One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community. 

• Julie Rosenthal, Asian Studies, in The Baltimore Sun
• MLLI Faculty and Students Featured in Russia Beyond the Headlines, Voice of America
• Dale Bittinger, Admissions, Describes “House of Grit” on Midday with Dan Rodricks
• UMBC Humanities Faculty Discuss Serial in The Guardian
• Jeffrey Davis, Political Science, in The New York Times

Read more at UMBC Insights!

Christopher Corbett, English, penned an article for Baltimore Style in which he explored the nuances of “naughty or nice” in the Christmas song “Santa Claus in Coming to Town.”

In the article, Corbett examines the lyrics of the song and makes a connection to George Orwell’s 1984. He states, “‘Santa Claus is Coming (Or Comin’) to Town’ is certainly a Santa for a dystopia—an Orwell or Huxley Santa. A Santa for ‘1984’ or ‘Brave New World.'”

Click here to read “Naughty or Nice” in Baltimore Style.

Name: Jessica Moreno

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Art With a Heart | Title of Your Position: Social Media and Documentation Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies (MCS) / American Studies

Expected Graduation Year: May 2015

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

For this internship, I was assigned to travel to various sites and document the art classes that Art with a Heart offers during the summer through photography. Art with a Heart is a non-profit organization that works to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art. They bring their 7,500 visual art classes to abused, neglected and abandoned children; homeless people; battered women and their children; pregnant adolescents; mentally and physically disabled adults; low-income senior citizens; elementary, middle, and high school students; youth in after-school programs; and children receiving long-term health care. Not only did I have to travel to the art classes, I had to build relationships with the participants in order to gain their trust in order for me to photograph them and their artwork. I created numerous content such as photos and videos and managed their Instagram account.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I knew that I wanted to do an internship over the summer and since I am an intern at the Career Center, I knew that UMBCworks was the place to start my internship search. I searched for positions that I knew I was interested in and I applied online. Through UMBCworks, I landed my internship at Art with a Heart.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Career Center and UMBCworks.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I enjoyed documenting the artwork that all the students worked on during the summer. I was able to communicate and talk to the participants and with the art teachers from Art with a Heart. I also enjoyed the editing process such as doing work on Photoshop and Sony Vegas to edit photos and create videos.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I would say the relationships I made with the staff and the participants. The staff from Art with a Heart is doing life changing work for those in need and it was nice for me to spend time with them and learn more about the organization and its history.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

I strongly encourage students to meet with a career advisor at the Career Center if they are unsure on how to start the internship/job search process. I was worried that I would not be able to get an internship so for me, it was important to ask questions. After all, the Career Center is there to help us students succeed!

Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

Do not be discouraged if you do not land an internship the first time. Be persistent and apply for multiple positions because in the end, you will obtain one. It just takes time and perseverance!

Erin Appel ’00, political science, Erin O’Keefe ’10 M.P.P, public policy, and Angela Scott ’99, interdisciplinary studies, are among the 2014 Leading Women Winners. Leading Women honors women age 40 or younger for their career accomplishments. They were chosen for their professional experience, community involvement and a commitment to inspiring change.

Appel is a senior government relations associate for Capitol Strategies LLC and a court appointed special advocate who mentors a 17 year old boy in a residential treatment facility. O’Keefe is the director of the York Road Initiative, which addresses economic, physical and human needs along the Yong Road cooridor. Scott is an attorney and advisor for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Serices and was elected to the Maryland State Democratic Central Committee in 2010.

Click here to read more about the Leading Women winners.

CREDIT CARDS
You can quickly and easily make your year-end gift online. Gifts by credit card must be submitted no later than midnight EST on Wednesday, December 31.

CHECKS
Checks must be dated and postmarked by Wednesday, December 31, to be counted in the 2014 tax year. Please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to the UMBC Foundation at 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.

GIFTS OF SECURITIES
The gift of appreciated stock can be beneficial to UMBC and you. You may be eligible to take a charitable deduction for the market value of the securities, and could potentially benefit by avoiding capital gains tax and reducing your estate tax. You can request additional information about donating securities by visiting UMBC Foundation.

PLANNED GIVING
Planned gifts can be a significant benefit to you, your family, and UMBC. Bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts offer donors a variety of ways to support the university. For more information, visit our Planned Giving website. You can also contact Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, by phone at 410-455-3700 or by email at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

GIFTS IN KIND
A gift of personal property includes equipment, inventory, books, works of art, or other tangible property. Gifts of personal property are accepted by UMBC. Gifts in kind can be used to benefit the university, an academic department, or program as designated by the donor. If you are interested in pursuing this type of gift, please call Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, at 410-455-3700 or email her at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

QUESTIONS?
You may reach Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving, at 410-455-3377 or dayna@umbc.edu.

If you have already made your gift, thank you!

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation for the benefit of UMBC.

CREDIT CARDS
You can quickly and easily make your year-end gift online. Gifts by credit card must be submitted no later than midnight EST on Wednesday, December 31.

CHECKS
Checks must be dated and postmarked by Wednesday, December 31, to be counted in the 2014 tax year. Please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to the UMBC Foundation at 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.

GIFTS OF SECURITIES
The gift of appreciated stock can be beneficial to UMBC and you. You may be eligible to take a charitable deduction for the market value of the securities, and could potentially benefit by avoiding capital gains tax and reducing your estate tax. You can request additional information about donating securities by visiting UMBC Foundation.

PLANNED GIVING
Planned gifts can be a significant benefit to you, your family, and UMBC. Bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts offer donors a variety of ways to support the university. For more information, visit our Planned Giving website. You can also contact Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, by phone at 410-455-3700 or by email at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

GIFTS IN KIND
A gift of personal property includes equipment, inventory, books, works of art, or other tangible property. Gifts of personal property are accepted by UMBC. Gifts in kind can be used to benefit the university, an academic department, or program as designated by the donor. If you are interested in pursuing this type of gift, please call Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, at 410-455-3700 or email her at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

QUESTIONS?
You may reach Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving, at 410-455-3377 or dayna@umbc.edu.

If you have already made your gift, thank you!

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation for the benefit of UMBC.

In a recent National Journal article on a potential bid for the White House by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris was interviewed for the story and discussed how O’Malley’s relationship with the Clintons could affect the 2016 campaign.

“The Clintons and he are close,” said Norris. “He endorsed her the first time. I don’t know he could run against her without burning a lot of bridges he just doesn’t want to burn.”

Norris was also interviewed for a Baltimore Sun article about the future of the Republican Party in Maryland. “They’ve gone through this ‘pull to the right and then re-center’ dance before,” Norris said. “The tea party right and the fringe Republicans could continue what they’ve done: eating their young, going after each other in primaries to make the party even more conservative and, in turn, more marginal in the rest of the state.”