All posts by: Magazine Editor

Junior Atom Zerfas is the quintessential UMBC scholarship student: overwhelmingly outgoing and incredibly involved. A double major in psychology and math, Zerfas is no slouch where academics are concerned — but he feels just as much at home on the playing field.

Zerfas came to UMBC following his graduation from Pikesville High School in 2009. Immediately he jumped into the UMBC culture, joining the Student Events Board and Ultimate Frisbee team. In just two years, he became the Ultimate Frisbee president.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m just the president, I’m not the captain,” he explained modestly.

Atom knew one thing leaving high school: he wanted to be a teacher. After looking around at potential schools, he found UMBC and the Sherman STEM Teacher Education Program. The program helped Zerfas set up a five-year plan in which he will earn an accelerated master’s in education.

“The program has high expectations, but it gives such great support,” said Zerfas. “Honestly, I never want to skip class.”

The Sherman program requires its students to participate in a service project every year. Through the program, Atom was placed in Cherry Hill Elementary/Middle School, where he realized that he wanted to be a middle school teacher.

“I was able to form close relationships with the students,” he said. “I even went to their basketball games.”

The support he’s received from the Sherman STEM Teacher Education Program— financially, academically, and morally — has shaped Atom’s UMBC experience. He has been a part of a close-knit cohort of nine scholarship students and has even been able to meet the scholarship’s namesakes, George and Betsy Sherman, who are always open to giving great advice and encouragement, he said.

Upon graduation, Atom plans to teach four years in an underprivileged middle school. The support he’s received reminds Atom of advice he was once given: “There’s someone else out there who could be here, working hard, so make sure you work harder.”

— by Jeremy Brickey ’12

There are so many ways to leave a legacy.

By all accounts, over her many years at UMBC, Dr. Alice Robinson, a founding professor in theatre, left legacies in the broadened hearts and minds of countless students here. After her passing, her legacy lives on through a scholarship fund aimed at the very students she taught.

(Click on the photo at right to enlarge the full piece in UMBC Magazine.)

We are inspired by the gifts Dr. Robinson gave to UMBC.

What will your legacy be?

We’re pleased to announce that UMBC’s giving site, Giving to UMBC, has been recognized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

The site, which won a 2012 Region II silver medal in the Website: Fundraising/Development category, went live in fall 2010 and features a Tumblr account that clues you to daily campus happenings, a new blog on giving, donor and student stories, and plenty of chances to learn about the effects of philanthropy. You can even share your own giving experiences with the world.

The latest issue of UMBC Magazine features a nice little piece about the win. Read the full story here.

It’s 9 a.m., and the library is quiet, as libraries usually are, when Dr. Robert Burchard, professor emeritus of biological sciences, sits down to discuss his experience at UMBC and the reason he’s giving back to the place that’s been a second home to him for more than 40 years.

In January of 1967, just a few short months after UMBC opened its doors, Dr. Burchard joined the faculty of the biological sciences department. He was young and fresh off a stint as a member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. From one adventure to another, Dr. Burchard discovered himself among the pioneering few who would lay the foundation for UMBC’s future.

“I felt I was part of a new and vibrant community,” says Dr. Burchard of those early years. “There was a sense that we were all a part of a pioneering educational experience.” It’s clear in talking to Burchard that he himself still brims with excitement at learning, and his enthusiasm extends well beyond the bounds of his own discipline. In fact, it’s led him to be an avid supporter of the arts at UMBC and the Albin O. Kuhn Library.

“I’m part of a university community,” says Dr. Burchard. “We’re here not only to further our own academic interests, but to broaden our horizons. There’s pleasure in learning something new. I would like to think that all our faculty are renaissance scholars.”

But Dr. Burchard is far more than a mere audience member or library card holder. He’s also giving back to these programs through his financial support. Each year, his gifts to the UMBC Annual Fund help support the arts and he’s also established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust that will aid in expanding the library’s collections. The trust, a planned gift, was an excellent way for Dr. Burchard to increase the level and impact of his support while also establishing a source of income for himself. The trust, which will take effect upon his passing, is a lasting legacy that will impact students and the university community for years to come.

“I grew up in an environment where you give when you can,” says Dr. Burchard. “I wanted to give back to an institution that has supported me.”

What will your legacy be? Learn more about Planned Giving.