UMBC SGA and UMBC Retrievers Integrated Health (RIH) are proud to offer QPR Training — Question, Persuade, and Refer.

The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. We believe that quality education empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know

Whether you're involved in leadership, care deeply about mental health, or simply want to be prepared to help someone in crisis, this training is a powerful way to make a difference.

If you're interested in participating, scan the QR code or complete the interest form below:

https://forms.gle/4s8g11x9HMGpBYUFA

Together, we can build a safer, more supportive UMBC community!

B.A.: Creative Enterprise & Sociocultural Leadership

Degree Mentors 

• M Valle Pease | Pre-Licensed Clinician; PhD Candidate in Counseling Psychology, UMD; MS Counseling Psychology, UMD; Director of Research and Assessment at Trans Maryland; American Psychological Association’s Advocacy Coordinating Committee; 2025 Vice Chair of the Mary- land Commission for LGBTQIA+ Affairs
• Jose Arenas Gómez | Assistant Teaching Professor, Individualized Study at UMBC
• Steven McAlpine | Assistant Teaching Professor, Individualized Study

Why did you choose to major in INDS?

INDS offered the opportunity for me to curate and claim my education, blending my passions for creativity, social change, and entrepreneurship. Now, as a creative director, artist, and leader, INDS represented a stable platform to prepare me for a career in creative entrepreneurship, aligning my education with cultivating community. 

What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?

My vision, informed by my INDS journey, is to design and contribute towards systems of care that empower emerging voices while reimagining how arts infrastructure can serve the cultivation of communities. Following graduation, I'm looking to continue working on my non-profit organization that aims to facilitate and advocate for participatory action through creativity and the arts. 

Were you involved in any clubs or organizations? Did you hold any leadership positions? URCAD? URA? Off-campus internships? On-campus research experiences?

• Founder & Presenter, Retriever's Gallery

• Academic Peer Advocate, ASC
• Researcher, Undergraduate Research & Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) 
• Qualitative Researcher, Pedagogy Study Hall, led by Tomashi Jackson & Nia Evans, "Trans People in Maryland and Social Connection," led by M Valle Pease, and my own capstone "Thinking Thru the Lens: Investigating Community With Artistic Practice."
• Vice President, UMBC Photographer Org. 
• Workshop Leader, College Choice Night, Choice Program at UMBC
• Ambassador, UMBC Education Abroad Ambassador 

Awards and Grants:

• Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation-Awardee November 2024
• Idea and Innovation Competition — Awardee, November 2024
• College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) Dean's Scholarship— January 2025
• UMBC Affinity Award: Asian Excellence Graduate— May 2025

• Prove It! Grant Competition — Finalist, May 2025
• UMBC Arts+ Grant — Awardee, June 2025
• Zainab Damji Memorial Scholarship Endowment— September 2025
• La Noue Memorial Award for Research and Travel— October 2025

Click here to learn more about Thalia's journey 

Dialogue connects. Dialogue transforms. Join educators and practitioners across Maryland for an interactive symposium on advancing dialogue for belonging, community, and shared action.

We're pleased to invite students, faculty, staff, and community partners to the Dialogue Symposium: Bringing Campuses and Communities Together, hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). This symposium is collaboratively planned by USM partner institutions - University of Maryland-Baltimore, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Maryland Global Campus, Towson University, and The Universities at Shady Grove. 

SAVE THE DATE: January 29, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 
Location: University Center Ballroom, UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 

Dear Retrievers and Valued Riders,

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, UMBC Transit will be closed from Wednesday, November 26th through Friday, November 28th. During this time, no bus service will operate.

We will resume service on a modified Interim Schedule on Saturday, November 29th and Sunday, November 30th. Please plan your travel accordingly and check the Transit App or our website for updated route times.

We appreciate your understanding and wish you a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

For your convenience, here are some alternative public transit options available while UMBC Transit is closed:

1. Baltimore Link
   • Route 32: UMBC - Patapsco
   • LocalLink 76: CCBC - Downtown
   • LocalLink 37: Old Court Metro to UMBC
   • CityLink PURPLE: Paradise/Catonsville
2. RideShare Services
   • Lyft
   • Uber

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 410.455.2454 or transit@umbc.edu.

Thank you for choosing UMBC Transit. We wish you a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving!

Safe Travels,

Your Transit Team ~ Driving Student Success

Call for Nominations: MdPHA Board of Directors — 2025

The Maryland Public Health Association (MdPHA) is now accepting nominations for open Board positions for the 2025 term! We invite passionate, committed MdPHA members to consider stepping into leadership and helping guide our growing statewide public health community.

This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with dedicated public health professionals and students across Maryland, contribute to statewide initiatives, and support work connected with the American Public Health Association (APHA).

"Maryland Students Step Out of Their Comfort Zones and into Authentic Community," written by Matt Hoffman, director of the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Pluralism, was featured on November 10 in Interfaith America's online magazine.

In the article, Hoffman shared how UMBC is continuing to put interfaith work in action via an Advancing Pluralism grant from Interfaith America. "One of the core themes of this past year in The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being at UMBC has been exploration and newness," explains Hoffman. "As the office rolled out two new programs, Bridge Builders and Interfaith Fellows, it was clear that encouraging students to go outside of their comfort zones could be one way to help shift campus culture and create community through authentic relationships."

The UMBC Bridge Builders Program is co-led by Dr. Ciara Christian, co-director of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue, and is a semester-long program focused on dialogue across differences, related to pressing global issues in religious/spiritual spaces, while the UMBC Interfaith Fellows Program is a stipended year-long fellowship program, with curricular (non-credit) and co-curricular experiences to develop student leaders committed to engaging across religious and spiritual traditions.