All posts by: Magazine Editor

In an ongoing series on baby boomers who have been married for 25 years or more, the New York Times this week featured Retriever alumni sweethearts Pam and James Hayes-Bohanan ’86, who met and fell in love at good old UMBC. The pair, who now live and work in Bridgewater, MA, graduated with degrees in modern languages & linguistics and geography, respectively. Read the full story in the New York Times here. The interview recounts the early days of their relationship, when they met in a French class at UMBC; their travels together to attend grad school, and trials along… Continue Reading NYT Profiles College Sweethearts Hayes-Bohanans ’86 in “Making it Last” Column

Corey Fleischer ’05, ’08 M.S. mechanical engineering,  zooms a homemade Wii-controlled car around his driveway by day, and rules the demolition derby by night. He geeks out about nanotechnology, blows up light bulbs in his microwave in the name of fun and science, and always seems to be concocting plans for his next big idea. So, when the opportunity to appear on the Discovery Channel’s new engineering-based reality show, “The Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius,” arose the senior mechanical engineer at Lockheed Martin jumped at the chance to show off his skills. The series, hosted by actor Kal Penn, launches… Continue Reading Q&A: Fleischer ’05, ’08, MechEng, To Compete on Discovery’s “Big Brain Theory”

Erickson Living has named Erickson School alumnus Christopher J. Emmett ’08, M.A. management, aging studies, regional vice president of operations. In his new leadership position, he will oversee the company’s campus operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan and Kansas. According to Senior Housing News.com: “Emmett began his career with Erickson Living in 1996. He has held several management positions with the company, which reflect his superior leadership skills and expertise in healthcare and strategic management. For the past eight years, he has served as the executive director at Highland Springs, in Dallas, Tex. Other career positions with Erickson Living… Continue Reading Emmett ’08 M.A., MAgS, in New Leadership Role at Erickson Living

The Department of Ancient Studies welcomed more than 120 guests — including 60 alumni — back to UMBC  this month for its annual Reunion Luncheon, which included appearances by all of the department’s founding faculty. “It was all wonderful seeing so many students from all generations,” said ANCS Chair and Associate Professor Marilyn Goldberg, who counted among her favorite moments of the day watching department founders Walt Sherwin, Jay Freyman, and Rudy Storch reminisce with their students about the early days of the Ancient Studies department. In addition to a luncheon of Greek fare, the afternoon included plenty of reminiscing… Continue Reading Slideshow: ANCS Reunion with Alumni and Founding Faculty

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, in honor of National Poetry Month, we’re talking with English teacher and poet Jackie (Vreatt) Regales ’00, American studies, who spends much of the day sharing her love of the written word with the next generation… Name: Jackie (Vreatt) Regales ’00, American studies Job: English teacher at Roland Park Country School Website: A Patchwork Life: Writing, Teaching, and Piecing it all Together Q:  Tell us a little about why you decided to get into education. A:  My mother taught high school for… Continue Reading Career Q&A: Teacher & Poet Jackie Regales ’00, AmSt

Normally, a spring soccer match would not garner a tremendous amount of attention, even in a soccer-crazed area like the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. corridor. But UMBC’s contest vs. Georgetown, a.k.a., “Kicks for Chase,” on the evening of Saturday, April 13, at Retriever Soccer Park should be an exception. First off, the game pits a pair of great programs coming off magical 2012 fall campaigns. The Retrievers won their second America East title in three years, advanced past Old Dominion and played defending national champion North Carolina to a scoreless draw in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (The Tar Heels… Continue Reading Soccer Team to Raise Money to Honor Alum’s Late Son

Annapolis-area blues duo Swampcandy — one half of which is comprised of bassist Joseph Mitchell ’09, music — launched a new CD and documentary film this month, according to a feature in the Capital newspaper. The article states: “Fresh in the footsteps of the last month’s successful Annapolis Film Festival, the combination of the 17-song CD, the vinyl release and the film premiere of “Midnight Creep” melds an already deep music scene to the emerging focus on film, underscoring Annapolis’s art-for-art’s-sake scene. The crowd-funded film, like the duo’s music, is a mix of genres — part documentary, part music video,… Continue Reading Mitchell ’09, Music, Launches CD and Film with Band Swampcandy

The team of UMBC computer science professor Yelena Yesha and alumnae Karuna Joshi M.S. ’99, Ph.D. ’12, computer science, and Lily Bengfort ’93, English, has been selected for the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program for April. The NSF I-Corps is a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and broadens the impact of select, NSF-funded, basic-research projects. Combining experience and guidance from established entrepreneurs with a targeted curriculum, I-Corps is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers… Continue Reading Alumnae Selected for NSF Innovation Corps

UMBC’s Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture opened its annual MFA thesis exhibition this week, featuring five new MFA graduates, including two previous UMBC alumnae. The show will be open to the public through Saturday, April 20. This year’s Imaging and Digital Arts graduates displaying work in the exhibition include Kristen Anchor ’02, visual arts, Mieke Gentis, Katie Heater ’09, visual arts, Gianfranco Mirizzi and Steve Yeager. The work selected represents the culmination of each student’s unique experience in UMBC’s dynamic and demanding MFA program. An opening reception at the CADVC was held on Thursday April 4.

In keeping with the zombie-fied theme of this year’s Career Week (April 1-4), dozens of alumni are coming back to their alma mater to help current students understand that finding a job doesn’t have to be scary at all. On Tuesday alumni panelists spoke about “How to get a job in any major:”  Tyrone Spady ’99, biological sciences (Legislative Affairs Officer and Lobbyist, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology);  Chris Magaha ’03, information systems management (Operational Programs Manager – National Security Systems, Department of Defense); Maggie Lebherz ’08, modern languages and linguistics (Owner, Lebherz Oil and Vinegar Emporium); Joshua… Continue Reading Career Week Highlights Alumni, Helps Students Succeed