All posts by: Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque

Stephanie Milani named Newman Civic Fellow for expanding access to computer science education

When Stephanie Milani ‘19, computer science and psychology, attended an all-girls robotics camp as a middle school student she realized that she found computer science truly fascinating. It was also the last time she had an abundance of female mentors and peers in STEM until college. “All through high school, I didn’t see where computer science could be a career choice for girls,” says Milani. “I didn’t entertain it as a career option until I came to UMBC and found it again. I knew instantly computer science was what I wanted to be doing.”

Milani has not only charged forward in her study of computer science at UMBC, but she has also worked to make sure that, in the future, other girls who are fascinated by computer science can more easily connect with role models and peers who have a shared interest in the field. Campus Compact just awarded Milani the 2018 Newman Civic Fellowship in recognition of her work to increase underrepresented students’ access to opportunities in computer science. This selective national fellowship honors college students who are committed to their community and engage in direct action to create long-term social change, addressing issues of inequality or political polarization. It also recognizes recipients’ tremendous potential in public leadership.

“Stephanie is a thoughtful, passionate, and supportive leader capable of inspiring others,” notes President Freeman Hrabowski, who participates in the nomination of the fellows. “Her passion to improve computer science education for marginalized populations is evident,” he shares.

The Newman Civic Fellowship honors Frank Newman, the Campus Compact founder, and his commitment to educational access and responsible citizenship. Campus Compact is a national coalition of 1,000 colleges and universities, focused on teaching, research, and institutional action in service of the public good. The UMBC Shriver Center is a service-learning member of the Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic.

Through this award, Milani will access in-person and virtual learning, networking events, and mentoring. She will also join a national network of peers who continue to work for social change after their fellowship year, providing support and resources to one another as they pursue public leadership positions nationwide.

Milani is the fourth UMBC student to be recognized as a Newman Civic Fellow. In 2011 Kelly Cyr ‘12, biological sciences, and  M.S. ’13, applied molecular biology, received the fellowship for her work to support animal welfare, developing a partnership between UMBC and the Baltimore Animal Care and Rescue Shelter (BARCS). She currently is a veterinarian at a Franky Fund hospital, providing care for homeless animals in need. In 2017 Sophia Lopresti ‘17, global studies, earned the fellowship for her work in global healthcare access as chairperson for the UMBC Global Brigades program in Central America. 

Max Poole leading March to College in spring of 2018. Image by Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque.

In 2016 Maxwell Poole ‘18, computer science, economics, and mathematics, received the fellowship for his service continuing the work of Nick Ramundo, a Maryland-DC Compact Americorps VISTA member at the Shriver Center who passed away unexpectedly, in the Arbutus Achievers and March to College programs.

When, as a fellow, Poole attended a conference with the Newman program, he noticed none of the fellows at the time were focusing on expanding access to computer science for students from underrepresented groups. After returning to UMBC, he connected with Marie desJardins, associate dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and professor in computer science, and Stephanie Milani, who was interested in the access issue, to form Creative Coders. Their new program sought to introduce middle school students to computer science through game development.

“The amount of students with access to computer science in middle school is minuscule,” says Poole. Knowing that computing skills will be important for many kinds of jobs of the future, he suggests, “If you can get kids interested, learning, engaged, and involved as early as possible it prepares them to be successful.”

Poole nominated Milani for the 2018 Newman Civic Fellowship after seeing her dedication and commitment to expanding access to computer science. In addition to her work with Creative Coders, Milani is the president of UMBC’s Computer Science Education club, where she leads a diverse membership in hosting computer science outreach events on campus and in surrounding local middle and high schools. Milani has also developed curriculum for Computer Science Matters in Maryland and is a lead organizer for UMBC’s Hour of Code event, which brings Lakeland Elementary/Middle School students to campus for fun, hands-on activities with circuits and coding.

desJardins praises Milani’s service, noting, “Stephanie stands out as an exceptionally motivated and determined student, with outstanding technical skills, excellent teamwork and communication, natural leadership, and a high level of maturity and focus.”

“It is an honor to represent the commitment of UMBC to service and engaged citizenship at a national level with the help of The Shriver Center,” Milani reflects. “They helped me to bridge the gap between my desire to create change and my ability to apply my knowledge through service-learning.”

Banner imager by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Valedictorian Kara Seidel focuses her research on supporting families dealing with trauma

Kara Seidel
B.A., Psychology
Minor: American Studies
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Plans: Family trauma researcher

One of the best things about UMBC is how supportive professors and staff are. They tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it. They see potential in you and encourage you to take each mistake as a learning experience. Their ongoing support helped me feel confident about pursuing a wide range of opportunities.

Second generation Retriever and valedictorian Kara Seidel sees every experience as a learning opportunity. She is particularly thankful for the broad range of academic and professional experiences she has found through UMBC, as well as the relationships she has developed. Her work at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in an HIV/Addiction Lab and at the American Psychological Association helped her identify her core intellectual interests within the vast psychology field, and pursue her own research.
“As a student at UMBC, I accessed unbelievable opportunities to gain hands-on learning. As a result, I was able to discover behavioral therapy and a passion for research and helping families dealing with trauma,” says Seidel.

Kara Seidel reflects that UMBC’s diverse student body and range of student experiences available are two of UMBC’s core strengths.

Seidel has worked as lead research assistant in the Trauma Lab of Christopher Murphy, professor, and chair of psychology. A member of the Honors College, her commitment to challenging herself academically and as a student researcher earned her a Shimoff Award and a Distinguished Achievement Award from the psychology department.
As a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, Seidel has also explored ways to combine academics with service. The UMBC Shriver Center awarded Seidel with the Samson, Rosetta A., and Sadie B. Feldman Family Award for her work as a student service coordinator in the Students United for Campus-Community Engagement for Post-Secondary Success (SUCCESS) program. Seidel also served as president of Psi Chi International Honor Society, is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society, and works as a social justice intern for UMBC Hillel.
Ultimately, Seidel reflects, her success at UMBC is all about community. “The array of experiences I’ve had at UMBC are because of the people I have met here,” she says.
Seidel will work as a behavioral therapist and researcher for the next year, before beginning a Ph.D. program in psychology, with a focus on supporting families experiencing trauma.
Photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Todd Cox, U.S. Navy veteran, looks ahead to business analyst career at Northrop Grumman

Todd Cox
B.S., Financial Economics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Frederick, Maryland
Plans: Business Management Analyst, Northrop Grumman

UMBC has provided me with an outstanding education and has helped me secure a future as a business analyst.

Todd Cox’s success at UMBC has been driven by the discipline, focus, and perseverance he learned during his service in the U.S. Navy as a boatswain’s mate third class attached to Amphibious Construction Battalion One. His interest in economics began in the Navy after attending the “Million Dollar Sailor” training where he learned about savings, investing, and budgeting. He decided to pursue a degree in financial economics shortly after.  

Cox applied his newfound passion to excel in his studies, earning a perfect GPA and a place on the dean’s and president’s lists every semester. He received the Outstanding Student in Macroeconomics Scholarship as well. During his time at UMBC, he also found time to apply his economics skills as a member of the accounting club and as a business management intern at Northrop Grumman.

Of the True Grit statue, Cox says, “I walked past this statue with pride nearly every day; it marks the beginning and end of my journey at UMBC.”

Throughout his time on campus, Cox worked closely with the UMBC Career Center to connect with top-performing companies where he could apply his knowledge, drive, and ever-expanding skill set. Cox is looking forward to working as a business management analyst at Northrop Grumman after graduation.
“One of the greatest assets on campus that facilitated the achievement of my goals was the Career Center,” Cox reflects. “The Career Center does a phenomenal job mentoring, preparing, and connecting students with future employers.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Shirley Basfield Dunlap, educator and director, produces groundbreaking research on African American theatre history

Shirley Basfield Dunlap
Ph.D., Language Literacy and Culture
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Plans: Coordinator of Theatre Arts, Morgan State University

I have taken one course a semester since 2009. UMBC has taught me perseverance.

Shirley Basfield Dunlap directed plays celebrating African American life and experience in regional theatres across the country before settling in Baltimore as an associate professor and coordinator of theatre arts at Morgan State University. Wanting to further her scholarship in the history of theatre, she found a home in UMBC’s language, literacy, and culture (LLC) Ph.D. program. 

At the opening night of “Red Velvet” at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Director Basfield Dunlap (far right), poses with Kimberly Moffitt, Moffitt’s family, and Christian Gibbs (center), an actor performing the lead role of Ira Aldridge.

Through the LLC program, Basfield Dunlap has connected with mentors committed to her success in completing a ground-breaking and thought-provoking dissertation, including her committee chair Beverly Bickel, clinical associate professor of LLC; co-chair Michelle Scott, associate professor of history; and Kimberly Moffitt, associate professor of American studies. These mentors “have been avid supporters of my work as a stage director,” she says, sharing a particularly significant memory of them attending the opening night of Lolita Chakrabarti’s “Red Velvet” at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, which she directed in its Baltimore debut.

As the director of “Red Velvet” at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, Basfield Dunlap delivered the opening night toast. Beverly Bickel, Kimberly Moffitt, Liz Steenrod, and their families attended the production.

Basfield Dunlap’s dissertation, “The Oral History Project of African American Stage Directors in American Theatre,” explores how the making of a play is influenced by the cultural lens of the director. “Scripts and performances directed by these African American directors have been chronicled in African American theatre history books,” her dissertation abstract notes, “but the cultural processes of ‘making’ of the play and the creating the production, have not.”
Her dissertation aims to create a space to acknowledge the work and impact of African American stage directors in American theatre history. She will apply her research to enhance her ongoing work in theatre at Morgan State University.
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Manisha Vepa pursues interest in East Asian affairs as Fulbright Scholar in South Korea

Manisha Vepa
B.A., Economics and Global Studies
Minor: Music
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Plans: Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, South Korea

UMBC has afforded me many critical opportunities to gain the quantitative skills required for a career in foreign policy, as well as to cultivate a passion for research and East Asian affairs.

Manisha Vepa came to UMBC ready to explore — both driven to excel academically and excited to become an active member of a caring community. As a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, she was particularly interested in learning about the diverse needs of different communities and how public policy can affect communities, locally and internationally.

“The mentorship I have received from my professors and staff advisors has been invaluable,” says Vepa. “They have taught me how to be reflective, analytical, and mindful in both my personal and academic lives.”

Vepa’s particular interest in Asian culture and policy led her to study in Hong Kong for a semester. She will continue her exploration of Asian cultures as an English-language educator through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program in South Korea, before pursuing a graduate degree in East Asian affairs.

On campus, Vepa has served as president of the UMBC Moot Court for the past three years, a member of the Student Government Association (SGA) for four years, and Assistant Speaker of the Senate for 2017-18. She also found balance in continuing her study of music as a Music Performance Fellow by playing the viola in the UMBC Symphonic Orchestra all semesters except for when she studied abroad. While abroad she played in two orchestras in Hong Kong. In addition, she served as a tutor in the Refugee Youth Project at Beechfield Elementary/Middle School.

“I have grown as a leader through my involvement in Student Government Association, the local community, and my international opportunities,” says Vepa. “My experiences empowered me to be an active part in social change efforts and helped me develop a deep passion and understanding for civic engagement and civic agency that has guided my college career.”

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Marc Schultz, world traveler, to return to China as a Fulbright research scholar

Marc Schultz
B.S., Political Science and Global Studies
Minor: Chinese Language and Culture
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Columbia, Maryland
Plans: Fulbright researcher, China

I have found the faculty at UMBC to be overwhelmingly encouraging, helpful, and engaging. Their support has made it possible for me to accept unique professional opportunities in D.C. and in China.

For Marc Schultz, UMBC has been a key to the world, giving him access to opportunities that, a few short years ago, he didn’t know would be possible.
Schultz started at UMBC with a focus on developing his academic credentials and broadening his horizons. By sophomore year, he earned an internship at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. His next step in exploring his interest in China was to earn a Boren Scholarship, which provided $20,000 to study Mandarin and urban development at the Harbin Institute of Technology in China during his junior year. After graduation, Schultz will return to China to study urban planning policy in Chengdu through a Fulbright research award.

Schultz at the Harbin Institute of Technology during Chinese National Day. Photo courtesy of Shultz.

“I am not sure that I would have come as close to mastering the Chinese language as I have without attending UMBC,” explains Schultz. “Brian Souders, associate director of international education services, really encouraged me from the beginning of my university career to keep up my grades to be eligible for more international opportunities.” He followed Souders’s recommendation and is graduating with the Outstanding Senior Award in political science as well as memberships in the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.
Schultz has also remained engaged in the campus community, serving as co-head delegate for UMBC’s Model United Nations, event programmer on UMBC’s Student Events Board (seb), an academic tutor, and a volunteer with the Refugee Youth Project. He shares, “Throughout my four years, the UMBC community has pushed me to be a better student, researcher, and community member.”
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

With three majors and a core passion for service, Max Poole promotes access to computing education

Max Poole
B.S., Computer Science, B.S., Mathematics, B.A., Economics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Takoma Park, Maryland
Plans: Site Reliability Engineer, eBay

UMBC provides extensive opportunities and support for students to get engaged and involved in service beginning in their freshman year. The UMBC Shriver Center has been incredibly supportive of every service endeavor I wanted to do.

Max Poole wants to live in a society where everyone can access an education, is informed, is open to hearing new ideas, and is willing to work together to achieve great things. With this ideal in mind, he is completing three majors in three different colleges, which has enabled him to explore problems from a range of angles. He has also pursued collaborative service-learning opportunities through the Shriver Center since his freshman year, with a focus on promoting college with middle school students and boosting access to computer science education.

“The amount of students with access to computer science in middle school is minuscule,” says Poole. Knowing that computing skills will be important for many kinds of jobs of the future, he suggests, “If you can get kids interested, learning, engaged, and involved as early as possible it prepares them to be successful.”

Poole has been recognized for his commitment to service with the 2016 Newman Civic Fellowship. He is also a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and a member of the Honors College, with stellar academic achievements that have garnered him recognition through the national honor societies Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa.

“I have this need inside of me that pushes me to always be improving the world and myself, to create and collaborate,” explains Poole. “I feel like service is deeply ingrained in my DNA. It is something I have to do.”

Beyond UMBC, Poole even pursued service opportunities while a summer intern at eBay. He looks forward to resuming those projects when he begins a full-time position with the company after graduation.

Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Kaylin Corsiatto will pursue international work to prevent intimate partner violence

Kaylin Corsiatto
B.S., Psychology
Minor: Sociology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Middletown, Maryland
Plans: International development

UMBC has given me a well-rounded education. I have had the opportunity to participate in both research and practice related work in the field of psychology. These diverse experiences have helped me realize my passions for international development and fighting to prevent intimate partner violence.

Kaylin Corsiatto sees herself as a global citizen, ready to get to work addressing major challenges related to violence, public health, human rights, and development.
In her psychology studies at UMBC at the Universities at Shady Grove (UMBC@USG), Corsiatto has worked closely with Chris Murphy, professor, and chair of psychology, whose research focuses on understanding and preventing intimate partner violence. Her work earned her a Psychology Distinguished Achievement Award in spring 2018.
Corsiatto came to understand the potential international applications of violence prevention research while working in Thailand with a non-profit that seeks to prevent human trafficking through outreach and education. “During my time studying in Thailand I fell in love with working on such a foundational level,” she says.

A group of children reading a book.
Corsiatto in Thailand reading to Thai children at a non-profit organization that works to prevent human trafficking.

Corsiatto has also been engaged in local community outreach in Baltimore, through projects that question privilege, equity, and access to resources. She helped to plan and execute two major civic engagement programs focused on education and service: the interactive privilege walk “A Mile in My Shoes,” and meal donation for hundreds of people experiencing homelessness. In her UMBC@USG community, Corsiatto serves on the Peer Advisory Team and is president of the Tau Sigma Honors Society at the Universities at Shady Grove.
As to the future, Corsiatto is thinking globally. She feels inspired “to continue working in international development, disaster relief, and public health.”
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Summer Akhtar, a member of UMBC’s history-making mock trial team, heads to law school

Summer Akhtar
B.A., Political Science, B.S., Financial Economics
Minor: Legal Policy and Economics
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Woodstock, Maryland
Plans: The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Participating in UMBC Mock Trial has taught me to think more openly, appreciate the perspectives of those that disagree with me, speak professionally and articulately, think on my feet, and advocate for the things I believe in.

Summer Akhtar has served as a leader of UMBC Mock Trial at a particularly exciting time for the team, as it has risen to new heights in recognition and achievement. In 2017, Akhtar helped make history as part of the first UMBC Mock Trial team to travel to Los Angeles for the American Mock Trial Association’s national championship tournament. The team, in which Akhtar serves as senior vice president, has continued to compete in major tournaments throughout 2017-18.
At a regional competition in Maryland this past fall, Akhtar received an all-region attorney award and UMBC earned a bid to the Opening Round Championship Series. Akhtar also received outstanding attorney awards at the Johns Hopkins Blue Jay Invitational in spring 2017 and the Tobacco Road Invitational in fall 2017.

Akhtar competes as a member of UMBC Mock Trial.
Akhtar competes as a member of UMBC Mock Trial.

“Mock Trial introduced me to my greatest passion: trial advocacy,” says Akhtar. She reflects, “I have come so far since I started my UMBC Mock Trial career,” noting that she feels privileged to have acquired such significant experience as a student attorney on both defense and prosecution.
Akhtar has also excelled academically in her time at UMBC, being recognized as an outstanding scholar-leader in political science and a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society and Golden Key Honour Society. She knows the rigor of her academic and extracurricular activities will benefit her as she enters law school.
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Academic all-star and peer mentor Noah Zazanis pursues research into LGBT health disparities

Noah Zazanis
B.A., Psychology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Germantown, Maryland
Plans: Researcher, Quiton Lab, UMBC

UMBC has given me amazing opportunities for research that have helped prepare me for graduate school and my career and furthered my development as a student and scholar. The mentorship I’ve experienced at UMBC Shady Grove and on main campus has been life-changing.

As an undergraduate researcher, Noah Zazanis is already making waves through a groundbreaking study of the biophysical factors that affect pain perception. Zazanis has been able to pursue their interest in LGBT health psychology through work in the lab of Raimi Quiton, assistant professor of psychology, focusing on the biopsychosocial influences of pain and pain management, including how social environments and social inequality affect health.
“There is not a lot of research in LGBTQIA+ health disparities,” says Zazanis. “UMBC is impressive with the depth of undergraduate research opportunities, and encouraged me to actually spearhead research projects unique to my interests.”

Zazanis presenting at URCAD 2017. Photo courtesy of Zazanis.

Zazanis’s academic excellence and work in the Quiton lab has already earned them the psychology department’s Distinguished Achievement Award, as well as an academic achievement award from UMBC’s psychology program at the Universities at Shady Grove. They’ve also presented research twice at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Achievement Day. Beyond academic and research achievement, and advocacy for health equity, Zazanis also supports fellow students through tutoring in statistics, writing, and research methods.
Zazanis will begin work this summer on a new research project at the Quiton lab focused on pain perception among transgender people, with the hope of improving their health care services. With excitement to move forward in the research, they share, “I have developed strong clinical research skills well-suited for a future in the interdisciplinary field of health sciences.”
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Doopashika Welikala to begin Johns Hopkins MSPH after reproductive health research abroad

Doopashika Welikala
B.S., Biological Science; B.S, Anthropology; B.A, Sociology
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Plans: MSPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

As a first-generation college student, I did not know much about navigating college when I started at UMBC. My time at UMBC has shown me that with dedication and perseverance we can achieve anything.

Doopashika Welikala understands the importance of access to opportunity. As the first person in her family to attend college, and someone who has traveled internationally to study health care, she has a very personal perspective on the impact that having access to education, healthcare, and other resources, can have on a person and on a community. She hopes to channel that understanding into a career in public health.
Welikala is already well on her way to developing the knowledge and skills she’ll need to become a global public health leader. She has completed an independent anthropology research project on childbirth and childbearing practices in Sri Lanka.

Welikala at Maranyundo Girls School in Kinazi, Rwanda, speaking to young women applying to college. Photo courtesy of Welikala.

She also traveled to Kinazi, Rwanda to conduct research on family planning and contraception use through a National Science Foundation REU Fellowship in summer 2017. While there she spoke with young women at the Maranyundo Girls School who were applying for college about her experience as a first-generation college student, and she continues to stay in touch with them, providing the kind of supportive feedback she has received in her time at UMBC.
“The professors at UMBC were always open to discuss my career options and future plans,” says Welikala. “Professors went out of their way to help me pursue research opportunities that aided me to further my intellectual interests.”
Welikala also participates in community life at UMBC as an institutional review board member, senior advisor to the Sri Lankan Student Association, teaching assistant in chemistry and sociology, and Writing Center tutor.
In the fall Welikala will attend the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a graduate student in the population, family, and reproductive health program. She credits her success to the academic rigor at UMBC. “At UMBC I was part of a challenging environment that stimulated my growth and I can proudly say that it has prepared me for the next steps of my life after graduation,” she says.
Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s Denise Meringolo continues Baltimore Uprising public history project through Whiting Fellowship

Denise Meringolo was teaching her graduate-level Introduction to Public History course in the spring of 2015 when Freddie Gray died in police custody and city residents responded with protest, marching in the streets of Baltimore. The events of that time didn’t just make national headlines, they also sparked difficult conversations in homes, offices, community centers, and classrooms across the city about equality, representation, and safety.

Knowing that history is often told through official documents and representatives, Meringolo, an associate professor of history at UMBC, felt an urgency to help the local community control and document the story of their experience, and she initiated the crowdsourced story and image collection platform BaltimoreUprising2015.org.

“Museums are often not very democratic places,” Meringolo notes, explaining that their collections processes and guidelines often reinforce the voices and experiences of wealthy, white people rather than broader communities in all their diversity. In contrast, the Baltimore Uprising digital collection puts decisions into the hands of the public.

The project offers individuals the opportunity to upload their own materials and decide what they want to become part of the accessible public record. The collection, built and managed in partnership with Joe Tropea, Maryland Historical Society digital projects specialist, now includes 3,000 images, oral histories, and written accounts, and that number continues to grow.

Recognizing the significant potential of this work to have a lasting impact, The Whiting Foundation has awarded Meringolo a $50,000 Public Engagement Fellowship to teach historical understanding through the “Preserve the Baltimore Uprising” project. Meringolo is one of just seven scholars to receive Whiting fellowships in 2018. The recipients represent the diversity of thought and research in the humanities, from history, literature, philosophy, and anthropology to gender studies, and they engage numerous different communities across the United States, particularly groups underrepresented in the humanities.

“The Whiting Fellowship Program is among the nation’s foremost awards for civically engaged research and scholarship,” says Scott Casper, dean of UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “Dr. Meringolo’s recognition highlights the importance of her work preserving the archive of the Baltimore Uprising, a signal example of UMBC’s collaboration with communities in greater Baltimore.”

In this next phase of the project, Meringolo seeks to ensure the collection grows and is accessible as a resource for Baltimore City teachers and students. “This is an opportunity to share methods and best practices in conducting oral histories and relevant historical research with the next generation of public historians and their teachers,” she says. Through this work, she hopes to highlight community-based understandings of “the historical roots of racial injustice, economic equality, and social and political unrest in Baltimore.”

Over the next year, Meringolo will collaborate with campus and community partners in this work. As part of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Centers initiative, Frank Anderson, assistant director of the Choice Program, will lead the UMBC Shriver Center Choice education team in connecting the project with community partners and developing related youth-centered enrichment programs.

Community organizer Denise Griffin Johnson and Lee Boot, director of UMBC’s the Imaging Research Center, will support the initiative in creating story circles programs to guide student scholars in formulating and answering critical questions as they develop their stories. This arts-based component of the project will use materials assembled in the digital collection with and interviews Lee Boot and visual arts graduate students filmed with student protesters after the Baltimore Uprising.

“The work, I believe, will reflect, in particular, the young voices of tomorrow,” says Griffin Johnson. “I believe this action and work is instrumental in capturing the hearts, minds, and voices of people who embrace a community identity of self and others.”

Meringolo’s original collaboration with the Maryland Historical Society will expand to include oral history and interview techniques support by Joe Tropea. Thinking about conservation of the project for future community members, Lindsey Loeper, UMBC special collections archivist, will help the team develop a long-term plan to manage the digital collection.

Meringolo expects to conclude her Whiting Fellowship in a way that carries through her project’s initial vision: doing collaborative public history that honors and amplifies community voices. Participating Baltimore City students will present their research at a neighborhood branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Ultimately, the project all comes down to the “public” in “public history.” “I want to remind Freddie Gray’s community that the collection exists,” says Meringolo. “That it is theirs.”

Header image: Denise Meringolo. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

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