Do you always find yourself talking about social justice? Are you the friend in your group who's always adding "nuance" to the conversation? Then we're looking for you! 

Social Justice Dialogue Facilitation Fellows work for the Center for Social Justice Dialogue and are supervised by professional staff within the Center. 

The main role of this internship is to support the work of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue (CSJD) in cultivating a campus community where everyone feels empowered and equipped to engage in difficult dialogue across differences of identity, background, and lived experience. Built on a foundation of Intergroup Theory and other social justice education frameworks, interns will co-create and deliver workshops on topics of identity, social justice, and dialogue to student populations. Further, students will support projects including MediaBytes, Your Story Belongs Here, InterACT, FYS: Race, Social Justice, and Dialogue, and other departmental programs. 

They may also support collaborative dialogue programs in partnership with other departments on campus (e.g. The Women's Center, Center for Democracy and Civic Life, Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging, etc). 

Facilitators are expected to work a maximum of ten hours a week which includes weekly staff meetings to engage in deep learning, prepare for workshops, and continue developing student-focused programming. Interns engage in ongoing training, reviewing key activities, facilitation skills, and foundational introductions to various social justice concepts. Interns must be available for these training sessions as well as program retreats.

Upon the completion of more advanced training (including Restorative Practices) and a full year of participation, students will have the opportunity to apply to a "senior internship" position to facilitate higher stakes dialogues.

General Responsibilities:

·        Develop, facilitate, and promote peer-led workshops on topics related to identity, social justice, and dialogue to student populations 

·        Engage in ongoing learning and development connected to dialogue and facilitation

·        Co-create the continued foundation for IDEAL and InterACT programs, as well as contribute ideas and content for workshop curriculum 

·        Support CSJD programming through attendance, marketing/promotion, co-facilitating activities within larger dialogues and workshops, etc.

·        Meet with the primary supervisor and attend regular student staff meetings (dependent on student availability)

·        Serve as departmental "student liaison," gathering information about current student "hot topics" and  needs and wants connected to dialogue 

·        Serve as an ambassador for IDEAL and InterACT programs, as well as CSJD more broadly 

·        Follow all area regulations within the Code of Conduct (this is provided during the staff onboarding process)

·        Fulfill all other duties and responsibilities as appropriate and assigned (including, but not limited to occasional  oral / written reflections, time tracking, etc.)

Minimum Qualifications:

·        Must be a full-time, matriculating undergraduate or graduate student at UMBC;

·        Must have and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (semesterly checks will be conducted);

·        Must be able to commit to a minimum of Spring Semester for at least 10 hours per week; oppurtunity to renew

§  Interns are strongly encouraged to enroll and fulfill all the requirements PRAC098 offered through the Career Center each semester, but especially for their first full semester of the internship program. Learn more about PRAC here.

·        Must be committed to being a positive role model and demonstrate leadership skills;

·        Must demonstrate ability to interact and communicate mindfully in person and online with diverse students, staff, faculty, and other campus community members;

·        Must be flexible with schedules depending on relevant programs, events and/or student professional development opportunities; 

·        Must have flexibility to work evening and weekend hours on occasion;  

·        Must attend all training sessions

·        Please hold Jan 8, Jan 21, Jan 23, Jan 26, Jan 29th for upcoming events

Preferred Qualifications:

·        Demonstrated experience with myUMBC, Gmail, Google Drive, Canva, Instagram, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and/or Illustrator 

·        Demonstrated basic knowledge in any of the following areas: the relationship between identity, power, privilege and oppression, intersectionality, social justice-related theories, intergroup dialogue (e.g. Critical Race Theory, Feminist/Womanist Theory, Queer Theory, Social Identity Theory)

·        Demonstrated leadership skills and experience through student organization leadership, civic engagement and/or activism

·        Have summer and winter availability; and

·        Have verbal, spoken, and/or written multilingual skills

This internship is 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.

To apply, find the position on Handshake with the ID: 10523914

 Call for Applications: UMBC Entrepreneurial Learning Lab (ELL) – Student Cohort

 Apply now for the Spring 2026 cohort!

 Student Application Link: https://forms.gle/vy8EbBRz6PAQHVoU9

Dear UMBC students,

We are excited to invite applications for the Spring 2026 Student Cohort of the Entrepreneurial Learning Lab (ELL)—a unique, hands-on innovation experience that gives students the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills, gain internship credit, and work directly with UMBC faculty research to evaluate the potential commercial viability or social impact of their research or technology. 

The ELL is a semester-long, cohort-based program where students learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and innovation, then apply these skills by evaluating the commercialization or social-impact potential of faculty-led research projects. This experience is ideal for students interested in product development, consulting, research, design, entrepreneurship, or innovation in any field. 

Students who complete the program will earn internship credit and a $250 stipend.
There will also be an additional paid opportunity (up to $1,000) upon completion to work on a summer project related to the research development. 

Offered in partnership with the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (ABCEI) and the Engineering and Computing Education Program (ECEP), ELL helps students build real-world skills that employers and graduate programs highly value.

 What You'll Gain

Throughout the semester, students participate in highly interactive workshops covering eight essential entrepreneurial competencies:

Opportunity recognition, Customer discovery, Market analysis, Problem/solution fit, Product/market fit, Demand validation, Value delivery, Pitching/storytelling 

By the end of the program, students will:

• Develop a professional Lean Canvas

• Work as part of a team to evaluate UMBC research for commercialization or community impact

• Create and deliver a professional pitch deck

• Earn internship credit

• Build résumé-ready project experience

• Strengthen communication, problem-solving, and innovation skills

• Connect with mentors, faculty innovators, and UMBC entrepreneurship leaders

 Eligibility

Open to:

• Undergraduate and graduate students from all majors

• Students committed to attending all workshops and completing project work

• Students seeking hands-on innovation experience or internship credit

No prior entrepreneurship experience is required. 

 Important Notes

• This is an in-person program. Attendance at all workshops is required to receive internship credit.

• Application Deadline: Tuesday, December 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM

• Apply here: https://forms.gle/vy8EbBRz6PAQHVoU9

• Applicants will be notified at the beginning of January.

 Questions

Dr. Jamie Gurganus – jgurganus@umbc.edu
Engineering & Computing Education Program (ECEP) / CIRTL

Kevin Fulmer – kevinf@umbc.edu

Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation

The Barbara E. Burkman Public Health Scholarship Endowment Fund scholarship application is now available in Scholarship Retriever.  

Scholarship Application Deadline: January 15th, 2026

Please follow the links below to Scholarship Retriever where you can review the scholarship criteria and complete your application.

Scholarship Retriever

Barbara E. Burkman Scholarship

If you have any questions please contact Melissa Cox - mrose4@umbc.edu

From the Center for Social Justice Dialogue Directors

For some, the holidays are a season of joy, connection, and shared traditions. For others, they can be emotionally demanding, a careful dance around long-standing tensions, lingering conflicts, polarizing political disagreements, or generational wounds. A friend once told me, "I love my family, but three hours is all I can manage." Many of us prepare strategies, invite "buffers," or brace ourselves just to get through the meal.

Holiday tables have always held complexity. This year, though, many of us are feeling the weight of that complexity more intensely than ever.

As directors of UMBC's Center for Social Justice Dialogue, we want to offer our Retriever community tools to navigate this season with grounding, compassion, and intentionality. Whether you're entering difficult conversations about identity, politics, justice, or family history, the competencies of dialogic community building—critical self-reflection, cultural storytelling, generous listening, and loving accountability—can help guide your steps.

Here are some tips, tools, and practices to consider. 

Care + Critical Self-Reflection

Before we enter dialogue, we begin with ourselves. Critical self-reflection calls us to look inward at our identities, experiences, triggers, the stories we carry, and the assumptions we bring to the table.

Ask yourself:

• What am I feeling in my body as I anticipate this gathering?

• What topics or comments tend to activate strong reactions in me?

• What boundaries do I need to hold to maintain my well-being?

• How can I show up in ways that contribute to community care?

Radical self-care reminds us: you can opt in to dialogue, and you can opt out as an act of protection and love. If a conversation becomes unsafe, dehumanizing, or overwhelming, it is valid to pause or walk away. Your well-being matters.

Community care reminds us: how we show up impacts others. Our presence, tone, boundaries, and choices can contribute to a safer, more compassionate environment, even when disagreements arise. Community care invites us to hold ourselves with compassion and to consider the collective well-being of those around us.

Cultural Storytelling: Sharing Truths and Lived Experience

Dialogue deepens when we share the stories that shape us, not to prove a point, but to build understanding.

Cultural storytelling invites you to:

• speak from your own experiences rather than speak about others,

• connect present tensions to personal and community histories,

• illuminate the values, traditions, and identities that shape your worldview.

This practice helps shift conversations away from abstraction and toward authenticity.
It also supports relational connection—"Here is where I come from, and here is how it shapes what I believe."

Generous Listening & Practicing Generous Questioning

Generous listening is the heart of dialogic community building. It requires vulnerability, patience, wonder, and the willingness to pause your assumptions to consider someone else's perspective truly.

This kind of listening sounds like:

• "Help me understand how you came to that belief."

• "What experiences shaped that view for you?"

• "I hear your intention. Can we talk about the impact?"

Generous questioning invites deeper reflection rather than defensiveness. It widens the possibility of connection, especially across difference.

Loving Accountability: Offering Truth With Care

Dialogue doesn't mean avoiding conflict; it means engaging conflict with compassion and clarity.

Loving accountability includes:

• naming harmful language or behavior with respect and honesty,

• recognizing when someone's disagreement denies your humanity,

• setting boundaries without shaming,

• aligning your tone and words with your values.

You can say:

• "I want to stay in this conversation, but I need us to slow down."

• "That comment felt hurtful to me. Can we talk about why?"

• "Your intention matters, and so does the impact."

As James Baldwin reminds us, we can disagree and still love each other—unless that disagreement denies our right to exist.

Loving accountability holds us all to a higher standard, not to win, but to grow.

When You Are Triggered: Return to Your Body

If you feel overwhelmed, flooded, or frozen:

1. Breathe deeply to reconnect.

2. Body scan: Where is tension showing up?

3. Name your reaction if you want:

• "I'm noticing I'm having a strong reaction right now."

This is part of loving accountability, to both yourself and the relationship.

After the Dialogue: Ground, Reflect, and Replenish

When the conversation ends, ask yourself:

• What emotions linger in my body?

• What did I learn about myself?

• What support or community care do I need now?

• What joy practices can help me reset?

Choose rest. Hydrate. Journal. Move your body. Connect with people who affirm your dignity and wholeness.

In Community, With Courage

As you move through this holiday season, remember that dialogue is not about perfection. It is about showing up with intention, curiosity, and heart. Whether you are leaning into connection or protecting your peace, you remain part of a community dedicated to justice, equity, and humanity.

May you find moments of grounding, clarity, and care wherever you gather.

In community,

Ciara and Jasmine
The Center for Social Justice Dialogue Directors
UMBC | Division of Institutional Equity
#UMBCtogether #SocialJusticeDialogue