Get Ready to Celebrate Our Colleagues!

The University System of Maryland (USM) has selected Metropolitan Life (MetLife) Insurance Company as the new vendor for life insurance and long term disability (LTD) insurance plans.   The USM MetLife plans are available to all Regular and Contingent II employees and will replace the existing UNUM Group Life and LTD vendor.  The transition will take place effective April 1, 2021. 

For the period of April 1 through April 30, 2021, eligible employees will have the opportunity to:

·        enroll for new life insurance and/or long term disability coverage

·        make updates to existing coverage

·        take advantage of lower life insurance rates

·        enjoy online enrollment (no paper forms)

Employees who are currently enrolled in the USM Group Life and LTD coverage with UNUM will not need to take any action to re-enroll during this period. Existing coverage will automatically roll over from UNUM to USM MetLife.  We encourage employees with existing coverage to visit the dedicated USM MetLife website to ensure existing beneficiary information is up to date.

The dedicated USM MetLife website will be available on 4/1/2021.  In the meantime, employees can review the USM MetLife Life Insurance and USM MetLife Long Term Disability plan summaries on the HR Benefits website for more about the specific benefits for both plans, or submit questions via email to hrbenefits@umbc.edu.

To receive regular updates, make sure to subscribe to the Human Resources myUMBC group.

We at Gears invite you to our first-of-a-kind event IDEATHON. How can new or existing problems can be tackled better by using your unique idea?  IDEATHON is all about presenting your unique idea to the jury and fellow graduate students in UMBC.  You can participate either individually or in a group of no more than 3 people.

This event will highlight your creative skills and uniqueness (idea can be social, environmental, IT technology, medical field related, etc. These ideas can be real or hypothetical). You must create a 3 min presentation showcasing your idea, and highlighting what makes it unique. We have around $1000 in prizes to be won. All the participants are eligible for a free UMBC logo Mask**.  Also, the First 10 participants will get a chance to win UMBC merchandise T-shirts. **

You can sign up using this link **REGISTRATION CLOSES 4/2**: - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflCpzrV62ywL_nv6PUKAarCgA3DrMfaUSFvoPsq1x2YT7PfA/viewform

 You can view the original post on our event page here:

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/gsa/events/93205

We welcome all department's graduate students to participate and celebrate Graduate week with us on the event day, i.e.,  9th April 2021.

For any queries, contact Sulabh Sharma (+14438504311, Sulabhs1@umbc.edu), Jhansi Sankaramaddi(+14109006743, jhansis1@umbc.edu)

To ask questions about accessibility or request accommodations, please contact Yarazeth Medina at yarazeth@umbc.edu. At least two weeks' advance notice will help us to provide seamless access.

Are you an Adult Learner? Not sure? 

Well, Adult Learners are undergraduate students who are 25+ years old. At OCSS, Adult Learners are one of the four student groups who we work to support socially and academically. 

This April we celebrate you, the Adult Learners across all disciplines and experiences across our campus!  

Join us and our partners across campus centered around the Adult Learner Experience

~ April is Career Month - Click here to see the calendar of events being hosted by the Career Center. These events are open to all, from freshmen to Ph.D. 

~ April 7th (4:30-6:00 pm) - Networking From your Living Room - Hosted by OCSS and the Women's Center 

Join UMBC adult learners, faculty, staff and alumni for networking resources and skill-building opportunities right from your living room (or wherever is most comfy!). Throughout this event, participants will learn from guest presenters on the benefits of networking and the power of relationship building. Additionally, participants will be provided the opportunity to networking with their peers and UMBC faculty, staff, or alum through networking round Click Here learn more and RSVP by April 2nd   

**IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING AND IT IS AFTER APRIL 2ND AND BEFORE APRIL 6TH PLEASE EMAIL ME DIRECTLY AT DEGRAC1@UMBC.EDU**

~ April 14th ( 12-1 pm) - Coffee and Conversation for Veterans - Hosted by OCSS - Click here to learn more and to RSVP

~ April 15th ( 4- 5:30 pm) - Internship, Service- Learning, or Research - Is it possible? Yes! Learn How First-Generation Students and Adult Learners Can do this too! 

Hosted by Women's Center, the Shriver Center, UMBC Research, and the Career Center. 

This event will focus on the experiences of adult learners and first-gen college students by providing an overview of ways UMBC adult learners and first-gen students can get engaged and gain experience. We will begin with a brief overview from UMBC professionals representing internships, research, and service learning and will progress to a panel of amazing adult learners and first-gen college students who are ready to share their experiences with high-impact practices and the creative approaches they took to make it possible!  Click here to learn more about this event and to RSVP

~ April 22nd ( 5-6 pm) - Trivia Night - Hosted by OCSS - Join us for a night of family-friendly general trivia, Click Here to RSVP for more information