Charles Harris’s college degree is a labor of love that began in the 1970s. He will be 80 years old when graduates this month, adding a B.A. in sociology to a powerful list of achievements, including a career in child welfare and opening his home, with his wife of 50 years, to raise over 100 children. As someone who supported so many others before accessing support through a UMBC academic advocate to complete his own degree, he knows the value of community. And he particularly values the close-knit, supportive, diverse community that UMBC offers.

“Students can come to UMBC and get a whole new experience of working with different types of people on different levels, and it is a great experience,” he says. “I’m very proud to be part of the school.” 

While Harris’s story is unique, many UMBC graduates are returning college students or started their journey after beginning careers and growing their families. Their resilience is bolstered by the knowledge that they are not on their journey alone—students connect them with community, staff offer resources, and faculty help them progress along their academic path. 

Strengthening UMBC

It’s also essential for nontraditional students to recognize the valuable experiences and attributes they bring to UMBC, and how they strengthen the university community, says Jane De Hitta ‘22, social work.

In addition to being a returning student, De Hitta is a social work intern with the UMBC Women’s Center, working closely with others who have returned to complete their undergraduate degrees. When they express self-doubt or uncertainty, she reminds them, “You have something to offer to the UMBC community that others don’t. Your lived experience before returning to school will inform what you learn and how you receive that, and also will add to class discussions.”

“Balancing several different roles and identities and parts of your life is really important and valuable,” she notes. This is something that some other students “might not have learned yet and would benefit from hearing about.” 

“You’ve got this”

Although it’s natural for returning students to feel nervous about being back on a university campus, Sheila Abellano ‘22, psychology, says that, after over a decade of raising a family and starting two small businesses, those feelings quickly dissipated at UMBC. She encountered welcoming staff who provided the resources and support she needed to create a plan for completing her remaining graduation requirements. Abellano was also encouraged by the welcome she received from faculty and students. 

“I’ll always remember the great energy at UMBC,” Abellano adds, “from President Freeman Hrabowski, who always said hello to me when I saw him, to the faculty, staff, and students who said, ‘You’ve got this.’”

For these returning students, UMBC provided opportunities to begin their next chapter. It also connected them to a community they will be part of long after they receive their diplomas.

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As Kateryna Yakusheva ’22, global studies, spoke to fellow UMBC students about Ukraine this past March, it was hard to deal with all the emotions of the war in her homeland. Nevertheless, it was important, she says. “We need to speak to as many people as we can so they understand what people in another world are going through,” she notes, since “it’s hard to relate when there is something like this going on very far from you and maybe not directly involved with your family.” 

This year’s UMBC graduates demonstrate how cultivating those intercultural relationships is a key part of the UMBC experience, whether it’s in the classroom, with friends, or through work, like Yakusheva’s job at the UMBC Bookstore. She says she believes that even students in other majors should take Introduction to Global Studies because it “definitely helps you open your mind and broaden your perspective on the world.”

Another approach is education abroad, where students get to have an up-close, personal look at life in a different country. While Caleb Ruck ’22, modern languages and linguistics, was in Argentina, he saw a wonder of the world, improved his Spanish, and attended a pride festival. But what really sticks with him is a newfound confidence. He says that he learned, “I can do things that are out of the box and make me nervous…I can embarrass myself and then get over it.” 

Global Ambassadors

Some UMBC students come to the U.S. from other countries for the same reason. Nastaran Azar ’22, biological sciences, came to UMBC from Iran because “I enjoyed the culture and it was a really diverse community.” Even so, she had to navigate the occasional instance culture clash. For example, saying something that might be considered respect for someone’s privacy or time in the U.S. can be considered rude elsewhere, she said. 

Students new to the U.S. also have to contend with complications like getting a visa as well as the language barrier, says Tchuissi Mbu Nyamsi ’22, data science, who is originally from France and has also traveled the world. 

To help other international students through that process, both Azar and Mbu Nyamsi joined UMBC’s Global Ambassadors program. One of Azar’s favorite memories from UMBC was helping the new international students when they first arrived. “All of them were stressed and we were saying, ‘you will be fine.’ I really enjoyed that,” she said. 

Valuable skills

Often, students with such intercultural experience aren’t just fine – they excel, thanks to the skills and knowledge they’ve gained. “Learning multiple languages is a big strength and it allows me to adapt myself to any cultures,” Mbu Nyamsi says. She plans to use this skill at her job as a consultant with a business advisory firm. 

Yakusheva also has found intercultural experiences to be a bonus during interviews for internships and jobs. Companies “understand that when you have people from different backgrounds in the workplace you’re going to have some moments where cultures are going to clash,” she says, but she can provide insight on how to use those experiences as learning opportunities and end up with better work products as a result.

Understanding different perspectives also is a big part of growing empathy and helping people to interact smoothly. “It’s truly helpful to not judge people based on what they are doing because you don’t know what’s truly happening, what they’re really thinking about,” Azar says.

Similarly, Yakusheva says that her intercultural experiences have opened her mind, and “I realized that the way I’m used to doing things is not the only way, and it’s not necessarily the right way. There are several ways of doing things.”

Growing empathy and awareness

Ruck also got a new perspective back home at UMBC while volunteering at the Esperanza Center, a resource center that helps immigrants in Baltimore. “I became bilingual as a hobby,” he says, in contrast to the people he was supporting at the center who were “becoming bilingual in order to work and to survive.”

Gaining personal insight may be the most important part of intercultural experiences, Yakusheva suggests. “It’s not only about learning about food or music, but also just how to handle yourself in different situations,” she notes. “It helps me be more tolerant and more understanding of others and myself.” 

In many ways, the world is getting smaller, with rapid travel and communications, says Mbu Nyamsi, but building personal connections and seeing things for yourself still has immense value. “Sometimes when you go abroad, you can put everything into perspective and have a better big picture view of the world.”

UMBC students interested in studying abroad can learn more about opportunities and financial support through the education abroad office.

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Each year, UMBC students access a broad range of internships and research opportunities, and work alongside mentors who guide and support them in their interests. Students in UMBC’s Class of 2022 have used these opportunities to explore their passions and to take important first steps in their careers.

Hands-on leadership experience

When she was exploring her college options, Logan Hawker ‘22, mechanical engineering, had a clear sense of what she was looking for. “I wanted to have a career as an engineer, and I wanted to play softball,” she says. “UMBC was one of the only places where I knew I could pursue both at a high level.”

Hawker came to UMBC in the fall of 2019 and by summer 2020 she was interning as an F-18 flight test engineer for the Navy at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. She developed flight test plans and briefed pilots, then monitored test flight data from a control room.

As an intern, Hawker says that she had several mentors who “took me under their wing,” and their support paid off. Hawker was able to write and implement her own test plan as a final project. The project culminated when her primary mentor was out of town, but by then Hawker felt confident briefing the test pilots and delivering the final test report to more than 50 people on her own.

After graduation, Hawker will begin working full-time as a flight test engineer at the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River.

Making the most of each opportunity

When Audrey Houck ‘22, financial economics, transferred to UMBC from Drexel University, she knew she wanted to take advantage of all of the resources and opportunities that UMBC has to offer. An opportunity came knocking when one of her financial economics professors offered the top three students in the class the chance to interview with T. Rowe Price for a possible summer internship. 

To prepare for the interview, Houck connected with Christine Routzahn, director of UMBC’s Career Center. The interview prep paid off, as did knowing “I had a network of people behind me,” she says.

She was hired as an associate analyst intern at T. Rowe Price in summer 2021. There, a mentor at the company helped guide her every step of the way, offering context to better understand the company and her role, and make the most of her internship experience, her first position in the industry. “The opportunity allowed me to apply knowledge from my undergraduate courses to the corporate world,” Houck says.

After completing the internship, Houck decided to apply for the highly competitive T. Rowe Price Investment Fellowship program. She knew Routzahn would be there to help her prepare for the interview and put her best foot forward. “The constant communication, and knowing that someone is there to meet me halfway and make sure I am successful, was meaningful,” she shares.

Houck will participate in the T. Rowe Price Investment Fellowship program after graduation, completing four six-month rotations with various teams within the company. 

Bridging arts and tech

Bryan Castillo ‘22, business technology administration, transferred to UMBC from Howard Community College in fall 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He knew that he had to be intentional about connecting with classmates and professors in a virtual environment. 

In spring 2021, he began searching for internship opportunities, and he connected with the UMBC Career Center and attended several career fairs. The Career Center worked to understand his interests and goals, and supported him as he navigated the interview and application processes as a first-generation college student. Castillo was hired for an internship at the information technology help desk at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), where he focused on database management. 

That experience was an important stepping stone to his next opportunity, which more closely aligned with his interest in the arts: a highly competitive internship at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. As an intern at the Whitney Museum, he has worked remotely four days a week managing museum databases, while completing his degree. 

During UMBC’s spring break, Castillo decided to spend the week in New York City so he could meet his mentors and connect with fellow interns in person. The internship also gave him an opportunity to connect regularly with senior leadership at the Whitney Museum, giving him the confidence to pursue a technical position in a museum after graduation.

Seeking fresh perspectives

Arjun Trivedi ‘22, M30, mechanical engineering, is passionate about research and about connecting with people outside of his major. His experience as a Meyerhoff Scholar, he shares, has taught him the value of being part of a diverse, supportive community and exploring issues from a range of perspectives.

“Interdisciplinary connections are important,” he explains. “Finding those connections and being able to take advice from everyone around you helps you grow.”

He found research alongside Deepa Madan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, in the summer after his freshman year to be incredibly valuable, particularly his conversations with Madan and graduate students in the lab. But he was also interested in machine learning and computing and wasn’t quite sure how to bring it all together. His peer mentor in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program suggested he consider a computer science minor and see what doors that would open.

In summer 2021, Trivedi learned about a summer research opportunity that combined mechanical engineering and machine learning. He remembers immediately thinking “this is me” and reaching out to Ankit Goel, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, to apply. That led to an exciting research experience with Goel and Meilin Yu, associate professor of mechanical engineering. 

Preparing for his career after graduation, Trivedi reached out to the UMBC Career Center for interview and skill test support. Now, he has accepted a job offer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, focused on maritime robotics – automating underwater vehicles. 

Mentors in the lab and the field

When Aiman Raza ‘22, biological sciences, met Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences, to discuss the possibility of doing research in his lab, she thought she might feel nervous. But, she says, “I didn’t feel intimidated joining the lab. I felt very supported in the work I was doing.” 

“My first year in Dr. Omland’s lab, he would give me great feedback on the work I was doing,” Raza says. “He encouraged me to get things done and get in the habit of doing a little bit of work each day. That mentoring style has been very helpful to me.” 

In addition to working on the Omland Lab’s Bahama Oriole Project, she received a UMBC undergraduate research award (URA) to study and track mockingbirds on campus–her first independent field research. 

Raza also grew her skills through internships, found via the UMBC Career Center. She focused on DNA sequencing at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor during summer 2019. In summer 2020, she completed a virtual internship with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, focused on oyster restoration.

After graduation, Raza will pursue her master’s in biological sciences at UMBC as part of the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) program. She will work with Tamra Mendelson, professor of biological sciences, to study brook trout populations in the Chesapeake Bay using environmental DNA.

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The children at the Walden Circle Community Center in Woodlawn, Maryland were rambunctious, even a little irritable, on a hot afternoon in September. Micah Thorpe ’22, mechanical engineering, a student coordinator for an after school program at the community center, knew just what to do: introduce a rocket-building project.

“Immediately, all the kids locked in on their mission to make sure the rocket took off,” Thorpe remembers. “Just getting them excited about science and engineering, and letting them know that they could be building rockets one day if they really wanted to—that’s what’s kept me coming back and wanting to serve.”

Thorpe is one of many UMBC students who regularly spend their time with local youth, both in the children’s communities and on UMBC’s campus. UMBC students offer tutoring, guidance for the college search and application process, strategies for managing emotions, and more.

Thorpe has worked with local students in various programs every semester during his time at UMBC, eventually taking on leadership roles with Walden Circle and the UMBC chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. “Especially for underrepresented minorities in STEM, I want to help expose them to what they could pursue,” he says.

Mindful teaching

Ashley Delgado ’22, psychology, and a Sherman STEM Teacher Scholar, has focused her energy on working with pre-kindergarten and second grade students through two semester-long internships at Maree G. Farring Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. UMBC’s work with Maree G. Farring and other city schools is supported by the Sherman Family Foundation, which recently invested an additional $21 million in UMBC’s education partnerships, scholars programs, and research. 

Delgado also conducted research with Jennifer Mata-McMahon, associate professor of early childhood education, from whom she learned about ways to use meditation and breathing techniques in an educational setting. Right away, Delgado taught the techniques to her students.

The strategies helped the children “express emotions appropriately, because at such a young age, they are feeling a lot of things they don’t know how to express, and sometimes they do so in a way that hurts themselves or hurts others,” Delgado says. Especially during pandemic disruptions, “It was very beneficial for my students, because of some things they were going through at home and just the environment they were in.”

Delgado has chosen to center her career on teaching young children, accepting a position for fall 2022 as a teacher at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School. She’s looking forward to teaching in culturally responsive ways, and creating opportunities for her students to share their backgrounds and personal stories. This emphasis will fit right in at Lakeland, which implemented a dual-language program in collaboration with UMBC faculty in 2018.

Lifting up others

Similar to Thorpe, Favour Nwagugo ’22, biological sciences, has found meaning in supporting younger students through the CHOICE Program and his UMBC peers as a peer health educator.

One of Nwagugo’s most rewarding experiences was as a student coordinator for the CHOICE Program, which, among other activities, brings local youth to UMBC’s campus for educational and recreational activities led by UMBC students. 

“Through the process of being a leader I developed organizational and communication skills,” he says. And because the program was offered online beginning in March 2020, when the COVID pandemic began, “I also got better at finding new creative ways of engaging people.”

Especially when the CHOICE sessions were in person, “I would always leave there excited,” Nwagugo says. “It feels so good to help people.” It was particularly rewarding to see quiet students gradually open up and begin to see themselves at UMBC, he shares.

Helping fellow students through the peer health education program has also been rewarding. “Students come to college and they’re in the middle of a lot of stuff. They’re trying to figure themselves out,” Nwagugo says. As peer health educators, “We’re here to give them the tools to have that experience in a healthy and positive way, to have a quality life at UMBC.”

“I’m really excited for the next chapter after UMBC,” Nwagugo says. While he is heading to the National Cancer Institute for a postbac program, he also looks forward to finding new opportunities to support local youth.

Gratitude in action

Kaitlynn Lilly has also turned gratitude for her UMBC experience into efforts to support younger students and her peers. As a volunteer with the Arbutus Achievers program at Arbutus Middle School, she tutored students in math. Later, as the program’s student coordinator, she organized other volunteers and led reflection sessions, ensuring both tutors and their students were getting the most out of the experience.

Involvement with the Arbutus Achievers “has just been such a positive experience for me,” Lilly says. “I really love being at the leadership level, because not only do I still get to have a direct impact on students, but I also get to help UMBC college students understand the impact that they can have on other people.”

Lilly also advised students at Hereford High School through the process of creating a hydroponic farm as a peer advisor with the Society for Women Engineers – NEXT High School chapter. “It was really cool to be able to work with them and show them that you can make your ideas come to life,” she shares. Lilly also serves as a First Generation Peer Mentor for UMBC students.

“I’ve been so fortunate at UMBC to have such great mentorship, in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, the Honors College, and from Dr. Justin Webster,” assistant professor of mathematics, with whom Lilly has conducted research since her first year.

Lilly plans to continue participating in outreach as her career progresses. Like many of her peers who contribute to the local community, her sense of appreciation for support she’s received drives her commitment. “At every level, I’ve been so grateful for what people have given to me,” Lilly says, “and I want to be able to keep giving that back.”

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Members of the Class of 2022 have experienced college in a period of multiple overlapping crises, including a global pandemic, continuing racial injustices, climate disasters, international conflict, and threats against democracy. The scale and scope of these challenges can be daunting, but UMBC students, including this year’s graduates, have responded with vision and action. 

Their approach: promoting inclusion and belonging right where they are, and building mutually empowering relationships that can change the world. 

Inspired by personal experience

Courtney Coppersmith ‘22, chemistry and molecular biology, is one of many UMBC grads who has leveraged their own stories and experiences to make meaningful civic contributions on campus. A star pitcher for UMBC’s championship-winning softball team who also excels academically, she struggled with depression during a busy first year on campus. After her essay about her experiences won a national contest, the America East conference, Major League Baseball, and ESPN shared her story widely. 

Teammates and competitors reached out to Coppersmith to say how her message had resonated with them and helped them recognize that they were not alone. She has continued to support UMBC athletes through advocacy and personal encouragement. She has also helped them get involved with campus and community organizations, building networks of support and a sense of connection.

Danylo Leshchyshyn ‘22, history and political science, arrived at UMBC looking for disability support he sometimes had lacked in middle school and high school. He helped to establish the Autism Spectrum Student Association as a connection point and advocacy group for students on the autism spectrum, and worked with peers and staff in Student Disability Services to revive UMBC’s chapter of Delta Alpha Pi, a national honor society for high-achieving students with disabilities. 

Leshchyshyn’s UMBC civic legacy also includes speaking about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on his family.

Of his time on campus he shares, “You can get anywhere you want from here, and you know you’ll get there as a better person than when you came into UMBC.”

Sharing resources, building connections

Gabby Khan ‘22, computer science, has strengthened the UMBC community in part by paying forward the kindness and care she experienced from peers and mentors in the Honors College and at the Academic Success Center. Some of the students with whom she has worked as a resident assistant and tutor have sent her appreciative messages. Hearing that she was able to help other students at times when they were really struggling has been more than gratifying – it’s also shaped her outlook on what a supportive community can and should do.

Khan now describes her contribution to UMBC’s empowering and supportive culture as part of a “cycle of learning.” “UMBC has been a really welcoming place that I got to learn from, especially from the people around me,” she says. “It never stops at academics.”

For Tess McRae ‘22, individualized study, participating in UMBC’s immersive STRiVE leadership for social impact program opened the door to deep involvement on campus. “It was the first time in my life that I truly learned and understood that I had a story; that my story mattered; that my characteristics and habits and quirks were sources of insight; and that I was not alone in my experiences and feelings,” she says. 

After joining the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s founding staff in 2018, McRae facilitated and contributed to the design of dozens of its programs, including STRiVE. Always on her mind was how to liberate and empower participants in the ways the immersive program had done for her.

Among her UMBC civic legacies is the Co-Create UMBC video tour, which she produced and narrated as a way of inspiring UMBC students to believe in themselves and envision their own contributions to the campus community.

Long line of innovators

While each of these students has had a unique experience and impact, they are also following the legacy of UMBC’s pioneer classes of the 1960s and 1970s. Those early UMBC students established a culture in which they viewed themselves as co-creators of the UMBC community. 

In the program for the first UMBC commencement exercises in 1970, graduate Diane Juknelis (now Diane Juknelis Tichnell) reflects, “The present class of graduates is the first in a long line of innovators who are not to be considered products of UMBC, but rather constant producers of all that gives it character and quality.”

Each students’ civic legacy is specific to a time, place, people and organizations. And it is also much broader – over time shaping UMBC as a warm, inclusive, engaging environment in which to learn and grow.

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