Stories

U Made the Best Choice

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There are three things we find endlessly amusing: throwbacks to childhood, cutting things up, and attempting to predict the future. And there is one thing that magically combines it all: a paper prognosticator like the one we’ve specially fashioned below. We hope this will give you the chance both to joyfully create a fun thing to share with friends and family and choose your own UMBC adventure! Watch our how to video to refresh your memory and then cut, fold, and share the joy with your favorite #FutureRetriever!

Alumni Leaders Featured in Savoy Magazine

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The fall 2021 issue of Savoy Magazine highlights several noteworthy members of the UMBC community, including a number of alumni and President Freeman Hrabowski. In keeping with the magazine’s theme of “Most Influential Black Corporate Directors,” the issue brings Black UMBC superstars to the forefront—and highlights the impact they are making in their fields. For example, alumna Alicia Wilson ’04, political science, vice president for Economic Development for Johns Hopkins University, discusses the importance of choosing your closest advisors. Kimberly Ellison-Taylor ’93, information systems management, founder and chief executive officer at KET solutions, is distinguished as one of 2021’s most… Continue Reading Alumni Leaders Featured in Savoy Magazine

Rising Together

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Since 2009, as part of its Alumni Awards celebration, the UMBC Alumni Association names one “Rising Star” recipient each year who exemplifies early career and professional achievement. Prior to our October 2021 award ceremony, we’re spending some time with awardees from the past decade to see where they are now—and how they’ve grown in their fields while maintaining ties to UMBC.  Software that Empowers the Community In this installment, UMBC Rising Stars and Fearless coworkers Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering, and Kelsey Krach ’14, anthropology, discuss their Retriever networks and the responsibility of working in the civic tech space. The… Continue Reading Rising Together

Take the transit tour!

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By Johanna Alonso ’20 and Kennedy Lamb ’20, UMBC Magazine’s 2019 editorial internsIn the era of expensive ride-share apps, it can be easy to forget that UMBC offers a shuttle system that is completely free to all students and staff, with buses that can take you to the Arundel Mills Mall, downtown Baltimore, Catonsville, and beyond. Riding the shuttle is easy; simply use the schedules on the UMBC Transit website to figure out when and from which stop your shuttle is leaving, and show your ID card to the driver when you step onto the bus.What’s a little more challenging… Continue Reading Take the transit tour!

UMBC students gather for a group photo in Colombia.

Miles to Go Before They Sleep

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Nothing ruins a summer day like the invastion of bees, mosquitoes, and ants. Luckily, our UMBC students encountered a very different kind of bug this summer – the travel bug. UMBC’s Education Abroad Office coordinated five faculty-led trips this summer to explore Wales, Spain, France, Italy, and Colombia. While abroad, students had the opportunity to gain college credits, while also immersing themselves in a new culture. Even though they conveniently forgot to send us a postcard, they were kind enough to share some photos from their adventures.   In addition to these summer study abroad opportunities, this is the first… Continue Reading Miles to Go Before They Sleep

Behind the Lens: Photographing UMBC Swimming & Diving

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UMBC Magazine‘s longtime photographer Marlayna Demond ’11 is used to going to great lengths to get her shot. A former Linehan Scholar, she climbs on tables and ladders to achieve the right angle. She waits quietly in the cold for the right moment to snap the shutter. (Here’s one example of that.) She takes hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of photos to get the one perfect for print. And who even knows how many squirrel portraits she’s captured over the years, simply because we asked? In short: she’s a true team player. So, when we decided to write a feature on UMBC’s award-winning… Continue Reading Behind the Lens: Photographing UMBC Swimming & Diving

Q&A: Dr. Michael Summers on the Meyerhoff Scholars Program

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Dr. Michael Summers is the Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in ​Research and Mentoring​; a Distinguished University Professor​; and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Over the years, he has worked with dozens of Meyerhoff scholars in his lab. UMBC Magazine sat down with Summer​s to talk about his history with the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, now celebrating its 30th year. UMBC Magazine:  Can you tell us what your involvement has been with the Meyerhoff Scholars Program over the years? Mike Summers:  Well, I have no administrative role with the Meyerhoff program. I got started when [UMBC President]… Continue Reading Q&A: Dr. Michael Summers on the Meyerhoff Scholars Program

The Family Connection: Paying it Forward

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“To whom much is given, much is required.” Meyerhoff scholars internalize this message, which is introduced during Summer Bridge and is almost as ubiquitous as “Focus, Focus, Focus,” and Langston Hughes’ “Dreams” at Meyerhoff gatherings. For many of the scholars, giving back has become a foundational principle in their lives, as they mentor colleagues, students, and interns in their roles as researchers, medical professionals, biotech entrepreneurs, and more. This extension of the Meyerhoff program beyond UMBC amplifies its impact. Like a family tree, the DNA for the Meyerhoff program’s values and practices travels through generations of researchers as scholars graduate… Continue Reading The Family Connection: Paying it Forward

Q&A: Earnestine Baker, Executive Director Emerita, Meyerhoff Scholars Program

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From its very first days, Earnestine Baker, Executive Director Emerita, has been an integral part of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. UMBC Magazine sat down with Baker to talk about some of the ways she — along with other staff and students — laid the foundation for the program’s successes over the last thirty years. UMBC Magazine: What are some of your first memories of how the Meyerhoff Scholars Program came to be? Earnestine Baker: Immediately what comes to mind is the phone call I received from Dr.Hrabowski, inviting me to a meeting in his conference room. I was working in… Continue Reading Q&A: Earnestine Baker, Executive Director Emerita, Meyerhoff Scholars Program

Learning to Listen – Lola Akinmade Akerstrom ’98, M.S. ’02

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As an award-winning travel photographer and writer, Lola Akinmade Akerstrom ‘98, M.S. ‘02, information systems, uses her keen sense of sight to show her readers the wonders of the world. But it was at UMBC that she learned another valuable skill that has touched every aspect of her life, from career to parenting: listening. Her trip to UMBC was an unexpected one, but a welcome opportunity when the universities in her hometown of Lagos, Nigeria shut down due to strikes in the mid-1990s. With extended family in Maryland, Akinmade Akerstrom had traveled extensively growing up but had not been an… Continue Reading Learning to Listen – Lola Akinmade Akerstrom ’98, M.S. ’02

Alumni Awards 2018: Dr. Mariajosé Castellanos

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As senior lecturer and undergraduate program director in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, & Environmental Engineering, Dr. Mariajosé Castellanos’ reach extends far beyond the classroom. From core undergraduate to advanced graduate coursework, Castellanos serves as “a doorway into our department,” and “doorway from our department into the world,” according to UMBC professor and department chair Dr. Mark Marten. Castellanos will receive the Outstanding Faculty Award at the UMBC Alumni Awards ceremony on October 4. Notably, Castellanos transformed Thermodynamics, a challenging departmental core class, from a traditional lecture style course to a flipped-learning and team-based class in an effort to improve… Continue Reading Alumni Awards 2018: Dr. Mariajosé Castellanos

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