Kayla Tomas

Degrees: B.S., Information Systems
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Post-grad plans: Cybersecurity Consultant for KPMG

Kayla Tomas cites UMBC’s Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) Scholars Program for empowering her and giving her a sense of community, especially as a Latina woman in STEM. In CWIT Scholars, a merit-based scholarship for talented undergraduates in computing and other technical fields, she developed friendships, found mentorship, and was able to create a close network of colleagues.

A star athlete, Tomas played on the women’s Division 1 volleyball team all four years of her time at UMBC, and helped guide the team to championships in three consecutive years. She participated as a member of the Hispanic Latino Student Union, and started her own Latin dance team. As a Grit Guide, she gave more than 50 tours of campus.

UMBC’s alumni community has celebrated and supported Tomas through one of the university’s coveted Alumni Endowed Scholarships, awarded to six students each year through support from UMBC’s Alumni Association.

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Gina Ralston, a coordinator in admissions and orientation, was a staff mentor who influenced my time at UMBC. She continuously reassured me of how much of a positive impact I have. Gina was my boss when I worked as a Grit Guide. She made me feel appreciated and seen. I loved this job because I got to share my knowledge with younger students who are new to this process, maybe even women looking to be in STEM.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“The best part of my UMBC experience would have to be winning the America East title in volleyball three years in a row. So much hard work, time, and dedication went into training, and it truly paid off. The friendships I made, the breakthroughs I experienced, and the challenges I faced, made me into a stronger individual and this couldn’t have happened without an amazing group of teammates. It has always been a dream of mine to play collegiate volleyball at the highest level and I achieved that. Seeing my family at every home and away game always put a smile on my face. They are my rock and have been through the highs and lows with me.”

Sianna Serio

Degrees: B.S., Computer Science
Hometown: Bel Air, MD
Post-grad plans: Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Slovakia

One of Sianna Serio’s most memorable UMBC experiences was giving a campus tour to UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby during her first day as the university’s new leader. Serio was ideally suited for the job, having worked for Residential Life as a resident assistant and for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation as team lead for UMBC’s orientation peer ambassadors and as team lead for the Grit Guides, training and managing the rest of the campus tour guide team.

Prior to Serio’s first full semester at UMBC, she traveled to the University of Bristol to participate in the first Dawg Days: Abroad program, studying comparative politics. So, it was there in Bristol, England, that she first connected with the UMBC community. Since then, she has been involved in many UMBC student organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, Sign of Life, First Generation Network and the UMBC Crafters club.

The Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) has been the academic focal point for Serio during her time at UMBC. She has been a CWIT Affiliate from the start, applied to live on the CWIT Living Learning Community floor for her first academic year, and volunteered for several events for prospective students. Last academic year, she served as a CWIT Peer Mentor for three incoming first-year students majoring in computer science. With her experience and enjoyment as a mentor, she became the CWIT Peer Mentoring Program student lead for 2022–2023 and has hosted several successful events for the 94 members of the program.

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Naomi Corns was a student a year above me who strongly influenced my first two years at UMBC. We originally met through a sociology class. While we weren’t the same major, we had a lot in common in personality and drive. After getting to know each other both inside and outside the classroom, she was one of the people to recommend me to be a resident assistant and she inspired me to become an active member of the UMBC community. She had also been an orientation peer ambassador while at UMBC, which I pursued as well. If it wasn’t for her leading by example and showing her support, I don’t think I would have been where I am today as a part of UMBC or as a student.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“Everyone gets to choose how they want to show up everyday and the mark they want to make, and UMBC students are given so many opportunities to do so. When I came to UMBC, I had no intention of getting involved and putting myself out there. But after seeing so many opportunities laid out in front of me after just a few weeks on UMBC’s campus, it was almost impossible for me to avoid. I was constantly encouraged by the people around and me and I have grown in every aspect of my life.”

Sianna Serio

Degrees: B.S., Computer Science
Hometown: Bel Air, MD
Post-grad plans: Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Slovakia

One of Sianna Serio’s most memorable UMBC experiences was giving a campus tour to UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby during her first day as the university’s new leader. Serio was ideally suited for the job, having worked for Residential Life as a resident assistant and for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation as team lead for UMBC’s orientation peer ambassadors and as team lead for the Grit Guides, training and managing the rest of the campus tour guide team.

Prior to Serio’s first full semester at UMBC, she traveled to the University of Bristol to participate in the first Dawg Days: Abroad program, studying comparative politics. So, it was there in Bristol, England, that she first connected with the UMBC community. Since then, she has been involved in many UMBC student organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, Sign of Life, First Generation Network and the UMBC Crafters club.

The Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) has been the academic focal point for Serio during her time at UMBC. She has been a CWIT Affiliate from the start, applied to live on the CWIT Living Learning Community floor for her first academic year, and volunteered for several events for prospective students. Last academic year, she served as a CWIT Peer Mentor for three incoming first-year students majoring in computer science. With her experience and enjoyment as a mentor, she became the CWIT Peer Mentoring Program student lead for 2022–2023 and has hosted several successful events for the 94 members of the program.

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Naomi Corns was a student a year above me who strongly influenced my first two years at UMBC. We originally met through a sociology class. While we weren’t the same major, we had a lot in common in personality and drive. After getting to know each other both inside and outside the classroom, she was one of the people to recommend me to be a resident assistant and she inspired me to become an active member of the UMBC community. She had also been an orientation peer ambassador while at UMBC, which I pursued as well. If it wasn’t for her leading by example and showing her support, I don’t think I would have been where I am today as a part of UMBC or as a student.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“Everyone gets to choose how they want to show up everyday and the mark they want to make, and UMBC students are given so many opportunities to do so. When I came to UMBC, I had no intention of getting involved and putting myself out there. But after seeing so many opportunities laid out in front of me after just a few weeks on UMBC’s campus, it was almost impossible for me to avoid. I was constantly encouraged by the people around and me and I have grown in every aspect of my life.”

Hala Algrain

Degree: MPS, Health IT; Graduate Certificate in Data Science
Hometown: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Post-grad plans: Ph.D. in information systems, UMBC

Supportive faculty and staff mentors helped Hala Algrain find her way on what she describes as a long journey to a career that fits her values. 

While pursuing a master’s degree in health information technology, Algrain honed her interests and reconnected with a love of research and teaching. She currently works as a research assistant in the Health Data Lab of Ian Stockwell, associate professor of information systems. She felt an immediate connection to the work, which aligns with her goal of creating intelligent human-centered health systems that address patient needs. Her experience in the lab prompted her to change career plans. Instead of entering industry, she will pursue a Ph.D. in information systems at UMBC. 

Algrain also accessed professional development services and found faculty who guided her to classes that fit her interests and opened new opportunities. “Shout out to the Office of International Students and Scholars,” she says. “They really do have your back.”

What activity, experience, or co-curricular at UMBC was particularly important to you?

“I’ve valued working as a teaching assistant and a research assistant. Connecting with students as a teaching assistant rekindled my love for academia. I enjoyed being able to facilitate another student’s learning experience.”

Is there a particular academic achievement you’re most proud of?

“I’m proud of persevering through a lot of professional dead ends and continuously seeking a higher standard for the level of impact of health systems. It’s incredibly reassuring and exciting to find mentors at UMBC who have the same values of conducting research with real-world impact.”

Prior to her formal investiture of the role of president, when Valerie Sheares Ashby reflected on her first year at UMBC, she said, “Every day, I am surprised in a good way by how much people love this place, how committed they are, and what lengths they are willing to go to for each other. For students, for colleagues, for our vision, for our mission, for our community—people will go to great lengths.”

And at the presidential installation ceremony on April 27, 2023, Sheares Ashby, other speakers, and the UMBC community as a whole celebrated that shared commitment to a common vision—one that promises to redefine excellence in higher education through an inclusive culture.

President Valerie Sheares Ashby takes in the view from the 7th floor of the Albin O. Kuhn Library. The floor-to-ceiling windows frame campus, a wall-to-wall mural of manicured paths and greenery surrounding the academic buildings and residential halls. Most important to the scene are the students, walking in pairs, whizzing along on scooters, resting in the shade in a collective of hammocks.

“I love it  when I walk across this campus and I see our students engaging with each other,” says Sheares Ashby. “I have been at institutions where we had a certain percentage of this population, of that population… but I have never seen this much true engagement where people didn’t get here and stay in their siloed group. That is a beautiful thing.”

It’s clear that Sheares Ashby finds her energy by tapping into the university’s vision statement—which aligns so closely with her own values, she says—and seeing and speaking with “her children, her students,” as she calls them. She becomes animated and eager to share their accomplishments. “I don’t need a big ta-dah for it to feel great to me. It is every single real, honest engagement with my people—my students, faculty and staff—that’s special to me,” says Sheares Ashby. 

While she took up the mantle of the presidency on August 1 of last year, on April 27, 2023, Sheares Ashby was officially conferred with the charge of the Office of the President (and given a medallion symbolic of the office and heavy in its weight, as a reminder of the responsibility of the role).

Surrounded by lush displays of Maryland’s black and gold flower, black-eyed Susans, and state and campus leaders at her investiture ceremony, Sheares Ashby made a promise to the campus community and beyond. 

“We look at our students as if we are looking at our own children. And so, I say to you, students: By our words and through our actions, we want you to feel that you belong and know that you are welcomed.”

A theme of thankfulness

The installation ceremony was the culmination of a week-long celebration of Sheares Ashby’s ongoing leadership of UMBC. If you want to know what mantra she’s been channeling through the build up and completion of this historic moment in the university’s timeline—not to mention her own life—it’s “gratitude.” 

“How is it that I get to be here with these people whose values are right in the middle of my own?” she asks incredulously. “And they call it work.”

On the platform at Sheares Asbhy’s investiture—along with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, other elected officials, and leadership of the University System of Maryland and UMBC—were mentors from her own academic journey who have been guiding her for 40 and 30 years apiece. 

“They thought I could do this when I was 18, when I did not have a clue. But I have so much gratitude for how people have invested in me, and for what my predecessor did. If [President Emeritus Freeman Hrabowski] had not been here, this would not be the place that I wanted to be. He actually did something here that gave the place the soul that it has.”

At an inauguration event celebrating faculty and staff, Sheares Ashby also stood up to acknowledge the efforts of the many different teams that make all of the fanfare possible. “I love thanking people,” she laughed. “I could do this all day.” 

The gratitude goes both ways.

“It feels good,” said Janerra Allen, M.S. ’22, a fourth-year electrical engineering Ph.D. student selected by President Sheares Ashby to be a student marshal. “I feel encouraged and empowered to see a female in the role, and especially a woman of color.” Allen, who is the current president of the Black Graduate Student Organization, says she’s been cheered by Sheares Ashby’s commitment to graduate students and is looking forward to this next chapter of campus leadership. “I think that’s one unique characteristic of President Sheares Ashby, she can level with you and have a conversation with you, which just feels good.”  

Thankfulness was a theme repeated by those close to President Sheares Ashby, including her older sister Beverly Sheares, associate professor of pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. “I’m immensely proud and grateful and happy for her and UMBC and for our family,” says Sheares. “She has worked very hard. She’s been committed to her work over a long period of time. And her commitment has been really focused. She has made sacrifices to get here. I’m so grateful that the work and the sacrifices have led to something so fantastic. This is the space she belongs in.”

A family legacy of generosity 

Amid the solemnity of the investiture ceremony, a notable energy bubbled to the surface. With her hand to her heart, Sheares Ashby took in the words of welcome and responsibility and received them with a smile visible from the back risers of the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. Acknowledging her family in the front row, Sheares Ashby honored the home created by her late parents, James and Shirley Sheares, who nurtured curious children and gave them a sense of humor and joy, and continually modeled a life of service to others.

She then paused her remarks to surprise her family by announcing her establishing an endowed scholarship in her parents’ names—a need-based scholarship, for undergraduate and graduate students across the disciplines. As the audience stood to applaud, Sheares Ashby followed the moment with a quip—one of many moments of laughter throughout the event.

“And I can hear my mother’s voice saying, ‘Now don’t be skimpy…make sure you put enough in there so that the children have what they need.’ Yes ma’am.”

A continuity of leadership

Throughout the week of events celebrating Sheares Ashby’s presidency, organizers often remarked that UMBC had no playbook for this. In April 2023, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the average tenure of a college president has shrunk yet again, now to below six years. Yet prior to this semester, UMBC had not installed a president in 30 years. 

Mary Ann Richmond ’93, history, UMBC’s government and community relations manager, who served as an event staff lead on the week’s events, remembers serving as an usher at Hrabowski’s installation just a few months after she graduated. She didn’t know, she said, that they were ushering in the next three decades of campus leadership. 

“When I think back about things that were starting when I was a student—I came in the same year as the first cohort of Meyerhoff Scholars, and the Shriver Center was just getting started. And now, seeing the university 30 years later and what it’s become, is just amazing.”

Now she can’t help but wonder, “Could this be the next 30 years? President Sheares Ashby is going to do such a fantastic job, and no matter how long it lasts, I know we’re in really good hands.”

Also present throughout the inauguration events representing continuity through UMBC’s different chapters of leadership were members of the first four graduating classes at UMBC, known as the Founding Four. Sheares Ashby, who was just 13 days old when UMBC first opened its doors on September 19, 1966, praised the commitment of the founding graduates who took a chance on a burgeoning institution and have never looked back. (She even took a moment to hold up their recently completed book This Belongs to Us.)

In the intervening decades, UMBC has grown from a new institution on which students had to take a chance to a Carnegie Classified Research 1 university, consistently ranked as one of the nation’s most innovative campuses, and the number one producer of Black undergraduates who go on to earn doctorates in the life sciences, math, and computer sciences combined, as well as of Black undergraduates who go on to earn the combined M.D./Ph.D.

“And we are not done,” said Sheares Ashby from the platform. “UMBC possesses a willingness to continue to question the status quo, to consider the world’s ever-changing challenges and circumstances—and to innovate to serve our students.”

A new champion for the university

In that spirit, this spring, the Retriever community came together in a series of conversations called UMBC BOLD—sessions that laid the groundwork for the university’s next phase of strategic planning. These were deeply engaging discussions—with more than 1,000 attendees—about the community’s bold aspirations for the undergraduate and graduate student experience, the research enterprise, economic development, community engagement, and more. 

Sheares Ashby attended each of the 22 listening sessions. “I heard so many things that were exciting to me, and I heard a lot of room for opportunity. There are a lot of opportunities,” she said. She came away brimming with ideas to carry forward with her in following years of her leadership.

“My bold aspiration for UMBC? I want us to be nationally and internationally known as a model of inclusive excellence in higher education.” She stops for a beat and leans back in her seat on the 7th floor of the AOK Library (named after the university’s first leader, Albin Owings Kuhn), framed by the moving mural of campus behind her. 

“Anyone could say this, but nobody else is doing it—and I say this without hesitation as a scientist who knows that the word ‘nobody’ is like ‘a hundred percent.’ There’s no other institution that has figured out how to do inclusive excellence in research.”

Sheares Ashby is working to continue the UMBC legacy and story, and she has the support of the campus community and beyond. Those library windows that look out across campus include Arbutus and Catonsville, too. Perfectly outlined on a clear day is the Baltimore City skyline and the Francis Scott Key Bridge, connecting other parts of Maryland together. Maryland Governor Wes Moore highlighted Sheares Ashby’s “unbridled excellence,” making her “absolutely right for this moment.” Her mentor since her undergraduate years, Henry Frierson, told the audience at the installation, “You have truly gained a new champion for the university.” Joseph DeSimone, Sheares Ashby’s Ph.D. advisor and long term mentor, called the president, “a servant leader.”

And she is ready to get to work. She wants to help realize the university’s potential as seen through the Bold conversation series and driven by the university vision. 

“I think we can simultaneously be that institution [a model of inclusive excellence] and not lose our core values—the way we care for people, the way we love our people, the way we are committed to this institution, the way we do teaching,” she says. “We can do that. And we can do it better than anybody else because I don’t think anybody else is as serious about it as we are. That’s my bold aspiration.”

Read President Sheares Ashby’s full inauguration speech and see more photos and video from inauguration week.

On a recent Friday, representatives of UMBC, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gathered in UMBC’s Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery and pledged to work together to diversify and advance environmental science.

UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby, USGS Northeast Region Director Michael Tupper, and then-director of the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Kandis Boyd, now senior advisor to regional administrator for EPA Region 3, ceremonially signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines areas where the three partners plan to collaborate. One of their main objectives is to create a seamless career pipeline for students in environmental science, engineering, and related fields.

Deepening strong ties

The agreement aims to further deepen an already strong relationship between the three organizations. It comes on the heels of other successful collaborations, including the 2001 opening of the UMBC Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, initially funded in part by the EPA, and the 2007 relocation of the USGS Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science Center to a new facility at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park.

UMBC faculty and students have worked with USGS and EPA scientists to develop new methods to analyze environmental data, clean up polluted ecosystems, and understand the economic benefits of healthy air and water.

The trio aim to build off these successes, and in particular will focus on recruiting and training diverse students to further environmental research and stewardship.

Kick-starting environmental science careers

“I’m a living, breathing example of what a partnership like this can do,” says Kandis Boyd, who was the first person of color to direct the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program. She notes that her career in the federal government was kickstarted with an internship while she was a college student.

President Sheares Ashby echoed the enthusiasm. “I am thrilled to be here, having heard the values embodied by our partners,” she says. “Our students can change the world.”

One of those students is Christopher Blume, a participant in UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) master’s program. He is studying how bats might be used to track heavy metal pollution in the Baltimore area. 

In remarks he gave during the signing ceremony, Blume thanked his mentors and fellow students for the invaluable support he has received while pursuing a career in environmental science. He also expressed how grateful he was for the chance to work and connect with the communities throughout Baltimore who are impacted by and invested in the work he does.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned from my time in this program, it’s that diversity and representation of that diversity truly matter,” he says.

Jennifer Boateng

Degree: B.A., Global Studies
Hometown: Bowie, MD
Post-grad plans: Multimedia content creation for a global humanitarian organization

Jennifer Boateng is ready to take on the world, with a supportive community cheering her on. Boateng joined UMBC with a love for the creative process and interest in designing solutions for people who were also living with sickle cell disease. Later, she was drawn to global studies to explore other approaches to having a global impact through creative work.

Boateng decided to pursue a global studies major with minors in entrepreneurship and visual arts (focusing on cinematic arts), combining methods from a broad range of fields. These approaches also introduced her to the concepts of cultural sustainability and comparative justice, preparing her to find new solutions to both old and new problems and reach a wide and diverse audience.

During a seven-year journey to graduation, Boateng developed an awareness of the importance of investing time in relationships and listening as a crucial skill in creating content that is relevant to the intended audience. She could often be found having deep conversations with faculty, peers, and staff. She strongly believes in the power of human connection and encouragement, celebrating others’ successes, lending a friendly ear during challenging times, and drawing from helpful support and guidance when needed.

Boateng shares that the kindness of this community made it possible to manage the complex challenge of balancing college life and longer-term goals while dealing with sickle cell disease, even when taking classes in the hospital. She feels that it has taken a village for her to complete her undergraduate journey and she is grateful for all the faculty and staff at UMBC and her family and friends, who she says went above and beyond to make it happen. She wants anyone who is facing adversity to know that with the right support, they can graduate, no matter how long it takes or what challenges they encounter

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Brigid Starkey, principal lecturer of political science and director of the global studies program, has been my biggest cheerleader. Right from the very beginning, she was determined to help me and shared valuable insights about my courses that shaped my path in an incredible way. She helped me not to give up, even though it took me seven years to get to the finish line.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“I have appreciated the small classes. I thought I would only have large lecture classes and wouldn’t have an opportunity to connect, not only with the professor, but with the other students in the classroom. We were encouraged to share our different perspectives on things that were happening around us, like racial issues, police brutality, and politics.”

UMBC’s Dresher Center for the Humanities recently partnered with the National Humanities Alliance to host Inclusion and Public Humanities: A Convening, one of the culminating events in the final year of the Inclusion Imperative. 

Over the past six years, the Inclusion Imperative’s work has focused on three core projects: the Visiting Faculty Fellows Program, the Diversity Teaching Network, and the Humanities Teaching Labs (HTLabs). 

The Inclusion Imperative is a six-year initiative funded with a $750,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation. Run by the Dresher Center, the Inclusion Imperative promotes diversity and inclusion in the humanities in partnership with Bowie State University, Coppin State University, and Howard University. The initiative has supported cutting-edge humanities-centered inclusive practices and community collaborations in the Mid-Atlantic, with the goal of creating a national ripple effect.

The Visiting Faculty Fellows Program has welcomed 14 full-time faculty from area universities to join UMBC for a semester or year as residential research fellows. The Diversity Teaching Network has brought together visiting fellows, UMBC faculty, and other interested scholars to work on curricular and civic-engagement projects. Through HTLabs, faculty, staff, and students have practiced innovative humanities-centered approaches to teaching and learning, from decolonizing assessments to teaching with the Smithsonian Learning Lab. 

At the convening this spring, faculty and staff from institutions across the Mid-Atlantic gathered to share their approaches to community-engaged humanities research, teaching, and learning focused on race, equity, inclusion, and social justice issues.

Building teaching and learning communities

Colleagues from University of Lynchburg, Community College of Baltimore County, Lehigh University, DewMore Baltimore, and Bard High School Early College-Baltimore presented on topics such as public humanities curriculum development, LGBTQ+ histories and resources, and poetry by local students.

UMBC faculty also shared several high-impact projects. Sarah Fouts, assistant professor of American studies and assistant director of the public humanities minor, spoke about her ongoing work with the Baltimore Field School 2.0. Earl Brooks, assistant professor of English, reported on his course Sounds Like Social Justice, redesigned through support from an Inclusion Imperative/HT Labs Course Transformation Grant. 

The funds provided recording equipment for students to work in collaboration with the Meadow Community Fellowship Church in Catonsville’s Beechfield and Irvington communities to document their experiences during and after the 2016 and 2018 floods in the “Underwater/Underserved” podcast (as shared in The Baltimore Banner). “What most people don’t know is that all that water flows downhill into the Irvington and Beechfield community, which is a little more than a mile from UMBC,” explains Brooks. The class created “Underwater/Underserved” podcast about flooding in the Irvington and Beechfield neighborhoods in Baltimore, MD.

The grant included funding for students to work on interview skills with Rona Kobell, science editor and writer with Maryland Sea Grant. Brooks explains, “I wanted my students to tell a story about the ways that the church community was underserved as a way of thinking about the role of sound in storytelling.”

Disability justice

Also at the event, faculty from La Salle University, University of Delaware, and Bowie State University shared insights into how diversity, equity, inclusion, and accommodation (DEIA) have become central to their humanities practice. To emphasize the role of accessibility and accommodation, leaders of two UMBC faculty working groups presented their ongoing work related to disability justice. 

Dresher Center Disability Studies faculty working group leaders Drew Holladay, assistant professor of English, and Sharon Tran, assistant professor of English, discussed the disability justice movement and the pitfalls of ableist institutional policies that limit student and faculty engagement and success.

Disability justice does not equal accessibility, especially in the way that it is institutionally defined, and it does not equal DEIA, Holladay suggested. The way he prefers to approach disability justice is to center his research and classroom practice as examples of disability justice, not as a topic that is part of the curriculum.

Tran explained strategies to implement disability justice in the classroom. “We need to think of how we can [adjust] the normative clock in the classroom to better accommodate disabled students rather than forcing those students to meet those temporal pressures,” she said. 

Members of the Anti-Racism and Our Actions faculty and staff working group, Michael Hunt, director of UMBC’s McNair Scholars Program, and Amy Tondreau, assistant professor of education, talked about their work to demystify, destigmatize, and magnify anti-racist practices in the academy and in K-12 education. 

Leading a national conversation

Although the Inclusion Imperative’s formal programming will come to a close this summer, the work itself will continue in several ways. Many of the program’s participants will gather again in June for the 11th International Digital Storytelling Conference, hosted by UMBC in partnership with Montgomery College and the Smithsonian Institution.

“I firmly believe that the humanities offer us crucial tools for addressing pressing issues of civic life,” says Berman who presented this work in partnership with the NHA at the 2023 NHA annual meeting. “Now more than ever, we need the tools of the humanities to advance local and national conversations about our history, our identities, and our common future.”

Avni Patel

Degrees: B.S., Biological Sciences; B.A., Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies
Hometown: Ellicott City, MD
Post-grad plans: Medical school

Avni Patel has completed a demanding double major in biological sciences and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies while also emerging as a leader among her peers, with a focus on building community. She has served as secretary of the Hindu Students Council (HSC), as a member of the UMBC Red Cross, and as vice president of the UMBC Global Brigades, the campus chapter of the world’s largest student-led global health and sustainable development organization.

Her executive leadership with HSC has been particularly meaningful. Wanting to create a sense of community with other Hindu students and students from different backgrounds on campus, Patel worked with student colleagues to revive the dormant organization. She cites her experiences with HSC as giving her key leadership and problem-solving skills. After numerous fundraisers, meetings, and networking, the HSC held a spring 2023 Holi celebration (the Festival of Colors), attracting more than 700 attendees from across the campus community.

In addition to undergraduate research in the biological sciences lab of Jeff Leips, Patel served as a learning assistant for introductory chemistry classes and as an exam proctor for courses in biological sciences and chemistry.

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Dr. Jeff Leips and Dr. Kathryn Kein have been major influences and supporters. In my first year, Dr. Leips took the time out to explain certain concepts to me and ensure that he answered any questions I had. The year after, he served as a mentor and I joined his genetics research lab, where he offered me guidance on my research. Dr. Kein has been my professor for multiple gender, women’s and sexuality studies courses and my advisor in the program as well. Today, she is not just my professor, she is my mentor. She has always advocated for me and provided support for my capstone research project and future endeavors.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“The best part of my UMBC experience was finding a diverse community of peers and mentors where I was appreciated and encouraged to reach my full potential. Being able to be involved in different organizations and experiences at UMBC allowed me to immerse myself in an environment that was academically and socially nourishing. One of the things I appreciate the most about UMBC is its commitment to diversity. As someone who did not grow up with people that looked like me, UMBC was a breath of fresh air. I was able to form relationships and connect with so many different people.”

Written by Loren Henderson, associate professor of public policy, UMBC and Ruby Mendenhall, associate professor in sociology, African American studies, urban and regional planning, and social work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Black mothers are the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the mental and physical harms of stress from living with gun violence in America.

In the U.S., Black people are likelier than white people to reside in impoverished, racially segregated communities with high levels of gun violence. Research has suggested that living in violent and unsafe environments can result in continuous traumatic stress, a constant form of PTSD. Researchers have also linked experiences of violence and poverty to an increased risk of chronic disease such as cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases.

We are Black women and public policy and sociology professors who study health inequities and sustainable policy solutions. Our research has found that Black mothers who feel trapped in neighborhoods they perceived as unsafe because of high levels of community violence are more likely to report elevated PTSD and depression symptoms, as well as elevated stress hormone levels.

The trauma of gun violence and systemic racism isn’t simply a Black mother’s story – it’s an American story.

Health effects of feeling trapped

Our research team sought to understand how stress from structural violence affects the body, specifically the immune system. We talked to 68 low-income single Black mothers living on the South Side of Chicago about how they deal with gun violence in their communities and how it affects their health.

We asked these Black mothers to complete surveys that measured depression and PTSD symptoms. We also asked them to provide blood samples to examine the effects of stress at the cellular level, measuring the activity of genes that code for the receptors for the stress hormone cortisol. Looking at cortisol receptors offers a more cumulative measure of cortisol levels over time.

We found that about 65% of the mothers wanted to move out of their neighborhoods but could not afford to do so. These mothers felt trapped in areas with high levels of gun violence that fostered a sense of not feeling safe for adults and children. One mother in our study, whom we will call Ellan, described her neighborhood as dangerous and wanted to leave as soon as she could. “I’m very terrified of my kids going out to the park, playing in front of the house,” she said. “And I’m afraid that a car might come past shootin’ and one of my kids get hurt.”

Another mother in our study, whom we will call Skylar, felt she couldn’t escape to a safer community. “I don’t really want to raise my kids there, but I don’t have a choice. You know, cause it’s what I can afford. But it’s real violent.”

Mothers who felt trapped reported more symptoms of PTSD, like disturbing memories and dreams and reliving stressful experiences, than mothers who did not feel trapped. They also reported more depressive symptoms, such as feeling down and hopeless, taking little pleasure in doing things and having trouble sleeping.

Mothers unable to afford the move to safer neighborhoods had lower levels of glucocorticoid receptors. Having fewer glucocorticoid receptors helped protect their bodies from being overwhelmed by high cortisol levels caused by stress. Nevertheless, high cortisol levels from chronic stress are linked to a number of negative mental and physical health outcomes.

Environment determines health

Where someone lives, learns, works, plays and worships can determine their health and has the power to make them sick and cause premature death.

Researchers have estimated that around 83,570 Black people die prematurely each year in the U.S. because of health disparities, using 2002 data. Some scholars have previously described this as equivalent to a plane full of Black passengers falling out the sky every day every year.

It is important to note that it is not the racial makeup of where a person lives that shapes the significant disparities they face, but exposure to violence, poverty and lack of resources as a result of structural racism. Redlining, environmental contamination, food deserts and gun violence are a part of the racial capitalism, or exploitation of marginalized communities, that affect the health of Black women. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9WIv2oO2Vxs?wmode=transparent&start=0 Black people face systemic economic and health disparities in the U.S.

What we are learning about the constant threats to the safety of Black mothers and their families also applies to the general American public.

The rate of mass shootings is increasing. Firearm fatalities are a leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 19 in the U.S. Gun violence has harmed people while they are watching a parade, shopping at a store, worshipping, attending school and other ordinary events.

Increasing access to wellness

Understanding the complexity of the exposome – the word researchers use for environmental factors like gun violence that affect an individual’s health and well-being – can help extend the years of healthy life of groups who typically experience premature death. Building this knowledge requires input from people of color and others who have traditionally been pushed to the margins of society.

We are currently creating a “wellness store” that places wellness tools and health knowledge at the fingertips of individuals, especially for those experiencing interlocking traumas such as racism, sexism, classism, incarceration, racial segregation and rural geographic isolation. These tools, co-created with community health workers and citizen scientists, range from phone apps to public policy designed to get stress “out from under the skin.” Our goal is to work with clinics, hospitals and community organizations to provide accessible tools to prevent illness.

Black communities are filled with resilient and vulnerable individuals who deserve urgent policy solutions that lead to societal change. We believe that more investment in disease prevention and health equity can help the U.S. use the knowledge, technology and finances that it already has to help people access its most precious resource: a healthy life and the ability to pursue wellness.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.