The Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) welcomes Cindy Greenwood as their new Assistant Director. Ms. Greenwood will spearhead the new Cyber Scholars Program which kicks off this fall.

Cindy Greenwood loved college so much that she never wanted to leave.

So she didn’t.  

When an Advertising and Public Relations internship during her senior year of college showed Ms. Greenwood that it wasn’t the career for her, she switched gears. She let her heart decide.

“I felt like I could make more of a difference by going into higher education,” she says.

Greenwood knows first-hand the difference that the college experience can make. Raised in Ishpeming, Michigan–a small town of no more than 7,000 people that is “half the size of UMBC,” she says—Ms. Greenwood thought it would always be her home. That is, until she left for Grand Valley State University.  

“A college campus is like no place else. You can do anything,” says Ms. Greenwood. “You can go from a cultural event where you’re trying food from Cambodia, to a dance party with glowsticks.” The atmosphere of possibility urged her to try new things, like studying abroad in Australia.

Afterwards, a master’s program in Higher Education Administration at the Leadership Center of Washington State University beckoned to her. After graduating, Ms. Greenwood spent eight years working for and with college students, first at Ferris State University in Michigan, and then at the University of South Florida.

In 2011, she joined UMBC as the Alumni Programming Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Advancement. Here, she started the Student Alumni Association to help connect current students with alumni. Hungry for more one-on-one time with undergraduates, Ms. Greenwood volunteered to be the advisor for the UMBC Vegetarian Student Group.

It’s the chance to work with students on a daily basis that drew her to the Assistant Director position in the Center for Women in Technology, she says. Ms. Greenwood will coordinate the new Cyber Scholars Program, which is run in partnership by CWIT and the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity. Her duties include overseeing the Cyber Scholars Living Learning Community, planning events, advising scholars, and teaching a seminar and bridge program for Cyber Scholars.

“The scholars programs are really interesting [at UMBC] because they really touch on every part of students’ lives,” says Greenwood.

An advocate of social justice and equality, Ms. Greenwood says she identifies with CWIT’s mission to bolster support for women in the male-centered fields of Engineering and Information Technology. She is a co-chair of UMBC’s Presidents Commission of Women. In the end it all comes back to her experience in college.

“I’ve had some good female mentors throughout my career,” says Ms. Greenwood, “and I definitely hope to be that to other females as well.”

*Ms. Greenwood joins CWIT as Assistant Director on January 28, 2013.

It’s not too late to apply for the 2013 CRA-W Graduate Cohort Workshop scheduled for April 5-6, 2013 in Boston, MA. This event brings together women graduate students in their first three years of graduate school for a series of presentations and panels with successful senior women researchers from academic, industrial, and government laboratories about how to succeed in graduate school and in a research career.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (ET) today, 15 January 2013 via an online form. Applicants must be female students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school in computer science and computer engineering or a closely related field at a U.S. or Canadian institution. Past workshops provided support for travel expenses, meals, and lodging for students chosen to participate in this program and we anticipate that similiar support will be available in 2013.

It’s not too late to apply for the 2013 CRA-W Graduate Cohort Workshop scheduled for April 5-6, 2013 in Boston, MA. This event brings together women graduate students in their first three years of graduate school for a series of presentations and panels with successful senior women researchers from academic, industrial, and government laboratories about how to succeed in graduate school and in a research career.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (ET) today, 15 January 2013 via an online form. Applicants must be female students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school in computer science and computer engineering or a closely related field at a U.S. or Canadian institution. Past workshops provided support for travel expenses, meals, and lodging for students chosen to participate in this program and we anticipate that similiar support will be available in 2013.

It’s not too late to apply for the 2013 CRA-W Graduate Cohort Workshop scheduled for April 5-6, 2013 in Boston, MA. This event brings together women graduate students in their first three years of graduate school for a series of presentations and panels with successful senior women researchers from academic, industrial, and government laboratories about how to succeed in graduate school and in a research career.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (ET) today, 15 January 2013 via an online form. Applicants must be female students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school in computer science and computer engineering or a closely related field at a U.S. or Canadian institution. Past workshops provided support for travel expenses, meals, and lodging for students chosen to participate in this program and we anticipate that similiar support will be available in 2013.

Last year, over 940 volunteers gave 34,272 hours of support in a wide variety of important activities. Volunteers are needed to engage guests in fun, educational interactions on grounds and in the community; to help our Horticulture Department to maintain plantings around the Zoo, supervising animal interactions at the KidZone (goat yard) and camel rides, supporting office personnel with administrative projects, leading crafts and games at special events, and much more.  The Zoo offers volunteer positions for people with all types of schedules and interests, and we are hoping to add approximately 120 new volunteers this year.

During the Open House, there will be information sessions at 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30 where guests will learn about the essential role volunteers play in conservation education, grounds keeping, and visitor support.  Current volunteers and staff will be on hand to discuss spring openings, including training, scheduling, and the rewards of volunteering. We will also have representatives on hand to discuss college internships, and the Junior Zoo Crew, our unique service-learning program for teens ages 14-17.

GOVERNOR'S SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/students/the-scholars-programs/gsip/), Deadline:  March 11th 
The Governor’s Summer Internship Program introduces college students to the unique challenges and rewards of working within MD State Government while earning a $3,000 stipend.  For 10 weeks (June 3 – August 9), interns:- Work in state government agencies on substantive projects, including drafting speeches and correspondence, tracking legislation, attending hearings, assisting with constituent case work, and researching policy options.  - Participate in seminars with top Maryland officials and make site visits to State facilities.  - Develop policy papers on a significant issue facing Maryland (e.g. the Chesapeake Bay, crime, care for the elderly) and present their findings in person to the Governor.

WALTER SONDHEIM JR. NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/students/the-scholars-programs/maryland-nonprofit-leadership-program/), Deadline: March 15th  The Maryland Nonprofit Leadership Program offers paid summer internship opportunities in the nonprofit sector to college juniors, seniors, and graduate students attending Maryland institutions.  Participating interns work for ten weeks full-time from June4th to August 10h while participating in bi-weekly seminars in nonprofit management.  Each participating student receives a $3,000 stipend.

MDOT FELLOWS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/students/the-scholars-programs/mdot/), Deadline: March 8th  The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Fellows Internship Program is designed to introduce Maryland’s most promising college students to the rewards and challenges of working within Maryland’s integrated transportation system.  Interns can gain experience in policy development, marketing, international relations, computer networking, engineering, planning and financing, public relations, and neighborhood conservation.  Placement opportunities are available at the MD Aviation Administration, MD Port Administration, MD Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, MD State Highway Administration, MD Transportation Authority, or The Secretary’s Office. Participating student earn $3,500 during 8 weeks this summer (June 10 to August 2nd).

“Spiritual Music and its Relation to Personality”

This is my last semester at USG/UMBC and I will be graduating this spring. I received academic credit for doing my own study (as well as to write a research paper) but I mainly did this for the sake of conducting research in general. Some people enjoy playing sports, going to the movies, etc. I enjoy doing research because it enables me to expand my knowledge and to apply what I have learned during my years as an undergraduate at USG/UMBC. I also like to explore other ways to benefit people through research.

I definitely plan to go to graduate school, but first I need to get a job that can pay for it. For the immediate future I plan to pace it down a bit because I have not stopped since my senior year in high school. I have taken summer courses ever since and I need a small break before I venture into the world of graduate school. I also plan to continue pursuing psychology as my major but I want to specialize, and get my Masters, in a more holistic discipline, such as “Transpersonal Psychology.” 

I was a transfer from Montgomery College to USG and this transition was a little difficult because I was not used to writing research papers using the APA format. For this reason I had to adapt myself to this new way but I easily picked it up. One of the reasons that I joined the “Writing Fellows Program” was to help those students who were still at Montgomery College and who were going to struggle if they were not used to the way things are done at the upper level.