We're asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences. These are their responses.
Name: Michael "Mikey" Collins, Jr.
Hometown: Pasadena, Maryland
Q: How long have you been at UMBC?
A: This is my second year at UMBC.
Q: What is your current title (job or student organization position)?
A: I am the Assistant Director for the SGA's Office of Community and Government Affairs. I am also the treasurer and co-captain of UMBC's mock trial team.
Q: In 12 words or less, what role(s) do you play on campus?
A: I'm a leader, Sondheim scholar, student, and an agent of civic engagement!
Q: What aspect of your UMBC role(s) do you enjoy most?
A: Working with our staff to encourage civic engagement is, by far, my favorite part of working with SGA. This past election season was a great experience. We registered voters, distributed information about the candidates and referendum questions, and hosted Election Night Extravaganza in the commons. Throughout the election season, we had an great turn-out at our events. It's incredibly rewarding to see that students cared about political issues affecting UMBC and the surrounding communities.
Q: What is the most important or memorable thing you learned in college/have learned at UMBC?
A: Get involved! Applying to work with UMBC's SGA has allowed me meet some of my best friends and to learn a great deal about how our university actually operates. At the beginning of my UMBC career, I had no idea that I would meet such great people and work on these fantastic projects.
Also, deciding to join the UMBC mock trial team was another great step. Once again, choosing to be involved on campus introduced me to a whole new group of friends and has helped me to expand my interests. Without taking that first step to get involved, none of this would have been possible for me.
Q: Complete this sentence: "I am a big fan of __________"
A: Dedication and positive thinking!
Q: Do you have any UMBC stories, little-known facts about UMBC, favorite spots on campus, or anything else you’d like to share?
A: Not many people know that UMBC has a mock trial team. The team was recently re-founded in 2011 after a long absence and we are now a fully competing team. Already, we are in the same tournaments as Penn State, Duke, Columbia, and several other great schools. So far, we have traveled around the region to colleges such as Georgetown, American, Carnegie Mellon, UMD Law School, and Patrick Henry. We are growing slowly, but in the coming years, it would be great to see more people on the team and keeping up with our season. Anyone can join!
BONUS VIDEO QUESTION: What else would you like to share? Ask yourself a question and answer it.
Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter.
