On the corner of Mellor Avenue and Frederick Road, the smell of toasted bread and roasted red peppers linger as passersby walk in and out of Atwater’s Catonsville.

Atwater’s Catonsville, the fifth addition to the Atwater’s franchise, is a bakery shop that serves a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes in downtown Catonsville.

The original Atwater’s bakery started out as a small shop that sold leavened bread. Now, Atwater’s is a multimillion dollar operation that claims over 200 employees, five branches and several entrees.

Married couple Ned and Priscilla “La” Atwater originally founded Atwater’s in 1997 while Ned was apprenticing for a well-respected chef and studying business administration in university. His passion for cooking from scratch eventually led to the establishment of their first shop: Atwater’s Naturally Leavened Bread. It was located in Belvedere Square, a shopping mall in north Baltimore.

When they first started out, there were many obstacles to overcome. With a staff of only fifteen in their early stages, it was difficult managing their business. Her husband, La says, was the “front” of the operations, and was heavily involved in the food preparation.

Because her husband and their staff made the bread themselves, actually making the bread could take up to 12 hours alone.

Meanwhile, she was the “back” of the operations, in charge of the administrative duties that needed to be attended to. There, she quickly learned not “to get too excited” at the prospect of running a local bakery.

“The banks really want you to succeed…but I remember bouncing a bunch of checks before I really figured it out,” Atwater explained. Now she can say it was well worth it.

Atwater’s Catonsville is located in the couple’s hometown and houses more dishes than they could have ever thought imaginable, from grilled ham and cheddar biscuits, to enchiladas, pot pies and buttermilk pancakes. There are now six retail locations across the Baltimore area, including Falls Road, Canton, Hopkins and Kennelworth.

Despite their ever-expanding operation, the Atwaters are still fond of their Catonsville roots and have given back through their business in different ways.

Atwater recalls their project with Playworks a few years prior, where the workers offered free soup to customers who bought soup bowls for a local fundraiser.

Atwater, who is also the administrative assistant for both the Humanities Scholars and Linehan Artist Scholars Programs on campus, has also invested her efforts into giving back to UMBC.

“We tried having this community dinner with musicians from UMBC set to perform,” explained Atwater. For various reasons, however, the event did not go as anticipated, but Atwater and her husband are optimistic to collaborate with UMBC in the future.

“There’s even a bulletin board for UMBC in the back room,” Atwater remarked. With their future with UMBC still underway, Atwater and her husband are currently working on other field projects.

As of 2016, the company has expanded to include its very first urban farm, which is also in partnership with The Samaritan Women, an organization that rehabilitates victims of human trafficking. With their own farm to grow locally-sourced fruits and vegetables, the Atwaters hope to cultivate the resources and enjoyment “in building a more sustainable community.”

According to their website, “The urban farm represents our mission to provide fresh, wholesome food to Baltimore and serves how interconnected we are to the natural world… we invite you to share our bounty and experience the true meaning of farm to table.”

On the corner of Mellor Avenue and Frederick Road, the smell of toasted bread and roasted red peppers linger as passersby walk in and out of Atwater’s Catonsville.

Atwater’s Catonsville, the fifth addition to the Atwater’s franchise, is a bakery shop that serves a variety of breakfast and lunch dishes in downtown Catonsville.

The original Atwater’s bakery started out as a small shop that sold leavened bread. Now, Atwater’s is a multimillion dollar operation that claims over 200 employees, five branches and several entrees.

Married couple Ned and Priscilla “La” Atwater originally founded Atwater’s in 1997 while Ned was apprenticing for a well-respected chef and studying business administration in university. His passion for cooking from scratch eventually led to the establishment of their first shop: Atwater’s Naturally Leavened Bread. It was located in Belvedere Square, a shopping mall in north Baltimore.

When they first started out, there were many obstacles to overcome. With a staff of only fifteen in their early stages, it was difficult managing their business. Her husband, La says, was the “front” of the operations, and was heavily involved in the food preparation.

Because her husband and their staff made the bread themselves, actually making the bread could take up to 12 hours alone.

Meanwhile, she was the “back” of the operations, in charge of the administrative duties that needed to be attended to. There, she quickly learned not “to get too excited” at the prospect of running a local bakery.

“The banks really want you to succeed…but I remember bouncing a bunch of checks before I really figured it out,” Atwater explained. Now she can say it was well worth it.

Atwater’s Catonsville is located in the couple’s hometown and houses more dishes than they could have ever thought imaginable, from grilled ham and cheddar biscuits, to enchiladas, pot pies and buttermilk pancakes. There are now six retail locations across the Baltimore area, including Falls Road, Canton, Hopkins and Kennelworth.

Despite their ever-expanding operation, the Atwaters are still fond of their Catonsville roots and have given back through their business in different ways.

Atwater recalls their project with Playworks a few years prior, where the workers offered free soup to customers who bought soup bowls for a local fundraiser.

Atwater, who is also the administrative assistant for both the Humanities Scholars and Linehan Artist Scholars Programs on campus, has also invested her efforts into giving back to UMBC.

“We tried having this community dinner with musicians from UMBC set to perform,” explained Atwater. For various reasons, however, the event did not go as anticipated, but Atwater and her husband are optimistic to collaborate with UMBC in the future.

“There’s even a bulletin board for UMBC in the back room,” Atwater remarked. With their future with UMBC still underway, Atwater and her husband are currently working on other field projects.

As of 2016, the company has expanded to include its very first urban farm, which is also in partnership with The Samaritan Women, an organization that rehabilitates victims of human trafficking. With their own farm to grow locally-sourced fruits and vegetables, the Atwaters hope to cultivate the resources and enjoyment “in building a more sustainable community.”

According to their website, “The urban farm represents our mission to provide fresh, wholesome food to Baltimore and serves how interconnected we are to the natural world… we invite you to share our bounty and experience the true meaning of farm to table.”

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

– Colin Kaepernick

 
Since the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback first refused to stand for the national anthem, dozens of current NFL players (as well as sympathetic athletes from Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and even one German soccer team) have joined in to protest racial oppression and inequality in the United States.

Although these protests have been extensively covered by the media, racial inequality is just one of many social problems facing our country today.

SOCY 201 – Social Problems in American Society provides a timely opportunity to explore, examine, and discuss such relevant topics as Racial Inequality, Crime, Poverty, Social Class, Education, and Health Care.

Why does hunger and poverty persist despite the nation’s wealth?

How does social class and race impact access to education?

Should the Affordable Care Act be “repealed and replaced”? Is universal coverage a realistic option?

Share your opinions, gain a better understanding, and learn key components to help mitigate these problems.

SOCY 201 is 4-week, fully online course offered during Winter Session 2018. It requires reliable internet access and the ability to self-manage independent learning assignments according to deadlines. In place of classroom activities, online work may include independent mastery assignments, discussion boards, videos with quizzes, writing assignments, and other active learning experiences.

October 25, 2017 by Megan Hanks

More than 200 million people around the world have visual impairments, making retinal research crucial to the development of more effective treatment plans. To that end, Erin Lavik, professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, and her collaborators have received funding from the National Eye Institute to develop a screen printing technique for human eye tissue.

Lavik and her team have proposed a method of layering adult stem cells in a way that is structurally similar to human retinas. Their idea was selected by the National Eye Institute’s 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge (3-D ROC) to receive one year of funding to create a model of the human retina, the part of the eye that is sensitive to light.

“Eye diseases have a tremendous impact on people’s quality of life and function,” says Lavik. “We do not have good models for studying these diseases, but it is our hope that we can use this prize to build new models of the eye that can be screened rapidly to allow researchers to not only understand eye diseases but to look for new therapies.”

Her work will allow researchers to address specific challenges to understand eye diseases or test eye therapies. Lavik is collaborating with Steve Bernstein, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Adam Day ’16, chemical engineering, Ph.D. ’23, chemical engineering, and Bryan Ibarra, a student at the University of Miami, who worked in her lab over the summer. The team’s approach is simple and easy to reproduce, and uses inexpensive materials that can be found online, says Lavik.

After the funding ends, Lavik and her collaborators will be able to submit a proposal for the second phase of the 3-D ROC program. The NEI, a part of the National Institutes of Health, received 13 proposals for the first phase of the project. 

Banner image: Erin Lavik and Adam Day in the lab. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This past Friday, the Mosaic Center brought food, music and fun to the Commons game room for a Stir Fry Social.  The social is part of the center’s Asian American and Pacific Islander outreach program, and was organized by Laura Huang, a junior sociology major and the Mosaic Center’s intern for Asian American and Pacific Islander student community outreach.

Huang first got involved with the Mosaic Center in the spring 2017 semester, when she applied for the intern position after hearing about it from a friend.  She says the position sounded interesting.  “I thought that it would be cool to work in a center that specifically helps and provides resources for a diverse population,” said Huang.

Her main focus for the center is to organize outreach to the different student and cultural organizations on campus, provide them with resources and create events and programs with the intent to inform and make everyone feel included.  The stir fry took place on Friday Oct. 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and attracted students from all over campus.  And while the promise of free food was a big draw for some, lots of other students came for the experience.

Dana Kobrin, a senior psychology major, president of UMBC Hillel and a self-professed “frequent flier” of Mosaic Center events, liked the inclusive catering and the welcoming atmosphere.  “It’s nice having something on the weekend with lots of people, and they had vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free options, which is great,” she enthused. The inviting and open nature of the event is in keeping with the Mosaic Center’s goals.

Junior media and communications studies major Najala Nadeem enjoyed the relaxed environment of the event, and De’Andrea Harmon, a sophomore in animation, appreciates that the events are open to all students.

“We need to come together and realize what matters, like tolerance and respect,” Kobrin notes, citing why she thinks the Mosaic Center matters on campus and in our current world.  “Cultural diversity and new experiences with other people strengthens you as a person,” she adds.

Huang wants for events like Friday’s stir fry to increase community engagement and students’ awareness of what the Mosaic Center has to offer to the campus community.  While UMBC has a diverse student body, Huang knows that “diverse doesn’t always mean inclusive.”

She is hoping her work will help promote inclusivity on campus.  “My goal is to let as many people as possible know about the Mosaic Center and our services, so they know what we provide and the different events and workshops we have to offer.”  For more information on the Mosaic Center, check out their website and myUMBC for upcoming events and ways to get involved.