All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Erickson School partners with Chase Brexton LGBT Health Resource Center for digital storytelling project

Students in this semester’s management of aging services first year seminar have been working with seniors who are part of the LGBTQ community to create digital stories about their lives. The class partnered with the Chase Brexton LGBT Health Resource Center and groups of students have been working with seven seniors over the course of the semester.

The completed stories are scheduled to be screened at an event at UMBC on Tuesday, May 3, and they are also expected to be shown at Pride and other events around Baltimore later this year. Students in the class worked with the seniors to gather audio interviews, photos, videos, and other material to produce digital biographies as the seniors reflected on their lives.

Saurabh Saini ’19, computer science, Dorjan Leka ’19, biology, and Hong Kun ’19, computer engineering, worked with Breezy Bishop, who had a distinguished career coaching women’s basketball at Western High School in Baltimore, and has since started a college scholarship fund for students who may not have the financial means to go to college.

The students learned about the various people who influenced her and some of the challenges and discrimination she faced throughout her life.

“Throughout this experience, I’ve learned how to look at things from a different perspective,” says Leka. “Breezy’s story inspires us to work hard in everything that we do.”

“In this class, you’re not dealing with textbooks,” explains Saini. “You’re dealing with life stories, and that’s powerful.”

The seven digital stories will be screened at an event in Sherman 145 at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3. This semester’s course is taught by Erickson School Undergraduate Program Director Galina Madjaroff. In past years, the class has partnered with the Arbutus Senior Center and Charlestown.

Image: Saurabh Saini ’19, computer science, Dorjan Leka ’19, biology, and Hong Kun ’19, computer engineering, work on their digital storytelling project.

Michele Stites shares research at White House Operation Educate the Educators event

On April 13, The White House hosted an event for educators around the country to highlight and integrate existing knowledge about military-connected K-12 students. During the conference, Michele Stites, an assistant professor of education, shared her research in a working group on ways to better educate teachers to help them support military-connected students and their families.

Stites was invited to the event as the White House recognized her for work to build awareness for military-connected families and research to identify how teachers and therapists can better meet the needs of these children and their families. Stites is an expert in early childhood education and has conducted research on preparing educators to work with students with special needs, military-connected children, and inclusion.

In her working group at the Operation Educate the Educators conference, Stites identified common stressors on military children such as geographic mobility and parental separation and discussed the importance of providing support networks for students when a parent is deployed or when students need to transition between schools.

Stites also stressed the importance of meeting the needs of military-connected students through training for educators about military deployment cycles, lifestyles, and providing information about resources available to military families.

“We need to make sure we are supporting military families and work with teachers to help them better communicate with families, anticipate deployments, and identify what we can do to help,” Stites explains. “We can’t provide all of the answers, but we can help provide resources and be more responsive to families’ needs.”

In additional to panel discussions, Dr. Jill Biden and U.S. Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. addressed educators at the conference, which brought together higher education leaders from institutions such as Tufts University, University of Minnesota, University of Southern California, and Texas A&M University, among many others.

Earlier this year, Stites published research on how early childhood teachers perceive the educational needs of military dependent children in the Early Childhood Education Journal to help illuminate gaps in current scholarship about military-connected children. To learn more about Prof. Stites’ research, visit the education department website.

Image: Michele Stites. Photo credit Heather Crowder.

UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars and alumni celebrate personal impact of a nationally lauded program

UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Graduation Dinner, held April 13, 2016, served as a meaningful bookend to a life-changing college experience for 66 class of 2016 graduates. The Meyerhoff Scholars Program “is something that has to be lived,” says program director Keith Harmon. “We address the scholar, but we also address the whole person.”

The annual graduation dinner is an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of each Meyehoff Scholar and the transformative impacts of the program, described by Science as “the gold standard for providing a path into academic research for groups…now underrepresented in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.”

The program is known for fostering in scholars a sense of perseverance, spirit of community and support, and devotion to excellence and integrity—qualities that they will carry with them throughout their lives and careers—starting on day one of Summer Bridge before freshman year.

Meyerhoff alumni Kafui Dzirasa ’01, chemical engineering, and Erica Childs ’05, mathematics and statistics, spoke at the event, reflecting on their UMBC experiences and sharing their paths since graduation.

Dzirasa received his M.D. and Ph.D. at Duke University and is now an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke. He recently received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor that the U.S. government presents to science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their research careers. A new PBS documentary on bipolar disorder just featured Dzirasa’s research to develop brain stimulation treatments that target disordered neural circuits, as opposed to medications that can have undesirable side effects on other areas of brain function.

Childs earned her Ph.D. at UCLA and now is a research associate at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She uses her statistics expertise to identify genes that are risk factors for various diseases and develop risk models for cancers.

Harmon sees nurturing the dreams of Meyerhoff Scholars as the heart of the program—concluding every meeting with a reading of Langston Hughes’ “Dreams”—and the program’s focus on mentorship and supportive community has paid off.

“The program has turned my undergraduate career into so much more than four years of classes,” says Julian Sass ’16, mathematics and statistics. “It has turned into a strong foundation for my personal growth and success. The program has changed my life and inspired me to dream bigger.”

Gaurav Luthria ’16, bioinformatics, worked to find his passion among many possible research fields. “Working on various research projects, participating in hackathons, and learning from my professors at UMBC has been invaluable in shaping my career aspirations,” he says.

Randi Williams ’16, computer engineering, particularly appreciated opportunities to develop confidence and leadership as a Meyerhoff Scholar. She says, “UMBC groomed me into a leader, which, as a shy and nerdy freshman, I never imagined I could be.”

As one of few women in computer engineering, Williams relied on her Meyerhoff cohort for support her freshman year. By junior year she was mentoring freshman Meyerhoff Scholars. “It meant a lot to me to give back to other African-American women,” she says.

Williams completed internships at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, MIT Media Lab, and tech company Jawbone as an undergraduate. She will next head to MIT for a master’s degree in media arts and sciences. “I don’t think I would be in this position without the academic preparation, networking, internships, and leadership skills that I was able to hone as a Meyerhoff,” she says.

“The focus on research, academic success, and mentoring helped shape me not only as a student, but also as a person,” Sass adds. “We learn during Summer Bridge that we are all accountable for each other’s success, and I internalized that.”

UMBC is now the nation’s #1 producer of African American undergraduates who go on to complete M.D./Ph.D. programs and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program is being adapted at UNC-Chapel Hill and Penn State through a $7.75 million HHMI grant. But for the 66 Meyerhoff graduates of the class of 2016 it’s not about national stature, it’s personal. Harmon wants to make sure that each and every graduate will “hold fast to dreams.”

Header image: Meyerhoff Scholars Class of 2016; photo by Jim Burger.

Other images, top to bottom: Kafui Dzirasa ’01, photo by Les Todd, Duke Photography; Gaurav Luthria, Randi Williams, and Julian Sass, photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC faculty provide insight and analysis during Maryland’s primary election

On Tuesday, April 26, hundreds of thousands of voters in Maryland headed to the polls to cast their ballots. The U.S. Senate and presidential races were expected to draw significant attention to the primary election, and more than 125,000 people participated in early voting. As the returns came in on Tuesday, UMBC professors Donald Norris and Kimberly Moffitt provided insight and analysis on races across the state.

Norris, professor and director of the School of Public Policy, joined WJZ-TV’s extensive coverage on primary day and discussed how voter turnout was expected to impact the election and explained how it would be especially important in the Baltimore mayoral and U.S. Senate races.

“Voter turnout is always important, and sometimes it’s more important for some candidates than for others. They have to get their people out to vote. If they don’t, they don’t win,” explained Norris.

After the polls closed, Norris reflected on the results and described what lies ahead for the candidates as they turn toward the general election in November. “I think the citizens have some good choices,” Norris explained.

Norris was also quoted in The Washington Post about the Senate race and The Wall Street Journal about the influx of cash in the race to succeed Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the House.

American Studies Associate Professor Kimberly Moffitt joined WYPR’s election coverage in the week leading up to primary day and also provided analysis as the returns came in on Tuesday night. Leading up to the election, she discussed how the U.S. Senate race was particularly interesting from a media coverage perspective.

“This is an important seat. Mikulski has held this seat for a number of years, and it’s pretty much been her’s and now it’s up for grabs. I do think the need for these two candidates to get cantankerous with each other is about them saying I want this spot because it’s so important to us as a state as a whole,” Moffitt explained.

On election night, Moffitt joined Mileah Kromer, political science professor and director of the Goucher Poll, to provide perspective on the impact of races across the state.

For complete coverage, see below:

Expert Don Norris weighs in ahead of final Maryland primary numbers (WJZ-TV)
Political expert Don Norris weighs in after a busy Maryland primary (WJZ-TV)
Lesson from Edwards’s loss: ‘It shouldn’t be about race…We don’t go by gender’ (Washington Post)
House candidate David Trone spent $12 million to finish second in Maryland primary (The Wall Street Journal)
How Freddie Gray’s death changed Baltimore, and its election (The Christian Science Monitor)
Election roundtable: Sizing up the 2016 campaigns (WYPR)

Image: Photo by Jay Baker, CC by 2.0.

Biologist Jeff Leips explains model organism research on Capitol Hill in support of federal funding

Federally-funded science researchers have tightened their belts in recent years, as budgets for federal research agencies have decreased in many core areas. Concerned at the prospect of future research funding cuts, particularly for model organism and basic research, the Coalition to Promote Research and Coalition for National Science Funding gathered scientists and representatives of funding agencies to present a Congressional Poster Exhibition and Reception.

Held on April 13, 2016 at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., the event gave legislators and their staff a greater understanding of the value of research currently supported by the federal government and the processes for selecting grant recipients. UMBC biological sciences professor Jeff Leips, a federally-funded scientist who uses the fruitfly (Drosophila) to study traits associated with aging, attended the event to discuss the importance of research using this workhorse model organism.

“Much of what we know of biology comes from model organisms,” Leips says. He explains that fruitflies share about 60 percent of their genes with humans, and about 75 percent of disease-causing genes in humans have a parallel gene in flies, so studying the tiny critters is a cost-effective, practical, and ethical way to learn about human disease. Labs that use model organisms also provide ample opportunities to train the next generation of scientists.

Leips spoke with Senate staffers at the meeting who were “very open to listening,” he says. While some of the onus is on politicians to take time to learn the intended purpose of research in context, Leips suggests, scientists and research institutions “could do more.” He recommends organizing similar events on university campuses and inviting local legislators. He also suggests helping scientists become more aware of how scientific language can have different meanings in a lay context, to prepare them for speaking with the media and general audiences.

To learn more about Jeff Leips’ experience at this event, read his post on the Genetic Society of America‘s blog.

Header image: Jeff Leips at the Congressional Poster Exhibition. Photo by Charles Votaw.

Alumna Zainab Alkebsi admitted to Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in historic ceremony

On Tuesday, April 19, Zainab Alkebsi ’09, political science, was among 13 members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA) sworn in and admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.

With Supreme Court Bar admission, Alkebsi will now be able to argue cases before the nation’s highest court. Admission to the Supreme Court is only granted if an attorney is sponsored by two current members of the bar and has been in good standing for at least three years.

The event was the first time that the DHHBA participated in a group swearing-in ceremony, which typically occurs most days the Supreme Court is in session. The 13 attorneys is the largest group of deaf and hard of hearing lawyers to be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar.

“It was incredible to be part of the historic swearing-in ceremony with twelve outstanding deaf and hard of hearing attorneys,” says Alkebsi. “The cherry on top was seeing Chief Justice Roberts grant our motion in American Sign Language, which was a first from the Supreme Court bench! It was a very pleasant surprise and it was very thoughtful of him to acknowledge our group the way he did. I hope that the ceremony has inspired others who are deaf and hard of hearing to pursue a legal career.”

At UMBC, Alkebsi was a political science major and was a member of the Honors College and Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program. She is currently policy counsel for the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and is a graduate of University of Baltimore School of Law.

Read news coverage of the event below:

Supreme Court Chief Justice learned sign language to swear in deaf lawyers (Washington Post)
A “view” from the Court: Making accommodations for the deaf and hard of hearing (SCOTUS blog)
Alumna sworn in to Supreme Court Bar with 12 deaf colleagues (UB School of Law updates)
DHHBA members to be sworn into United States Supreme Court Bar (DHHBA News)

Header Image: U.S. Supreme Court. Photo by Chris Phan, CC by 2.0.

Roy Meyers discusses the political likelihood of reforming the federal budget process

Political science professor and federal budgeting expert Roy Meyers has been in the news recently discussing federal budget issues as the U.S. Senate has held hearings on reforming the budget process and an emergency spending bill to combat the Zika virus is being debated in Congress.

On April 13, Meyers testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee during a hearing on “Budgeting for Outcomes to Maximize Taxpayer Value.” The hearing was the second in a series focused on fixing the budget process and highlighted how outcome-based budgeting could improve congressional budget decisions.

On April 18, Brookings published a brief by Meyers titled “How to make budget process reform politically feasible.” In his paper, Meyers addressed what can be done to overcome barriers to budget reform that are still high.

“For advocates to overcome these barriers, they must describe how reforms will create results that politicians value. The reforms suggested in this report would increase the ability to establish strategic priorities and allocate resources towards those priorities, and that greater capacity would promote fiscal sustainability,” Meyers stated in the introduction.

In a USA Today article about the $1.9 billion emergency spending bill, Meyers commented on rhetoric surrounding the bill and how it is being perceived.

For complete coverage, see below.

April 13 hearing on Fixing Broken Budget Process (United States Senate Committee on the Budget)
How to make budget process reform politically feasible (Brookings)
Obama’s $1.9 billion Zika request: ‘Slush fund,’ or needed flexibility? (USA Today)

Image: U.S. Capitol. Photo by Kevin Burkett, CC by-SA 2.0.

UMBC public historian Denise Meringolo and alumnus Joe Tropea discuss crowdsourcing history on WYPR

A year after the Baltimore Uprising of 2015, UMBC’s Denise Meringolo and alumnus Joe Tropea recently joined WYPR’s “Midday” program to discuss their work to gather and preserve a diverse range of perspectives and experiences from the events of last year.

Meringolo, an associate professor of history and director of public history, and Joe Tropea ’06, history, ’08 M.A., historical studies, are collaborating on a project to archive materials from the Baltimore Uprising through a website that was launched last year. Since the project began, there have been thousands of submissions from community members.

“It’s really the work of public history to be working with communities, not just for them, and not just producing historical interpretations with the eye of having publics read them, but really working with people to develop interpretations that help them think about who they are, what’s going on around them, and how the tools of history can help them arrive at a deeper understanding and achieve their personal goals,” Meringolo explained during the segment.

Meringolo described how the website was launched quickly last year when her students wanted to be responsive to narratives that were being shared in the national news about the events surrounding Freddie Gray’s death. They wanted to find a way to represent the complexity of what was happening and to allow community members to control their own narratives and represent how they were feeling.

Joe Tropea, who is now digital projects coordinator at the Maryland Historical Society, heard about the website and collaborated with Meringolo on the project.

“We sensed the importance of what was going on. It was obvious to us that this was something people will study years from now, so we made a decision to get proactive about it,” Tropea shared.

Listen to the complete segment “Crowdsourcing History” on the WYPR website. Read more about the Preserve the Baltimore Uprising 2015 Archive Project.

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

Valedictorian Katelyn Seale heads to medical school with sensitivity to diversity and a strong research background

Katelyn Seale
B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Plans: M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine

With every conversation and interaction, I have had the opportunity to learn something new about people…I know that I am equipped to succeed in a medical career because of these experiences at UMBC.

Katelyn Seale, UMBC’s Class of 2016 valedictorian, is a future doctor determined to be sensitive to the diverse needs and life experiences of all of her patients.

Like many students in her medical school cohort, Seale will begin her program with a strong academic background in chemistry and biology, and robust hands-on research experience. “My hours in the lab struggling to explain or duplicate results have made me a stronger student and problem-solver,” she says.

She’ll also come in with a more unique skill set of building relationships beyond the lab, planning events, and connecting with people from many different communities, after three years on the executive board of UMBC’s Student Events Board and service through the Shriver Center. “With every conversation and interaction, I have had the opportunity to learn something new about people,” she says, sharing that her broader perspective “will be incredibly valuable in a medical field.”

Seale earned the Student Recognition Award for the chemistry and biochemistry department and was admitted into both Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies. Her UMBC education was supported by a President’s Scholarship.

Images: Through her work on UMBC’s Student Events Board, Seale planned the UMBC Color Run, a fun and healthy event for students; photo courtesy of Katelyn Seale. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Salutatorian Ashby Henningsen to pursue a public service career dedicated to human rights

Ashby Henningsen
B.A., Political Science; B.A., Global Studies
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Parkville, Maryland
Plans: Intern, International Justice Mission

My friends in the Sondheim Scholars program represent the many individuals who have helped me grow, both intellectually and personally. They embody the best that this community has given me and taught me over the course of these past four years.

During his time at UMBC, Ashby Henningsen has developed lasting friendships with fellow Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars thanks to a shared commitment to personal growth and public service. For Henningsen, UMBC’s Class of 2016 salutatorian, that commitment focuses on human rights issues.

Henningsen has volunteered with the Refugee Youth Project and The Choice Program at UMBC’s Shriver Center. He has also interned for two nonprofit organizations in Baltimore, Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma and the Next One Up Foundation, and served as assistant news editor for The Retriever Weekly.

In 2015, Henningsen participated in the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at Princeton University, a seven-week program structured to introduce and strengthen skills in economics, statistics, policy analysis, writing, and public speaking. Through experiences inside and outside the classroom, he’s also further developed the critical analysis, professional writing, and speaking skills he’ll need to pursue a career in international affairs and public administration.

Henningsen graduates with a 4.0 GPA and Outstanding Scholar accolades from both political science and global studies. He will complete an internship with the International Justice Mission in Washington, D.C. in summer 2016, during the review period for his application to the Peace Corps.

Images: Ashby Henningsen poses with other UMBC Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar; photo courtesy of Ashby Henningsen. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Sayo McCowin to pursue M.D./Ph.D. after transformative experience researching HIV

Sayo McCowin
B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cum Laude
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Plans: M.D./Ph.D., University of Virginia School of Medicine

I know that upon leaving this university I will be able to thrive in any environment. The faculty, students, and staff of UMBC have shown unrivaled support and continue to inspire me as I prepare to embark on this new chapter in my life.

The UMBC experience challenged Sayo McCowin to “perform better not just as a student, but also as an all-around human being,” he says.

In addition to pursuing substantial research as a Meyerhoff Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar, National Institute on Drug Abuse Scholar, and Department of Energy Scholar, McCowin served as a leader in the campus community. His experiences include service as an Academic Integrity Board member, undergraduate program board member, and Lambda Chi Alpha president.

While McCowin’s work on the three-dimensional structure of components of the HIV-1 virus in Michael Summers’s lab grew his passion for research, his service on campus broadened his connections with students across the university.

McCowin credits the support he found at UMBC for enabling him to pursue the M.D./Ph.D. degree he has long aspired and worked toward.

Images: Participating in the Summers lab at UMBC enabled McCowin to pursue his passion for medical research; photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Biology grad Corey Carter named 2016 Baltimore County Public Schools Teacher of the Year

Corey Carter ’08, biological sciences, ’10 M.A.T., has been selected as 2016 Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) Teacher of the Year. The recognition was announced during an April 20th ceremony at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson.

Carter currently teaches science and co-founded the My Brother’s Keeper Mentoring program at Old Court Middle School in Pikesville. He previously taught for three years at Rayner Brown Elementary Middle School in Baltimore.

“Corey Carter sets a wonderful example of what teaching in Baltimore County looks like,” BCPS Superintendent Dallas Dance said in a news release announcing the award. “He concentrates on the whole child and fosters relationships with each and every student who comes through his door. Not only that, but he gives students the tools and confidence they need to be in charge of their own learning, and places an emphasis on critical thinking.”

Corey Carter with Rehana Shafi after receiving the award.

“Every day, teachers must blend life lessons, content, assessments, feedback, and a sprinkling of high-fives all in pursuit of impacting a young life. But the true impact of educating others is as much about sharing knowledge as it is learning from them,” Carter said in the news release. “In fact, teaching has been most rewarding when showing others what they have taught me. My students push me to listen more, celebrate more, and to show them why I love what I do.”

At UMBC, Carter was a Sherman Scholar and is an active alumnus and member of the Sherman Program Alumni Advisory Board. As BCPS Teacher of the Year, he will compete for the honor of Maryland State Teacher of the Year.

“Corey’s journey is a wonderful example of why the support provided by the Sherman Scholars Program, both during a student’s time at UMBC and during their first few years teaching, is so important,” explained Rehana Shafi, director of the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program.

For more information, read “Baltimore County names Teacher of the Year” in The Baltimore Sun.

Earlier this month, Shalonda Holt ’07 biological sciences, teaching certificate in education, was named the 2016 Washington Post Teacher of the Year and Howard County Teacher of the Year.

Update: Carter was featured in an Education Post article on June 6, 2016.

All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Erickson School partners with Chase Brexton LGBT Health Resource Center for digital storytelling project

Michele Stites shares research at White House Operation Educate the Educators event

UMBC Meyerhoff Scholars and alumni celebrate personal impact of a nationally lauded program

UMBC faculty provide insight and analysis during Maryland’s primary election

Biologist Jeff Leips explains model organism research on Capitol Hill in support of federal funding

Alumna Zainab Alkebsi admitted to Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in historic ceremony

Roy Meyers discusses the political likelihood of reforming the federal budget process

UMBC public historian Denise Meringolo and alumnus Joe Tropea discuss crowdsourcing history on WYPR

Valedictorian Katelyn Seale heads to medical school with sensitivity to diversity and a strong research background

Salutatorian Ashby Henningsen to pursue a public service career dedicated to human rights

Sayo McCowin to pursue M.D./Ph.D. after transformative experience researching HIV

Biology grad Corey Carter named 2016 Baltimore County Public Schools Teacher of the Year

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