The purpose of the PNC Scholars/Fellows Program is to provide awards up to $3,000 to outstanding UMBC students interested in becoming an entrepreneur.  This award is associated with UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship.  The scholarship will be awarded for the 2017 - 2018 academic year. 

 The awards will be used as academic scholarships (up to $1,000), or as “seed funding” (up to $2,000) to launch new ventures or community based social entrepreneurship projects.  

CRITERIA:

Students interested in applying for this award should:

Ø  Submit a 1-2 page personal statement about their interest in entrepreneurship.  The statement should:

Ø  Describe the impact an academic scholarship will have on their future as an entrepreneur or social innovator or

Ø  Describe how the award money will be used as “seed funding” to launch a new venture, or “seed funding” to launch a community based social entrepreneurship project.  Submit a preliminary budget outlining anticipated expenses.

Ø  Submit an updated resume

Ø  Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 

Instructions for submission are located at the bottom of the application (attached). 

The deadline is October 27, 2017 and any questions should be directed to Vivian Armor at armor@umbc.edu. 

Recently there has been an influx of lawsuits against colleges that do not have websites accessible to students with disabilities. These lawsuits were all won by the plaintiff, Emanuel Delacruz, who is blind. Applying to college is one of the hardest tasks that a young adult undertakes. So it stands to reason that the application process becomes even more difficult when people with disabilities have to face more hurdles that limit their accessibility.

Official college websites are an important aspect in anyone’s search for a school that is right for them. Without providing closed captioning for the hearing impaired or audio descriptions for the blind, college websites are essentially violating the Americans with Disabilities Act according to the ruling.

Senior statistics major Stormy Hill stated, in regards to the ADA, “[The ruling] definitely falls [under] the jurisdiction of the Americans with Disabilities Act as a public service and/or accommodation. However, public or not, I do believe that all colleges should be doing whatever they can to make education equally available for students with disabilities. Today, so much of schoolwork is done online that if the website is not usable for any student then they are at a huge, unfair disadvantage.”

The ruling is a step in the right direction. The ultimate goal is to provide an environment where everyone can have access to the same information and opportunities. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are not always given this privilege.

Overall, there has been an increase in enrollment of people with disabilities into universities over the years. This is presumably due to better understanding and treatment of people with disabilities. Despite the increase, there is still a large disparity in the percentages of disabled individuals enrolled in university in comparison to their peers.

Statistics support the assertion that students with disabilities have a much more difficult time applying to and excelling in higher education than others. Sixty percent of students with disabilities enroll in higher education despite 80 percent stating they would attempt university. This is compared to 67 percent of other students who enroll in school. After enrollment, only 41 percent complete their degree in comparison to 52 percent of the rest of the population.

The ADA is a special aspect of college life as campuses are usually filled with people from all different types of backgrounds. The law provides protection for students who have difficulties adapting to a campus that may not provide for their needs. However, this should extend to a university’s website as it is an invaluable source of information.

Hill also stated that, “I am not sure how accessible UMBC’s website is for other students, so I can’t really comment on that other than to say that I think UMBC’s website is even difficult for me to find things on a lot of times, and I wouldn’t want to try it with a vision impairment for sure.”

UMBC’s own website should be considerate of the needs of all their students. There are a few videos posted on UMBC’s official site with closed captioning. However, many use YouTube’s automated closed captioning services, which very often translate statements incorrectly. There are also no audio descriptions on website pages, which poses a problem for blind and vision impaired students and faculty.

UMBC should take the necessary steps to update the current website. This diverse and welcoming campus has some work to be done in order to be completely accessible to everyone.

Isaiah 6:1-8 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

“Isaiah was worshipping in the temple one day when, for the first time, his vision was lifted beyond the familiar surroundings into the presence of God. The temple in Jerusalem represented the rule of God coming down to us. But on this day, for Isaiah, the earthly symbol merged into the heavenly reality. As the earthly king lay dying, the true Sovereign was reigning, holding court, and Isaiah saw it.” [Raymond C. Ortlund Jr, Isaiah: God saves Sinners, p. 76]

Today, as you read and pray through Isaiah 6, may we also see through the eyes of Scripture, that regardless of the circumstances around us, it is God—the true Sovereign Lord who is the one reigning, holding court, and who empowers us to live.

“God and God Alone” – Link:

– AK

Overview:

The BMA is recruiting a team of empathetic, articulate, and enthusiastic individuals to serve as gallery interpreters in the Joseph Education Center. These part-time, temporary positions report to the Manager of Community Engagement. The position term runs from December 9, 2017 through June 30, 2018. This position compensation is $12/hour for 6 hours per week—with an additional 2 hours of paid training per month—for a total of 26 hours per month. All training and work take place on Saturdays and Sundays.