UMBC’s 2024 fall semester is already poised to be one for the record books. With 2,250 new first-year undergraduate students, UMBC officially enrolled the university’s largest entering class in history. Campus also opened its arms and its doors to 800 transfer students and over 800 new graduate students this fall. Continue Reading Record number of new Retrievers join UMBC this year “What did you say?” is the phrase most likely to be heard when you’re walking the halls at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) and the answer is most likely drowned out by a cacophony of barks, meows, and even some bird chirps. But Liz Willman wouldn’t have it any other way. As most animal lovers do at some point in childhood, Willman decided she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up. But unlike most kids, it wasn’t just a phase for this rising senior. That passion for pets brought her to UMBC—where she’s pursuing a major… Continue Reading Liz Willman uses internships to make childhood vet dreams a reality She may be new to Retriever Nation, but it seems like Tiffany D. Tucker won’t have any problem as UMBC’s leader of the pack. Addressing a crowd of student-athletes, administrators, coaches, and staff, at a press conference on July 22, Tucker, UMBC’s newly-appointed director of athletics, physical education, and recreation, made a promise to uphold the values that have become synonymous with the UMBC community. “As we take this journey together, let’s embrace the Retriever spirit—tenacious, innovative, always punching above our weight class. Together, we will write the next chapter of UMBC’s athletic legacy,” she said. When Tucker was announced… Continue Reading Incoming Athletics Director Tiffany Tucker brings student-centric leadership to the role For most people, obtaining a Ph.D. is a means to an end—authorship, professorship, a career destination. For Charlotte Keniston, it’s about the journey as a lifelong learner. After joining UMBC as a Peaceworker Fellow, Keniston received her M.F.A. in imaging and digital media in 2014. She continued her work in Baltimore and eventually rejoined the Shriver Center Peaceworker Program as a staff member with the intention to work towards her Ph.D. in language, literacy, and culture (LLC). And she did just that. Continue Reading Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24—staff member, student, mentor, and a lifelong learner Finish Line began as an outreach program in the fall of 2020, targeting former Retrievers who had 60 or more credits but hadn’t completed their degree before leaving the university. And while these students might not have had the opportunity to return physically to campus, the sudden availability of a virtual classroom offered them a new pathway to their degree goals. Continue Reading Going the distance—virtual classrooms allow 300 former students to earn their degrees Some have dark wood and cozy corners, some have bright, natural light and textured walls. But each of Lane Harlan’s establishments can be looked at like a love letter to the people of Baltimore, thoughtfully decorated with hand-chosen, local pieces and, in some cases, even the decor from her own living room. Continue Reading Restaurateur and Retriever Lane Harlan goes back for seconds “It is in times of great conflict and great challenge that higher education’s purpose is most revealed.” UMBC president Valerie Sheares Ashby addressed the crowd at the 2023 winter Commencement ceremonies by acknowledging the turbulence of this past year and noting the importance of the degrees this year’s graduates received. Then nearly 1,000 Retrievers donned robes and mortarboards and made their way across the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena stage this week to become the latest members of the UMBC alumni community. Representing the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents, Anwer Hasan offered advice to the graduates saying, “As you… Continue Reading The best is yet to come for 2023 graduates They may say the best things come in threes, but that’s not good enough for UMBC volleyball. Over the weekend, the number one-seeded Retrievers captured their fourth-straight America East championship. After outright winning the season title, they went on to topple Bryant University in the America East semifinals, and they sealed their victory with a sweep of third-seeded Binghamton University on Saturday. Continue Reading UMBC volleyball wins fourth-consecutive America East championship Before you let your imagination run wild, we’re going to go ahead and temper whatever expectations you may have upon hearing the phrase “biology band.” Nobody is banging on a centrifuge in lieu of drums. Test tubes aren’t lined up as a makeshift xylophone. The final rock flourish is not a shattering of beakers. In fact, when the band members of Fever Dream get together, they leave biology in the lab and concentrate on what matters—the music. “We are incredibly lucky to be able to do important research on the topics that we are interested in while at the same… Continue Reading Biology department members create an experiment of note—a band called Fever Dream Renique Kersh might not have been able to spend her first few days physically on campus, but the new vice president for student affairs wanted her students and colleagues to know they were on her mind. So, in late August, as she juggled dropping her sons off at school and navigating a move from Boston, Kersh sent along photos as a travel diary on social media so that the UMBC community could take this journey with her. “To say it’s been a blur is an understatement, but as I shared with my team, I am all in,” said Kersh, previously… Continue Reading Welcoming new campus leaders The feel of a pen as it clicks open and closed, pointed for note taking (or probably more likely the feel of an electronic stylus). The sound of pages rustling in a notebook during the first class of the day (or more likely the sound of keys clacking on a laptop). The smell of a new textbook as it opens for the first time (or probably more likely still the laptop thing). No matter what it looks like, the start of a new school year is officially here! This year, UMBC welcomes a pack of new Retrievers as they embark on the black and gold journey of a lifetime. Continue Reading School’s in Session When asked to describe the cinematic masterpiece that is Cocaine Bear, Scott Seiss ’16, media and communication studies, didn’t mince any words to deliver his thoughts on the hit film based on true events. “I think ‘cocaine’ and ‘bear,’ just those two words pretty much sum it up. A wild rollercoaster ride of gore and jokes.” What started as a Facebook message to then-agentless Seiss’ spam folder with the suspicious but apt subject line “COCAINE” has led to a debut on the silver screen and launched this Retriever from Dundalk onto the national comedy stage. Bear for now, dog for… Continue Reading Grin and Bear It
Record number of new Retrievers join UMBC this year
Liz Willman uses internships to make childhood vet dreams a reality
Incoming Athletics Director Tiffany Tucker brings student-centric leadership to the role
Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24—staff member, student, mentor, and a lifelong learner
Going the distance—virtual classrooms allow 300 former students to earn their degrees
Restaurateur and Retriever Lane Harlan goes back for seconds
The best is yet to come for 2023 graduates
UMBC volleyball wins fourth-consecutive America East championship
Biology department members create an experiment of note—a band called Fever Dream
Welcoming new campus leaders
School’s in Session
Grin and Bear It
