Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they go there. Today we’re talking with novelist Mary Volkman – whose pen name is Margo Christie – about writing and living a colorful life. Volkman’s debut novel These Days won second prize in Amazon’s 2012 Breakthrough Novel Award contest.

Name: Mary Volkman, aka Margo Christie
Grad Year and Major: 1992, English
Job Title: Writer
Employer: Self-employed
Your Website: www.margochristienovelist.com

Q: Tell us a little about how you wound up at UMBC. What’s your background?

A: You could call me a hard-luck story. A refugee from a broken home, I dropped out of high school at age 16. But you could also call me persistent. I’ve always been creative, so upon quitting high school I immediately enrolled in classes at Catonsville Community College [now known as the Community College of Baltimore County, or CCBC], first in the fine arts and theater programs, then in general studies. From there, the transition to UMBC was a natural one. While at CCC I discovered I wanted to write, so I inquired into UMBC’s English program. As someone who was footing the bill for college, UMBC was a good choice. The curriculum was a good fit and it was affordable. The staff consistently guided me toward available grants, and the rest I was able to afford myself.

Q: How did you wind up writing novels? What inspires you, and what do you ultimately hope to see come from it? Tell us about your recent successes.

A: I’ve been creative all my life. In my teens I painted. In my twenties I made jewelry and studied theater. In my thirties I made stained glass and wrote stories. I’ve lived a hard and colorful life, so I always knew there was a novel in me. I think it was my contemporary interest in real-life stories, especially those with some “grit” to them, which got me going. My book, These Days, is about a starstruck teenage stripteaser who’s enamored with the good old days of burlesque and makes the best of her circumstances by reviving them. Though it’s fiction, it’s closely related to my own experience stripping on Baltimore’s “Block” in the late 70s. Like I said, I’m a refugee from a broken home. I come by “grit” legitimately!

My writing, from my short stories to These Days, focuses on “creative-but-fallen characters who long for redemption.” I believe all human experience is worthy of consideration. In writing about stigmatized people like strippers, my hope is that readers who’ve experienced any sort of societal marginalization will come away from my work with a sense of fellow feeling, with a sense of “I’m worthy of consideration, after all.”

I promote These Days through burlesque performances. Recently, I did a reading/performance with a stand-up comedy show in Denver. It was frightening! Comedy audiences can be brutal, and I always had in mind that my work would make people cry or commiserate, not laugh. Yet I managed to make them laugh! And I got my message – that of celebrating the beauty of all humanity – across without alienating anyone. I believe the open-minded environment of a higher-education institution like UMBC helped in this regard.

As These Days is set in Baltimore, I’ve had some success in reaching out to the Baltimore literary community for help in promoting it. I have a reading scheduled on Saturday, October 19, as well as an interview with Aaron Henkin of Baltimore Public Radio WYPR’s “The Signal” program. Details about both of these events can be obtained via my website. Additionally, I received a call from the owner of The Ivy Bookshop, expressing interest in carrying These Days in their store. Interest in my book has really picked up as a result of reaching out to people.

Q: Is there a particular class or professor who really inspired you at UMBC?

A: Tom Nugent, who I had for Creative Writing. He was witty and fun but no-nonsense when it came to teaching the craft of writing. I was writing life-inspired stuff even then, and he helped me eliminate flowery “over-writing” and get down to the nitty-gritty. He was what I’d describe as an “immersion” writer in that he immersed himself in whatever environment he wanted to write about. I read that, while working for The Baltimore Sun, he lived for a week at the crumbling, flea-bag Congress Hotel in order to write about the marginalized, lonely folks who called it home. He came to UMBC with a wealth of experience. We were very fortunate to have him around.

Q: What is your favorite UMBC memory?

A: Wow! There are many. I loved hanging around the cafeteria exchanging ideas with fellow students. As a writer, I’m a student of life. I loved hearing people’s stories, especially the ones that differed markedly from mine. I gravitated toward foreign-born and gay students, as well as creative, counter-cultured ones like myself. The more exotic their stories, the better I liked being around them! Like I said, UMBC was a very open-minded place.

Political science professor Roy Meyers was featured in The Wall Street Journal last week in two articles examining the cost of the government shutdown as it enters its second week.

In one article, Meyers describes how the cost of the shutdown can be difficult to predict. “How long it will last is now unknown,” he said. “And even if one knew with certainty the length of the shutdown, it would be very difficult to calculate accurately the budgetary cost.”

In the second article (subscription required), Meyers shared insight on the cost of the shutdown if back pay isn’t awarded to federal workers: “the reduced ability of the government to recruit a high-quality workforce,” he said.

We will have two ceremonies this December in the Retriever Activities Center (RAC):

• Graduate Commencement will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, December 19 in the RAC
• Undergraduate Commencement will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 20 in the RAC

These commencement ceremonies are important events in the life of our scholarly community where we come together to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and recognize the outstanding commitment of our faculty and staff to their success. These events mean a great deal to our graduating students, their parents and guests. I hope you will make a special effort to attend these events, to share this special time with our students and join in our community’s celebration of academic achievement.

RSVP PROCESS: There is a single Web-based response form for faculty and staff to respond, whether you rent, purchase or already own your regalia.

ORDERING REGALIA: As in the past, UMBC will subsidize the rental of academic regalia for faculty and administrative and associate staff. Please order your regalia by October 28, 2013. After that date, you will be asked to pay a late charge of $25. Please note that it will not be possible to order regalia after December 6. Even if there is only a slight chance that you will attend Commencement, you should order regalia. It is easier for the Bookstore to return unused gowns and hoods then it is to place a late order and not get delivery on time. Regalia will be ready for pick-up in the Bookstore beginning December 9 through December 16. Regalia will not be available for pick-up at the RAC.

RSVP FOR MARCHING IN THE PROCESSION: Even if you do not order regalia, we need to know whether you intend to march in the Commencement procession, so that appropriate seating arrangements can be made.

A guide for marketers

The allure of ad technology is simply the promise that, at long last, we can present the right online ad, with the right message, to the right person. For the right price.

Yi Huang, in the department of mathematics and statistics, was first author in a recent paper in JAMA Pediatrics.

In a press release put out by the University of Virginia, Huang was quoted,

“Our study provides strong evidence that bedsharing promotes breastfeeding by increasing breastfeeding duration using survival analysis, with the greatest effect found among frequent bedsharers,” said Yi Huang, a biostatistician at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She noted that this is “one of the very few nationwide studies with a high response rate for extensive postnatal measurements on this issue and a sample large enough that under-represented demographic categories have enough subjects to be included in analyses.”

Oculus Rift has heavyweight developer support and millions of dollars of crowdsourced investment. But many of the old challenges to this new technology remain.

“This technology is going to revolutionize the way we live, learn, work, and play.”

During the 2013 PROMISE AGEP Summer Success Institute, Dr. Christine Grant (Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Chemical Engineering, http://www.che.ncsu.edu/people/faculty-pages/grant.html), led the following session:

• Making the transitions (grad student to PhD, postdoc, professor), keeping your cool, and addressing the issues: How do you deal with the lack of respect on the new job that may come from subtle discrimination based on age, gender, or race?
• Dr. Christine Grant, Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Special Initiatives, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University; and Founder of “Creative Growth Solutions for You!” 
• • Seminar Synopsis: You can now be called “Dr. ____,” but how do you deal with situations where people question your credentials and experience? This topic was requested by PROMISE alumni and postdocs who found that themselves excited about starting their new positions, but were continually being challenged about their credentials. Often, their hiring supervisors were very supportive and acknowledged their expertise, but when they had to work with others in the department or on a different campus, they received comments like:  ”Did you really do enough work to get a PhD?”  (Even though you’ve won international awards in your field.) -OR- “I need to know if you can teach this class.” (Even when you’ve taught the class to stellar reviews on a sister campus.) How do you handle situations when people argue with you (about being in your own lab) because they think that you’re a student, or support staff? What do you do when other professors try to “steal” your grad students, or when students challenge your authority? These are questions that have been posed to PROMISE by PhD alumni who are underrepresented minorities, and women of all races. Dr. Christine Grant brings to PROMISE her experiences as a full professor of engineering, as a national speaker and leader within the NSF ADVANCE community (winner of many grants to assist women faculty), and as a professional coach. [Dr. Grant, winner of a U.S.Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, was guest at the PROMISE SSI 2004, and she returns as part of the 10th anniversary celebration, courtesy of her company, "Creative Growth Solutions for You!"] 

Dr. Grant sent us a “recap” of that session:

I hosted a lively event at my roundtable that focused on making transitions and keeping your cool in the presence of microaggressions , lack of respect and both subtle and overt discrimination based on age, gender and race.  Interestingly – there were different issues raised by the men and women in the group.  We discussed topics associated with one’s physical presence (e.g., natural hair, wardrobe) and the importance of knowing the culture of your department/working environment to determine how far to push the envelope. It was also clear that there were challenges for both men and women in terms of welcoming environments and communication norms.  We brainstormed effective strategies to develop academic allies, mentors and most importantly how to empower oneself on the upward professional climb.  We generated lists of actual challenging situations and then discussed potential approaches to selectively address different ones in the academy.

 NEXT STEPS – Opportunity to connect with Dr. Grant, October 24:

Dr. Grant is hosting an “On My Own Terms” E-workshop/tele-teaching on Thursday, October 24, 2013, 7:15 – 8:45 PM.  The website with registration information can be found here: http://creativegrowth4u.com/index.html

The first workshop in the series will focus on Empowerment Outside the “Academic Box” and provide an overview of the five concepts associated with OMOT for current and aspiring academics.  There is a $10 discount for EARLY BIRD Registration.

Related articles

• Professional development seminars for graduate students: FALL 2013 (promiseagep.wordpress.com)

During the 2013 PROMISE AGEP Summer Success Institute, Dr. Christine Grant (Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Chemical Engineering, http://www.che.ncsu.edu/people/faculty-pages/grant.html), led the following session:

• Making the transitions (grad student to PhD, postdoc, professor), keeping your cool, and addressing the issues: How do you deal with the lack of respect on the new job that may come from subtle discrimination based on age, gender, or race?
• Dr. Christine Grant, Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Special Initiatives, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University; and Founder of “Creative Growth Solutions for You!” 
• • Seminar Synopsis: You can now be called “Dr. ____,” but how do you deal with situations where people question your credentials and experience? This topic was requested by PROMISE alumni and postdocs who found that themselves excited about starting their new positions, but were continually being challenged about their credentials. Often, their hiring supervisors were very supportive and acknowledged their expertise, but when they had to work with others in the department or on a different campus, they received comments like:  ”Did you really do enough work to get a PhD?”  (Even though you’ve won international awards in your field.) -OR- “I need to know if you can teach this class.” (Even when you’ve taught the class to stellar reviews on a sister campus.) How do you handle situations when people argue with you (about being in your own lab) because they think that you’re a student, or support staff? What do you do when other professors try to “steal” your grad students, or when students challenge your authority? These are questions that have been posed to PROMISE by PhD alumni who are underrepresented minorities, and women of all races. Dr. Christine Grant brings to PROMISE her experiences as a full professor of engineering, as a national speaker and leader within the NSF ADVANCE community (winner of many grants to assist women faculty), and as a professional coach. [Dr. Grant, winner of a U.S.Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, was guest at the PROMISE SSI 2004, and she returns as part of the 10th anniversary celebration, courtesy of her company, "Creative Growth Solutions for You!"] 

Dr. Grant sent us a “recap” of that session:

I hosted a lively event at my roundtable that focused on making transitions and keeping your cool in the presence of microaggressions , lack of respect and both subtle and overt discrimination based on age, gender and race.  Interestingly – there were different issues raised by the men and women in the group.  We discussed topics associated with one’s physical presence (e.g., natural hair, wardrobe) and the importance of knowing the culture of your department/working environment to determine how far to push the envelope. It was also clear that there were challenges for both men and women in terms of welcoming environments and communication norms.  We brainstormed effective strategies to develop academic allies, mentors and most importantly how to empower oneself on the upward professional climb.  We generated lists of actual challenging situations and then discussed potential approaches to selectively address different ones in the academy.

 NEXT STEPS – Opportunity to connect with Dr. Grant, October 24:

Dr. Grant is hosting an “On My Own Terms” E-workshop/tele-teaching on Thursday, October 24, 2013, 7:15 – 8:45 PM.  The website with registration information can be found here: http://creativegrowth4u.com/index.html

The first workshop in the series will focus on Empowerment Outside the “Academic Box” and provide an overview of the five concepts associated with OMOT for current and aspiring academics.  There is a $10 discount for EARLY BIRD Registration.

Related articles

• Professional development seminars for graduate students: FALL 2013 (promiseagep.wordpress.com)