The third and fourth floors of the AOK Library are Quiet areas.  These are good places to study if you don’t mind the occasional whisper or vibrating phone.

The fifth and sixth floors of the AOK Library are designated Absolute Quiet areas at all times.  If you need an environment free from talking, cell phones, or any other noise sources, these are the floors for you!  Library staff walk through the area periodically to enforce quiet rules, but you can also report violations to the Security Desk at 410-455-2331 or Circulation Department staff at 410-455-2354.

Reposting to help spread the word!!

Trans Support Group is a semester-long, emotional support group for UMBC students who identify as trans, genderqueer, gender fluid, non-binary, bigender, and/or those who are questioning their gender identity. This is a student-centered group to explore gender identity as well as gain support from peers on issues that may impact trans college students.  The first group will be held on Friday, October 20th and we are asking for a commitment to attend all groups this semester with the understanding that situations do arise where you may need to be absent.  All sessions are free and confidential.

Trans Support Group is held weekly on Fridays at 2pm-2:50pm. 

Please email Amber Hager, Ph.D. at ahager@umbc.edu or Bailey Tackett, M.S. at btackett@umbc.edu to arrange a pre-group meeting to discuss whether this group matches your needs!

Trans Support Group is a semester-long, emotional support group for UMBC students who identify as trans, genderqueer, gender fluid, non-binary, bigender, and/or those who are questioning their gender identity. This is a student-centered group to explore gender identity as well as gain support from peers on issues that may impact trans college students.  The first group will be held on Friday, October 20th and we are asking for a commitment to attend all groups this semester with the understanding that situations do arise where you may need to be absent.  All sessions are free and confidential.

Trans Support Group is held weekly on Fridays at 2pm-2:50pm.

Please email Amber Hager, Ph.D. at ahager@umbc.edu or Bailey Tackett, M.S. at btackett@umbc.edu to arrange a pre-group meeting to discuss whether this group matches your needs!

YGT is designed help you develop the tools that you need to cope with some of the challenges you experience in day to day life. The program utilizes evidence-based skills and mindfulness strategies designed to reduce symptoms of distress/anxiety and increase positive coping strategies. Topics include mindfulness, thought as thought, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. In order to get the most out of the series, it is important to complete all 4 weekly 1.5 hour seminars, which will be held at 1pm on 4 Mondays on 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13 or at 1pm on 4 Thursdays on 11/9, 11/16, 11/30, 12/7. 

Please email Soonhee Lee, Ph.D. at soonhee@umbc.edu to arrange a meeting with a counselor to discuss whether this group matches your needs!

RIO (Recognition, Insight, and Openness) is designed help you recognize your concerns and develop a clearer idea of what you want to change in your life.  RIO uses mindfulness to help you get a better idea of what you want to change and how to get there.  In order to get the most out of the series, it is important to complete all 3 weekly 45 minute seminars, which will be held at 2pm – 2:45pm on three Wednesdays in Commons, Room 327 on 11/1, 11/8, 11/15.  

To join RIO, please sign up at http://tinyurl.com/RIO-SignUp or email Bo Mullins, Ph.D. at bmullins@umbc.edu.

HMT is designed help couples learn how to understand their relationship patterns and improve their conversation skills through presentations by the workshop leaders, video demonstrations of other couples, and private exercises and conversations with their partners.  HMT is originally designed for seven conversations based on the book, all of which have been shown to be essential to successful relationships.  This semester, the group will focus on four discussions including (1) Recognizing the Demon Dialogues (2) Finding the Raw Spots (3) Bonding through Sex and Touch and (4) Keeping your Love Alive. 

In order to eligible to attend this workshop, both partners should be UMBC students. The workshop dates and time will be determined based on couples’ availability.  Please email Soonhee Lee, Ph.D. at soonhee@umbc.edu to arrange a meeting to discuss whether this workshop matches your needs!

At UMBC, students tend to report that difficulties with stress, time management, motivation, and anxiety often interfere with their personal, social, and academic goals. The Counseling Center has created a unique series of interactive and FREE workshops to help support students with these particular concerns. 

These Skills 4 Success Workshops are held weekly on Wednesdays at 12pm-12:45pm, starting October 25.  Workshops will be held in Commons, Room 328. Topics and dates for this semester are as follows:

·         Procrastination- October 25

·         Stress Management-  November 1

·         Time Management-  November 8

·         Test Anxiety-  November 15

·         Motivation/Goal-Setting-  November 29

·         Sleep/Get through Finals- December 6

Do not miss this opportunity to interact with other students struggling with similar concerns. For more information, contact the Counseling Center at 410-455-2472. 

Mia is using her URA research and creative work to raise awareness about human trafficking!

Mia is a Theatre Design & Production major, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Minor, and a Linehan Artist Scholar, who will graduate in 2019. Her URA research project is entitled, "Visual Storytelling Applied to Human Trafficking Awareness".

Describe your project: With funding from my Undergraduate Research Award (URA), I attended the 2017 Summer Scene Painting session at Cobalt Studios in New York. I am applying the painting skills I built there to both my research in scenic designing the production of Far Away at UMBC in the spring, as well as creating a large-scale mural to visually tell stories of human trafficking.

Who is your mentor(s) for your project? How did you find your mentor? Why did you choose them?

Professor Sinnott is my advisor and mentor in the UMBC Theatre Department who I work with frequently, in both design and painting for productions. Professor Sinnott has been my mentor from the beginning of this research, and is mentoring my theatrical research and production for Far Away in the spring.

I am currently taking Social Entrepreneurship in Place with Professor Bradley and, through that class, collaborating with him on arts-based community engagement projects in Curtis Bay. Professor Bradley is mentoring me in community-based research and artistic responses and solutions to social issues.

How did you become interested in this project? How has it evolved?

My mentor, Professor Nate Sinnott, first recommended I attend a session at Cobalt Studios; in addition, throughout the summer, I was reading the UMBC first-year experience book, Half the Sky, which was propelling my existing investment in the fight against human trafficking into greater action. As I began to take Social Entrepreneurship in Place in the fall with Professor Stephen Bradley, I realized that I wanted my research for the Undergraduate Research Award to evolve into a parallel project of creating a mural for URCAD. Now, I am exploring parallel themes of dehumanization in both Far Away by Caryl Churchill, and in our world today through human trafficking. In addition, I am partnering with nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore area whose missions are to end domestic child sex trafficking, provide care for survivors of women’s domestic sex trafficking, and empowerment of women.

What has been the hardest part about your research?

In dealing with heavy themes, it can be difficult to continue to stay engaged with the material. I have found it most difficult to stay continually engaged with the realities of human trafficking: to keep learning.

What has been the most rewarding part?

I have been astonished at how well my research is connecting. Once I allowed my ideas to change, and let my research become flexible, I was worried that my original studies through theatre might feel irrelevant, or even distracting, from this other goal. This has not been the case. In fact, I have felt a greater motivation through my theatrical research, as I am exploring themes in both a practical production and an artistic response to a social issue.

I will be presenting at URCAD on April 25th, and the spring production of Caryl Churchill's Far Away will be staged from March 9th through March 11th.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? 

I would like to say this a little bit poetically:

jump in

dive in

be unafraid of change

and see where it carries you

be ready for hard work

be ready for not-enough-time

get creative

be thrifty

be ready for excitement

be ready for some let-downs

but jump in

What are your career goals?

My career goals are:

To always give my utmost effort to any work I am doing.

To be a creative and innovative force.

To collaborate, communicate and engage with community.

My highest hopes are to continue using art as a tool for raising awareness about human trafficking; whether that be through theatre, visual art, socialpreneurship or nonprofit intrepreneurship. Ultimately, though, I care most that I am achieving these three goals, regardless of the work I am able to do.

Want to be featured as a Researcher of the Week? Email: aprilh@umbc.edu