Name: Raihan Vahora

Pronouns: He/Him

Semester of Internship: Summer 2025

Major: Business Technology Administration 

Current Class Level: Senior

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

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name):  Hughes Network Systems (EchoStar )

Location of the Organization (City, State): Germantown,MD

Title of position: Planning Intern 

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

During my internship, I was introduced to end-to-end production planning in a manufacturing environment, where I learned how demand translates into material requirements, work orders, and execution on the shop floor. As I progressed, the role expanded and was later converted into a full-time position. In that capacity, I managed production planning for three different manufacturing lines along with a machine shop. My day-to-day responsibilities included releasing and prioritizing work orders, monitoring material availability, resolving shortages, coordinating with procurement and engineering teams, and ensuring builds were aligned with the production schedule. I tracked and reported key performance indicators such as WIP, work order aging, schedule adherence, and material shortages to maintain operational flow and drive continuous improvement. The experience gave me strong exposure to cross-functional collaboration, ERP-driven planning, and real-time problem solving in a fast-paced environment.

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

I first learned about the position through LinkedIn while actively searching for opportunities aligned with production planning and supply chain. After reviewing the job description and seeing how closely it matched my academic background and internship experience, I submitted my application through the company’s online portal shortly afterward. The recruitment process included initial screening conversations followed by formal interviews where I discussed my experience with production planning, ERP systems, and KPI tracking. After successfully completing the interview stages, I was offered the internship, which later transitioned into a full-time role based on my performance and contributions.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?

UMBC Career Center, Alumni Networking, LinkedIn or other social media

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

What I’ve enjoyed most about my position is the opportunity to take ownership of real production planning responsibilities and see the direct impact of my decisions on manufacturing performance. I also value the fast-paced environment and cross-functional collaboration, which has helped me grow both technically and professionally.

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

I believe I’ve made an impact by improving production visibility and proactively managing material shortages before they affected build schedules. By closely tracking KPIs such as WIP, work order aging, and schedule adherence, I helped maintain smoother production flow and supported on-time delivery. My coordination with procurement, engineering, and shop floor teams also reduced delays and improved overall planning accuracy.

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

My advice would be to apply early, stay consistent, and don’t be discouraged by rejections. Use LinkedIn to network and connect with professionals in roles you’re interested in, and tailor your resume to highlight measurable impact, not just responsibilities. Most importantly, once you get the opportunity, treat it like a full-time job — take ownership, ask questions, and look for ways to add value beyond what’s assigned.

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.

Favorite Quote: “Success is built in the small details you manage every single day.”

What I valued most about my internship was the opportunity to take ownership of real production planning responsibilities and see how my decisions directly impacted manufacturing performance. The UMBC Career Center supported me early in the process by helping refine my resume and providing career guidance, which gave me the confidence to pursue and secure this opportunity

Dear Campus Community,

We are excited to announce that UMBC will soon be enabling Concur Expense Assistant, a new feature designed to simplify and streamline the expense reporting process for travelers across campus.

Expense Assistant is an automation tool within SAP Concur that helps organize expenses by trip, reducing the amount of manual work required when preparing expense reports. Once enabled, eligible expenses imported into Concur — including UMBC Card transaction and available expenses — may automatically populate into the appropriate trip expense report.

What this means for you:

• Less manual entry when preparing expense reports
• Faster and easier reconciliation of travel expenses
• Improved organization by automatically grouping expenses to the appropriate trip
• Reduced chance of missing available expenses or attaching charges to the wrong report
• A more user-friendly and efficient Concur experience overall

UMBC’s configuration will organize expenses by trip only, helping keep travel-related expenses neatly connected to the correct travel request and expense report.

Important reminders:

• Travelers will still review, edit, and submit their own expense reports
• Expenses can still be manually moved or adjusted if needed
• Expense Assistant is intended to support — not replace — traveler review and compliance responsibilities

We believe this enhancement will significantly reduce some of the administrative burden associated with travel reconciliation and make the Concur process smoother for the campus community.

To learn more about Expense Assistant and see it in action, please watch SAP Concur’s short overview video:
https://community.concur.com/t5/Before-You-Go/Expense-Assistant-the-Assistant-You-Didn-t-Know-You-Needed/ba-p/56459

If you have any questions, please contact Travel Services at:
Travel@umbc.edu

Thank you,

Travel Services
Business Services
UMBC Travel Services

In just one day, volunteers from across campus have collected 280 lbs of donations from student move out! Campus community members can now shop for free in Upper Flat Tuesdays from items like school supplies, decorations, window curtains, kitchen dishes, placemats, and utensils, & more! Donating to and shopping at the ReStore helps prevent hundreds of lbs of waste from going to landfill every semester.

Email us at sustainability@umbc.edu with any questions!

As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting its quarterly system patching on Thursday, May 21st and Saturday, May 30th.  
While many of the systems will be patched without any service disruption, there are some systems which require the downtime of key services.  The schedule below outlines which key services will be offline and for how long.

Thursday, 05/21/2026 between 5pm and 10pm (most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):

* Access to Cyrus (legacy) email (accounts not migrated to UMBC Gmail)  * All mail will be queued up and delivered after the server is patched

* All HFS (afs) servers - gl.umbc.edu home directories will be offline

* Between 9:00pm and 10pm only: Certain software licenses will be unavailable (autodesk, cadence, idl, schrodinger, xilinx, mathematica). 

* Between 9:00pm and 10pm only: The web hosting environments (virthost) will be partially unavailable (pages will be available but any database calls will not work)

* Between 5:00pm and 6:30pm only: LDAP-Master and Webadmin will be taken down for system maintenance.  During this time account creations and password changes will be unavailable.  Account authentication and logins will not be affected.

Saturday, 05/30/2026 between 7am and 8am (most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):

* myUMBC lite page will be up resulting in reduced myUMBC functionality

Inside DOIE is a monthly series that introduces the faces in the Division of Institutional Equity. This project is an opportunity for our campus community to get to know the team.

Role within the Division: Equity & Civil Rights Hearing Officer/Decision Maker

How long have you been at UMBC? 10 Months

How would you describe your role within the Division of Institutional Equity?

My role is to help ensure that our community’s civil-rights processes are fair, respectful, and consistent. When concerns about discrimination, harassment, or related misconduct are brought forward, I review the information gathered, hold hearings or meetings when needed, and make an independent decision based on the evidence. I do not take sides—my job is to provide a thoughtful, neutral review so that every person involved has the opportunity to be heard and treated equitably. I also work closely with the ECR team to support clear communication, accessible processes, and a safe and inclusive campus environment.

Can you share a moment or experience that shaped your passion for equity and inclusion work?

Earlier in my career, I worked with a student who felt completely overwhelmed by the system they were trying to navigate. What struck me wasn’t just the situation itself—it was seeing how much relief they felt when someone finally slowed things down, explained the process clearly, and treated them with respect. That small shift changed their entire experience. That moment stayed with me. It showed me how important it is for every student to feel heard, supported, and treated fairly, especially when they’re facing something stressful or confusing. It’s a big part of why I do this work and why I care so much about creating processes that are accessible, equitable, and grounded in dignity for everyone involved. My hope is that when students interact with our office, they feel that same sense of clarity and respect—no matter their role in the process.

What is one initiative or project you’re currently working on that excites you?

I’m passionate about helping students understand what to expect when they interact with our office. Many students come into these processes feeling uncertain or anxious, and even small improvements in communication—clearer timelines, easier-to-read explanations, or supportive guidance—can make a huge difference in how fair and accessible the system feels. One project I’ve been especially committed to is shaping our written materials (like decision letters, notices, and process guides) so they are easier to follow and genuinely student-centered. My goal is to make sure every student, no matter their background or experience, feels informed, respected, and supported from start to finish. When students understand the process, they’re better able to participate meaningfully—and that leads to fairer, more empowering outcomes.

Outside of work, what’s something that brings you joy or helps you recharge?

I recharge by spending time with my family and being outdoors. I love taking long drives, exploring new places, and finding small moments of calm in busy weeks. At home, I enjoy spending time with Luna, my very anxious German Shepherd. Quiet routines, time with the people I love, and creative outlets all help me stay grounded and bring my best energy to the work I do with students.

Can you share a book/quote/movie or something others can engage with from your perspective of inclusive excellence?

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” — Benjamin Franklin. For me, this speaks to shared responsibility. Inclusive excellence is strongest when we all see ourselves as part of creating fairness, not only those directly affected.

Hey Graduate Students! 👋

As we transition into the summer months, the Office of Graduate Student Life (GSL) will be operating on a modified schedule. Please note our general hours and upcoming closures below before planning your visit:

🗓️ General Summer Hours

• Days: Monday – Thursday

• Hours: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

🚫 Upcoming May Closures & Key Dates

• Wednesday, May 20: CLOSED due to Spring Commencement 🎓 (Congratulations, grads!)

• Thursday, May 21 – Monday, May 25: CLOSED for Memorial Day Weekend 🇺🇸

• Tuesday, May 26: OPEN for the start of the Summer Session 📚

🚫 June & July Holiday Closures

• Friday, June 19: CLOSED for Juneteenth 

• Friday, July 3: CLOSED for Independence Day Observed 🎆

Have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing summer break! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Congratulations to our seniors!

Members of the Pre-Law Society who are graduating seniors may pick up their graduation cords on Monday, 5/18, between 1:00 and 4:30 PM, or Wednesday, 5/20, between 11:00 AM and 2:30 PM, in Public Policy 406 (Molly’s office).

Cast your vote for the executive board members of the Wisdom Weavers, the UMBC Erickson School of Aging Studies student interest group for the 2026-2027 school year.

Ballots will be open through Thursday, May 21st.

We are so excited by the level of interest in Wisdom Weavers leadership. Please take your time to thoughtfully review each candidate.   You can cast your vote HERE  

or by visiting https://forms.gle/WGvMawFmRYd9Z2Cj7

Cast your vote for the executive board members of the Wisdom Weavers, the UMBC Erickson School of Aging Studies student interest group for the 2026-2027 school year.

Ballots will be open through Thursday, May 21st.

We are so excited by the level of interest in Wisdom Weavers leadership. Please take your time to thoughtfully review each candidate.   You can cast your vote HERE  

or by visiting https://forms.gle/WGvMawFmRYd9Z2Cj7

We hope you will plan to attend the research presentations of two graduating TTL students on Tuesday, May 19 at noon on Webex. You can join the meeting by clicking on THIS LINK. Come celebrate Corinne Newsome and Caleb Schrader's hard work and brilliant research!

Corinne will present from her thesis, "Cycles of Indebtedness: The Chinese Coolie's Perpetual Labor in The Coolie Speaks and Monkey Hunting" [directed by Dr. Sharon Tran] In this project, Corinne reads Lisa Yun's The Coolie Speaks and Cristina Garcia's Monkey Hunting as counter-archives resisting dominant narratives that position 1874 as the end of the Cuban coolie trade's debt-based labor practices. These texts center the perspectives of Chinese contract laborers in Cuban history to present the compounding, renewing forms of debt that maintained their indenture throughout their lifetime and within Cuba's national legacy.

Caleb will present from his thesis  "'All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter': Tolkien’s Expressions Of Shifting Masculinity In 20th-Century Wartime England As Seen Through The Characters Of Boromir, Faramir, And Aragorn" [directed by Professor Deborah Rudacille]. His thesis argues that Boromir, Faramir, and Aragorn represent three distinct responses to the pressures of warfare, corruptive influence of power, and paternal expectation -- responses which he labels as collapse, conflict, and thoughtful integration. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings suggests that the defining test of masculinity is not the ability to wield or reject power, but the ability to demonstrate moderation and restraint through having it and being able to relinquish it.