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.

Jane De Hitta

Degree: B.A., Social Work (minor: psychology)
Hometown: Catonsville, MD
Plans: Master’s of social work

“Being older than most students, I didn’t know if I’d have a place, but becoming part of UMBC’s Returning Women Student Scholars program gave me that community that I really wanted.”

Jane De Hitta ‘22 was initially drawn to UMBC by its strong academic reputation and she quickly fell in love with the university. As a social work major who had long worked with adults with disabilities, she wanted to invest in the lives and stories of those around her. But when faced with a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy, she knew she needed a break to focus on herself. She also knew UMBC would be there to welcome her back when she was ready.

That welcome came in the form of an email about a scholarship administered by UMBC’s Women’s Center to support adult learners returning to complete their degrees. De Hitta not only received the scholarship, but also became a social work intern in the Women’s Center, where she could support other returning students on their journey.

She looks forward to a research, policy, and advocacy career focused on helping others navigate challenging systems to reach their goals.

Arjun Trivedi

Degree: B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Laurel, MD
Plans: Maritime robotics position, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab

“I’m an advocate for people in different majors meeting each other because in the real world the biggest problems are interdisciplinary. Speaking with people with different interests is a great way to broaden your horizons.”

Arjun Trivedi ‘22, M30, mechanical engineering, is passionate about engineering, computing, and connecting with people outside of his field, who have different perspectives. He wants to learn about what drives them, how they think about the world, and if they have advice that could apply to his experience. “Finding those connections and being able to take advice from everyone around you helps you grow,” he explains. 

Arjun Trivedi, right, works alongside another student in Deepa Madan’s lab.

As a leader of UMBC’s chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the nation’s oldest engineering honor society, Trivedi says that it was rewarding to be involved in the planning and execution of this year’s COEIT Engineering and Computing Week, held in February. The event offered students, faculty, staff, and alumni the opportunity to network and learn from each other.

Trivedi is a Meyerhoff Scholar, and shares that the sense of community and support that he receives from his peers and mentors is meaningful. Connections with other students in the program have led him to become involved in lab research and develop interests beyond his major. It was one of his peers who suggested to Trivedi that he consider minoring in computer science, given his interest in robotics. 

That nudge set him on the path to the research that he completed with Ankit Goel, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Keith Harmon, director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, also put Trivedi in touch with contacts at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab to explore his career options. Trivedi will soon begin a maritime robotics position at the globally renowned research center.

Melisa Argañaraz Gomez 

Degree: Ph.D., Geography and Environmental Systems
Hometown: Longchamps, Buenos Aires
Plans: Assistant professor in residence, Urban and Community Studies program, UConn Waterbury

“When I arrived in Spain as a teenager, my teachers did not expect me to go to college because I didn’t have the resources to access certain learning opportunities. Now, as a graduate student in the U.S., remembering my experience as a teenager helps me connect with the students I support and empathize with their lives.”

Melisa Argañaraz Gomez has lived and learned around the world. She was born in Argentina and moved to Granada, Spain, at the age of thirteen. There she earned a B.A. in sociology from the Universidad de Granada, before earning a master’s in sociology at the University of Amsterdam. From there she moved to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in geography and environmental systems (GES) with Dena Aufseeser, assistant professor of GES, researching the experiences of Baltimore’s immigrant adolescents.

Argañaraz Gomez’s areas of research include urban and feminist geographies and migration studies, as well as race and ethnicity. She studies migrant children and youth narratives of inclusion and (un)belonging in Baltimore. One of her projects, “PARqueología Migrante,” in collaboration with Latinas al Rescate and CASA de Maryland, received the 1st annual Spirit of Community Geography Award from the Community Geography Collective. 

The youth engagement project seeks to counter stereotypes of Latin American immigrant teens by amplifying their voices through public presentations to media, neighborhood organizations, and elected officials. It also connects students to city resources and builds communities of solidarity and care. 

Argañaraz Gomez also collaborated in UMBC’s Baltimore Field school to help build public humanities projects. The Mellon Foundation-funded project connects researchers with community organizations in developing methods for ethical research and teaching projects focused in Baltimore. 

Tess McRae

Degree: B.A., Individualized Study: Civic Renewal and Creative Expression
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Plans: Coordinator for Civic Design, UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life

“The lesson I have learned from STRiVE and from the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s work, and from all of the people I’ve met at UMBC who have held up undistorted mirrors for me, is that I am worthy as my authentic self. That has radically altered everything I thought I knew about myself and the world, and has profoundly deepened my sense of community, connection, and purpose. And that clarity and sense of belonging are indescribably empowering and healing, even in moments of doubt.”

Tess McRae ‘22, individualized study, grew up hearing stories about her mother’s campus involvement as a UMBC student in the 1980s. She visited the campus several times as a teenager, and says “I was always entranced by how beautiful it was and how clearly I could imagine myself thriving here.” 

McRae spent a week at STRiVE, UMBC’s immersive leadership for social impact program, during her first year, and joined the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s staff when it launched in 2018. For the next four years, she played a leading role in developing and leading the Center’s workshops and programs, weaving in her insights as an artist and as a person familiar with the kind of self-doubt that can inhibit participation in communities and social change projects. 

Along the way, she designed her own major in civic renewal and creative expression and produced the Co-Create UMBC virtual tour. And her paintings of UMBC spaces that have been co-created by students have appeared in exhibits both on campus and at the OCA Mocha coffee shop in nearby Arbutus.

McRae’s immediate post-graduation plan is to work professionally at the intersection of civic engagement and the arts. She aims to “continue co-creating an ethos of agency, self confidence, and communion felt deeply by people around the world” in ways that allow her to indulge and draw on her identity as a poet, visual artist, musician, and aspiring theater-maker.

Story 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.

Joshua Gray 

Degree: B.A., Dance and Media and Communication Studies
Minor: Political Science
Hometown: Hyattsville, MD
Plans: Public affairs mass communications specialist in the U.S. Army

“I am driven by knowing that I can help future generations of my family explore what the world has to offer. My work can open up opportunities for them and help them look at the world and their experiences in a different way.”

Joshua Gray dancing for the Association of Black Artists, (Image courtesy of Gray)

Dance is at the core of Joshua Gray’s life. Trained in different techniques of tap, ballet, modern, African diaspora styles, and jazz, Gray ’22, a Linehan Artist Scholar, finds that the discipline and dedication a dancer’s life demands have given him energy and purpose.

Gray is currently president of UMBC’s Student Government Association (SGA) and has served as a leader in other SGA roles including as vice president for student organizations, chief of staff, and executive vice president. 

He has also led UMBC’s Dance Council of Majors and created a new student organization, UMBC’s Association of Black Artists.

Gray is interested in expanding access to the arts and high-quality communications to marginalized communities. He will graduate with majors in both dance and media and communication studies, and a minor in political science. While this is an uncommon combination, he thrives on pushing the boundaries of his passions. 

Gray (l) with prior SGA President, Mehrshad Devin ’21, biology, and M.P.S ’22, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership. (Image courtesy of Gray)

This is one of the reasons he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a crisis communications specialist. He wants to travel to places and do work that connects him to the world stage through service. 

Charles Harris

Degree: B.A., Sociology
Hometown: Woodstock, MD
Plans: CASA of Baltimore board member and volunteer 

“Students can come to UMBC and get a whole new experience of working with different types of people on different levels, and it is a great experience. I’m very proud to be part of the school.”

Charles Harris ‘22 is graduating this month at the age of 80, after beginning his college journey and his military career in the 1970s. Reaching this lifelong goal is such an important occasion for him and his family that he and his wife postponed their 50th wedding anniversary plans to celebrate the achievement.

Charles Harris promoting CASA of Baltimore’s advocacy work. (Image courtesy of Harris)

He’s adding a sociology degree to a powerful list of achievements, including a career focused on child welfare at CASA of Baltimore and other child welfare organizations, as an IT specialist at the Social Security Administration, and in the U.S. Army (retired).

Harris and his wife of 50 years opened their home to raise over 100 children. This includes their own biological and adopted children, children under their guardianship, and many others. He has volunteered with and is on the board of CASA, which provides court-appointed special advocates to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in Baltimore’s juvenile court system.

“My wife and I, we have taken in kids that were neglected or abused and homeless. This is a commitment we made,” he shares. He also made a commitment to himself to complete his college degree. Thanks to the support of Hope Weisman, transfer academic advocate in UMBC’s Academic Success Center, and others, he is now crossing the stage to receive his bachelor’s degree.

Bryan Castillo

Degree: B.A., Business Technology Administration
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Plans: Working at the intersection of arts and tech

“There’s a really good support system at UMBC for someone like me—a transfer and first-generation student. There are groups for everything. I found the best support system for me.” 

Bryan Castillo with his artwork that was displayed at OCA Mocha.

Bryan Castillo ‘22, business technology administration, came to UMBC from Howard Community College as a first-generation college student with a clear vision on how he would succeed: making connections and exploring every opportunity. He wanted to combine his interest in art with his passion for technology. He also wanted to make sure he felt supported on his college journey and could make life-long friends.

Castillo worked with the UMBC Career Center to find opportunities that would match his interests—meeting to discuss his goals and attending career fairs. He was able to access a coveted internship with the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. 

“If it wasn’t for my own previous experience with databases, I would never have gotten the internship,” he says. He describes that experience as an important stepping stone to become more confident, build his resume, and grow as an in-demand professional in the field.

Still, he made time for friends, leadership activities, and developing as an artist. In addition to being active in UMBC’s Hispanic Latino Student Union and the running club, he exhibited his artwork at the OCA Mocha coffee shop and gallery near UMBC.

Bryan Castillo, third from right, with members of the UMBC Running Club. (Image courtesy of Castillo.)

Audrey Houck

Degree: B.S., Financial Economics
Minor: Mathematics
Hometown: Leonardtown, MD
Plans: T. Rowe Price Investment Fellowship

“Here at UMBC, there is a network of people behind me to make sure I am successful.”

Audrey Houck ‘22, financial economics, got a first-hand look at what a finance career involves day-to-day when she was paired with a mentor as an intern at T. Rowe Price. “This was my first time having work experience in the financial world, and it is very different from what you learn in the classroom,” Houck explains. “It’s a steep learning curve.” 

With her mentor’s support and guidance, Houck was able to create a strong project, which led to a publication in T. Rowe Price’s internal research data center. “It was amazing having someone there every step of the way to make sure that you can take what you learned in undergrad and effectively apply it.”

Following her successful internship with T. Rowe Price, she’ll begin there as an investment fellow after graduation.

Aiman Raza

Degree: B.S., Biological Sciences (Environmental Science minor)
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Plans: M.S. in Biological Sciences at UMBC through ICARE

“I’m really passionate about activism and making change on campus. It’s meaningful, and it has allowed me to make some amazing connections on and off campus.”

During her freshman year, Aiman Raza ‘22, biological sciences, was walking through the tables at UMBC’s annual Involvement Fest when she came across the Greenpeace student organization, which focuses on environmental activism. The group captured her interest and, over the past four years, she has worked to help the organization grow its presence on campus. 

Raza was the group’s president during her sophomore and junior years. She says that this experience helped her develop her leadership skills, including during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic virtual events. 

She also is involved in UMBC’s Muslim Student Association, and the Pakistani Student Association. These student organizations host events and bring people together for social, cultural, and religious events, as well as lectures and discussions. Being involved allowed Raza to build strong connections and get to know people outside of her major and across campus. 

Raza serves as a mentor within the Biology Council of Majors as well. She meets with students who are earlier in their academic journeys, offering them guidance and support. 

At UMBC, Raza has conducted research with Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences, and at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. She also completed a virtual summer internship with the Smithsonian, where she studied fish and crustacean communities on oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay.