A reflection from student staff member, Sheila, about why finding and fostering community is important on a college campus.

What does perfect community look like?

Let’s be honest. We might never reach anything close to perfect. But I do wonder, what can we do to continually create and build better community? Something that is always on my mind is wondering where we can find community, and what makes it feel as good as home. I remember when I first got to UMBC, settling in to my dorm, my roommate saying the bare minimum to me, and not knowing anyone who understood the culture where I came from. I felt alone. I did not know that in a few weeks, I would learn about clubs and events at Involvement Fest. During Involvement Fest, I was able to find organizations on campus and meet active student leaders. There, I was able to start to build my UMBC community. 

According to U.S. News, there are several reasons why being active on your college campus is important. U.S. News reports that involvement helps students to feel connected to the school, feel as though they have a community, discover their passions, and it gives them opportunities to build their resume with experiences. After all, we are all here to get a job in the future. 

These factors are all important, and students know they need them to be successful, especially first-generation college students. According to Cia Verschelden, the author of Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization, “when students belong in a place, they have, or begin to build, social capital, defined as the connections, often informal, that they need to get inside information and to gain access to resources, such as tutoring or on-campus jobs.” By having these connections, relationships, and communities, all an important part of a college experience, we have access to valuable resources. One of the biggest reasons I want to foster community is because I do not want anyone to feel alone here. No one has to experience that feeling on this campus.

On UMBC’s campus, the Women’s Center is my home. Since last semester, it has been one of the places where I have tried to foster community. The Women’s Center is that older next door neighbor who asks you to cut their grass but will teach you life lessons you can not get anywhere else… and give you snacks. The Women’s Center has fostered my self-love and a sense of belonging. I’m not sure I can thank them enough. Also, the people here help me gain a sense of community and challenge me to be a better advocate for everyone.

The Hispanic Latino Student Union (HLSU) had their third meeting of the semester this past Wednesday. As a Hispanic student, a group that makes up 7% of the campus community, I have been going to their meetings for over a year now. HLSU is also a place where I feel at home on campus. HLSU is like being with my favorite cousins that I see during holidays. They really know how to get the fun going, and their mom always lets me sleepover. HLSU is always my reminder that there are people who share my same cultural background. With them, I can be understood.

I joined Lambda Theta Alpha, Latin Sorority Incorporated (LTA), initially because I wanted to meet others who understand what it is like to be a first-generation Latina college student. LTA are my sisters. We fight about why no one washed the dishes, but when someone makes popcorn, we are all down for spending a Sunday watching Disney movies. With the help of this organization, I have learned how to use my voice to be a leader in the community.  

If you want to build community during your college experience here are some pro-tips!

1. Reach out! UMBC has this handy dandy spreadsheet with the e-mail address for every member of student organizations’ executive boards. You can get in touch with the group leaders, and from my experience, most groups are always welcoming to new members and would love to hear from you.
2. Go to those meetings. Most groups have a set time they meet (i.e. bi-weekly, monthly). Head on to myUMBC and follow them to check out the meeting times. If you can’t make it, I am sure someone will reach out and let you know when they are just hanging out.
3. Stay in touch. I know, us younglings love our technological things. How hard is it to stay in touch? Sometimes, very. Just do your best with your busy schedule to let others group leaders know you are interested in joining in on whatever events they have planned!
4. Follow your passions! Do something because you want to! Not because that is where your friends hang out, not because someone told you this is the spot, but because you feel passion towards it.
5. Know when the space isn’t for you. I mean this with straight respect. Sometimes places are not the fit for you, or sometimes the space wasn’t created for someone like you in the first place. Know which spaces are for you, know which spaces are not. Respect group members enough to let them have their space and continue searching for your best fit.
6. Be yourself! Know that when you find the right community for you, that people will care and want to be around you, your authentic self. Do not allow who you really are to hide behind who you think people want you to be because if want real strong community, you have to be willing to show yourself.

Finally, remember fostering community is work. Let me say it again. Fostering community is work! That is why all my meetings go on forever!

While, the Women’s Center, HLSU, and LTA are the places I found my community at UMBC, these spaces are not for everyone as they try to fulfill what they want from a community but there are many groups and clubs on campus. To help you get started, here is a list of over 300 clubs and organizations that are active on UMBC’s main campus.

• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post

• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post

A new study almost 20 years in the making provides some of the strongest evidence yet of the 'speciation reversal' phenomenon -- where two distinct lineages hybridize and eventually merge into one -- in two lineages of common ravens.

Dr. Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) initially began work on this project in 1999, Common Ravens were considered a single species worldwide. He thought further research might uncover two distinct species -- perhaps an "Old World" and "New World" raven -- but the real story is much more complicated. Omland reported the existence of two Common Raven lineages in 2000, one concentrated in the southwestern United States dubbed "California," and another found everywhere else (including Maine, Alaska, Norway and Russia) called "Holarctic."

Since then, the plot has thickened. Two undergraduates in Omland's lab, Jin Kim and Hayley Richardson, former URA's, analyzed mitochondrial DNA from throughout the western United States and found the two lineages are extensively intermixed.

Read the entire article here.

More information about being an URA can be found here.

• Master of Library & Information Science degree (or equivalent ALA accredited degree)
• Demonstrated ability and interest in providing dynamic library instruction and contributing to a team-based information literacy program
• Demonstrated ability and interest in the areas of library public services and outreach
• Demonstrated high-quality written and verbal communication
• Ability to work effectively independently or as part of a team
• Ability to initiate and lead projects to completion
• Interest and/or experience working with diverse populations, particularly students
• Undergraduate or advanced degree in a humanities discipline preferred
• Reference experience in an academic library setting preferred
• Direct teaching or library instruction experience preferred

Dear Mosaic, Interfaith Center, and Queer Student Lounge followers,

This is a reminder message to invite you to volunteer for our annual UMBC Suits You Professional Clothing Closet in Partnership with the Career Center. We would like to thank students who have already signed up to volunteer their time for our closet.

Carlos, the Coordinator for Diversity and Inclusion is currently on the planning committee for UMBCSuitsYou, a professional clothing closet that gives students the opportunity to select free professional business attire to use in their future job searches.

To make the clothing closet a success, we are asking for your assistance. There are many volunteer roles to choose from, and if you are a student who volunteers a minimum of two hours (more if possible), you will be allowed early access to the closet (12:30PM-1PM) and take home one FREE professional outfit on Thursday, March 29th.

Volunteers are needed for the dates below:

• THIS Thursday, March 8th, Patapsco Basement (Sorting Day)

• Tuesday, March 27th, Harbor Hall Multi-Purpose Room (Closet Set-Up Day 1)

• Wednesday, March 28th, Harbor Hall Multi-Purpose Room (Closet Set-Up Day 2)

• Thursday, March 29th, Harbor Hall Multi-Purpose Room (UMBC Suits You Day 1)

• Friday, March 30th, Harbor Hall Multi-Purpose Room (UMBC Suits You Day 2 + Breakdown)

If you are able to volunteer your time, please take a 5-6 minutes to fill out our sign-up form at tinyurl.com/UMBCsuitsyou2018. If you are able to volunteer the day(s) of the clothing drive, you are REQUIRED to attend our training on either Friday, March 9th from 12PM-1PM or Thursday, March 15th from 1:30PM-2:30PM in the Career Center Conference Room (Math/Psych, 210). To sign up for our training, please fill out our Google Form https://tinyurl.com/UMBCsuitsyou2018training.

We also ask that you please help us in spreading the word to any friends, peers, orgs, or classmates that may be interested in volunteering.

If you have any questions feel free to contact Carlos at carlos6@umbc.edu or my direct office number (410) 455-1825.

Thank you and we hope to see you in the upcoming weeks!