Luke 18:13 (NIV) - “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

Here we see an example of this man’s outer posturing matching the inner brokenness he is dealing with. The tax collector has come to repent and seek God’s forgiveness. Humbling oneself before God gets noticed.

1 Kings 21:27-29 (NIV) - “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.’”

When Ahab hears that disaster will fall upon him and his household, his response is immediate. For a man who is described as being set apart in the degree of evil he perpetuated, that there was no one like him in that regards, his response is unexpected. Ahab humbles himself both inwardly and outwardly and God acknowledges his response.

Physical posturing can help us express humility. Being sobered in our emotions/thoughts, fasting, bowing our heads, praying on our knees or praying prostrate with our face to the ground can be ways that help us come humbly before God. Pray today for God’s mercy, help, and transformation in our lives that we would walk humbly before Him. In areas of our lives where there is conviction to turn, let’s turn.

You can also rewatch the children’s animated version of the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufe6zouTq8g

-AK

As a freshman Sondheim Scholar living in UMBC’s service-focused Shriver Living-Learning Community, Isabel Geisler had big plans. Geisler ’17, global studies, wanted to create a support program for local high school girls in STEM, and after two years of intensive research, planning, and partnership-building, she launched a pilot in 2015-16, all to prepare for the program’s official kick-off this year. Today, Geisler’s Reach Initiative includes 20 mentors serving 20 mentees, with a robust program structure to manage everything from fundraising to evaluating efficacy.

The Reach Initiative has three pillars: mentorship, research, and empowerment. Geisler observes that despite evidence of ongoing gender inequality, Americans often don’t like to admit that gender bias remains a major issue. She suggests that this can leave women unprepared to deal with discrimination, particularly in male-dominated areas like STEM. By “tackling these challenges head on” and giving young women training and information, she hopes to positively influence their education and career paths.

In their first semester of the year-long program, participating teens meet weekly with their mentors on campus, to “make them feel like they belong here,” at a major research university, says Geisler. Workshops teach the girls ways to advocate for themselves and respond to harassment. They also address core aspects of the college application process, like taking standardized tests and completing financial aid paperwork. Guest speakers, including current students in UMBC’s scholars programs, help the high schoolers imagine what their futures could look like.

In the second semester, participants tackle service-oriented independent research projects. Just like professional scientists, participants must create a project proposal and budget before getting to work. Geisler says at least half of the initiative’s overall budget funds the students’ research. A new grant the American Association of University Women just awarded to the Reach Initiative will primarily support these projects.

The initiative has partnered with a number of schools in Baltimore City, including Green Street Academy, Digital Harbor High School, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, and Patterson High School to recruit participants.

As Geisler prepares to graduate from UMBC this May and likely head to a Ph.D. program in sociology, she is taking steps to make sure the program is well-situated to continue after her departure. One group of initiative volunteers is already seeking approval to complete a long-term study of the girls’ success and retention rates in STEM, with an eye toward the future and a sense of long-term commitment.

Banner image: Students in the 2015-16 Reach Initiative pilot cohort. Photo provided by Isabel Geisler ’17.

Not In My Neighborhood
by Antero Pietila

This Spring semester we will be featuring two categories in our bi-annual essay contest: our traditional essay contest and a new media (or multimedia) essay contest. We are putting the "Experience" back into the New Student Book Experience. It’s time to get creative; write an essay, shoot a video, write a poem, write a song, write a rap… express your experience based upon the book.

Spring Deadline: April 14th, 2017
Enter Now!

Enter Student Life's annual CelebratingOrgs photo contest! Three winners get their photo printed, backlit, and put on display in the Student Organization Space for the next year, AND these winners will receive $100 in their Student Organization carry-over account.

You are eligible for this contest if, you are a part of an officially recognized UMBC student organization. 

Selection Process: The selection committee, comprised of students and staff, will be looking for awesome photos that show your student organization in action! Winners will be announced at CelebratingOrgs on May 3, 2017. 

Submission Instructions: By Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 11:59pm, high resolution photos should emailed to Janae Cruz (jcruz@umbc.edu) with typed details about the student organization, the person submitting the photo, and the student organization's main web domain or email address. 

Please be sure to avoid the following scenarios:

• Photos of your group just standing together and smiling. 
• Low quality, low res photos. The better the quality, the better it will look large scale.
• Being vulgar or disrespectful towards any person, group, etc. 
• Any kind of nudity. 

For ideas, check out last year’s photos in the Student Organization Space!

Please be sure to follow UMBC's Terms and Permissions.