They say a rising tide lifts all ships—the idea that when an ecosystem prospers, everyone within it is propelled upward by the same powerful current. The same can be said for UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program. At least that was the experience of Alycia Marshall ’95, mathematics. The Meyerhoff tide eventually lifted her higher than she imagined: president of the Community College of Philadelphia. 

As an undergraduate student at UMBC, Marshall wasn’t a Meyerhoff Scholar by title, but she felt like one by proximity. Many of her friends were Meyerhoff Scholars. Her peers were Meyerhoff Scholars. Her line sisters Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated were Meyerhoff Scholars. Everywhere she turned, she was surrounded by Meyerhoff Scholars.

“Even though I wasn’t a Meyerhoff, I was sucked into this culture of high achievement,” says Marshall. “I call it ‘the Meyerhoff Effect.’”

Pictured above: Marshall and members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated on campus.

Brilliance was the baseline, and everyone strived to do their absolute best. It became a friendly peer-to-peer competition. But more than that, for Marshall, it was inspiring to see so many high-achieving Black students in one place, pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves.

“I had been in talented and gifted classes my entire school career,” says Marshall. “I was used to being around high-achieving students, but I was always the one person of color in the room. I was just floored to actually see so many people that looked like me who were high achieving at one time, in one place.”

For Marshall, that “Meyerhoff Effect” caused a fundamental shift in her internal barometer for success. She began to see her own potential through a wider lens—one that would eventually take her from a shy undergraduate student at UMBC to the President’s Office at CCP.

The teaching bug

Marshall started her UMBC journey as a biology major. Math and teaching were not even on her radar as potential careers—but that all changed pretty quickly during Marshall’s first year. Her “aha moment” occurred during a Calculus 1 lecture. Marshall was doing well in the course, but she knew she could do even better. She wanted that “A.” So, when the professor offered extra credit to anyone who could go to the board and explain the solution to a problem, Marshall couldn’t help herself. While other students were intimidated by the hundreds of students in that lecture hall class, and the difficulty of the material, Marshall regularly volunteered. She found that she wasn’t just good at solving the equations—she was good at communicating the logic behind them. “I got something out of that,” she says. Before she knew it, her classmates were asking to study with her, and Marshall started tutoring a few of her peers.

“That experience encouraged me to think about mathematics and teaching as a profession,” says Marshall. 

After graduating from UMBC in 1995 with a B.S. in mathematics, Marshall began her teaching career at Bishop McNamara High School, a private school in Forestville, Maryland, before moving to Frederick Douglass High School, a public school in Prince George’s County. Around the same time, she began a master’s program at Bowie State University, eventually earning her masters of arts in teaching in 1998. Then, she got the higher education itch.

Education that changes lives

“I was very intrigued by the idea of teaching at the college level,” says Marshall, who quickly found an adjunct role at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), teaching developmental math part-time. She was teaching high school students during the day and non-traditional college students twice a week in the evenings for AACC at Fort George G. Meade, a United States Army installation in Maryland.

“That was a whole different experience for me,” says Marshall, “understanding how important education was and how people were seeking that to change their lives.”

She was hooked. So, when a full-time position opened up, Marshall jumped at the opportunity and for the next 23 years she built an impressive career at AACC. During this time, Marshall also earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007. Her career saw her move from a professor of mathematics to the first African American woman to chair the department. Eventually, she worked her way up to associate vice president of learning and academic affairs. However, the work Marshall says she is most proud of is what she’s done throughout her career to support underrepresented students in STEM and leadership—an effort to replicate aspects of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the community college level.

When the idea initially occurred to Marshall, the first thing she did was reach out to her mentor, Freeman Hrabowski, III, UMBC president emeritus. He invited Marshall and AACC leaders to UMBC to meet with him and LaMont Toliver, then the director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program and assistant dean of undergraduate education.

“It was great,” says Marshall. “That never would have happened had it not been for my connection to UMBC, my relationship with Dr. Hrabowski, and his continued interest in supporting me well beyond my graduation.”

The UMBC field trip and a National Science Foundation grant helped Marshall start the Engineering Scholars Program at AACC, connecting underrepresented students with scholarships, mentoring, and support services. Marshall also created the African American Leadership Institute to develop highly qualified, diverse leaders through targeted leadership development to improve the retention rates for this population and increase the diversity of college leadership.

For years after that, whenever Hrabowski was in a room with Marshall, he would introduce her with a bold proclamation: “This is Dr. Marshall. She’s a UMBC graduate, and she’s going to be a president one day.” 

“When Doc pours into people that way, he has a way of speaking their future into them,” says Marshall. “I leaned on that. Knowing that he knew I could do it helped me know I could do it, too.” 

Marshall left AACC in 2022 to become the provost and vice president for academic and student success at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). And it didn’t take long for her to make an impact. Soon after joining CCP, Marshall started the Aspiring Leaders Fellowship Program for employees interested in moving into higher education leadership roles. The program, now in its third cohort, matches participants with senior leaders from different institutions who serve as mentors.

Marshall also started a new faculty onboarding program to provide newly hired faculty the tools they need to succeed—time to learn ways to enhance their pedagogical practices and build on their teaching skills in their first year at CCP—as well as a new department head onboarding program.

“There’s a similar theme with all this about professional development, continuous improvement, and making sure folks have the tools that they need,” says Marshall.

In 2025, Hrabowski’s prophecy came true. Marshall was named CCP president, the first Black woman to serve in the role in a permanent capacity.

Upon receiving the news, one of Marshall’s first calls was to the man who believed in her future before she believed it herself.

“When I told Doc I got the job…he was emotional,” says Marshall. “He was so very proud of me. It was a wonderful day.”

Want to work on real-world challenges? The Grand Challenge Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is open to students from all majors.

The program is built around the National Academy of Engineering’s 14 Grand Challenges and is designed to address major issues in sustainability, health, security, and joy of living. Students create a personalized path through research, entrepreneurship, service, interdisciplinary learning, and global experiences focused on a chosen challenge. 

Who can apply: 

Juniors and Seniors from all disciplines who have at least three semesters to graduate.

Application deadline: June 22

Learn more and apply!

Name: Venkata Sai Harsha Kothapalli

Pronouns: He/Him

Semester of Internship: Spring 2026

Major: M.S. in Computer Science

Current Class Level: Master's Student

This semester I completed a(n)...: Internship

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name): Platinum Business Services

Location of the Organization (City, State): Catonsville, Maryland

Title of position: Data & AI Intern

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:

 I am currently working as a Data and AI Engineer Intern at Platinum Business Services, where I support the development and deployment of AI-powered applications for real-world business use cases. On a day-to-day basis, I collaborate with the team to build and improve intelligent systems that help clients work more efficiently. My responsibilities involve working across the full lifecycle of a project from understanding what a client needs, to helping design a solution, to testing and refining it until it works well. I spend a lot of my time communicating with teammates, reviewing how systems are performing, and making improvements based on feedback. It has been a hands-on experience that has taught me how technology projects come together in a professional setting beyond the classroom.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

 I first came across Platinum Business Services through the Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP), which connected me to local tech companies offering internship opportunities. Shortly after, I had the chance to meet representatives from Platinum at the UMBC Career Fair, which gave me the opportunity to make a personal connection and learn more about what the company does. That conversation left a strong impression on me, and I followed up by submitting my application shortly after the fair. The team invited me in for an interview, and I was offered the position not long after. The combination of discovering the opportunity through MTIP and then building that in-person connection at the career fair made the process feel very natural and gave me confidence going into the interview.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?

UMBC Career Center, Career Fairs, Handshake, LinkedIn or other social media

What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?

What I have enjoyed most about my time at Platinum Business Services is the openness and trust the team extends to its interns. From early on, I was treated as a contributing member of the team rather than just a student learning from the sidelines. I appreciated that my ideas were heard and that I was given real responsibility on projects that mattered to the organization. 

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

I believe my impact has come from helping bridge the gap between complex technical capabilities and practical business needs. By contributing to AI-powered tools and applications, I have helped the team deliver solutions that save time and reduce manual effort for clients. Beyond the technical output, I also made an effort to document my work clearly and communicate progress regularly, which I believe helped keep projects organized and moving forward.

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

My biggest piece of advice is to take advantage of every resource your university offers especially the Career Fair and programs like MTIP  because opportunities often come from conversations you didn't expect. Don't wait until you feel completely ready to apply, because the internship itself is where the real learning happens. And always follow up whether it's after a career fair conversation or a job interview. That one follow-up email can make all the difference.

Hi everyone!

My friend and I are two female graduate students looking for housing near UMBC. We are hoping to move in during the last week of July.

We are looking for a place that is close to campus, preferably along the Paradise route. We would also prefer female housemates if possible.

If you know of any available rooms, apartments, or housing opportunities, please feel free to reach out. Any leads would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

I am looking for an accommodation starting this July. My budget is $500 and would rather a place close to campus. Please hit me up if you are looking for a female roommate. 

UMBC CSEE Assistant Professor Roberto Yus received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award to support his research on democratizing the Internet of Things (IoT) by introducing a semantic abstraction framework that hides the complexity of raw sensor data. While IoT devices collect vast amounts of valuable data, most organizations struggle to use it because transforming raw readings into actionable insights requires deep technical expertise in sensor selection and AI modeling. To bridge this gap, his research enables users to directly query high-level concepts, such as occupancy or energy consumption, while the computer system automatically manages the underlying sensors, machine learning models, and data pipelines to find the answers.

Read more about the award here

Traffic around the arena will be very heavy beginning at 7:30am on 6/8/2026 and throughout the day to accommodate two high school graduations. Graduation start times are 9am and 1:30pm. Faculty, staff, and students are strongly encouraged to avoid entering campus from I-195, as parking on the east side of campus will be difficult to access. Please plan to park in any available legal permit space across campus. Parking Services will be enforcing parking regulations for safety concerns only. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to manage increased traffic and event activity

OWNER BIO
Greetings! I'm a UMBC alum and former adjunct instructor. I have rented to undergrad and grad students on and off for nearly 20 years.

HOUSE DESCRIPTION
Walking distance, 5 minutes to UMBC! (1-2 minutes driving) - literally 4 blocks from campus.

This is a SHARED TOWNHOUSE w/3 other renters. 
Seeking ONE individual renter for one bedroom in upstairs of townhouse. (small-sized, 9x10 bedroom) 

$650/month
1.5 baths, so you will share shower portion of the bathroom with 3 others, but you only have to share bathroom (toilet/sink) with 2 other persons.

Seeking working professional or ideally, a UMBC student. No couples or kids, sorry. 
Semi-furnished first floor, but open to your furniture if you wish to bring. Shared kitchen, dining, living room & deck.

New washer, dryer, shower, hot water heater, furnace, dishwasher, fridge and deck. (all replaced within last 3 months to 3 years)

BGE (gas, electric) would be split between renters. Typically $35-70/month (split up)

Verizon would also be split: $16/month for high speed internet.

Water utility and mowing included (no charge to tenants) 
1 year lease with auto-renew option available. 
Husband and wife that also rent a small property locally in Relay. Not a big "landlord" type of deal or company - very personable yet experienced.

Thanks for your interest!

Tom 

Inquire Here: https://rental.turbotenant.com/p/5421-highridge-st-halethorpe-md/08e6b529-eb7c-48ec-a36c-70112f231b96

Hello everyone,
Me and my friend, We are currently looking for an apartment near UMBC from the beginning of August.

We are preferably looking for a one-bedroom apartment with a separate living/drawing room, basically two usable rooms.

If anyone has any information about available apartments, subleases, or housing options, please let me know. 

Thanks

CSEE professor Rebecca Williams (PI) and IS professor Edward Dillon (CO-PI) were awarded a four-year NSF grant to build industry and academic partnerships and to establish a set of recommendations, resources, and upskilling materials for undergraduate computing faculty and students focused on cultivating AI-related competencies. Working with hiring managers, employees, faculty, and students, they will develop new curricula that align industry and university needs to deliver high-quality educational experiences that enhance students’ competitiveness in the workforce. Read more about this award on the NSF site.