Rishi Nixon, a senior biological sciences major and member of the Honors College, brings a kaleidoscope of interests and skills to his time at UMBC after transferring from Montgomery College. He’s been a performing storyteller for more than 10 years, originally with his 4-H youth club and now independently. Nixon conducts research on Parkinson’s disease at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and plans to pursue a medical degree after UMBC.  

Q: Tell us about someone in the UMBC community who has inspired or supported you.

A: Meeting Kendyl Walker, my honors college advisor, on my first day of classes made UMBC feel like home. Especially coming into this new environment after leaving my community college—she met me where I was on day one and continues to make me feel supported every time we meet. 

Q: Tell us about what you love about your academic program or an organization you’re involved in.

A: My honors college seminar on race, poverty, and gender in Baltimore, taught by Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye (“Dr. K.”) opened my eyes to issues facing the city and was one of my most impactful UMBC courses. It helped cut through the ways the city is sometimes talked about in Maryland politics, emphasizing the importance of funding programs that help lift up Baltimore. 

This past summer, I had the opportunity to complete a second seminar with Dr. K: an applied community service experience at a nonprofit organization in the city called Moveable Feast, which helps deliver medically-tailored meals to Baltimore residents experiencing food insecurity.

In August 2025, I engaged with the city for the first time in my capacity as a performing storyteller. I performed at the Irvington Peace Park for an annual summer camp organized by Cynthia Wagner, teaching professor in biological sciences, for youth who live in her West Baltimore community. The peace park—a beautiful space built by community members from clearing a vacant lot—was a magical site for the camp, and the kids were a wonderful audience.

Photo right: Rishi Nixon at the National Storytelling Conference in Georgia with the vice chair and vice chair-elect of the board of the National Storytelling Network.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about it?

A: Something Dr. K. said once sums it up: “UMBC is a small town.” I see UMBC as a really welcoming place for students who are comfortable leaning on their advisors, mentors, and supporters. It’s very comforting to see faces you recognize each day all over “town.”

Q: What brought you to UMBC? 

A: I came to UMBC because of its excellent reputation for undergraduate teaching and scientific research opportunities, but also to maintain the small-town feeling and one-on-one learning I received at Montgomery College.

Now that I’m here, UMBC’s research reputation has proven true. I’ve conducted research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and also in my coursework. At UMSOM, I study a neuron protein called proSAAS that helps unclump misfolded proteins in the brain that are responsible for neuron death in Parkinson’s disease. 

And in my Experimental Biology Lab course, taught by Dr. Tracy Smith, associate teaching professor in biological sciences, I got to participate in ecological research. We visited on-campus sections of the West Branch of Herbert Run to measure the diversity of macroinvertebrates (e.g. fly larvae, water beetles, etc.). We collected them from the stream bed, logged their abundance and the number of types of organisms, and drew a conclusion about the stream’s overall health and pollution levels based on an index of biodiversity levels associated with different degrees of stream health. 

Our calculations determined that the stream is very healthy, which is probably a result of UMBC and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund investing in restoring the streams. In fact, the most abundant species of macroinvertebrate we found (damselfly larvae), are actually sensitive to pollutants, yet they were thriving in campus streams when we surveyed in September 2025.

Q: How has UMBC supported your “why”? 

A: UMBC’s Honors College has been core to supporting my “why.” They have been huge supporters in connecting me with opportunities for research, and their seminars are excellent for deep one-on-one learning in very niche areas (e.g., Dr. K. and Baltimore). It’s hard for me to imagine my UMBC experience without the Honors College. Its staff and programming helped deepen my existing interests, including pursuing service in Baltimore after my coursework on the city and taking a seminar in neuroscience after conducting research in neurobiology.

Q: What would you tell other transfer students about UMBC?

A: I would encourage other transfer students to apply to the Honors College—I think the small class sizes and the one-on-one advising preserve a similar experience at community colleges. I am also very grateful that UMBC is able to provide generous merit scholarships to support transfer students coming from honors programs at Maryland community colleges.

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a five-day immersive learning experience for UMBC undergraduate and graduate students to explore the systemic and human dimensions of complex social issues in Baltimore. Participants will spend much of the week in Baltimore City connecting with local leaders, policymakers, organizations, and community members, to gain a nuanced understanding of the resources and challenges related to their topic areas. The program supports students in linking their knowledge and interests to local contexts, and in identifying pathways for long-term community engagement.

This year's ASB program will take place from Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20, 2026. Participants spend much of the week in small groups, each co-led by UMBC students trained by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, exploring a specific topic in depth. 

This year's focus areas are:

• Housing Equity and Access
• Justice in Psychiatric Care
• Fostering LGBT+ Belonging in Schools

Complete the ASB 2026 application by December 19, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Accepted and waitlisted applicants will be notified via email in late January.

ASB is hosted by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. More information is available on the the Center for Democracy and Civic Life website.

ASB is open for full participation by all undergraduate and graduate students 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.

Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) is offering 5 free tickets to current UMBC pre-law students to attend their "Celebrate Pro Bono 2025" event.

Join Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) at The Factory, a West Baltimore Opportunity Center, in one of the communities MVLS serves to recognize the remarkable impact of pro bono volunteers and community partners whose commitment to pro bono inspires us and changed the lives of Marylanders in 2025!

This is an excellent networking opportunity.

Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025

Time: 6:30–9:00 pm

Location: The Factory, 5 N Calhoun St., Baltimore, MD

Note: Students will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the event.

The Stage Supervisor manages stage operations and supervises the run crew during all technical rehearsals, previews, and performances. They are a critical member of the production department who primarily works with Stage and Production Management to maintain a safe and productive environment backstage. The Stage Supervisor reports to the Production Manager and Technical Director and will be assigned stagehand responsibilities for 6 shows per season. As the lead member of the run-crew, they coordinate stage operations in cooperation with Stage Management.

Overview

Baltimore Center Stage invites applications for the position of Ticket Services Associate to support the Box Office Team in delivering best practices in customer service and sales. The associate will ensure patrons have a positive experience while adhering to organizational policies and procedures.

This is a part-time position (20–25 hours per week) focused on providing courteous, efficient service to all patrons when selling single tickets and memberships. The position reports directly to the Box Office Management Team.

We're excited for our community to benefit from many of the features included with SAP Concur, and today will share a bit about the mobile apps. You can download the SAP Concur and TripIt Pro mobile apps here! 

The SAP Concur mobile app is available for smartphones to manage business expenses, travel, and invoices on the go. Users can create and submit expense reports, book flights and hotels, approve invoices, track mileage, and use the camera to capture receipts for instant expense entry. 

Key Features

• Expense Management: Create and submit expense reports, view credit card transactions, and use the ExpenseIt feature to capture receipts with your phone's camera. (but keep your receipts) 

• Travel Booking: Book flights, hotels, and rental cars, and manage your travel itineraries. 

• Travel Alerts: Get real-time travel updates, gate information, and other alerts through integration with services like TripIt. 

• Approvals: Review and approve travel requests, expense reports, and invoices. 

• Mileage Tracking: Capture and track business mileage directly within the app. 

Our contract with SAP also includes free TripIt Pro, a separate application available at no cost to UMBC employees. Favored by frequent and savvy travelers, this application will turbo charge your travel experience and put you in control of your itinerary. Keep an eye out for our post next week. 

Learn more about the mobile app experience in our training sessions.  Sign up for our training on the links below in this post, or on the myUMBC Travel group.

Concur Orientation – A high-level overview of the full travel process from start to finish including a discussion of the apps available providing access to your information anywhere you are.

• Oct 28 - (Live), 12:30 – 2:30 PM

• Nov 3 -  (Live), 9:00 – 11 AM 

Policy Training – Explains the UMBC interim travel policy and the reasons behind the policies.

• Oct 23  - (Live), 1:00 - 2:30 PM

• Oct 29 -  (Virtual), 2:00 – 3:30 PM

• Nov 5 - (Virtual) 1:00 - 2:30 PM

• Nov 6 - (Virtual)  9:30 - 11:00AM

Arranger Training – (Formerly "Preparers") For admins arranging travel on behalf of others, such as guests, students, faculty, or staff.

• Oct 23 -  (Live) 9:30 - 11:30 AM

• Oct 24 - (Virtual) 12:00 - 2:00 PM 

• Oct 28 - (Virtual) 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Approver Training – A step-by-step walkthrough of the approval process from the approver's perspective.

• Oct 24 -  (Live) 9:30 - 11:00 AM

• Oct 27 - (Virtual) 10:00 - 11:30 AM

• Oct 31 - (Virtual) 10:00- 11:30 AM

• Nov 5 - (Virtual) 11:00 - 12:30 PM

• Nov 6 - (Live)   11:00 - 12:30 PM

Traveler + Arranger Training – Geared toward travelers, with arrangers encouraged to stay for the final portion specific to their role.

• Oct 29 - (Virtual) 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM

• Oct 30 - (Virtual) 10:00 - 12:00 PM

• Oct 30 - (Live) 1:00 - 3:00 PM

• Oct 31 - (Live) 1:00 - 2:30 PM 

• Nov 3 - (Live)  1:00 - 3:00 PM

• Nov 7 - (Live) 10:00 - 12:00 PM