UMBC’s Prove It! Campaign has added greatly to the quality of campus life during its six years of existence, including the creation of a green space outside the Fine Arts Building and a system for tracking campus shuttle buses via GPS technology.
Last year’s winners have finally made their mark at UMBC – three new and vibrantly decorated Chesapeake Bay Retriever statues placed in prominent areas around campus.
The Retriever Project was the brainchild of UMBC students: Kelsey Krach’ 14, cultural anthropology and Spanish,
Travis Bell ’14, psychology and political science,
and Cami Sotela ’13, psychology.
With funding provided by UMBC’s Student Government Association, Prove It! gives undergraduates with a vision for ways to improve the campus a chance to compete to have their plan realized. Winners of the competition can receive up to $10,000 to implement a winning plan and cash prizes of up to $2,000.
The idea for the Retriever Project was based on a number of colorful “animals on parade” public art projects around the world – most notably two large projects in nearby Washington, D.C., which featured pandas and then donkeys and elephants.
Krach, Bell, and Sotela spent more than two years planning their Retriever Project entry. The first three statues were placed in front of the Albin O. Kuhn Library, The Commons, and the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Each statue is painted to reflect a core UMBC value: diversity, academic and social exploration and the breadth and depth of UMBC’s academic program.
— Jessie Orsburn ’14
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Tags: Albin O. Kuhn Library, Cami Sotela, Chesapeake Retrievers, cultural anthropology, Fine Arts, Kelsey Krach, Political Science, Prove It!, Psychology, Retriever Project, Spanish, Student Government Association, Travis Bell
