish projects and learn about the different aspects of working in a big company. GE sponsored a company trip to Hershey Park, provided tickets to a baseball game at Camden Yards, and many other social events in which the interns could network with managers and big names in the company.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

My experience working with GE was truly an eye-opener. This experience allowed me to work with people who were five to fifty years into their careers after having graduated with my major. This opportunity allowed me to envision myself becoming very successful and working for a great company.

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

The biggest piece of advice I recommend is start looking on myumbcworks in the fall for a summer internship. The Career Center is the most helpful place to go to. They provided the assistance to edit my resume, talk to me about different internships and even prepare me for my interview by holding a mock interview! I could not have obtained this internship without their help.

Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

Having the opportunity to experience what a career upon graduation will feel like was honestly an amazing feeling. To know that after four years of taking notes, studying for long hours, and taking test after test will be worthwhile in the end, now that is the biggest relief that any college student can have.

The Kriti Festival is one of the largest South Asian literature festivals in North America and will be held from September 25-28 at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Mathematics Professor Manil Suri has been named the festival’s author guest of honor and will be addressing the gathering on Saturday, September 27 in Chicago.

The following is an excerpt from the festival’s website outlining Suri’s accomplishments: “[Suri’s] first novel, The Death of Vishnu (2001), won the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, was a finalist for the Pen-Faulkner, Kiriyama and Pen-Hemingway awards, and on the long list for the Booker Prize. His second novel, The Age of Shiva (2008), was listed as one of the best 25 books of the decade by the website Contemporary Literature on About.com. His third novel, The City of Devi (2013) was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards and won a Bisexual Book Award. The three novels form a trilogy based on the trinity of Hindu gods Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and correspond to the present, past and imagined future of India.”

For more information on the event, click here.

While Suri was in Chicago, he was also interviewed by WBEZ Radio about mathematics, stereotypes and homosexuality on the popular program, “Afternoon Shift.” To listen to the full segment, click here.

UMBC’s Department of Psychology is opening a new mental health clinic at the Psychology Training, Research, and Services Center on September 15, 2014. The clinic provides evidence-based treatment for a variety of behavioral health issues, including individual and group therapy and consultation for anxiety, depression, substance use, health challenges, marital and family issues, and other types of emotional adjustment problems. The clinic is open limited hours during the week and provides referrals for patients requiring medication management or 24-hour crisis care as we are unable to serve those needs in the clinic. Fees are on a sliding scale and designed to make treatment affordable.

The clinic is a teaching facility operated by the UMBC Psychology Department that provides training for UMBC graduate students pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology. UMBC’s Clinical Psychology training program emphasizes the importance of science in clinical practice. Consistent with this approach, clinic activities are science-informed. Director Dr. Rebecca Schacht manages the clinic in consultation with Psychology Department clinical faculty. Dr. Schacht and other licensed psychologists on the faculty and in the community provide close supervision of graduate students, who provide direct services to patients in the clinic.

The Clinic is housed in the Psychology Training, Research, and Services Center (PTRSC) at UMBC’s South Campus Research and Technology Park on South Rolling Road.

For more information and to be screened for eligibility, please call us at 410-455-5530.