Alumni

Adventures in Invention: Eric Conn '85

Nov 8, 2010 / 4 minutes of reading

Eric Conn doesn’t exactly have a traditional career. Then again, he was never a traditional student. Between switching majors several times and taking a few years off from college to play in a rock band, it took Conn nearly seven years to finish school. However, he has never regretted his decision to take a non-traditional path. In fact, it is Conn’s adventurous edge that has allowed the 1985 computer science major to prosper as an inventor and entrepreneur. His latest project, Cellblock.com – a social networking site that allows users to e-mail photos from their cell phones to a real-time… Continue Reading Adventures in Invention: Eric Conn '85

Adventures in Invention: Eric Conn ’85

Nov 8, 2010 / 4 minutes of reading

Eric Conn doesn’t exactly have a traditional career. Then again, he was never a traditional student. Between switching majors several times and taking a few years off from college to play in a rock band, it took Conn nearly seven years to finish school. However, he has never regretted his decision to take a non-traditional path. In fact, it is Conn’s adventurous edge that has allowed the 1985 computer science major to prosper as an inventor and entrepreneur. His latest project, Cellblock.com – a social networking site that allows users to e-mail photos from their cell phones to a real-time… Continue Reading Adventures in Invention: Eric Conn ’85

Born Leader: Jason Chamberlain '97

Nov 8, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Jason Chamberlain first learned the value of investment as a kindergartener. Urged by his parents to deposit his allowance into a savings account, the youngster quickly learned that with a little patience, his pennies would grow to nickels, his quarters to dollars. Today, as vice president of wealth management for Smith Barney and incoming president of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors, Chamberlain takes a similar approach to life, his career and his role as an alumnus. With a little effort and time, anything is possible. “UMBC is like most things in life,” said Chamberlain, who majored in economics… Continue Reading Born Leader: Jason Chamberlain '97

Born Leader: Jason Chamberlain ’97

Nov 8, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Jason Chamberlain first learned the value of investment as a kindergartener. Urged by his parents to deposit his allowance into a savings account, the youngster quickly learned that with a little patience, his pennies would grow to nickels, his quarters to dollars. Today, as vice president of wealth management for Smith Barney and incoming president of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors, Chamberlain takes a similar approach to life, his career and his role as an alumnus. With a little effort and time, anything is possible. “UMBC is like most things in life,” said Chamberlain, who majored in economics… Continue Reading Born Leader: Jason Chamberlain ’97

Swimming Upstream: George Maroulis ’73

Nov 8, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

At four o’clock in the morning, most of the world is quietly sleeping. However, George Maroulis ’73 is hard at work. As general manager of the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, N.Y., this UMBC alum spends the early hours of his mornings running one of the largest fish markets in the world. Maroulis describes the Fulton, which does over a billion dollars of business each year, as “one of a kind.” Alumni Relations staff member Carol Myers ’72, who spent an early April morning touring the facility with Maroulis, agrees. “It’s like walking into a giant refrigerator!” she describes,… Continue Reading Swimming Upstream: George Maroulis ’73

A Nose for News: Jamie Smith Hopkins '98

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

When it comes to spotting trends, Jamie Smith Hopkins ’98 is – appropriately – usually one step ahead of her competitors. At 28 years old, Hopkins’ instinctive nose for news and willingness to complete months-long data studies have already propelled her to the top of her craft as a business reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Just last month, in addition to six other awards, the former UMBC valedictorian was named top journalist under the age of 30 by the National Association of Real Estate Editors. And to think, much of Hopkins’ training came from her time as a staff reporter… Continue Reading A Nose for News: Jamie Smith Hopkins '98

Around the Clock Creative: Katie Hirsch '04

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Katie Hirsch is one of the lucky few who manages to combine her passions with her job. An animation and computer enthusiast since childhood, Hirsch has used her talent and enthusiasm for both fields in her career as a computer game developer, and, most recently, in her production of a short animated film about a hungry reptile. Hirsch’s two-minute short, “Dragin’ On,” will premiere in this month’s Maryland Film Festival at Baltimore’s Charles Theatre. “I was inspired to make the film because I wanted to create a made-up world with made-up rules,” said Hirsch, who graduated from UMBC in 2004… Continue Reading Around the Clock Creative: Katie Hirsch '04

In the Eye of the Storm: Cindy Dahlstrom McNitt '81

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

We’ve seen many images of the impact of Hurricane Katrina over the last six months: photographs of the hordes displaced from their New Orleans homes, video footage of the volunteers rebuilding, house by house. But Cindy Dahlstrom McNitt sees another side of the damage. As a licensed clinical social worker from the small town of Slidell, La. – which sustained major damages, falling within the eye of the storm – she witnesses the emotional effects of the flooding on a daily basis. “Since everyone here is experiencing some degree of stress, my clinical work is not confined to the office,”… Continue Reading In the Eye of the Storm: Cindy Dahlstrom McNitt '81

Engineering a Bright Future: Brian and Annica Wayman '99

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Many people claim to know the formula for true love. In the case of Brian and Annica Wayman ’99, both Meyerhoff Scholars and mechanical engineering grads, however, it’s easy to see how it all adds up. For them, math + science + UMBC = lasting romance. “I guess it was probably a combination of having the same classes and seeing each other all the time,” laughed Brian, who, like his wife, the former Annica Warrick, is pursuing his doctorate in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech. Married since 2001, they also have an eight-month-old son, Donovan. Like so many relationships, the… Continue Reading Engineering a Bright Future: Brian and Annica Wayman '99

A Writing Life: Jadi Keambiroiro '79

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Every morning, before she does anything else, Jadi Keambiroiro sits down at her desk to work on her novel, Killing Ants. Nothing can distract her – she’s worked too long to get to this point to take it for granted. “I am really where I need to be right now,” said Keambiroiro (formerly Gloria Green), who earned her bachelor’s in English in 1979. Today, nearly 25 years after graduating from UMBC and following a 15-year career in development, she has what she always wanted: a writing life. In addition to her creative writing projects, Keambiroiro also started her own press,… Continue Reading A Writing Life: Jadi Keambiroiro '79

All the World's A Stage: Jeff Ware '74

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

They say practice makes perfect, but Jeff Ware might beg to differ. After more than 30 years of practice as a working actor – all the years on stage, the bit parts in television shows, the movie roles – Ware is well aware of the reality of his craft. He knows the learning never really ends. “Acting is really like plumbing or like woodcutting,” said Ware ’74, theatre, who is appearing this month and next in CenterStage’s production of Motti Lerner’s The Murder of Isaac. “It’s a craft. You have to practice it.” Given the challenge of his current role… Continue Reading All the World's A Stage: Jeff Ware '74

Two of a Kind: Robert Cartwright '80 and Ryan Cartwright '06

Nov 5, 2010 / 3 minutes of reading

Not surprisingly, Robert Cartwright ’80 felt a bit of déjà vu watching his son, Ryan, cross the finish line at the America East Conference Championship in Binghamton, NY, last month. Almost exactly 30 years before – as a freshman economics major at UMBC in 1975 – his team also came from behind to win the Mason Dixon cross country conference championship. “This is such a coincidence, it’s just unbelievable,” said the elder Cartwright, of Perry Hall, an All Conference performer during his years at UMBC. “It sort of choked everybody up.” The father-son connection was just the icing on the… Continue Reading Two of a Kind: Robert Cartwright '80 and Ryan Cartwright '06