By Zoë McLaren, associate professor of Public Policy, UMBC

The rise of the highly transmissible delta variant around the U.S. has increased demand for rapid antigen COVID-19 tests that can be purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription, used at home, school or work and that give results in 15 minutes.

On Sept. 9, 2021, the White House announced several initiatives to improve access to rapid antigen tests: It will use the Defense Production Act to boost the production of tests, require retailers to sell rapid tests at cost, distribute free rapid tests to community health centers and food banks and expand free testing in pharmacies.

Rapid antigen testing makes it much easier to get tested for COVID-19, which helps detect infectious cases before they spread. But many people are still unsure of how best to use these tests and whether they are accurate enough to be useful.

There are several FDA-approved rapid tests on the market including Abbott BinaxNow, Ellume and Quidel QuickVue. These cost as little as $7-12 each and can be used to test adults and children aged 2 and up, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Rapid antigen tests have a big advantage over lab-based PCR testing in terms of speed and convenience. Getting results in 15 minutes rather than waiting a day or more for PCR test results means it’s possible to identify COVID-19 cases right away and take precautions to prevent transmission. Having rapid testing available over-the-counter means that a lot more people will get tested since the test is easy to perform and far more convenient than PCR testing. So rapid tests can catch a lot more COVID-19 cases overall than relying only on PCR testing.

As a health economist who studies public health policy to combat infectious disease epidemics, I know that making COVID-19 testing accessible, accurate and fast is critical to slowing transmission of the virus and helping everyone resume normal activities safely.

How accurate are rapid antigen tests?

Two types of rapid tests are used for detecting an active COVID-19 infection: rapid antigen tests that detect viral proteins using a paper strip and rapid molecular tests – including PCR – that detect viral genetic material using a medical device.

It’s important to remember that rapid antigen tests serve a different purpose than PCR testing, which is considered the gold standard even though it isn’t 100% accurate. Rapid tests are designed to identify cases with a high enough viral load in the nasal passage to be transmissible – not to diagnose all COVID-19 cases. The Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test may only detect 85% of the positive cases detected by PCR tests. But the key is that published studies found that they detect over 93% of cases that pose a transmission risk, which is what matters most for getting the pandemic under control. Ellume correctly identifies 95% of all positive cases, and Quidel QuickVue accurately identifies 85%. All three tests correctly identify upwards of 97% of all negative cases, regardless of symptoms.

One of the FDA-approved rapid antigen test kits, which can be used by adults and children age 2 and up. AP Photo/Business Wire

How should rapid tests be used?

Rapid antigen testing can be used in three ways to slow transmission. First, people can perform a rapid test when there is a suspected or known COVID-19 exposure. Second, rapid testing can provide an extra precaution before any activity with a higher risk of transmission, such as gatherings or travel. Third, it’s also possible to test on a regular basis – weekly, for instance, if enough tests are available – to catch cases that otherwise might go undetected.

It’s important to have a plan for what to do based on the test results. If you get a positive result, immediately take precautions to slow transmission such as self-isolating, letting close contacts know about the test result and reporting the case to health authorities. Less than 3% of positive results are false positives, but a second rapid test the following day or a PCR test can provide further confirmation if needed.

If you get a negative result from a rapid test, it means you are currently very unlikely to be infectious. A viral load that is too low to be detected by rapid antigen tests is almost surely too low to be transmissible. But it’s important not to let your guard down completely. The tests don’t detect 100% of infectious cases, so it’s possible for a small number to evade detection or for some cases to become infectious within hours after the test. For this reason, it may be a good idea to maintain other precautions. And, if you have symptoms or a known exposure, it’s a good idea to do a follow-up rapid antigen or PCR test just in case the first test was a false negative.

Think of the rapid antigen test as a snapshot in time: A negative test doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have COVID-19. COVID-19 is most transmissible when the viral load peaks, which is estimated to be within a week after infection. Those who are infected but who take a rapid test before or after the viral load peak will get a negative rapid test result – meaning that even though they are infected, they are not currently infectious. One way to reduce the risk of false negatives is with “serial testing,” where a second rapid test is performed 24-36 hours later to help catch any infectious cases that were missed with the first test.

Will the new initiatives be enough?

The White House initiatives to increase access to rapid testing are a critical step towards curbing case numbers. But one free test per person isn’t sufficient to help people resume normal activities safely. Authorizing additional inexpensive rapid tests through the Food and Drug Administration would further expand supply and reduce prices.

Making the COVID-19 vaccine free and easily accessible brought cases down quickly in the spring of 2021. Putting frequent rapid testing within reach for all could do the same now.

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Zoë McLaren, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Header image: Rapid antigen COVID-19 tests, designed for use at home, can show results in 15 minutes. Ellen Moran via Getty Images

¿No hablas español? Not a problem. The Spanish Conversation Club is happy to have you! Don’t identify as a woman or engineering major? The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) still welcomes you. Interested in philosophy but not a philosophy major? Didn’t deter the past president of Philosophers Anonymous from taking office.

As a new semester gets underway (make sure to visit Involvement Fest, September 9), these and dozens of other student organizations readily welcome Retrievers who may not assume that the club is for them. Not surprisingly, UMBC clubs and orgs thrive when new perspectives show up.

Join the forum

Headshot provided by Quinlan Murphy.

When Quinlan Murphy ’21, political science, served as president of Philosophers Anonymous, the council of majors for philosophy students, he was determined to make the club feel like home to any interested student. This includes inviting discussions about Hannah Arendt’s warning against the preconditions for totalitarianism to attending online art tours as museums opened their doors virtually during the pandemic. Another of the club’s goals, he says, was to make the department’s physical space in the Performing Arts & Humanities Building a welcoming place for students in between classes. “We wanted to create a little bit of a domestic vibe, so students felt invited into the building—we wanted a tangible space for them to feel at home,” says Murphy, who also obtained a certificate in philosophy. 

Known better as PhilAnon, the group traditionally meets at noon on Tuesdays to allow students to present ideas—their own or others—and then follow a group discussion. “We want people to discuss these ideas outside of class with a little bit less formality, without assignments, without quizzes or tests,” says Murphy. The group also invites other majors and departments to participate, giving talks on bioethics or the hard sciences to discuss the ethical and philosophical corollaries of their academic expertise. 

“Philosophy majors and other members are people who are going to go on to work in the humanities or academics,” says Murphy, “and a critical part of performing that job is being able to present ideas effectively and quickly, and then also having those ideas be criticized and poked by others.”

Student groups make use of The Forum sculpture outside of the Performing Arts & Humanities Building in 2019. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Murphy, as a non-traditionally aged student and a commuter, has high hopes for PhilAnon and other clubs on campus. “I certainly think that the more involvement people have in school, the better college will be—it’s not just about grades and tests and essays. It’s also about growing as a person. And I think that requires interacting with your classmates outside of the classroom.”

Headshot courtesy of Sheila Yeboah.

Pull up a silla (chair)

One of Sheila Yeboah ’23, biological sciences, favorite memories of the last semester is playing online pictionary on Webex with the Spanish Conversation Club. “The combination of the members’ poor drawing skills and the wealth of Spanish synonyms made the game extra difficult,” laughs Yeboah, but she adds that the easy-going nature of the club’s president James Angle and the other executive officers makes the student org a relaxed place to learn and have fun.

Yeboah says that previously her struggle with Spanish was having opportunities to speak it, and the low pressure of the conversation club was exactly what she needed. Yeboah, who is minoring in Spanish, joined the Spanish Conversation Club last semester when they were meeting virtually. “This club is primarily focused on forming friendships and practicing communication,” says Yeboah. “If you are a person that is a little more reserved, like me, it’s a very welcoming environment and you’re not going to feel like you can’t fit in.”

Angle ’22, modern languages and linguistics, became club president his sophomore year when the club had a vacuum of leadership. He and his friend Kyndall Hardwick ’22, English, the vice president, aim to make everyone feel welcome. “So many people get scared away because they think ‘I don’t know enough Spanish at that high level,’” says Angle, “but it could literally be your first day of Spanish class and we’d say ‘Come in.’” 

Angle, who recently started taking Russian classes, knows that the hardest part of language learning can be getting comfortable speaking. “That’s the biggest battle,” he says, “but come play some fun games with us and get comfortable speaking Spanish while enjoying yourself.”

Building connections 

Lilly, left, and other SWE members at the National Conference in Anaheim, California in 2019. Photo courtesy of Kaitlynn Lilly.

At previous Involvement Fests, some students have balked at joining the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), says current president Kaitlynn Lilly, who is not an engineering major. Lilly, who is studying mathematics and physics, says that she and other club leaders emphasize that the space is accessible for anyone who “wants to empower women and move society forward,” says Lilly. “It’s a mix between creating a community of people who support women in STEM and also providing opportunities to meet with companies, practice professional development, and also be social.”

This three-fold goal is the intentional result of Lilly and others on the executive board asking themselves what the purpose of their community was. “We didn’t always have a third of our meetings mixed between social, professional development, and career,” says Lilly, a 2021 Goldwater Scholar. “We made a very conscious decision last year to do that because we used to have a company present to us at every single meeting. And it was really hard for club members to really form that community.”

Before the pandemic, says Lilly, the group was already hosting hybrid meetings to broaden the horizons of what companies they could invite to present. SWE will keep the hybrid format going forward for the convenience of people who commute or people who can’t make the meeting time. 

Jessica Adams ’22, mechanical engineering, is starting her fourth year as a SWE member and her first as a leader. As the public relations chair, she’s eager to see the group grow its membership. “As we get a wider range of perspectives in our club, it allows us to learn about other people’s backgrounds so that we can understand where other people are coming from,” says Adams. “These interactions will make each of us a better candidate for any sort of jobs or internships we apply for in the future.”

Find your space

Murphy, who graduated last spring but hopes to stay connected to PhilAnon virtually, unsurprisingly sees students’ extracurricular involvement through the lens of what is morally and ethically good. 

“I think students should see their time at UMBC as an opportunity for social and personal growth and not just like a job training program,” he says. “They should be able to ask hard questions and explore ideas informally. I think it’s really critical that there’s these spaces for people to have these conversations away from professors and with their peers.”

Whether that conversation is in Spanish or takes place online or in person, there’s a student club waiting to welcome all newcomers with open arms. Find out more at Involvement Fest, September 9 or online all year.

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Header image: SWE at Involvement Fest in 2019. Photo courtesy of Kaitlynn Lilly.

“New England goes back in front 2-1, and it’s the center back Jon Bell who gets forward and gets his first MLS goal! …Jon Bell creeps in between, it’s a beautiful delivery, and how about that for a header? Fabulous placement…. It’s a great goal!”

Even the rival New York City FC commentary team couldn’t deny the special nature of former UMBC men’s soccer left-back Jon Bell’s first professional career goal which aided his New England Revolution side to a nail-biting 3-2 away victory at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey in June 2021. 

New England Revolution defender Jon Bell (23) celebrates his goal against New York City FC during the second half at Red Bull Arena. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

A capstone achievement, on just his fifth appearance for his team, it’s a moment that millions of soccer players and fans around the world dream of, but will never realize. Bell channeled his Retriever roots to make a name for himself on the highest playing field.

MLS bound, but college first 

Described by UMBC men’s soccer head coach Pete Caringi Jr. as “one of the best-attacking collegiate left-backs in the country,” Bell, media and communication studies, realized the first part of his lifelong dream of playing professional soccer when he was selected at the 2020 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft before he even graduated from UMBC.Soon, he would join a new team, enter a new locker room, and have a new set of expectations in front of him.

Fortunately, he already experienced that during his first days at UMBC. “I was just trying to fit in with the guys… knowing that Coach Caringi was really excited and happy to have me on the team helped,” says Bell.

“I was an advocate of his through his first year here,”  says Caringi, who has coached at UMBC for more than 30 years. 

Jon Bell during his playing days at Retriever Soccer Park. Credit Gail Burton UMBC Athletics.

A Maryland native, Bell was originally committed to play out of state before complications arose, extinguishing that prospect. Coach Caringi, catching wind of this, knew he wanted Bell’s qualities on his roster, which would require only a little convincing at first. 

“In the recruiting process he saw the fact that we were just coming off the Final Four appearance—from a soccer standpoint we’d done really well. Also, I think he knew that pursuing a college degree from UMBC is a really valuable thing…. It’s not a hard sell to be honest,” says Caringi.

“I remember telling a lot of people here that Jon is going to have the opportunity to play at the next level and it’s just a matter of how hard he continues to work at it,” Caringi continues. “But he kept working at it and getting better and better, but there were glimpses of a guy who has all the tools to play at the next level in MLS.” 

But the nature of college athletics ensured that Bell had challenges beyond soccer, including the expectation to keep up academically. “It was hard, especially at first. When you had exams and papers at the same time, you had to go to practice every day, two and a half hours at a time. So it was just about being responsible, managing your time well, knowing that we couldn’t stay up late. You just had to come in ready for class or training the next morning,” says Bell. 

Student-athletes across the country face this challenge, but according to Bell, at UMBC, “it’s not like what you might see at other colleges where you have someone leaning over your shoulder helping you every time. We weren’t guided to our desks and given paper and a pencil—no one did the work for us.” Instead, Bell says, UMBC and Athletics gave him and the others motivation to embrace their studies. The academic support for student-athletes shows as the 17 varsity UMBC teams repeatedly increase their average grade point average, topping 3.19 in fall 2019. “Everything that we had to do academically, we did ourselves.”

After the fall 2019 semester when Bell was drafted to the MLS, he took a hiatus from school to give professional soccer his full attention, but Bell knows his time at UMBC isn’t over. He still plans to finish his degree virtually. 

Getting picked in the MLS SuperDraft 

Much like other professional sports leagues, MLS uses a college draft system, called the MLS SuperDraft when college soccer players are selected by teams in a pick-by-pick format. It’s the clearest path for a college soccer player to play at the highest national level. 

But getting selected in the SuperDraft is by no means the same thing as being a MLS player with a professional contract, Caringi explains. “The MLS draft is growing increasingly tougher to end up on the first team. You can get drafted, but to sign for the first team on most of these MLS teams is very difficult.” 

“Even in my first year of college, my number one goal was to work really hard to get the opportunity to get drafted into MLS. Each year, my goal was the same, just to build up my portfolio [for that],” says Bell.

When Bell’s moment at the SuperDraft arrived, his former head coach was watching the proceedings. “I was really excited,” says Caringi.“We spoke to the MLS coaches before the SuperDraft, so we knew there was a really good chance of Jon getting drafted. I’ve been a fan of Jon as a player, as a person, as a student—he was the whole package.”

Bell would experience a range of post-draft trials. He was selected in the second round by the San Jose Earthquakes, who ultimately didn’t offer him a place on the team. Instead, his rights were traded to the New England Revolution, where he started out playing for their B-team—New England Revolution Ⅱ in the third division United Soccer League One (USL1). But challenges and setbacks are just as welcome as successes to Bell. 

Finding a place on the first team

He never doubted that he would make the first team. “My coaches were telling me that the first team coaches were watching me and for me, hearing that was motivation to continue to push harder,” says Bell. “It was just a battle of mental fortitude with myself to continue to pursue even though there were times where things weren’t going my way, just keeping that focus and mentality throughout training sessions when I was with the first team for preseason.”  

After playing a season with the New England Revolution Ⅱ, Bell’s mentality paid off when he signed a contract with the Revolution’s first team. 

Playing alongside teammates who have participated at the highest levels of professional soccer has been “a great experience,” says Bell. “I can use their work ethic as a blueprint as to what I need to do to play at that level. It’s a cool experience to have not only with them but also with [head coach] Bruce Arena who’s been in this for a long time and has a long list of accolades and respect in the world of soccer.” As Bell adjusted to his new surroundings, he was also getting used to a new position on the field. 

New England Revolution defender Jon Bell (23) celebrates his goal with midfielder Carles Gil (22). Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

“He started playing center-back which he never played here at UMBC,” explains Caringi. “I’m not surprised that he’s playing there, I think Jon can play anywhere on the field. I have to give him a lot of credit for transitioning to center-back which isn’t easy in general but at that level, it’s particularly challenging,” he continued.

After a pair of months with the first team, Bell made his debut for the Revolution, where he played the full duration of the match, a few games later, he got his goal. A perfectly placed header that whizzed past the New York City FC goalkeeper.

“It’s just a blessing. I can’t put it into words because at the moment when you score, that first second you don’t know if it really happened or not… It was late in the game at that stage where your legs are tired but scoring that goal refueled me to finish off that game,” Bell says, ultimately leading his team to victory.

The future of UMBC Men’s Soccer

UMBC’s men’s soccer program has produced its share of professional soccer players over the years, including five previous MLS SuperDraft picks, but Bell is the only Retriever actively playing in MLS. 

Nevertheless, both Bell, and Caringi see a bright future for the UMBC men’s soccer program, suggesting that Bell may have some former teammates joining him in MLS before long. 

“Quantrell Jones had a lot of accolades and a lot of people watching him… His future is bright. If he decides to pursue going pro he has everything in his toolbox to do it,” notes Bell on his former teammate who still plays for the Retrievers.

Caringi agrees. “I’ve been saying that Quantrell is a MLS goalkeeper. When the time comes, Quantrell is going to get drafted, he’s going to get his opportunity…. Now it’s just a matter of how hard he works at it, and if he does, then we’ll be talking about him in a couple of years.”

Beyond Jones, Caringi sees several potential stars in the making. “Just like I told Jon when he was a freshman that ‘someday you’re gonna be a pro.’ I’m looking at some of these guys right now and seeing as they continue to develop, one day they’re going to have the same opportunity. It goes back to your love, your drive, your determination, but clearly, they can get there…. We’re not dry of players who could play at the next level,” says Caringi, who cites former Retriever Sam Solomon who recently signed for the Richmond Kickers in the USL, among others. 

Meanwhile, Bell hopes his rise to MLS “opens doors for other people. If I continue to play consistently at this level, not only can it help the coaches bring in new players, but it can help the players that are there now. When pro teams are looking at them, they can look at me as a kid who came from that school, so they know that there are players at UMBC who have the potential to play at the next level.”

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Header image: Jun 19, 2021; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; New England Revolution defender Jon Bell (23) celebrates his goal against New York City FC during the second half at Red Bull Arena. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports.

Princeton Review features UMBC in the 2022 issue of its popular college guide, The Best 387 Colleges. UMBC’s profile in the guide highlights the university’s academic strengths and supportive community spirit.

This university is a place “where teaching comes first” and where faculty “have a knack for inspiring the students,” share students quoted in the piece. Another notes, “UMBC wants to see every student succeed—they provide you with the tools, people, and resources to make sure you get where you want to go in life.”

Princeton Review highlights UMBC’s range of academic strengths, from the sciences to the performing arts. The publication also spotlights UMBC’s active campus life, student diversity, and very strong career services. It shares an overall sense that the “school is well run” and “students are happy.”

The feature notes that most undergrads agree that “the typical student at UMBC is interested in doing well academically.” At the same time, students are highly engaged in extracurriculars, and one emphasizes, “There are a lot of activities held by student organizations.”

For its 30th edition, Princeton Review surveyed 154,000 students from across the U.S. They also reviewed previous material to assess the consistency of universities’ strengths over time.

A top college for student voting

Washington Monthly has also kicked off the school year by releasing a college guide: America’s Best Colleges for Voting. The list highlights UMBC as one of the nation’s top universities when it comes to the percentage of students registered to vote.

“This recognition is a testament to a UMBC culture that values active engagement in every setting, including on campus, in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, and in local, state, and national politics,” say David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture, and Romy Hübler ’09, modern languages and linguistics, M.A. ’11, intercultural communication, Ph.D. ’15, LLC. They serve as director and assistant director, respectively, of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, launched in 2018.

Hoffman and Hübler note, “At UMBC we ‘cast our whole vote.’ This means we vote, engage in conversations about the issues affecting us, and take responsibility for working collectively to build strong, inclusive, and just communities in which everyone can thrive.”

The Washington Monthly list reflects 2016 and 2018 data, as student voter turnout from election 2020 won’t be available for a few months. However, UMBC’s early indicators for 2020 student voter turnout are strong.

In November 2020, UMBC placed ninth in the nationwide 2020 ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. The competition encourages college students to pledge to vote based on evidence that public pledges increase follow-through. Hearing the news that UMBC was in the top 10 nationwide, President Freeman Hrabowski reflected, “UMBC is a national model for community engagement.”

World University Rankings

Times Higher Education just announced its 2022 World University Rankings as well, again including UMBC in this year’s list. UMBC is among the top 800 universities on the global list and #122 of U.S. universities included. The university performed particularly well in the area of research. UMBC’s research enterprise continues to expand in funding (now surpassing $84 million in annual research expenditures) as well as national and global reputation.

The publication is announcing its subject-area rankings gradually throughout the fall. So far, UMBC appears on three subject-area lists: among the world’s top 400 universities in the life sciences, and among the top 500 in psychology and the physical sciences. Times Higher Education will announce additional STEM, arts, and humanities rankings in the coming weeks.

In the Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education U.S. College Rankings 2022, UMBC ranks among the top 200 U.S. universities for educational outcomes, with strong graduation rates and graduate salaries and low levels of debt after graduation. UMBC ranks among the top 125 in educational environment, with particularly high marks for student and faculty diversity.

Featured image: First day of classes at UMBC, fall 2021. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

This article was updated on Sept. 21, 2021, to include new Times Higher Education rankings.

How many ways are there to make a sticky protein? That’s the overarching question driving new research by Mercedes Burns, assistant professor of biological sciences, and Sarah Stellwagen, a postdoc at UNC Charlotte and former postdoc at UMBC.

Burns and Stellwagen study arachnids, a diverse group of invertebrate animals that includes spiders. Materials scientists have long envied the strong, flexible, and sometimes sticky silks the eight-legged critters produce, but spider silks have so far proven difficult to replicate effectively in a laboratory. That’s partly because the genes responsible for producing the silk proteins are so long that typical DNA sequencing methods are insufficient for gene discovery. Additionally, spinning synthetic silk protein into fiber isn’t scalable yet.

“That’s been a major reason why no one’s been able to make their own spider silk,” Burns says. With $900,000 in funding from a new National Science Foundation grant, Burns and Stellwagen will explore sticky substances used to capture prey by arachnids and a few other animals, including glowworms (the larval stage of a type of fly) and velvet worms (a group of ancient, worm-like invertebrates found across the Southern Hemisphere).

The substances their non-spider study organisms produce “are sticky like spider silk glues, but maybe their genetic architecture is easier for us to duplicate,” Burns says. “That’s one of the long term goals: Can we make a synthetic glue, based on these same principles, with more efficacy than we’ve been able to do with spider silks?” This glue could have medical or industrial applications, she notes.

How to make a sticky protein

Burns and Stellwagen will study the sticky silks produced by velvet worms, glowworms, spiders, and harvesters (also known as daddy longlegs). Many people may lump them all into the “creepy-crawly” category, but they actually diverged hundreds of millions of years ago. Yet they all use sticky substances to capture prey. “So what we want to know is, ‘Is there one way to make a sticky protein, or are there many different ways to make sticky proteins?’” Burns says.

For each of their study species, they will compare the sequences of the genes responsible for the sticky stuff. Then they’ll compare the substances’ function by measuring just how sticky it is and under what conditions it performs best, such as a particular humidity or temperature. Finally, they’ll consider the structure of the proteins themselves, with a special focus on whether sugar compounds bound to the backbone of the protein play an important role in its function.

“By comparing those characteristics among different groups, we hope to understand what the necessary components of sticky biomaterial prey capture proteins are,” Burns says.

“The results of the study will provide opportunities for further research,” Stellwagen adds. “There are many other species from the groups we are studying here, so projects comparing glues more broadly within species groups is one area for expansion later on, or even diving deeper into the biomechanics across groups by including more test conditions.”

The spider gaucho

Burns and Stellwagen have continued to collaborate on other projects since Stellwagen moved from UMBC to UNC Charlotte last year. Just this week, they published a new paper in Integrative and Comparative Biology on the glue genes in the bolas spider. 

Rather than depositing droplets of glue around a web, like orb-weaving spiders, the bolas spider hangs one huge droplet of glue at the end of a long thread of silk. The spider releases chemicals mimicking female moths, luring in male moths. It then uses tiny hairs to sense vibrations in the air as a male moth approaches. At the right moment, it swings its glue bolas like a lasso and, “if they hit the moth,” Burns explains, “they reel it in really, really quick and dispatch it with their venom.”

The first—again

Stellwagen and Burns are the first to sequence the glue gene for this species. While genetic sequencing has become commonplace in recent years, spider glue genes are so long and so repetitive that the duo had to employ a special process called “long-read sequencing” to produce results. In 2019, Stellwagen became the first to sequence any spider species’ glue genes, which also required long-read sequencing, and the bolas spider gene was much longer still. 

The work funded by the new grant will fill an important gap in spider silk research. “We don’t have anyone studying the intersection between the function and primary elements of the gene sequence for spider silk, so that’s pretty exciting,” Burns says. “From there we can understand more about how these genes evolved.”

Is it necessary to have a long, repetitive gene to make a sticky protein, for example? Burns thinks that’s a possibility. Maybe those repetitive sections help the protein fold onto itself in a way that allows it to be strong and flexible.

“I’m thrilled our project was selected for funding, not only because we’re so passionate and excited about the research, but because at this career stage, it’s life changing,” Stellwagen says. “This gives us an opportunity to prove ourselves and set ourselves up for long term success.”

“Spider Camp”

Another exciting outcome of the grant is funding for undergraduates to attend “Spider Camp,” a two-week intensive summer field experience for undergraduates, graduates, and enthusiasts at the Highlands Biological Station in western North Carolina that Stellwagen co-instructs. Burns will introduce new material on Opiliones (the scientific name for daddy longlegs). The Appalachians are a center of diversity for this group of arachnids that Burns focuses on in her other projects. The region is rich in other arachnid life as well.

By giving UMBC students a chance to participate in an engaging field experience, Burns hopes to help diversify the field of arachnology. “We want to make classes like that available to students who might otherwise never take a field course,” she says.

The work Burns and Stellwagen do will open doors for further research—perhaps one day completed by those who attend Spider Camp. “There’s a lot of interesting evolutionary questions that come from this,” Burns says. “I enjoy trying to figure out how species that are lesser known address the challenges of life.”

Header image: Sarah Stellwagen (left) and Mercedes Burns. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

“I feel like I’ve waited a very long time to say this, but…welcome home.” 

Speaking at UMBC’s annual Fall Opening Meeting, Provost Philip Rous acknowledged the gravity of the moment—the first time faculty, staff, students, and friends gathered in person in over a year. Marking the official opening of the 2021-2022 academic year, campus leaders shared meaningful milestones with the community, joining from the renovated Retriever Activity Center and online. 

UMBC is on pace to welcome nearly 2,100 new first-year students, making this the largest incoming fall class in UMBC’s history. 

First-year student Ashley Gomez chose UMBC because, she says, it “allows me to be a full-time student, still work, be with my family, be a dancer, and accomplish all that I’ve dreamed of doing. UMBC allows me to make my family proud.” 

With nearly 1,000 transfer students and additional international undergraduates and graduate students enrolled, almost 4,000 total new students will join Retriever Nation this fall. Plus, more than 100 students will return to UMBC as part of the Finish Line program to complete their degrees, some more than 10 years after their academic journey began. 

Like most universities, UMBC elected to make standardized tests optional for applicants in 2021. With this in mind, the average SAT for the incoming first-year class is an impressive 1297 for those who submitted scores. 

A welcoming atmosphere for all

This year’s international student population is also looking at a record year for enrollment. 

“In spite of the unprecedented challenges posed by a global pandemic, students from around the world continue to persevere in order to begin their studies at UMBC,” says David Di Maria, senior international officer and associate vice provost for international education. “This not only speaks to the high value placed on a UMBC education, but it is also a notable demonstration of true grit.”

University rankings reflect UMBC’s success in building an international reputation for excellence and impact. The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) included UMBC among the top 3.7% of universities on its global 2021-22 list. U.S. News and World Report also considers UMBC a leader on the global stage, included in their 2021 Best Global Universities list. 

“We are excited to welcome such a remarkable cohort of the world’s best and brightest to our UMBC community this semester,” says Adam Julian, director of international student and scholar services. “These students have demonstrated many incredible skills and qualities as they overcame the challenges and obstacles of the global pandemic.”

UMBC’s commitment to fostering a collaborative classroom environment is what drew many international students to the campus. Nigerian student Praise Lasekan ’25, biological sciences, can’t wait to study in an environment where students are encouraged to actively dialogue with faculty and each other.

“I was excited to learn that I can ask my professors questions at UMBC,” says Lasekan. “I’m here to learn as much as possible and want to work with professors, students, and anyone I can learn something from.”

Recognizing leadership

UMBC’s growing national and international stature is also visible among higher ed professionals. Dale Bittinger ’16, M.P.P., assistant vice provost of undergraduate admissions, orientation, and school partnerships, has for years worked closely with Common App, a national non-profit focused on college admissions. He recently became Chair-Elect of the Common App Board of Directors, and his leadership marks an important first.

“This is the first time in the Common App’s history that the position is held by someone from a public university,” says Bittinger. “I think this selection speaks to UMBC being a leader on the national stage and I look forward to representing us, as well as all other public institutions, in this capacity.”

Welcome home, Retrievers

One of the traditions new students enjoy the most is the host of UMBC Welcome Week activities. With limited students living on campus last fall, most events were held virtually. This year, UMBC is offering a hybrid schedule of Welcome Week events for both first-year students and sophomores (most of whom are now on campus for the first time) to ensure everyone gets the full experience.

This past weekend, both cohorts had dedicated move-in days, complete with their own activities. 

“The world has changed and we know COVID is part of that world. Planning student events now means taking into account more detailed health and safety requirements, as well as knowing what will make for a fun student experience,” says Jen Dress, associate director of campus life. “We’ve been looking forward to renewed energy and presence on campus and being able to continue many of our traditions.”

After unpacking their boxes and hanging their Retriever gear in their closets, new students had a chance to enjoy Retriever Fest. They made their way to Erickson Field to learn more about campus offerings, meet friends, and snag some UMBC swag. They also had the opportunity to check out the newly upgraded Retriever Activity Center (RAC). 

Exploring campus

While the doors were closed to the public last year, there was a dedicated team working inside to completely overhaul the RAC. With a budget of $28 million, approximately 77% of the building was renovated. Updates include doubling the weight training space, with seven tons of free weights and plates; quadrupling the cardio space, with 95 pieces of cardio equipment; adding a new cycle studio; and locker room renovations. 

“The newly-renovated RAC will help transform the UMBC campus. The RAC will engage students, faculty, and staff while providing far more programs and activities with a focus on fitness and wellness,” says Gary Wohlstetter, senior associate athletic director. “It will have an immediate positive impact on our current users and will be a great asset to attract new Retrievers who will be able to see the priority we place on health, wellness, and community-building.”

New Retrievers also had the opportunity to spend time in UMBC’s Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena during Convocation, the official start to the new semester. Mehrshad Fahim Devin ‘22, physics, president of UMBC’s Student Government Association, shared in personal remarks to the crowd that he had difficulty adjusting to UMBC when he first arrived, but felt compelled to see it through.

“I stayed because of a phenomenon which I like to call the ‘UMBC butterfly effect,’” he said. “I’m sure you’re all familiar with the theory that a small change could lead to a larger and more significant difference. That theory is very prevalent at UMBC and you will all experience it before the end of this year.”

For Devin, that moment was attending a meeting, a few months into his freshman year, where he realized that at UMBC, students are encouraged to co-create the campus community, in partnership with faculty and staff.

An historic year

The start of this academic year is also unique in that it marks an important transition in university history. After 30 years as president, Freeman Hrabowski announced he will retire at the close of the 2021-2022 academic year. The University System of Maryland will conduct a national search to find UMBC’s next president. Until then, Hrabowski is making the most of every campus event this year. 

Onlookers noticed Hrabowski with phone in hand during the Fall Opening Meeting, as he filmed the audience for what would be his last State of the University address. Looking at the crowd of colleagues, Hrabowski reflected on his tenure at UMBC saying, “This is the house that love has built. We show the world that we can transform lives through education.”

Featured Image: “Welcome home, Retriever Nation” signs lining a walkway with students in the background. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Provost Philip Rous shared an emotional moment with the UMBC community yesterday as hetook to the stage at the university’s Fall Opening Meeting, just a day after UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski announced he will retire in June 2022. He shared a message he’s been hearing from across Retriever Nation, one of gratitude and hope.

“Each of us holds in our hands the legacy of Freeman’s leadership and that of all members of our community who have built it into what it is today. But as Freeman often says, ‘success is never final,’ so that legacy is not static, it’s dynamic,” Rous told the group. 

“It’s forward-looking and it belongs to all of us,” he said, noting that our community’s strong foundation of shared values will allow us to continue the “important work of building and advancing this remarkable university to even greater heights.”

As Retriever Nation awaits the start of the search for UMBC’s sixth president, Hrabowski thanked the community for their support and encouraged them to think about how to carry on the important mission and values of this community.

“Here is my message—this is the house that love has built,” said Hrabowski, following a huge standing ovation in the RAC. “We show the world that we can transform lives through education.”

Messages of congratulations and gratitude from alumni, legislators, and other friends of UMBC have poured in since the announcement went live Wednesday afternoon. Here are a few of our favorites.

* * * * * *

Learn more about the presidential transition process at president.umbc.edu.

Story by Jenny O’Grady and Randianne Leyshon ’09. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC Magazine.

After three decades of transformational leadership at UMBC, President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III has announced his plan to retire at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year.

President Hrabowski is nationally celebrated for his results-driven commitment to inclusive excellence, collaborative approach to leadership, and mentorship that pairs high expectations with strong support. Through his time at UMBC, these qualities have become core to the university’s unique culture and community. They have also inspired national and global recognition. 

During President Hrabowski’s tenure, UMBC has ascended in the national rankings. U.S. News ranked UMBC the nation’s #1 “Up and Coming” university for six years, 2009-14. In 2015 they transitioned to recognizing the nation’s “most innovative” national universities, featuring UMBC every year since the list launched. For the past decade, U.S. News has also consistently ranked UMBC among the nation’s leading institutions for Best Undergraduate Teaching. 

Visitors to campus often see President Hrabowski walking down Academic Row. He greets students by name, asking about their classes and post-grad plans, listening, and offering encouragement. That personal level of care has become part of UMBC’s DNA. It’s a quality that draws thousands of new students to UMBC each year and inspires UMBC’s national recognition as a model for supporting student success.

Advocating for students

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1950, Hrabowski was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He graduated from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics, and earned his M.A. in mathematics and Ph.D. in higher education administration/statistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

President Hrabowski came to UMBC as vice provost in 1987, when UMBC was just two decades old, and has served as president since 1992. He is a national leader in science and math education, with an emphasis on the participation and achievement of underrepresented minority students. 

Among many high-profile, high-impact leadership roles, President Hrabowski chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced a landmark 2011 report on expanding underrepresented minority participation in STEM. Barack Obama named him to chair the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans in 2012. The following year, his TED talk “Four Pillars of College Success in Science” made waves worldwide, going on to receive more than one million views.

He emphasizes, “collaborative strategies have been at the core of it all.”

Learning from Meyerhoff

At the national level, President Hrabowski is also known for partnering with Robert Meyerhoff to found the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 1988, to increase the diversity of STEM leaders. Science describes the program as the “gold standard for providing a path into academic research” for students from underrepresented groups. 

So far, UMBC has graduated more than 1,400 Meyerhoff Scholars with STEM degrees. More than 800 have already earned graduate or professional degrees. According to NSF data, UMBC is now the nation’s top producer of Black graduates who go on to a Ph.D. in the natural sciences and engineering. 

These graduates include alumni like COVID-19 vaccine developer Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett ’08, M16, now an assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard. More than a dozen other institutions have replicated the Meyerhoff program, from Penn State and UNC to UC Berkeley and UCSD (supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative).

Supporting scholars

Meyerhoff has also had ripple effects within UMBC. Through the program, UMBC faculty and staff learned about what kinds of support most benefit students: hands-on research experience, intensive (even intrusive) advising and mentorship, and mutual peer support built on a cohort model. These findings have inspired programs like UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology Scholars and STEM BUILD at UMBC, reaching an ever-expanding number of students.

UMBC’s focus on providing a distinctive educational experience is evident across disciplines. The Linehan Artist Scholars, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars, Humanities Scholars, Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars and several other programs provide hands-on learning, thoughtful reflection, and community support, preparing future leaders.

Whether they stay in Maryland or travel the world, UMBC’s 85,000 alumni carry with them a unique approach to co-creating communities. That approach is grounded in mutual respect and support, intellectual curiosity, and achievement through collaboration.

“Excellence is never an accident“

Behind UMBC’s accolades are students persevering every day to achieve their dreams, supported by caring faculty and staff. Over the last decade, UMBC has increased its six-year graduation rate for full-time freshmen from 55.7% to 69.2%. And UMBC has become known for welcoming and supporting transfer students, including a large number of first-generation college students. 

This year, the pioneering University Innovation Alliance selected UMBC as a member. This public research university consortium works to boost student success through sharing and scaling approaches that work.

National stage

At UMBC, Retrievers quickly learn what’s possible in a community that pairs high expectations and robust support, and empowers students to pursue their passions. UMBC is the reigning national mock trial champion, defeating Yale in last year’s finals, and UMBC’s Cyber Dawgs have won national and regional championships. UMBC has won or tied for first place ten times at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. 

In 2018, UMBC made basketball history as the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in an NCAA men’s tournament. In addition to conference championships in several sports during President Hrabowski’s tenure, men’s soccer rose to the NCAA semifinals and UMBC produced top national athletes in swimming and track and field. 

Retrievers are regularly recognized as some of the world’s leading emerging researchers, as Rhodes Scholars and Goldwater Scholars. They explore the world as Fulbright Scholars and partner to support communities as Newman Civic Fellows.

“The UMBC story is one of excitement about learning and learning how to work with people different from oneself,” says President Hrabowski. “We are saying to the country and to young people that you don’t have to be rich to be the very best. Middle class institutions can produce some of the best thinkers in the world.”

Inspired by students

Over three decades, President Hrabowski has set the bar for educational leadership and earned the highest national honors a university president can receive. He’s written four books and mentored fellow university presidents through a Harvard leadership program. More than 40 universities nationwide—from Harvard and Princeton to University of Michigan and Arizona State—have granted him honorary degrees. But UMBC students are the legacy that makes him feel most proud and inspired. 

“We have shown the country that we are a model of inclusive excellence,” President Hrabowski shares. “UMBC is just 55 years old, but we have worked very hard to make history. And we will always be a part of this nation’s history because we produce leaders, including thousands of teachers, lawyers, social workers, and entrepreneurs shaping our communities.”

“Our students, from undergraduate to Ph.D., represent best in class,” he says. “When you think about the UMBC alumni who serve as the head of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics lab, the president of Clemson, the speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, and the first Black woman to create a vaccine in the history of the world, you can’t help but think of how well UMBC prepared them for those roles.”

Setting the standard

University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden shares, “People seek out Freeman’s advice because they understand that, in many ways, he’s set the standard for supporting students to success—and I mean all students: students from every background, every race and ethnicity, every income level.” 

This carries through to other areas of his leadership, she notes. “He’s set the standard for collaborative leadership and continuous organizational improvement,” says Gooden. “He’s set the standard for creating a culture that brings out people’s best character and best effort. We’ve known every day of his long career how profoundly lucky we are to have him.”

Ongoing growth

Looking ahead, President Hrabowski is excited to see what UMBC will become and achieve. 

Cumulative investment in campus construction has grown from $118 million to $1.2 billion over the past three decades. This includes the addition of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, and research and teaching spaces in downtown Baltimore. UMBC also has a vibrant presence—12 programs and more than 600 students—at the Universities at Shady Grove.

The bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park houses 131 companies and organizations that employ nearly 1,900 people. And UMBC’s research and development expenditures now surpass $84 million annually. 

“Students and student achievement are at the center of everything we do,” President Hrabowski reflects. “At the same time, we support all people as they grow, including our faculty and staff. The dreams and aspirations of everyone in our community inspire us to keep working to be our best selves. There are so many amazingly talented people at UMBC, and we will continue to attract amazingly talented people at every level.”

Next steps

The USM Board of Regents and Chancellor Perman will soon launch a national search for the next president of UMBC, with details announced as they are available. President Hrabowski notes, “I have no doubt that they will work with the campus to attract a leader who appreciates UMBC values and shares our passion for being the very best at what we do.”

Chancellor Perman says of President Hrabowski, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who so powerfully inspires excellence. And that’s exactly what his legacy is—a commitment to inclusive excellence that lives on in UMBC, its students, faculty, staff, and alumni.”

UMBC anticipates welcoming its next president in early 2022. Still, says President Hrabowski, “UMBC will always be a part of me. It has helped to define who I am. Wherever I am, I will be talking about the wonderful place that is UMBC.”

For more information, visit umbc.edu/president.

Featured Image: President Hrabowski speaks with UMBC students on campus, under the flags in The Commons. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

While the pandemic required most of our community to adjust to virtual life constrained at home, other Retrievers worked tirelessly on campus to keep UMBC running. For those operating in-person, enduring the heavy silence that blanketed campus, adhering to intense health precautions, and yearning for the people that would once again make UMBC a home characterized their experiences. As many of us now return to the office, we recognize the folks who kept our campus clean, safe, and beautiful—especially those who supported our students along the way. Call them behind-the-scenes allstars, vital resources, boots-on-the-ground—the sustainers—and you’d be right to do so. Here are some of their stories. 

Tyler Fultz, acting manager for residential conduct and community wellbeing at UMBC, remembers looking out of their on-campus apartment window in spring 2020 and being struck by how silent and empty the campus was. “People just left everything and went home,” Fultz says, still processing how quickly their job changed.

Before March 2020, Fultz supervised a bustling staff of 12 resident assistants, providing support to their team as well as the nearly 800 students living in the West Hill, Terrace, and Hillside apartments on campus. Fultz had a full schedule that also included meeting with students for alleged policy violations, attending student conduct hearings, and serving on a duty rotation to provide support to students 24 hours a day.

During the pandemic, the numbers of residential students in Fultz’s area fell to nearly 200, with only approximately 1,200 residential students total. Fultz shifted to a role overseeing quarantine and isolation housing set up to support students who had tested positive for COVID-19 or were awaiting test results. The landscape felt completely different.

“On one hand, it could feel lonely, but on the other hand it felt like the safest place I could possibly be,” Fultz says about their life on campus during COVID-19. “There were seven community directors who were around campus, but you didn’t run into them.”

Fultz found that building relationships with students became more challenging in the virtual environment because students were burnt out from being on their computers so much. Fultz often first connected with students, who needed housing and support, via phone to talk about the details and answer any questions. From there, they helped facilitate students’ moves into empty on-campus apartments that had university-provided furniture.

Once a student was in quarantine and isolation housing, Fultz says they let students know they were available in case they needed assistance, or just someone to chat with. “It was a team of people providing support,” Fultz emphasizes, noting no one could have taken on this task alone.

– Megan Hanks Mastrola

Cooking from Scratch in a Pandemic 

Name: Rachel Faulkner
Title: True Grit’s Executive Chef
Location: True Grit’s 

Rachel Faulkner is used to preparing food for about 2,500 people a day, in addition to managing a staff of nearly 40 people. She oversees the daily menus that are offered at True Grit’s—all made from scratch, including the tomato and alfredo sauces at the pasta station. During the pandemic, however, Faulkner and her limited staff were only feeding about 300 – 600 people each day. She says that even though they were preparing fewer meals, it was still the same amount of work for about one third of the staff. “Everyone who showed up really came in full force,” says True Grit’s executive chef, who came to campus every day during the pandemic. 

During this time, Faulkner says her job felt more intense and hectic because she was constantly adapting to new needs or requirements. Overnight, she and her team began offering to-go boxes, and the dining staff started serving food to people to reduce the number of hands touching utensils self serve involved. She also had to make sure that her staff was following the ever-changing health and safety guidelines, which made the job overwhelming at times. “We hardly saw anybody,” Faulkner says about what she saw looking out the windows of True Grit’s. “There were people who were afraid to come into the dining hall to eat. They said they’d rather order out.” 

Faulkner, who has worked at UMBC for 23 years and for Chartwells since 2008, says that her primary job responsibilities largely stayed the same throughout the pandemic, except she had to step in to fill in roles that were empty due to a limited staff. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation, Faulkner recalls. At one point, she even worked the register. 

Looking back, she says that she could not have done her job without her teammates, including John Burgoon ’99, psychology, director of resident dining at UMBC. “The whole team made sure students were fed, and that we had the tools we needed to get through the day,” Faulkner says. “I couldn’t have done it alone. I needed my team.” 

• 
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True Grit’s is now open for dining, and Faulkner is excited to welcome students back. “I am excited to see all the new faces,” she says. “I’m hoping that things are somewhat back to normal. I hope we have a big turnout at the dining hall and people feel safe coming to eat here.” 

– Megan Hanks Mastrola

In January 2021, Victor Adebanjo ’23, mechanical engineering, gratefully found himself back on campus, helping to ready classrooms for the eventual return of more students. As a student worker in the Department of Instructional Technology (DoIT), Adebanjo was tasked with helping usher UMBC’s learning spaces into the future. 

On campus, there were a million things to do and not enough hands—far from when the pandemic first hit, and Adebanjo wasn’t even sure he had a job. 

In March 2020, Adebanjo didn’t have time to process when his boss said he could no longer come into work. His school work was the first thing he had to deal with and keeping up with the academic changes was more than enough of a fulltime job. 

After making it through that spring semester, Adebanjo asked David Souder, coordinator of AV services in DoIT, if there was any work and was immediately put on a rotation of Webex meetings so he could virtually assist professors with their classes. After that, he assisted with transitioning the Meyerhoff Summer Bridge program to a virtual environment.  

Then came the call to return to campus to modify learning spaces. Part of this included arranging high flex spaces—classrooms with cameras and microphones so that a student attending the class can virtually see the classroom and the professor, and vice versa. 

While it was rough to adhere to the strict COVID-19 regulations and endure the eerie quiet of campus, says Adebanjo, he and his coworkers found a way to make it bearable. As they worked in empty buildings, they’d talk about the ghosts in the halls and the walls. One day, while walking in the dim halls of Math/Psych, Adebanjo says, “as I came down the hall, the door was shaking… since it’s so quiet you can just hear everything.”  

Adebanjo would like his fellow returning students to know that a lot of collaboration and hard work has been invested to make sure campus is the way everyone remembers it. “Everything is still here for you when you return,” he shares.

— Charis Lawson ’20

Stacy Carone still gets goosebumps when she thinks back to that day.

“March 12, 2020, is the day that college athletics stopped,” says Carone, associate athletic director for sports medicine and performance, who prior to that day spent her campus hours helping student-athletes succeed in their sports.

“Even then, we couldn’t have predicted the magnitude of the pandemic in any way. What it was going to do to the world or what it was going to do to our mental wellness or physical wellness. I am not exaggerating that our work in sports performance and sports medicine to safely return the student athletes to campus happened on March 13, 2020.” 

As she retells it now, sitting in her office right off the arena’s sports medicine facility, Carone quickly realized that the work that her team does to closely monitor the wellbeing of UMBC’s almost 400 student-athletes had to pivot to work during the pandemic—a time when although games and practices were cancelled, student-athletes still checked in with their teammates, coaches, athletic trainers, and training continued on with adjustments made due to students being in different places. UMBC Athletics launched virtual monitoring that focused on athletes’ mental health and coping during the pandemic. “It gave us that open door to check in like we would every day,” she explains. 

Eventually the virtual would turn to in-person again. Carone and the sports medicine and sports performance team returned to campus in July 2020 to accompany her athletes as they navigated policies from UMBC and America East Conference in order to compete in an unusual Fall 2020 season. Since the pandemic began, Carone and her colleagues developed a 200-page document that outlined everything from cleaning practices to testing requirements and occupancy limitations. Carone also managed COVID-19 testing for student-athletes—she says that when most people were still at home wiping down their mail, her team was in the office, dressed in multiple layers of PPE to test student-athletes. 

“We do what we do because we like interacting with our student athletes,” says Carone. “We do this for the gift of playing a role in a student athlete’s life. Everything we do, we approach as a team. So we were just happy to be back. It felt different. It looked different. But we’re back.”

– Megan Hanks Mastrola

The campus tunnel system may be the basis for Retriever lore, but in reality the underground structures are so much more important. Meet two of the people who help keep the fresh air circulating throughout each classroom and office as they navigate the underground paths with intimate knowledge of their history and function: John Zahor—director of operations and maintenance, who oversees the plumbing, electrical, painting, and architecture shops at UMBC—and Craig Goodwin, director of design and construction.

Not all offices had the option for remote work, and Facilities Management kept up their important tasks of maintaining the buildings, construction, grounds, and related operations while so many community members were absent.

Zahor realized that his first big challenge was to figure out a schedule for his staff to follow that allowed them to complete projects while abiding by social distancing and campus guidelines. The Facilities Management team regularly checked on buildings, oversaw construction, and responded to any issues that arose including water leaks and dripping faucets. Zahor’s team usually receives many work orders from people across UMBC when folks are on campus. This often helps determine their projects, but with fewer people on campus during the pandemic, his team relied on stepped up surveys and their observations to guide their work. 

“Without many people on campus, we have less service requests and less eyes seeing what is going on,” he explains, noting that typically there are 14,000 people on campus who see things before they do. “We had to do a lot of surveys and get people walking around, asking them to tell us what they saw.” 

The distribution of resources also shifted during the pandemic as campus needs changed, explains Zahor. With fewer people on campus each day to maintain the grounds. Facilities Management scaled back its planting, opting for plants that required less maintenance, he says.

Eventually, Zahor developed a schedule where each member of his team would come to campus two or three days each week, so that projects could be continued while maintaining social distancing. That schedule stayed in place until the end of June 2021, when Zahor’s team returned to campus five days a week.

Goodwin’s team works with Zahor’s team to manage on-campus construction projects that are underway at UMBC, including the work being done outside Sherman Hall and the construction of the new Center for Wellbeing. For these projects, Goodwin sees a silver lining to an otherwise undesirable situation—with fewer people on campus during COVID, fewer people were inconvenienced by these large-scale projects. 

Despite the upside of completing projects more efficiently, Goodwin says he missed seeing the folks who call these buildings home. “This place is a community. Not having students, faculty, and staff here was sad. I really missed that, and I’m really looking forward to seeing people.” 

– Megan Hanks Mastrola

When the Y Preschool at UMBC reopened just days after the March 12 shutdown of campus, Myeisha Jones knew she had to be there. Jones is one of the longest-serving instructors at the preschools—in charge of the 2-year-olds—and she knew a familiar face, even just her eyes above a mask, would be a welcome sight. “When they sent the email to see who might be willing to come back,” says Jones, “I wanted to help. I didn’t want to leave the kids out and not help the parents who had to go back to work.”

The preschool, nestled between Harbor Hall and Hillside Apartments, is usually home to 64 kids, ages 2 to 5. When so much of campus closed, Jones and others fielded phone calls from anxious parents, who understandably had a lot of questions about new COVID-19 protocols. Michelle Gross, who was hired as the director of the preschool in June 2021, says that childcare facilities are actually uniquely prepared for moments like the pandemic. “We have the proper training for different things like asthma or allergies and we already had strict cleaning and handwashing protocols. So we had a good head start for implementing new strategies, checking temperatures, and increasing sanitization.”

When the preschool reopened, they had about 20 kids show up, and were able to operate with reduced class sizes to abide by new space regulations. Jones says that they built health protection measures into their activities, singing songs about washing your hands or games about how to wear your mask correctly. But for the most part, she and Gross agree, the kids adapted quickly to the new way of life, even occasionally reminding teachers to pull up a slipping mask.

Jones says the hardest part of working on a mostly closed campus was not being able to walk the kids around to different destinations, like the library, or getting to stop by Starbucks on her break. But the parents really showed up, she emphasizes, even the ones who kept their kids at home. “They would call and text and check in on us, send supplies, even have lunch delivered sometimes,” Jones says. “Because even though they’re not here, they know I’m here.”

Gross wants parents to know that the preschool is ready for their kids to return in full capacity. “We’re doing our best here to make sure all of the kids can stay safe, get educated, and be ready for kindergarten,” says Gross. “So that is our ultimate goal and it’s never changed. I want them to know that it’s safe and that we’re ready. We miss not having a full building of kids.”

— Randianne Leyshon ’09

Bruce Perry ’97, psychology, has spent his life preparing for the range of situations that might arise due to being a police officer. But he hadn’t prepared for the silence on campus for the past 18 months. 

Since high school, Perry trained for this career by taking practicals, directing traffic, and enrolling in law enforcement classes as a police explorer in his young adult years. While attending UMBC, he worked as a police aide, where he confirmed his aspirations. After graduating, Perry worked his way up through the ranks of UMBC’s Police, from patrolling campus to overseeing all operations and support services. During the pandemic, the police station continued its 24/7 operations, so Perry jumped into the rotation of officers. 

“It was so weird,” says Perry, who continued to work on campus the past year and a half. “Since I’ve been here for so long I have never seen campus so bare or empty.”

But while the pandemic made most of campus quiet, Perry had to deal with a roster of new concerns. Approved visitors had to follow protocols to get into locked buildings—which included contacting the police to request permission—and alarms went off in other buildings when people tried to access them. These day-to-day tasks replaced most of his customary activities. 

Most of his job is administrative now, says Perry, so some things didn’t change, like monitoring what was happening around campus and holding his regular meetings, even if they were now virtual. Since there were fewer incidents, Perry volunteered for campus committees that dealt with the university’s response to the pandemic. 

Perry feels like the pandemic has taught him an important lesson. ”If we are given direction from those who know what they are talking about… we can all make it through this,” he commented, excited for life to return to campus. “I’m so happy that things are going back to normal, or somewhat normal. We came out of a trying time.”

— Charis Lawson ’20

When OCA Mocha, a UMBC-affiliated coffee shop and community gathering space in downtown Arbutus, opened its doors in 2019, co-founders Deep Patel ’19 and Michael Berardi ’19 could never have imagined how much a global pandemic would drastically change the way they ran their business. Before COVID-19, the pair worked to bring people into the space, not only for coffee but to connect with members of the community through events. When the pandemic began, Patel, biological sciences and financial economics, says they had to make a sharp pivot. OCA Mocha shut down from March 2020 to June 2020. “Public safety always came first,” Patel explains. 

To keep their dream of a coffee shop viable, Patel and Berardi quickly developed a system for online ordering and curbside pickup. To stay true to their mission of serving the Arbutus community, the shops began giving out free meals and activity kits to children in Arbutus, and Patel and Berardi drove around town to make the deliveries. “It was born out of a need in the community,” says Berardi, media and communication studies. 

Prior to COVID, the OCA Mocha team had started a kids club that allowed children in the community to come to the coffee shop and work on crafts, so they came up with a pick-up option. “It was essentially a condensed summer camp,” Berardi explains, adding that in collaboration with UMBC student orgs and local activists, OCA Mocha also hosted virtual events to talk about topics including social and racial issues. 

Patel says that one of the good things that came from the pandemic was spending a lot of time getting to know Berardi better, noting that oftentimes they were the only staff members at OCA Mocha. Throughout COVID, the OCA Mocha team received regular support from Mike Pound, director of environmental safety and health at UMBC, Gib Mason ’95, economics, professor of practice in entrepreneurship, as well as Office of Institutional Advancement staff, and the OCA Mocha management committee, who made themselves available at any point to provide guidance.

“I think we learned a lot of valuable lessons,” says Berardi. “It’s important to take a step back and focus on what really matters. I personally learned the power of community to lift each other up and get through challenging times together.” 

– Megan Hanks Mastrola

*****
All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11.

UMBC has seen its share of academic and athletic success across a wide range of fields and sports, but the University recently earned national acclaim in something new: figure skating.

Maya Jones ‘22, psychology, took home the bronze medal for UMBC at the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships in Pennsylvania on July 29 (Junior Ladies category). She earned a total of 103.18 points, including 66.55 points in her free skate to “The Dying Swan” by Camille Saint-Saëns. U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone reports that the program opened with a double Lutz-double toe loop combination and also featured two Level 4 spins.

Maya Jones. Photo courtesy of the Jones Family.

We caught up with Maya to ask her about her performance, how she got into figure skating, and how her passion for athleticism and artistry on the ice connects with her UMBC experience.

Congrats on winning bronze at the 2021 U.S. Collegiate Figure Skating Championships. What was the experience like?

Thank you so much. I’m just extremely happy and grateful to be able to be back on the ice and compete again after pausing on competitions for over one and a half years due to COVID. Being able to put out two clean, well-skated programs, I felt euphoric. Figure skating is a sport that has a huge ratio between practice time and competition time, so to be able to skate well when it matters most, especially after not competing for so long, was an incredible experience.

How did you get into figure skating?

My mom is actually my coach, so she put me on the ice as soon as I could walk. After that I just completely fell in love with the sport. Skating combines artistry with athleticism, and I think that’s what draws me to it the most. It’s a sport that is not only physically challenging, but mentally as well. The sense of achievement that comes from overcoming those physical and mental barriers is unlike anything else I have experienced. Every day of practice is a challenge in one way or the other, and every time I face something new. Sometimes you are able to overcome those challenges and other times you are not, but that’s what keeps it exciting, and the challenges I am able to overcome are what makes me love the sport the most.

What is your practice schedule like?

My practice schedule is all over the place. The specific days and amount of times I skate per week are completely dependent on the amount of schoolwork I have that particular week, so no two weeks are ever the same. 

How hard has it been to balance college life with figure skating?

I always plan ahead. I try to set certain times for schoolwork and certain times for practice. Obviously, school comes first, so I haven’t been able to skate as much as I did in high school. Some weeks I’m able to skate four or five times a week, and other times none, but I’m just happy to be able to skate at a competitive level in college.

Maya Jones, second from right, and her fellow competitors at the competition. Photo courtesy of the Jones Family.

How did the pandemic affect your training?

When everything shut down due to COVID, I was completely unable to skate for three months which is the longest I’ve ever gone without skating. For the first couple of months back, there wasn’t a lot of ice time available, so I was only able to skate once every week or two. Thankfully, I’ve now been able to resume practicing at my usual amount.

How supportive are the friends you have made at UMBC of your figure skating?

They’re very supportive. I’ve taken a few people to skate on public sessions, which is always very fun.

Why did you choose UMBC?

I chose UMBC because I wanted a top-quality academic experience and I also knew UMBC had strong STEM programs. I’m combining my psychology major with a biology minor, and I have found that UMBC offers strong classes in both fields. I also really liked the atmosphere of the campus. It’s allowed me to form relationships that have had a strong impact on me as a person.

What’s in the future for you?

I’m actually going to audition for Disney on Ice. I’ll be graduating in the fall, so I’m hoping that once I graduate I can have skating as my career for a year or two. After that, I plan to start training to become an airline pilot, which I started exploring as a career after talking with a UMBC friend who is training to become a pilot. I’m confident that UMBC has put me into the right mindset to be able to tackle the challenges that come with the training.

Article by Zach Seidel ’12, M.S. ’15, director of digital media for UMBC Athletics.

Banner image: Ice skates. Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash.com.