CAHSS

News and Updates about UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

A collage of images showing students traveling with mentors and teaching with children

A Journey of Growth

/ 14 minutes of reading

International travel offers ample opportunities to stretch yourself—one minute you may be the expert and the next, completely clueless about how something works. Retrievers currently in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program—teaching English or researching around the globe—find themselves oscillating between their teaching and student roles on a daily or hourly basis. By engaging their host communities through openness and cultural humility (and many shared cups of tea or coffee), these Fulbrighters are finding their balance along the way. Continue Reading A Journey of Growth

In a laboratory, a woman in a white lab coat and glasses smiles at the camera

Pam Voulalas ’24—From molecular neuropharmacologist to classical music composer

/ 10 minutes of reading

As a high school student, Pam Voulalas ’24 was an aspiring clarinetist, determined to major in music and secure a position in a major symphony orchestra. But, on learning how infrequently symphony positions become available, she put down her clarinet. For 37 years. Instead, she embarked on a career in the sciences, earning a Ph.D. and joining the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Now, decades later, she returned to school, and graduates this week with a B.A. in music from UMBC. Q: What was your career path in the sciences? A: My Ph.D. studies were focused… Continue Reading Pam Voulalas ’24—From molecular neuropharmacologist to classical music composer

Peter Wilschke and a professor stand on each side of a research poster

Peter Wilschke ’24, political science and economics, publishes empirical research as the sole author in the State and Local Government Review journal

/ 5 minutes of reading

“Once you take these courses, your world is kind of open to how empirical research is actually conducted in those fields. Without these classes I would not have known where to start,” says Wilschke. He advises students to approach empirical work as a combination of two things. “You have to care about your research question to push through all the time and hard work needed,” says UMBC’s Peter Wilschke ’24, political science and economics, “and put to work all the research skills you’ve learned to answer a question that needs to be answered, that policymakers can use to improve people’s lives.” Continue Reading Peter Wilschke ’24, political science and economics, publishes empirical research as the sole author in the State and Local Government Review journal

a woman with bright green hair stands in front of shelves of thousands of Pez dispensers

PEZ—The Sweetest Hobby

/ 2 minutes of reading

Beware of crushes. Especially as a 10-year-old in 1995. They might lead to a lifelong hobby, rooms of your house dedicated to your collection, a quirky and supportive community, and even a spot in an Emmy-winning documentary. Katie Chrzanowski, however, has no regrets. After a brief crush on someone who collected PEZ, and thinking that starting her own collection would be a fun competition, she’s now the proud owner of more than several thousand PEZ dispensers, the host of the Maryland PEZ Gathering, and an extra on the set of The Pez Outlaw. But Chrzanowski ’07, visual arts, doesn’t just… Continue Reading PEZ—The Sweetest Hobby

Two women smiling, standing in front of bookshelf, holding scenic landscape paintings.

Office Hours with President Sheares Ashby and URCAD student artist

/ 3 minutes of reading

During her office hours, President Valerie Sheares Ashby makes it a point to meet weekly with students and hear about their UMBC experiences and their aspirations for life after UMBC. Today, Jenna Beshara, a senior English and visual arts double major, shares her Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) project with the president. Beshara, who spent last summer on a study abroad program in Wales, painted a series of Welsh watercolor landscapes with paints she made herself using only natural ingredients. In this excerpt of their conversation, she and President Sheares Ashby discuss the importance of pursuing art and research through a sustainability lens. Continue Reading Office Hours with President Sheares Ashby and URCAD student artist

A college student wearing a black and gold t-shirt standing on a walk way in a college campus

Alberta Ndille ’24—transfer student with an eye for public health and social justice

/ 4 minutes of reading

“Internationalization was a big influence on my choice of major. I’m interested in global health and epidemiological research. Social determinants of health caught my attention. Living in the U.S., I saw a very different approach to maternal health than in Cameroon,” says UMBC senior Alberta Ndille. “I want to research the barriers to maternal healthcare in Cameroon and maybe that can help other countries as well.” Continue Reading Alberta Ndille ’24—transfer student with an eye for public health and social justice

Amy Caballero '22 at her field placement in Seneca Valley High School.

Meet a Retriever—Amy Caballero ’22, new social worker with strong ties to UMBC-Shady Grove

/ 3 minutes of reading

Amy Caballero graduated from UMBC 2022 with her bachelor’s degree in social work. She stayed on at the Shady Grove campus to complete her master’s in social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and she graduates this May. She has a job lined up as a youth development specialist at a local nonprofit. Outside of academia, she says, she’s obsessed with her two dogs, enjoys bouldering, reading fiction and manga, and hanging out with friends. Take it away, Amy! Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone to know about the support you find at UMBC? A: The support… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Amy Caballero ’22, new social worker with strong ties to UMBC-Shady Grove

A woman smiles for a headshot with shoulder-length light brown hair, wearing a white sweater over a blue collared shirt

Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24—staff member, student, mentor, and a lifelong learner

/ 5 minutes of reading

For most people, obtaining a Ph.D. is a means to an end—authorship, professorship, a career destination. For Charlotte Keniston, it’s about the journey as a lifelong learner. After joining UMBC as a Peaceworker Fellow, Keniston received her M.F.A. in imaging and digital media in 2014. She continued her work in Baltimore and eventually rejoined the Shriver Center Peaceworker Program as a staff member with the intention to work towards her Ph.D. in language, literacy, and culture (LLC). And she did just that. Continue Reading Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24—staff member, student, mentor, and a lifelong learner

A person in the Caribbean carries large plastic jugs of water into an old apartment building

Thirsty in paradise: Water crises are a growing problem across the Caribbean islands

/ 6 minutes of reading

UMBC’s Farah Nibbs, assistant professor of emergency and disaster health systems, studies the intersection of critical infrastructure and disasters, particularly in the Caribbean. Safe water is essential for all human activity and public health. Nibbs is looking at how and why the Caribbean islands are in a water crisis, and their governments have warned that water scarcity may become the new norm. Her data is sheds light on the root causes of the water crises and to find effective, affordable ways to improve water supply systems. Continue Reading Thirsty in paradise: Water crises are a growing problem across the Caribbean islands

Chuck Peake at his desk in 1969, surrounded by piles of papers.

Chuck Peake—Pioneer of UMBC’s economics program

/ 7 minutes of reading

Charles “Chuck” Peake was hired as the university’s very first professor in economics and entrusted with a daunting task—building the economics department from the ground up. As a professor and mentor, Peake built a tight-knit but inclusive community of economics students and, half a century later, those social bonds still hold strong. Continue Reading Chuck Peake—Pioneer of UMBC’s economics program

A large bill board in the middle of a field reads Hell is Real

How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns

/ 7 minutes of reading

“Spiritualists believed that people could maintain communication with the living even after death,” discusses UMBC’s Lindsay DiCurirci, associate professor of English. “They thought communicative spirits had a principal role to play in addressing the era’s most pressing social and political concerns, which would be impossible if souls were damned to hell. This idea was a cornerstone of their practice and a driver of their politics.” Continue Reading How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns

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