Kelly Wan ’18, global studies and financial economics, and Humanities Scholar is one of fourteen UMBC students and recent alumni to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards — a new university record.

During her junior year, the Ellicott City local, who is Chinese-American, studied abroad in Shanghai to learn more about Chinese language and culture. There, she became acutely aware of the challenges of managing different identities. “As a Chinese American I encountered misconceptions that Chinese citizens and foreigners alike had about who could be considered an American based on an individual’s physical features,” explains Wan. Through her Fulbright experience in South Korea, she’ll further explore Asian and Asian-American identities.

Wan is currently a graduate student of American studies at Columbia University. Through her Fulbright teaching assistantship, she will gain more insight about South Korea’s political, social, and cultural history. She’ll also seek to understand how Asian Americans construct their identities while reconciling both their Asian and American heritage.

As she connects with students in South Korea, Wan shares, “My hope is to dispel the stereotypes that people often associate with the United States and demonstrate that anyone, regardless of physical appearance, can be American.”

Wan’s story resonates with UMBC’s other Fulbright recipients, the university’s largest group to date. As students prepare to leave over the coming months to connect with people around the world, they share how they hope to challenge stereotypes and encourage peace-building through a shared humanity.

A history of international excellence

UMBC began participating in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in 1970. Since then, Fulbright has chosen more than 70 UMBC students and recent alumni to represent the United States through conducting research, teaching English, or pursuing graduate studies internationally. UMBC has been particularly successful in the past five to ten years. In the last decade, UMBC has had 65 recipients.

The United States government established the Fulbright Program in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between people of the U.S. and other nations around the world. Today, this “flagship international educational exchange program” is active in over 160 countries. It is highly competitive, receiving over 11,000 applications each year. Recipients are chosen based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.

Brian Souders Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy, and culture, has been a key leader in collaborating with faculty across campus to identify qualified students in all majors. He then provides one-on-one support for students beginning the summer before the Fulbright announcement and continues providing placement, academic, and social support while students are abroad. As the Fulbright program coordinator, Souders’s attention to detail and passion for connecting Retrievers with this prestigious experience has resulted in a steady increase of recipients over the last ten years.

Embracing different languages and identities

As a linguistics major, Bryce Moore ’19, modern language, linguistics, and intercultural communications (MLLI), is most at home surrounded by people who speak a variety of languages and traveling to countries unfamiliar to him. While studying abroad in Portugal he learned Portuguese and traveled to the U.K., Spain, and Germany. “I have not been anywhere east of Germany,” explains Moore. “Teaching in Kazakhstan is an opportunity to learn Russian and understand more about surrounding countries, each with their own unique identities.”

Dymond Elliott, ’19, psychology and MLLI, also accepted a Fulbright placement in a country unfamiliar to her: Malaysia. Elliott has studied Japanese culture and language extensively through her minor and her study abroad experience. Malaysia presents an opportunity to expand her knowledge of Asian cultures.

“I don’t speak Malay but I am excited to learn and deeply interested in immersing myself in a culture that doesn’t expect assimilation but embraces immigrant identities,” says Elliott.

Deepening cultural ties

After teaching English for two years in Costa Rica, Michael Schapiro, M.A. ’19, TESOL, is ready to apply those skills in Colombia. He is particularly excited about the opportunity for cultural exchange.

“The Latin American people I have met in the U.S and abroad have been very friendly, welcoming, and hospitable,” says Schapiro. “I enjoy that type of rapport and want to continue to build more relationships throughout the continent as I become more fluent.”

Similarly, Corey Simon’s prior experiences in Barcelona and Uruguay, supporting community education organizations, inspired her to explore teaching English further. “I chose Uruguay because I was already familiar with the language, culture, and country so I could jump right in and be most effective with the time I have,” shares Simon ‘18, MLLI, and M.A. ‘19, intercultural communication. “But more than anything I want to give back to the country that has given me such a great experience.”

An experienced world traveler, Rebekah Kempske sees the exchange of ideas as the most pivotal takeaway of her upcoming Fulbright adventure. Kempske ’19, mechanical engineering, joined her family during breaks and holidays to travel the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Through her travels, she saw different applications of engineering concepts, which sparked an interest in global engineering.

Kempske chose to learn more about global engineering through a master’s in industrial design at Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands. She believes engineering is successful when technical skills and people skills are combined maximizing different working styles and ideas. “International collaboration based on respect takes engineering from a concept to an applicable change agent,” says Kempske, “improving the quality of life for the people who need it the most all over the world.”

A full list of UMBC’s 2019 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees for graduate study, English teaching assistantships, and research is below. UMBC’s Fulbright semifinalist story from earlier this spring includes additional student features.

Research Assistant Awards

• Jessica Linus ’19, health administration and policy, Rwanda

English Teaching Assistant Awards

• Jennifer Bohlman ’19, M.A., ESOL, Germany
  
• Liam Connor ’19, information systems, Vietnam
• Dymond Elliot ’19, psychology and MLLI, Malaysia
• Chanler Harris ’19, ancient studies, Taiwan
  
• Leah Ginty ‘14, modern languages, linguistics and intercultural communication, and M.A. ‘19, TESOL
• Bryce Moore ’19, MLLI, Kazakhstan
  
• Manneha Qazi ’17, biological sciences, Uzbekistan
• Michael Schapiro ’19, M.A., TESOL, Colombia
  
• Corey Simon, ’18, MLLI, and M.A. ’19, intercultural communication, Uruguay
• Kelly Wan ’18, global studies and financial economics, South Korea

M.A./M.S. Study Awards

• Rebekah Kempske ’19, mechanical engineering, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
• Jacob Schubbe ‘18, mechanical engineering, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland
• Julian Tash ’19, Asian studies and history, Taiwan

Banner image: UMBC Fulbright recipients hold flags of countries from their respective placements. Images by Marlayna Demond for UMBC unless otherwise noted.

Have you ever sat in front of a computer screen just staring at a blank page? Have you ever been stuck on how to make a fantastic and unique title? Or even just want to learn a few tips on how to make them better?  This blog post is going to help you learn how to be more creative and edgy when making them. I know they may seem intimidating, but they don’t have to be with a few simple tips.

Forget about the Title

Yes, I said it. Forget about it until the end of the piece of writing. I know it may not seem like the most helpful piece of advice, but trust me, it works. It may be a little easier to create one if you have already drafted the paper. Doing this usually gives you a clear theme and flow of the paper. You would want the title to match it, so be sure to stay in the “boundaries” you have created within your paper. Sometimes when you are thinking too long and hard about something, i.e. a title, you stunt your brain’s creativity. This is detrimental to your paper, as this is what motivates the reader to, well, read your paper. So, when you draft it and go to write the title afterwards, you can have a eureka moment and come up with the perfect one! In addition, if you wait until afterwards, you might not even need the eureka moment— you’ll have all of the material within your paper to drawn from as inspiration.

Use your writing to help you

As mentioned above, you should draft the paper before the title. Let the writing guide you through the process of making a creative one. One way you could do this is to pull out certain characteristics of the paper. Try to pull out ones that will hint on what the piece of writing is about. You want it to stand out and catch the reader’s eye, so that they will want to find out more about it. Let’s face it. Papers with dull titles are glanced over for more exciting-sounding reads. Your paper could be amazing, but if you don’t incorporate a unique trait into the title, the reader will never know. “Why not?” you might ask. Well because it won’t grab them or pull them in. Try reading through your paper and jotting down some important concepts and themes. Remember to pick ones that you could use to describe your paper. You could even take a phrase from your paper and use it, if it will encompass the big idea of your paper. This is one of the simpler yet effective ways to make a title on short notice.

Consider the Subject of the paper

The subject of the paper is important when considering what your title should be. The subject could be your friend or your worst nightmare. For example, if you are very knowledgeable about a subject then it may be easier to think of a creative name to go along with it. Or if the subject is about something casual, then you could make the name in the same fashion. On the other hand, if after writing your paper, you still don’t like the subject or it’s boring to you, it may reflect that. Or if the paper is more formal, then it should follow suit while still maintaining its uniqueness. So to combat this, find something interesting about the subject, so that not only is the paper easier to write but the perfect title will fall right into your lap, well, hopefully more so on your paper. For formal papers, such as a Biology report, you should still keep the integrity of the traditional report style but try to add a small touch of yourself in the label.

Make the title catchy and memorable

This tip should be a given. A catchy title will grab the reader’s attention. It would also stay on the reader’s mind longer. This is key because the purpose of a title is to make the overall paper memorable. Just to be clear, a catchy title doesn’t necessarily mean a one-worded one, although they have their usefulness. It can be a few words that rhyme or that are easy to pronounce. The words can be alliterative also. The object is to make it so catchy and memorable, that a reader may think of it while completing mundane tasks. Don’t go overboard though. It should still hold relevance to the paper you are trying to write. Also avoid making it sound too silly. One or two rhyming or alliterative words are catchy, but if it sounds too simple, it can seem a bit elementary.

All in all, don’t be afraid to let your inner writer shine through your paper. So whenever you feel that you’re writing a boring one, don’t be scared to come back to this list as you sharpen your dull title!

Contributed by: Mary'ah Onwukwe, Writing Center Intern

At UMBC’s upcoming commencement ceremonies, students and their families and supporters will hear from three distinguished speakers, each honored as a leader in their field. They include a UMBC alumnus recently elected county executive, the first woman conductor of a major American orchestra, and one of the world’s top addiction researchers.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski

On Wednesday, May 22, new Baltimore County Executive John “Johnny O” Olszewski, Jr. will speak at UMBC’s graduate commencement ceremony. Olszewski is a lifelong Baltimore County resident who frequently speaks of his strong belief in the power of public service. He earned his Ph.D. from UMBC in public policy in 2017. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Goucher College and master’s degree from George Washington University.

After college, Olszewski returned to his community to teach social studies and special education at Patapsco High School. The experience affected him in a profound way. As he recently wrote in the Baltimore Sun, “I am a teacher. I don’t work in a classroom anymore, but my days teaching at Patapsco High School have shaped me into the person I am today. They shape the kind of county executive I want to be.”

In 2006, Olszewski was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates at age 23. He served for nine years and was the youngest person ever elected as chair of the Baltimore County Delegation. During his time in the General Assembly, he championed numerous bills, including paid sick leave for all Maryland workers. His advocacy for Baltimore County focused on economic development and education reform, two issues he has continued to focus on as county executive.

Olszewski lives in Dundalk with his wife, Marisa, and their daughter, Daria.

BSO Music Director Marin Alsop

UMBC will host two undergraduate commencement ceremonies on Thursday, May 23. Maestra Marin Alsop, music director for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO), will speak in the first ceremony to graduates in UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the School of Social Work; and the Erickson School. She will also receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.

Alsop has spent her career dedicated to showing how music really does have the power to change lives. As a conductor, educator, and leading advocate for the arts, she inspires musicians to give of their best in performing for all audiences. As a pioneer in a traditionally male-dominated field, she created a fellowship for women conductors in 2002. All 17 of the fellowship’s recipients remain involved in the field and five are now American music directors.

When she was named BSO music director in 2007, Alsop became the first woman conductor of a major American orchestra. She also holds roles as the principal conductor and music director of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. In September 2013, Alsop made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms in London and was immediately invited again for 2015.

As a student of the Leonard Bernstein’s, she was awarded the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize and is the only conductor to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. In 2008 she founded OrchKids, which brings together musicians and youth from some of Baltimore’s most challenged neighborhoods. The program works in partnership with six public schools and has served over 1,000 children.

“I believe the arts are an incredible opportunity, especially for young people, to gain self-esteem,” Alsop has said previously, in The Baltimore Sun. “When you start to see yourself mastering something so complicated [as a musical instrument], then you can see yourself mastering something else.”

“I wish we could reach thousands of kids,” she shared. “There are so many kids who deserve this.”

NIDA Director Nora Volkow, a leading addiction researcher

Physician Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), will address undergraduates from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Engineering and Information Technology, and interdisciplinary studies during UMBC’s second undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 23.

Volkow became director of NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health, in May 2003. As the lead funder of world-wide research on the connections between health and drug abuse and addiction, NIDA brings together a wide diversity of scientists who develop and implement solutions for one of the world’s most pressing and urgent public health issues.

Volkow’s own research has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a disease of the human brain. Her focus on neurobiology has helped make breakthroughs in other public health issues such as obesity, ADHD, and aging.

Volkow was born in Mexico, earned her medical degree from the National University of Mexico, and carried out her psychiatric residency at New York University. She has taught in the department of psychiatry and was associate dean of the Stony Brook University Renaissance School of Medicine. Prior to her tenure at NIDA she held leadership positions at the Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, including director of nuclear medicine, chairman of the medical department, and associate director for life sciences.

To date, Volkow has published more than 600 scientific articles and edited three books on neuroimaging for mental and addictive disorders. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2000 and twice has been named one of Time Magazine’s “Top 100 People Who Shape our World.” She will receive an honorary doctor of science degree at the ceremony.

Community members who are not able to attend the ceremonies in person can view them live through the commencement webcast or follow them on Twitter @UMBC and through #UMBCgrad. Videos of the remarks will also be available online after the ceremonies.

This story was written by Marie Lilly, director of community engagement.

Featured image: BSO Music Director Marin Alsop. Photo by Margot Shulman.

The editing process is vital to creating a good story, regardless of which genre you write in. It is a time to refine your story, and to make it the best it can be. Editing is not an easy process. Oftentimes, you can find yourself not knowing where to start, or unwilling to let someone else see your work. While I can’t stress enough the importance of having someone else edit your story, you may want to edit it yourself first. So, if this applies to you, here is a list of tips that you can use when editing your own story. Many of these can also apply if you are editing someone else’s story, too.

Take Your Time and Read Like a Reader

There’s no need to rush through the editing process. In fact, there are more reasons to edit slowly and thoroughly, so that you don’t skip over the same issues during the next edit. If there are glaring issues with your story, take the time to fix them, so that in the future you can work on the more important things. Your future self will thank you.

You should also let yourself enjoy the story. Read the story from a reader’s perspective, so that you can experience it the way your readers will. This will give you a different lens through which to view your story and allow you to detach from its creation a bit to view it critically.

Cut Out the Unnecessary

Everything in your story should have a reason for being there. I know I fell into this trap a lot when I first started writing. I would create a massive cast of characters, and then I wouldn’t know what to do with all of them. The less important ones would take attention away from the main characters, and it was difficult to fit them all into the story smoothly.

Every character should have a purpose in your story. That purpose can be big or small, but there has to be something. If there are characters without a purpose, cut them out of the story. The less superfluous characters in a story, the better the audience can focus on and grow attached to the important ones. Keep in mind, stories can have extremely large casts, like Game of Thrones. But I challenge you to find a single character in Game of Thrones that does not play at least a small part in advancing the plot.

This rule counts for events, too. If an event doesn’t advance the plot or subplot in some way, or doesn’t at least give the reader more insight into a certain character, then it should be cut out. Most readers don’t want to read fluff, as much fun as it sometimes is to write.

Watch for Plot Holes

This is one of the most important things to focus on, because it can potentially change a lot about your novel. On a first draft, they can be put aside for the sake of getting the writing done. But on the first edit, and no later, they should be addressed. Because plot holes can be large enough to warrant changes to other parts of your novel, they should not be left alone. The sooner they’re fixed, the sooner you can focus on the other parts of the editing process.

Pay Attention to Pacing

I know at least personally, during the writing process, pacing is far from the first thing I’m focused on. Pacing can really only be addressed after the first draft is written. It is something that we should pay attention to, though, because it can make or break a story. If your entire story is slow and calm, then the reader will not stay interested, no matter how lovable your characters are. Likewise, if your story is nothing but tense, action-packed event after event, these moments lose their weight and the reader can also become bored. You need to find a balance. The action should come in waves, gradually becoming bigger as the story reaches its climax.

Examine Each Character’s Arc

This one seems like common sense, but I think many writers tend to overlook the arcs of smaller characters in favor of the main ones. Stories are far more interesting, and more immersive, if every character has some sort of internal or external struggle happening. It doesn’t have to be the main focus of the story, or even a focus at all. But think about real life – every single person you know has their own life, their own goals, and their own struggles. The characters in your story should be no different. You don’t need to explicitly write out every character’s arc, but keep it in mind when writing them, because it will help bring them and your world to life.

Hook (and Keep) the Reader

If the beginning of your story doesn’t have some sort of hook to get the reader interested, rewrite it. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who reads the first few pages of a book before even considering to buy it. You could have the most amazing book in the world, but if your readers don’t want to get past the first few pages, no one will ever know.

Hooking the reader is not only something that is done in the beginning of a book. It should be done throughout the book, to keep the reader’s attention. I cannot count the number of books that I have forgotten about, several chapters in, because I grew bored after a stellar opening. There should always be something happening in the novel. Something that matters. Otherwise, the story can lose direction. An easy way to fix this is to make sure the character has a goal and an obstacle in every scene. As long as the character has something that they are working towards, there is enough to keep the reader invested.

Find a Balance

One of the most influential pieces of advice about writing I have come across has been from Stephen King’s On Writing. He said, “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” You don’t need to vividly describe every single detail of every character, of every setting, or of every event. Describe what is necessary to convey your vision, and let the reader fill in the rest. Part of what makes reading so enjoyable is the ability to interact with the text. A reader can’t do that if you don’t let them. Give them something and let their imagination run with it. Allow the reader to get what they want out of your story, so that it can make more of an impact on them.

Get Another Pair of Eyes

Creative writing is personal, and many writers are reluctant to show it to others, especially while it’s still in its early stages. However, this is all the more reason to have someone else look at it. Finding someone else who is willing to critique your writing is vital to the writing process, because they will always see mistakes that you won’t. Or they’ll see plot holes that you miss, or express confusion at the point of certain characters or events. Let someone else see your story. They might provide some valuable insight that you’d be unable to get from yourself.

Contributed by: Maddie