The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is recruiting 3 graduate students to join the Equity of Funds (EoF) Committee for the 2026–2027 academic year!

As an EoF Committee member, you will play a critical role in ensuring GSA funds are distributed fairly and transparently while tracking member performance and compliance.

Key Responsibilities:
• Review GSA-funded events and programs
• Track GSA member performance and accountability
• Maintain financial records and submit committee reports
• Attend all committee meetings (Time commitment: 3–4 hrs/week)

Why Join?
• Gain valuable leadership and governance experience
• Build skills in reporting, auditing, and policy enforcement
• Make a direct impact on how student resources are managed at UMBC

Interested in promoting equity and transparency on campus? Apply now to join the team!

Submit your application here!
https://forms.gle/y8NxS7Hx1cPkZKnL7

Happy First Day of Classes!

OHP will be open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

The Office of Health Promotion and all events are open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

Welcome back--visionaries and future founders!  Whether you’re returning to campus with a notebook full of new ideas or exploring the entrepreneur ecosystem for the very first time, get ready for a great semester! 

Come hear about the progress our student ventures that participated in the Launchpad Accelerator made this summer at Launchpad Demo Day in September!

At our speakers and workshops this semester you’ll hear about Building a Business with a Purpose, Unexpected Pivoting, How to Sell, and Why How You Think.

Finally, come to Idea Pitch Day and share your ideas, then submit one for the Idea and Innovation Challenge.

This semester is going to be full of opportunities!  Be sure to take advantage of them!

Name: Atharv Kulkarni

Pronouns: He/him

Semester of Internship: Fall 2025

Major: Cybersecurity

Current Class Level: Master's Student

This semester I completed a(n)...:  Co-op

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name): Ardent Privacy

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

Title of position: AI Security Engineer

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

I'm an AI Security Engineer at Ardent Privacy, a data privacy and AI governance startup based in Baltimore that builds software to help organizations operationalize regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and India's DPDPA. My work sits at the intersection of AI governance and software development. Day to day, I build product features that translate dense regulatory requirements into working software: adaptive compliance workflows, evidence collection pipelines, and policy controls that govern how AI agents are allowed to act on sensitive data. A lot of the job is reading the actual law closely, mapping each requirement to a concrete technical control, and then shipping the code that enforces it. On a given week I might be writing TypeScript or Python across the stack, designing the data model for a new compliance module, threat modeling how an AI feature could mishandle personal data, or researching how emerging AI governance frameworks should shape what we build next. The role rewards being equally fluent in the policy and the engineering, which means I get to own a feature from the regulatory question all the way to production.

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

I first heard about the role at the bwtech career fair, where I met the Ardent Privacy team and talked with them about the work they were doing in data privacy and AI governance. The conversation made it clear the position lined up well with my background in cybersecurity and software development, so I followed up and submitted my application shortly after the fair. From there the process moved into interviews focused on both my technical skills and how I thought about security and compliance problems, and not long after I was offered the position. The whole thing started from a single conversation at the fair rather than a cold online application, which is what made it work.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?

UMBC Career Center, Networking events (UMBC Connects, Info Sessions, Arts With a Purpose, etc.)

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

What I've enjoyed most is the level of autonomy. At a startup this size, I'm not handed narrow tickets; I get to own problems end to end, from the regulatory question to the architecture to the code in production. The most rewarding part has been building a new compliance product from the ground up, where I've had real input into how it's designed rather than just implementing someone else's spec. I've also enjoyed the work of bringing AI into an existing product without compromising its security, which is harder than it sounds. Bolting an AI agent onto a system that handles sensitive personal data forces you to think carefully about what the agent is allowed to touch, how its actions are authorized, and how you prove all of that to an auditor later. Getting to make those calls, and to be trusted with them, is what has made the position genuinely engaging.

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

The clearest impact has been shipping things that the organization now relies on rather than prototypes that sit on a shelf. By building compliance automation, I've taken work that used to be slow and manual, like mapping a regulation to controls and gathering evidence for an audit, and turned it into software that does it in a fraction of the time. That directly shapes what the company can offer its customers. On the AI side, the guardrail and authorization work I've done is part of what lets us add AI features to a product that handles sensitive personal data without taking on unacceptable risk, which is a prerequisite for the company moving in that direction at all. Beyond the code, I think I've had an impact on how we reason about these problems internally, by framing the security of AI agents as a question of what they are authorized to do rather than what inputs we can filter. Being early enough that those decisions stick is where I feel I've contributed the most.

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

Stay current, because this field moves faster than any curriculum can keep up with. The most useful thing I did was treat learning about new tools and trends as part of the job, not something extra, since what is cutting edge today is table stakes a few months later. My second piece of advice is to keep showing up to networking events even when it feels pointless. A surprising number of opportunities come from a single conversation rather than an application portal, and you only get those conversations by being in the room. Finally, apply even when you are convinced you are underqualified. The bar for getting your resume looked at is usually lower than you assume, and the people deciding would rather talk to someone hungry and still learning than pass on them over a checklist. The worst case is a no, which costs you nothing. Most of the breaks I got came from ignoring the voice telling me I was not ready yet.

Student Perceptions of Faculty AI Use

Looking for private bedroom for a female PhD student. House near or around Circle Drive. Common space should be available for use, with working dishwasher. Want to be on lease. Ideally the middle bedroom will be good. Cleanliness is a priority. If you have any leads please contact bm32973@umbc.edu or text 419-699-5117.

Hey stitches! We hope you had a great summer and can’t wait to see you guys soon!!! Please fill out this when2meet with your availability for the semester so we can plan our GBM time. Thank you!!
When2meet Link

Visit your college or school tent at the soccer game to pick up your free soccer scarf!

Not sure which college or school you belong to?

Visit UMBC Colleges, Schools, and Academic Departments for a full list of colleges and schools and their departments. 

Not sure about your major? Visit the Undergraduate Academic Affairs tent.

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The UMBC Soccer Scarf Tradition

The soccer scarf is a unique sports tradition.
The soccer scarf is one of the first known articles of sports fan apparel, and remains a badge of honor for the most loyal fans.

The exact origin is unknown, but early adopters wore simple scarves with alternating bands of colors matching those of one's favorite team.
The scarf is a bold way to show support for your team, distinctive in color and versatile in its uses.

Fans learned to show them individually and in tandem to create
dynamic displays of color and pride. 

UMBC celebrates this tradition each year with the creation of a new custom designed scarf that is distributed to all new students.

Wear yours proudly, and go Retrievers!

At UMBC, you will hear a lot about our campus' fundamental commitment to championing grit, boldness, and resilience. After all, our mascot's name is True Grit! For this final day of College Bootcamp, CNMS Advising is looking into how you can build and practice these traits as a means to understanding the direct connection between academic and mental health/success! 

For many students, the start of the semester is a time of both excitement and nervousness. You are facing a great deal of uncertainty, inevitable challenges, possibly even moments of doubt. With this in mind, is important to focus on a few key components to maintaining a sense of academic mindfulness. 

What is academic mindfulness?!? In general, it is the intentional focus on the present and a non-judgmental acceptance to learning/testing experiences, study habit development, setbacks, and all of the possiblities and challenges that come along with a school/college environment. The practice of academic mindfulness in a college setting has been directly related to academic acheivement as well as helping students manage academic stress, reduce mental fatigue, avoid burnout, and improve cognitive performance. While there is a great deal of neuroscience behind this, implementing mindfulness practices and introspection into your college experience can be as easy as journaling, single-tasking, meditation/relaxation exercises, intentional breaks in your study schedule, community involvement, and frequently anchoring yourself into both short term and long term goals. 

When it comes to starting your semester on the right foot for your academic and mental health, it important to remind yourself that you are not defined your grades!! Read that again -- you are not defined your grades!! Professors utilize assessments and exams as a means of gauging your understanding of specific material, not your potential or intelligence. In the long run, your grades and GPA will only serve as ONE component of your college experience. Similarly, unsatisfactory grades are merely an indicator that you may need to alter your study habits and shoud -- ideally-- motivate yourself to rise to the challenge. It is through this struggle that you will learn and grow far more than if you never experienced a setback. In fact, the only indicator of a "failure" would be if you did not adapt to the situation and then expected a different result in the future! 

Another behavioral skill that can directly improve a student's academic readiness and success is to begin thinking about your experiences through a growth (v.s. fixed) mindset. One of the videos below provides concrete examples of how college students can watch how you talk TO and ABOUT yourself. For example, students with a fixed mindset will believe that their abilities are innate/inherited and that assessments are direct/unmitigated evaluations of their potential or intelligence. On the other hand, students with a growth mindset will often see both positive and negative experiences as an exciting opportunity to be challenged, assessments as helpful knowledge checks and, ultimately a chance to grow as a person and as a student.

One of the pioneers behind the psychology of the fixed vs growth mindset, Dr. Carol Dweck, encourages students to adopt the "power of yet" -- or the fundamental understanding that we are ALL and ALWAYS on a learning curve and through hard work and perserverence we can achieve a greater potential.  As an important reminder, you are here to celebrate progress, not perfection. 

Finally, as part of your academic mindfulness journey, please know that you belong here! UMBC is a community of inquiring minds and both your faculty and staff are commited to your development in and out of the classroom. As a CNMS major,your advising team is dedicated to this end and will be continuing to offer our support and insight throughout the semester via our advising appointments, student success coaching, weekly programming in the The Learning Collaboratory (TLC) -- UC 115, study hall, and various other in-person/virtual events. We have deeply enjoyed releasing this week of "College Bootcamp -- Greatest Hits Playlist" and we hope to see you on campus very soon! 

Speaking of -- CNMS Advising will be kicking of the fall opening of The Learning Collaboratory with snacks, crafts, a photobooth, and more this upcoming Wednesday, August 26th from 12-4PM. More information to come!

If you have not already done so, be sure to give us a follow on Instagram where we will release college tips/tricks, etc. throughout the semester! Let's GRIT going Retrievers! 

The Power of Yet w/Dr. Carol S. Dweck (Professor of Psychology at Stanford University)

The Power of Belief -- Mindset and Success w/ Eduardo Briceño; Co-Founder and CEO of Mindset Works

Guided Meditation for Students w/Khan Academy

10 Minute Meditation for Exam Stress w/Headspace -- FREE

BONUS SHORTS: Follow a recent University of Illinois grad and student success content creator @lathanialwells and check out this short on three tips to mentally prepare for college.

🔑 *Availability:*
*Permanent shared fully furnished accommodation* available for *1 Female*(Indian) starting 1st September*at 5003 E , Westland Boulevard* (Maiden Choice Apts) 
🚌 
*Convenient Location:* Bus stop right in front of the house & 5 mins walk to the university. 
🏠 2 BHK + 1 Bath. Fully new furnished house including Sofa, Microwave, and Oven. 
💸 *Affordable Living:* Rent: $385+utilities. 
📞 *Contact Details:
*443-713-9159
*667-452-0695