Avi Newman, who is graduating from UMBC this spring, knows all too well about learning to navigate unexpected detours beyond his control. Managing the compounding effects of COVID-19, meant letting go of his original college plan and embracing much-needed time for self-care and reflection. It also meant asking for and accepting help from a network of faculty who were ready to listen, offer guidance and encouragement, and help him pursue his interests in new ways. 

Newman originally envisioned himself walking a straight line from College Signing Day to Commencement. Instead, he found that a zig-zagging seven-year path took him where he needed to go, and that his success was a collaborative process. One of his greatest sources of support was Songon An, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry. 

“Avi came to my lab with great potential to become a biochemist. However, the COVID pandemic changed everything about his course of life,” says An. “I remember telling him that it’s OK to pause his undergraduate life and take advantage of such time to try out many different things, beyond academics, that he may find himself enjoying and feel rewarding.”

Newman began taking courses in a broader range of fields and is graduating with majors in biochemistry and molecular biology, biological sciences, and philosophy, plus minors. He has worked as a tutor, volunteered with a public health organization, and practices meditation to keep himself grounded. Accessing support gave Newman the confidence to rethink his assumptions about who he is now and who he wants to be.

“I think initially it was hard to come to terms with not graduating ‘on time,’ but after a while I realized that there’s no rush to life and that it was better for me to take my time and learn as much as I could,” says Newman. “I wanted to enjoy my time and take care of my mental, emotional, and physical health, which ultimately is much more important than rushing through things being excessively stressed.” 

Maneuvering daily challenges

Like Newman, Jennifer Boateng will soon cross the stage to accept her degree seven years after she enrolled at UMBC. Throughout her journey, she has kept a clear goal in mind: finding the best way to use her creative talent to support people who, like her, live with sickle cell disease, and similar challenges. 

Boateng found a perfect match in global studies, with a focus on creating multimedia content for humanitarian groups with a global audience. Pursuing this dream has meant adeptly maneuvering the complexity of living with sickle cell disease. Boateng completed research, taught herself her Final Cut Pro, wrote papers and lab reports, and attended classes both in person and at the hospital, virtually, as she received necessary care.

Boateng credits her positive and successful college experience to the long-term support of her friends and family as well as kindness and flexibility from UMBC faculty, staff, and peers. Her mentor Brigid Starkey, principal lecturer of political science and director of global studies, notes that the program worked closely with Boateng, especially over the last year, to strategize on how to finish her degree. 

“We worked on course selection and navigating academic appeals processes, and her disability rights,” says Starkey. 

With the moment she will turn her tassel in sight, Boateng and her mentors are looking toward what’s ahead. “Lately, my mentorship has involved talking to her about the future and where she may want to focus her efforts in the job market,” says Starkey. Boateng’s mentor is leveraging the department’s alumni network to connect her with career possibilities that will help her fulfill her vision.

Community support leads to success

Finding success through community support is familiar to many UMBC graduates. UMBC was the second university Victoria Joya Euceda attended, searching for a mentor who understood her story as a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated from Central America. At UMBC, she connected with  Yolanda Valencia, assistant professor of geography and environmental studies, and other supporters. Now, Joya Euceda ’23, geography and environmental systems, is heading to a Ph.D. in geography at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Beatriz Soriano Luna ’23, social work, transferred from Montgomery College to UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove, where she became an integral member of a close-knit community. Valuing the mentorship of M. Nicole Belfiore, clinical instructor of social work, Soriano Luna herself mentored more than two dozen students as a peer advisor. She’ll next pursue a master’s degree through the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

This May, on College Signing Day (which celebrates students’ college decisions), Joel DeWyer, director of campus life operations, welcomed UMBC’s next incoming class in a video on Twitter, reminding them of the excitement that lies ahead and the support they can access along the way.

“College can be a nerve-wracking and anxious experience, right? So when you have a question, or when you are feeling uncertain, when you are feeling overwhelmed, do me one favor,” said DeWyer. “Find someone around you in your community and ask for help.”

He shared a message that Newman, Boateng, Joya Euceda, and Soriano Luna have worked to pass along to others: that support can be found everywhere at UMBC. “There’s people all around you who care about your success and we are here to help you,” said DeWyer. “So never, ever, be afraid to ask for help.”

Read more Class of 2023 stories.

This year’s UMBC commencement speakers represent the best of what higher education strives to be, applying insights to meet the needs of humanity.

Commencement speakers

Keith T. Elder, Ph.D. ’02, health policy and policy sciences, will address graduates at the ceremony for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; School of Social Work; and Erickson School of Aging Studies on May 25 at 10 a.m.

Paula Therese Hammond, this year’s honorary degree recipient, will speak at the 3 p.m. ceremony, addressing graduates from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Keith T. Elder’s commitment to improving healthcare

Keith T. Elder (Image courtesy of Keith T. Elder)

Elder is the provost and executive vice president of Mississippi College. His research focuses on finding ways to improve the quality of healthcare for our most vulnerable populations. 

Elder is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal AIMS Public Health and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others. Elder is a 2022 UMBC Alumni Award winner for Outstanding Alumnus in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and has also received a distinguished service award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“I got the chance to learn more about Dr. Elder’s research and work in public health and academia when he received a prestigious award from our alumni association this past fall,” says Stanyell Odom, director of alumni engagement. “Our graduates will gain inspiration from his UMBC story and life’s work as this year’s commencement speaker.”

Paula T. Hammond, nanomedicine innovator

Hammond is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, head of the department of chemical engineering, and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Her research focuses on nanomedicine and novel responsive polymer architectures for targeted nanoparticle drug and gene delivery. She is a member of all three National Academies: Science, Engineering and Medicine.

In 2019, Hammond received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer.

“Dr. Hammond is an extraordinary scientist and educator,” says Greg Simmons, M.P.P., ’04, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “We are very excited to have her participate in our commencement exercises and look forward to hearing her remarks.”

UMBC valedictorians

Also speaking during the commencement ceremonies will be UMBC’s two valedictorians: Christopher Slaughter ’23, M31, computer engineering, and Zinedine Partipilo Cornielles ’23, financial economics and mathematics. 

Partipilo Cornielles’s passion for public service is fueled by his experience fleeing Venezuela at age 16 with his family to seek asylum in the U.S. He is a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar who has researched the impact of financial literacy on student loan decisions among undergraduates across the United States. He also served as a teaching assistant and tutor for fellow students, taught English to local immigrants through the Esperanza Center, and was a member of the national championship-winning UMBC Mock Trial team. He is part of the Sloan Predoctoral Program through the UMBC economics department and will pursue a Ph.D. in economics.

Christopher Slaughter is a Meyerhoff Scholar who won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Cambridge this coming fall. He has worked with Govind Rao, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, in the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), helping develop technology that can sense glucose levels through the skin. He hopes to focus his career on developing novel biomedical technologies that meet the healthcare needs of under-resourced communities.

Partipilo Cornielles will address graduates at the 10 a.m. ceremony, and Slaughter will speak at the 3 p.m. ceremony. UMBC’s graduate commencement ceremony will be May 24 at 10 a.m. Live videos of all three ceremonies will be available at commencement.umbc.edu.

commonvision's hours Wednesday, May 17 will be 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.