Diane Stonestreet

Degree: B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: Mount Airy, MD
Plans: Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Cornell University

“The mentors I have connected with through the McNair Scholars program have definitely been the most influential. I’ve always felt that they supported and understood me as a human before I was a student or scholar. And overall, my time at UMBC has given me the space to better understand and take ownership of my journey as a first-gen student. I’ve become confident in myself, and aware that I do deserve the opportunities that come my way.”

Diane Stonestreet ’22, mechanical engineering, is a first-generation college student who initially found the prospect of applying to college daunting. As a high school student, she didn’t know where to find all the answers and resources she needed. But after attending Frederick Community College, Stonestreet applied to UMBC and received a scholarship called ME S-STEM to study mechanical engineering. That support had an enormous impact on her educational path. She’ll soon head to Cornell University to start her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. 

While at UMBC, Stonestreet took on multiple leadership roles to support her fellow students. She served as a teaching fellow in the McNair Scholars program, a coach for the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s immersive STRiVE leadership for social impact program, a leader of a UMBC’s Alternative Spring Break, and an officer in Engineers Without Borders.

“Doing my best to give back to my UMBC community might seem like it would take extra work on my part,” she says, “but helping others helps me renew my own energy. I’m just doing my best to pour back into the communities that have supported me.”

Tchuissi Mbu Nyamsi

Degree: MPS in Data Science
Hometown: Paris, France 
Plans: Data science consultant at CrossCountry Consulting

“Thanks to the UMBC program and the support of the Career Center and others, I feel well prepared to enter the workforce in the U.S. and to bring [my] unique perspective.”

While working at Sodexo, a food services company, Tchuissi Mbu Nyamsi ’22 realized that there were data problems she wanted to solve. “I realized it was something I really wanted to have more knowledge in and I wanted to sharpen my skills,” she says. So she enrolled in UMBC’s master’s program in data science at the Universities at Shady Grove.

Mbu Nyamsi had only recently come to the United States from her home country of France to work at Sodexo, a French company, after having lived in several other countries around the world. “I wanted to experience this entrepreneurship mindset in the U.S. and have a new kind of international experience,” she says.

With her passion for math, knowledge of data science, and intercultural communication skills, Mbu Nyamsi looks forward to working as a consultant in data science. “It’s a big strength,” she notes, “to be able to combine my technical, language, and soft skills.”

Story written by Karen Stysley.

Shahreen Zannat 

Degree: B.S., Biological Sciences and Psychology
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Plans: Working in the lab of Michael Summers, UMBC

“One of the things I’m most appreciative of is the inclusive and diverse campus of UMBC. This means a great deal to me because I often find myself to be a little isolated in group settings due to my disability. But not only are the faculty extremely accommodating, but students go out of their way to support me.”

To graduate this May, Shahreen Zannat ’22, biological sciences and psychology, has overcome more than her share of personal and educational barriers. After suffering a spinal cord injury at age 15, Zannat, now quadriplegic, was told by counselors to expect to attend college fully online. But she wanted an in-person undergraduate experience—connecting with a campus and community face-to-face. 

Zannat worked with the Maryland Department of Health to obtain enough hours for her caregivers to attend classes with her at UMBC. Her efforts and self-advocacy paid off—she is the class of 2022’s valedictorian representing the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and College of Engineering and Information Technology. And she’ll graduate with substantial research, service, and teaching experience.

Stephen Miller, associate professor of biology, says that Zannat stands out among his students in his past two decades of teaching. “Shahreen inspires by virtue of her elite level of achievement,” says Miller. Zannat both completed research in Miller’s lab and served as a teaching assistant in his biology classes.

Gabby Khan

Degree: B.S., Computer Science (Game Development track)
Hometown: Olney, MD
Plans: Computer scientist, T. Rowe Price

“I see how much drive and passion students have, and it helps me become a more driven and passionate person. So I really just value the people around me in the community who are striving to improve themselves, because it helps me improve as well.”

Gabby Khan ‘22 came to UMBC to study computer science and game development. What she found when she arrived was a warm, supportive community. “Everyone was welcoming and felt responsive, like humans,” she says. “People in administration who I’d call with questions were welcoming and friendly.” 

When she ran into challenges in her physics and calculus classes during her first year, Khan sought help from UMBC’s free tutoring resource, now known as the Academic Success Center. After a student mistook her for a tutor and a Center staff member overheard the conversation, she was offered a job. She eventually became a tutor mentor, helping other tutors build their skills. 

Khan approached her Academic Success Center work in the same way she eventually approached being a resident assistant for the Honors College Living Learning Community and a leader in the Honors College Council: as an opportunity to pay forward the kindness and support she received from other members of the UMBC community.

“I feel like whenever you give a sense of excitement or passion to people, they usually do reciprocate it,” she says. “Even if you don’t see it yourself, they’ll find ways to share it with other people.”

Soon after graduation she will join the computer science team at T. Rowe Price.

Story written by David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture (LLC), director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, and Romy Hübler ’09, modern languages and linguistics, M.A. ’11, intercultural communication, Ph.D. ’15, LLC, assistant director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life.

Chetan Desai

Degree: M.P.S., Data Science
Hometown: Karnataka, Kalaburagi, India
Plans: Entrepreneur in sports data science

“It wasn’t easy at first to be far from my home country and still have to do what’s to be done, from cooking and cleaning to making friends. But at UMBC I have always found the right opportunities from the right people.”

Chetan Desai, M.P.S. ’22, data science, came to UMBC from India in Spring 2021, overcoming the barriers of international travel during the pandemic, with a unique goal in mind. He wanted to combine his skills in data science with his passion for sport. 

Desai made the most of his UMBC experience, working as a tennis instructor and serving as the secretary of the tennis club, a senator in the Graduate Student Association, and a data science teaching assistant. He also took on numerous roles off campus, volunteering for the State of Maryland COVID-19 vaccination site and the Citi Open Tennis Tournament. 

Making the most of his own experience as an international student, he joined UMBC’s Global Ambassadors, where he invited other international students to be an active part of Retriever student life.

“I am so glad I was open to experiences and options as they were made available to me at UMBC,” says Desai. “I hope I have helped make other students’ journeys even smoother than my own.”

Kateryna Yakusheva

Degree: B.A., Global Studies; B.A. Economics
Hometown: Kherson, Ukraine
Plans: Work in an intercultural role before graduate school

“Studying at UMBC helped me see the value of intercultural communication and helped me learn from other cultures as well.”

Kateryna Yakusheva ’22, global studies and economics, looks forward to working on the international stage, with an organization like the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. Wherever her career takes her, she knows she wants to help different groups come together to manage risks, address conflicts, and build new futures.

This vision for her future is inspired by her intercultural college experience in the U.S. Yakusheva came to Maryland from Ukraine eight years ago. She has focused on gaining exposure to many different cultures. 

While a student at Montgomery College, she was a delegate for the National Model United Nations. After transferring to UMBC she took courses in Chinese, adding to her language skills in Russian, Ukrainian, and French. The Chinese language courses added another dimension to her coursework in global studies. “It really opened my mind to doing things in a different way,” she says.

Yakusheva recommends that everyone get experience with other peoples’ ways of doing things. “There are so many clubs at UMBC where you can contribute and come to learn about other cultures,” she says, so students should “definitely participate in as many activities as they can.”

Story written by Karen Stysley

Caleb Ruck

Degree: B.A., Modern Languages & Linguistics (Spanish and German)
Minors: Anthropology and Latin American Studies, certificate in Intercultural Communication
Hometown: Ellicott City, MD
Plans: M.A., Intercultural Communication at UMBC 

“I like that grittiness we have at UMBC—that you chose to be here and everyone is here because they’re just into what they study and want to grow.”

An aspiring polyglot, Caleb Ruck ’22, modern languages and linguistics, collected languages like Pokemon when he was young. No college felt right, however, until the day he toured UMBC. He knew right away that it was where he belonged. “I genuinely think that UMBC is the best possible fit that I could have gotten,” he says, “it has a very deliberate underdog spirit.”

Caleb Ruck with host family in Argentina. (Image courtesy of Ruck)

Soon he began to find that the cultural aspects of language were just as appealing as the mechanics. His advisor Elizabeth Arévalo-Guerrero, who he calls his “main cheerleader,” pointed out that he could earn an intercultural communication certificate with just a few more classes, so he decided to go for it. Ruck delved into how people use language and never looked back. 

In Fall 2019 he studied abroad in Argentina, which gave him “a taste of communicating with people who experience the world in a very different way.” Back at UMBC, he went on to do a research project and presentation focused on understanding differences in the perceived prestige of native English-speaking bilinguals versus English language learners on social media. 

Ruck looks forward to continuing his studies with a master’s degree in intercultural communication, a field he describes as “vital” for broadening perspectives and opening doors.

Story by Karen Stysley.

Nastaran Azar

Degree: B.S., Biological Sciences
Hometown: Tabriz, Iran
Plans: M.S., Applied Molecular Biology at UMBC, followed by dental school

“I knew that if I came to UMBC I wouldn’t be alone, I would join a community of international students.”

As a child in Iran, Nastaran Azar ’22, biological science, was afraid when she saw her grandmother take out her dentures, but her brother’s explanation of what had happened to her grandmother’s original teeth gave Azar a life goal. “Teeth play a really important role in our lives,” she says. She plans to help others take care of theirs when she eventually becomes a dentist. 

Before dental school, however, Azar had to get an education in biology. She came to UMBC from Iran, knowing that UMBC has a community of diverse students that would help her feel welcome. She would go on to extend that welcome to others through UMBC’s Global Ambassadors program.

Beyond enjoying the chance to meet students from all over the world, she was amazed at some of the differences in her academic experience as a student in the U.S. rather than Iran. These differences ranged from more frequent quizzes rather than high-stakes exams to the lab’s abundance of pipettes. “I really enjoyed that we have access to all of the technology and supplies,” says Azar. 

She sees her decision to go abroad for college as one of the best choices she has made. “You get a chance to learn much more” when you are in a new environment with all different kinds of people, she says.

Story written by Karen Stysley

Keenan Hickman

Degree: M.P.S., Community Leadership
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Plans: Work in social justice organizations

“Service is a pathway to opportunities for everyone if we allow it to be accessible to all. It is about leading through example and perseverance, and finding joy in completing innovative complex projects with a myriad of community members and organizations.”

Keenan Hickman, M.P.S. ’22, community leadership, has called many different places “home” at some point in his life. Born in Baltimore, he spent part of his childhood in Korea, served in Indonesia as a Peace Corps volunteer, and lived and worked in San Francisco. 

Hickman in Woodlawn, Baltimore next to the Free Lending Library he built during COVID restrictions as lead coordinator at the Walden Circle Community Center. (Image courtesy of Hickman)

Each place presented opportunities to support local communities. In Indonesia, he served as an English instructor while also facilitating trainings on diversity, inclusion, and belonging for local residents. In California, he served as a literacy tutor and a mentor in Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area Now, after having worked for three years at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Hickman is ready to focus on Baltimore. 

During his master’s in community leadership at UMBC, he was a lead coordinator at the Walden Circle Community Center. Hickman designed and implemented youth programs, created a lending library, organized community events, and worked on fundraising campaigns. 

Hickman sees the future of empowerment for disenfranchised communities at the intersection of leadership, technology, and innovation. He has a vision for moving forward a new model of social justice work focused on growing equitable, anti-racist communities, starting in Baltimore. 

Sheila Abellano

Degree: B.A., Psychology
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Plans: Master’s in clinical psychology

“I didn’t feel judged for being an older student at UMBC—I felt like I belonged.”

Sheila Abellano ‘22 never doubted she would return to finish her UMBC degree one day, but when she received a letter in the mail about the university’s Finish Line program, she knew it was time. After leaving UMBC in 2009, she raised a family and started two small businesses. Reading that Finish Line would waive her readmission fee and offer support with enrollment, financial aid, and academics, she saw a great opportunity.

Sheila Abellano at a local market promoting her business, Plant the Culture. (Image courtesy of Abellano)

Just prior to her return in fall 2021, a therapist diagnosed Abellano with ADHD, which helped her better understand her earlier academic struggles and feel more prepared to take advantage of the opportunity to return to the classroom.

Debbie Paul, Abellano’s academic advisor, and the Finish Line team connected her with both a community and resources. “The Finish Line team constantly reached out to remind me that they were available if I needed help,” says Abellano. “Just knowing that UMBC had created a program for returning students like me, gave me the motivation I needed to keep going.” 

Abellano was also encouraged by the welcome she received from faculty and students, which helped her feel that she belonged at UMBC. She notes that Thomas Robinson, assistant professor of Africana Studies, was “amazing,” in going out of his way to ensure she felt engaged and comfortable in his class.

Abellano’s advice to other prospective returning students is to follow their dream, and know that the UMBC community is here to help make that dream happen. Next, Abellano hopes to become a therapist and work to reduce the stigma associated with mental health challenges, especially in her Filipino community.