Hi everyone!

I am your assigned mentor for the iCubed study at UMBC.  I just wanted to touch base with you before school started, and give you four things that you should do before the semester begins.

We will be having an information session on MONDAY, AUGUST 27 at 4:00 pm in Physics Room 101 (Lecture Hall 6). This is DIFFERENT from the location on the flyer that you received in the mail, due to a renovation delay!

At this session, you’ll get a chance to meet me, meet each other, and learn a little bit more about the iCubed study.

Here are the things that I’d like you to do before this meeting:

1.       Vote for our first Group Meeting times! Please follow this link to a Doodle poll, fill in your FIRST NAME and LAST INITIAL in the box for “Your name,” and select ANY of the days and times that work with your schedule. Why? Because there are nearly 80 students in our group and having YOU help me select the days and times to meet is far more efficient than having me look up all of your schedules.  It also allows you to take into account work and other commitments that you have beyond your class schedule.

2.       If you haven’t already, accept the invitation to join the myUMBC Group “iCubed: Mentoring by a Professional Advisor.” You should have a message in your UMBC email account with the invitation link, OR you can log into myUMBC, and look under the “Activity” section for an invite (that’s the lightning bolt icon up at the top, to the left of your name). Why? Announcements from iCubed and select information from other campus resources are fed to this Group page. It just might help you find a new club, get help with a class, or land an internship in your field!

3.       Be prepared to check your UMBC email account regularly. UMBC considers this your “official” email address, so critical communications – about classes, grades, housing, finances, etc. – will go to this account. Why? We have no way of knowing if xxsoccerstar35xx@mail.com really belongs to you, and there may be some information that I need to discuss that cannot be released without your permission (your grades, for example). Your UMBC email is connected to the rest of your UMBC account, so I know that it’s you on the other end!

4.       Set up the Google Calendar feature that is connected your UMBC email account. Why? I’ll be sending you invites to group sessions and individual meetings throughout the year. Having a Google calendar will let you plug them right into your calendar, and it’s easy to have it feed reminders to your UMBC email account (or your smart phone). Also, I keep a web-based appointment calendar.  If you want to come in to talk to me about something, I’ll send you a link to my availability, and you can schedule an appointment without a lot of phone- or email-tag! One note of caution – make sure that your calendar’s Time Zone is set to Eastern. Otherwise you’ll be hours late or early all the time!

I look forward to seeing you on Monday!

Michelle

Get a chance to meet your mentor! Bring your UMBC Red Card (Campus ID) to get your free iCubed@UMBC Team t-shirt!

Please note: This is a different room from the one listed on the flyer that you received in the mail - some rennovation delays have forced a room change!

Missouri representative Todd Akin’s claims regarding “legitimate rape” served as the inspiration for political science professor Tom Schaller’s latest column inThe Baltimore Sun.

In “Todd Akin rape claim is just the tip of the GOP wacko iceberg,” published August 21st, Schaller noted that regardless of how offensive and strange the views of the embattled Missouri senatorial candidate are, they are not so atypical when compared with other views held by far right politicians regarding sex, contraception, abortion, feminism, economic policy, climate change and race.

Schaller concluded the column by making note of Akin’s support for repealing the 17th Amendement, which allows for the direct election of candidates to the United States Senate by popular vote:

“If we followed their reckless advice, imagine what cohort of crazy House Republicans might be appointed by their state legislatures to the Senate — the chamber our founders designed to serve as the saucer to cool the hot passions of the House. Or don’t. Just thinking about it may drive you crazy.”

Come learn why you have a study group coach who often carries a large basket filled with SmartiesTM. Bring your campus ID card to get your free iCubed@UMBC Team t-shirt! 

Innovation Generation

UMBC embraces the potential of all students to become innovative problem solvers, resource creators and boundary busters in their fields. Matching students with opportunities to learn through practice is one key way the Shriver Center helps them realize that potential.

This summer, nearly 700 UMBC students enrolled in the Shriver Center’s internship, co-op and research practica at sites across the United States. These experiences go beyond on-the-job skills training. They enable our students to articulate their passions, envision their futures, and break ground on unique professional paths—all while making a visible impact, whether they are at the White House or a Baltimore hospital.

Research Program Coordinator Carly Hunt of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center writes, “Over the past several years, UMBC interns have contributed immensely to our research on psychological and psychosocial recovery following severe burn injury.”

In a 2012 Shriver Center survey, approximately 90% of respondents said that their placement increased the clarity of their career goals, their self-confidence and their ability to make decisions—essential qualities for effective agents of change in any field. Further, 77% wrote that their leadership skills improved as a direct result of their internship, co-op, or research experience.

UMBC students have applied this leadership in an incredibly diverse range of ways. They have worked with non-profits to lead community service initiatives and spread their organizations’ reach through media campaigns. They have made companies more efficient and effective at serving clients and have offered fresh insight on scientific research. They have broken down preconceptions and cultivated new partnerships.

Timothy Potteiger ’14, computer engineering, writes that his White House internship program “really adopted an entrepreneurial mindset encouraging everyone on the team to be proactive.” He was thrilled to hit the ground running and meet the office’s high expectations.

This is gratifying news for Christine Routzahn, Director of Professional Practice at the Shriver Center. Routzahn says, “Our goal is that all UMBC students engage in applied learning and graduate with the knowledge and experience they need to find empowerment and success in their careers.”

Here we feature student interns from across UMBC who are making tangible impacts on their fields and the world.

• (8/22/12)

Deuteronomy 8:1-5 (NIV)

1 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

Reflection:

The Lord had to humble the Israelites so that they would recognize how much they truly needed God and how much their life depended on Him. Often times we don’t recognize what it is that we truly need to have life. Sometimes, we think that we can depend upon and rely on ourselves or on human achievement for real life. While bread sustains, it does not guarantee life — which is God’s gift to those who trust in and live by his word, commands, and promises. God loves us so much that He helps us and at times, disciplines us through experiencing a time of need, so that we are able to see who it is that we truly need.

Responding to the Transmission:

May we recognize that we don’t just live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. May we humble ourselves today before the Lord, meditating on His Word and delighting in every command and promise. Let’s continue to pray and lift up our concerns to the One who gives us life, recognizing that every good thing that we have comes from Him.