Art Seminar Group (ASG) is a private non-profit organization devoted solely to the study of art. Founded in 1956, ASG is based in Baltimore and has approximately 350 members. Our members are men and women who are knowledgeable about art and include art historians, museum directors, trustees and docents, and collectors; work in many fields including medicine, law, education, social work, business and the arts; and are engaged philanthropically and civically in the Baltimore region.

Photo by FeiFei Ma

With the semester’s workload at maximum capacity, students migrate from their dorms to the library, to The Commons, to wherever their studying safe haven may be. For first year Peaceworker Fellow Eleanor Brasfield, that haven is the Shriver Center.

With coffee brewing in the background and looking through red-rimmed glasses, Brasfield reflects on her years in the Peace Corps (2013-2016). “Zambia wasn’t my first choice, but I’m still grateful that I served there,” she said.

When applying for Peace Corps, Brasfield ranked her top three regions to serve as: Eastern Europe (hoping to apply her history major and minors in German and medieval studies), Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite her ranking, Brasfield was nominated to serve in Peace Corps Zambia in both their environmental and agricultural sectors.

“I was chosen based on my resume, not because I requested a sector or a certain objective,” Brasfield said. In the past few years, Peace Corps has re-branded their application process, marketing it as “only taking an hour to apply” and allowing applicants to not only rank their preferred regions, but also preferred sectors of service: Agriculture, Community Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health and Youth in Development.

Brasfield’s primary focus while in Zambia was working with village leaders to increase food security and public health through sustainable practices. “My project was called ‘Linking Income: Food and the Environment.’ We challenged the community to think about how to improve their health and economy holistically, rather than just focusing on one or the other,” said Brasfield.

Cultural assimilation is a challenge that all volunteers learn to overcome and Brasfield is no exception. “Fitting in culturally is hard,” she said. “I had to convince my community that I was truly there to help and that I wasn’t a spy or a person hunting for gems,” Brasfield said.

“It’s the little things that you do that helps people trust you, like learning the language or participating in the community outside of work.”

Like some Peace Corps volunteers, Brasfield chose to serve for three years. However, unlike many of them, Brasfield chose to dive right back into student life immediately following her return to the states. Back in June of this year, Brasfield applied and was accepted to UMBC’s fellowship.

Most returned volunteers choose to take some time off between their service and work (either academic or professional). In a way, Brasfield did too, just considerably shorter… six weeks, to be exact.

“I didn’t want to wallow,” said Brasfield. “I didn’t want to have downtime to think about what I was missing. I wanted to be involved in something.”

Brasfield chose to come to UMBC because of the intercultural communications program offered and the school’s closeness to her home. “My mom was sort of scared she’d never see me again, but being close to home has helped the both of us.”

As a fellow, Brasfield works at the Walden Circle Community Center in Woodlawn, MD, which is a perfect way for her to apply her experiences from service and from her graduate program.

“I’m from Maryland, but even within our state, there are personal layers of culture to cross when working in a different community,” Brasfield said. “In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m in Peace Corps again because I have to take time to get to know the community.”

When asked to give advice to those thinking of serving in the Peace Corps, Brassfield simply said, “Just do it.”

Brassfield also suggests not to over pack the simple things like toothbrushes, soap and toilet paper. “All that stuff is there, don’t worry.”

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Hello all you world travelers!!!
Just a reminder,
If you would like to pick up your Study Abroad Alumnus T-shirt, here are the days and times when you can do so:

Tomorow, Friday 12/2, and Friday 12/9 from 12pm-1pm in Commons Main Street (across from the book store) at the Study Abroad Information Table

After over 30 inches of snow dropped on Baltimore last winter, the city has increased and improved its programs and procedures for the upcoming winter. Earlier this November, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced a $6.3 million budget for this winter, more than doubling the budget from last year.

The increased budget comes along with additional personnel, as well as new snow-removal equipment and almost 20,000 tons of salt. Mayor Rawlings-Blake announced the new budget and measures in a tour of a brand new salt and brine-processing facility at 560 W. North Ave. The new facility will be at the disposal of the crews during winter weather events.

The new facility can hold up to 39,000 gallons of brine, which crews will use to pre-treat roads before storms, in order to prevent snow from sticking to essential city gateways, which will help with their snow removal efforts.

Additionally, the facility at North Avenue holds the first salt dome built in the city in over 20 years. With 7,500 tons of salt at the location, the city has increased its salt storage capabilities while also providing personnel with easy access to certain streets and important roads, such as the Jones Falls Expressway. The location and ease of access should prove to be beneficial, allowing for shorter response times for snow-removal crews.

While crews and equipment have been improved since last year, a few other programs and measures have been added or brought back for this weekend. The Department of Transportation has announced the return of its Youth Snow Program. The program connects student workers with senior citizens and/or disabled residents. The students work with those who need assistance with clearing snow in public rights of way passages and sidewalks on days city schools are closed.

Cold weather shelters have also begun opening their doors, both in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The Baltimore County cold weather shelter operates from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. It is activated on nights when the temperature reaches 32 degrees or below and when there are no more beds in homeless shelters.

Besides cold weather shelters, Baltimore City’s 19 library branches operate on extended hours from November through March, so residents can warm up from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The City also offers community centers, churches and senior centers as additional warm up locations.

Code Blue guidelines have also been revised for the winter. The city’s Health Commissioner declares a Code Blue Alert during periods of extreme cold, seeking to control hypothermia deaths specifically in vulnerable pockets of the population, such as the homeless and senior citizens. Shelters are encouraged to extend their hours and keep people indoors whenever a Code Blue Alert is issued. The city also participates in energy assistance programs, which target those with no home-heating and give subsidies to those who experience difficulties paying their heating bills.

Programs seeking to provide winter clothing have permeated the Baltimore Community as well as UMBC. At UMBC, boxes for winter clothes donations can be found in the Commons and other common areas around campus. In Baltimore, Operation Warm has been distributing new coats to hundreds of Baltimore children. The organization works with SERKI, a non-profit manufacturer that employs disabled workers in their plant in Kentucky.

UMBC students are also deeply affected by inclement weather: the large amounts of snow delayed the start of the Spring 2016 semester. ResLife staff have procedures to follow in case of snow buildup. The university’s Environmental Safety and Health web page directs users to useful links for winter preparedness, such as emergency kit instructions from the Red Cross. However, its link for UMBC’s winter weather policy currently leads to a dead page.

For inclement weather updates, students should check MyUMBC, or sign up for UMBC’s E2 Alerts for real time text alerts for all weather and other emergencies.

The post Baltimore buckles up for winter weather appeared first on The Retriever.