Alumni Awards – October 6, 2016
The 2016 Alumni Awards recipients were honored at the Linehan Concert Hall, UMBC. Learn more about our past award winners
Alumni
Grit & Greekness
Sorority and fraternity memories shone out at the Grit & Greekness Event held at the Columbus Center on October 15, 2016.
How To – Summer 2016
Transform a Farmers Market Food Cart into a Restaurant —With Steve Chu ’12, economics, Nikhil Yesupriya’13, biology and English and Ephrem Abebe’13, information systems It all began during Spring Break 2010. Steve Chu, Nikhil Yesupriya, and Ephrem Abebe were building low-income houses for Habitat for Humanity. As they worked together, they discovered they had a shared passion for making, and eating, good food. “Cook nights” followed when the three men came back to UMBC. The trio played with ingredients and dishes from every conceivable culture. “UMBC is such an incredibly diverse community, and we had a great time with our… Continue Reading How To – Summer 2016
Alumni Stories – Summer 2016
Microscope & Meter by Diana Zeiger ’01 Hurdles & Healing by David Glenn Pining For The Past by Caitlin James ’01 Front Row Seat by Richard Byrne ’86
Pining for the Past
When he was 30 years old, Neil Beller ’83, interdisciplinary studies, decided to make his mother a special gift for Mother’s Day: an aerial map of the Carney neighborhood where he had grown up, annotated with his favorite memories. Over time, Beller fleshed out those annotations – and a map grew into a memory quest. In 2015, Beller published Missing Pine Park – a book based on the project. The book is named after a small public space in Carney that lost its one remaining pine tree during Beller’s youth. Someone cut it down, decorations and all, on Christmas Eve.… Continue Reading Pining for the Past
Hurdles & Healing
Damon Tweedy ’96, biological science, graduated from UMBC in 1996 with a 4.0 grade point average – the first participant in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program to achieve that mark. And when he entered Duke Medical School, he excelled in the classroom there as well. But when Tweedy began his clinical rotations and his residency after taking his M.D., he faced the task of translating that knowledge into effective care for real human beings. He also found his transition carried special challenges. He was one of the few African American students in his medical-school cohort, and he was training in a… Continue Reading Hurdles & Healing
Front Row Seat
Sitting across from Sylvia Nathanson ’71, social work, it’s hard not to see the spark that propelled her in her late forties to become one of UMBC’s first returning students – and led her to a prominent role in educating thousands of social workers as the longtime dean of admissions at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She is 98 years old now, but Nathanson’s memories of the university’s formative years remain vivid. “It was a time of great protests,” she says. “There were many speeches all the time. I remember my first biology class, and the head… Continue Reading Front Row Seat
UMBC’s Top 9 Histories and Mysteries
UMBC Magazine put a call out for questions about our institution’s history and mysteries, and alumni responded by submitting inquiries about True Grit, secret campus tunnels, UMBC football, Hillcrest, and more. What questions do YOU have? Continue Reading UMBC’s Top 9 Histories and Mysteries
Career Q&A: Stephen Ho ’14 on his role at Hungry Harvest
Every so often, we chat with a young alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Stephen Ho ’14, business technology administration. Stephen, who played for UMBC’s Final Four soccer team as a student here, is now director of logistics and customer service at Hungry Harvest, a startup that recovers “ugly” produce from grocery stores and delivers it to subscribers weekly, donating food to the hungry for every box sold. Hungry Harvest gained national recognition after being featured on ABC’s Shark Tank earlier this year, and the company is now looking to expand from the Baltimore-Washington area into other locations on the East Coast. Name: Stephen Ho Job Title/Employer: Director of… Continue Reading Career Q&A: Stephen Ho ’14 on his role at Hungry Harvest
Career Q&A: Stephen Ho '14 on his role at Hungry Harvest
Every so often, we chat with a young alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Stephen Ho ’14, business technology administration. Stephen, who played for UMBC’s Final Four soccer team as a student here, is now director of logistics and customer service at Hungry Harvest, a startup that recovers “ugly” produce from grocery stores and delivers it to subscribers weekly, donating food to the hungry for every box sold. Hungry Harvest gained national recognition after being featured on ABC’s Shark Tank earlier this year, and the company is now looking to expand from the Baltimore-Washington area into other locations on the East Coast. Name: Stephen Ho Job Title/Employer: Director of… Continue Reading Career Q&A: Stephen Ho '14 on his role at Hungry Harvest
Fusion: Ekiben takes an interdisciplinary approach to the restaurant biz
[wpvideo aHnk3EIN] On a typical Saturday, in the wee hours of the morning — we’re talking two or three a.m. — Nikhil Yesupriya ’13, biological sciences, Steve Chu ’12, economics, and Ephrem Abebe ’13, information systems, are in the kitchen of Chu’s father’s restaurant in Pikesville, chopping, mixing, steaming. By 7:30, they’ve set up shop at the Fells Point Farmers Market, serving up their take on Asian fusion cuisine at the Ekiben food stand. Ekiben got its start slinging steamed buns and rice bowls at the farmers’ market, and now, roughly a year and a half later, they’re opening a brick-and-mortar location at… Continue Reading Fusion: Ekiben takes an interdisciplinary approach to the restaurant biz
Retriever Love Week: The Big Wedding Scene at the End
For our final Retriever Love Week 2016 post, we’d like to share a story told to us by Jen Dress, UMBC’s Assistant Director of Student Life. Jen works closely with students throughout their college careers through organizations like (seb), and when these students become alumni, they will occasionally ask her to officiate their weddings. She’s married no less than five couples at this writing, and is preparing for a sixth next spring. “I started creating wedded bliss a little bit by chance. I had a former student and student then turned staff member from some pretty different family and religious backgrounds who said,… Continue Reading Retriever Love Week: The Big Wedding Scene at the End