This is an annual event. We have been hosting the Fall Harvest Dinner since 2003. This event is free for all graduate students and postdocs who attend an institution within the University System of Maryland (USM), and who support the mission of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The mission of PROMISE is to increase the numbers and diversity of STEM faculty by supporting and training underrepresented minority graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM disciplines.

We will sponsor a bus for this activity. The bus will leave from UMBC, and can make a stop at BWI airport if that is convenient. To take the bus, send email to PROMISEstaff@gmail.com with the subject “Bus to Fall Harvest 2014.” Indicate BWI or UMBC for pick-up and droffoff. Provide your name, email, and a cell number.  Details for the pick-up and drop-off times will be posted in the comments section.

Additional information for this event will be posted in the comment section below. If you have questions, please post them below.

This is an annual event. We have been hosting the Fall Harvest Dinner since 2003. This event is free for all graduate students and postdocs who attend an institution within the University System of Maryland (USM), and who support the mission of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The mission of PROMISE is to increase the numbers and diversity of STEM faculty by supporting and training underrepresented minority graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM disciplines.

We will sponsor a bus for this activity. The bus will leave from UMBC, and can make a stop at BWI airport if that is convenient. To take the bus, send email to PROMISEstaff@gmail.com with the subject “Bus to Fall Harvest 2014.” Indicate BWI or UMBC for pick-up and droffoff. Provide your name, email, and a cell number.  Details for the pick-up and drop-off times will be posted in the comments section.

Additional information for this event will be posted in the comment section below. If you have questions, please post them below.

• Wow.. I'm speechless. STRiVE 2014 has been one of the best experiences in my whole life. In the period of 5 days I've met 50 of some of the most amazing and diverse people. And now we are all friends. Lifetime experience to remember forever. Thank you so much everyone for such an amazing experience!

• Okay- #STRiVE2014 was AWESOME! I had a great time!

• STRiVE 2014 was one of the best experiences I've ever had! I highly suggest it for every UMBCstudent and I am so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful program.

• I have never felt more eager, inspired, and empowered in my life, and I owe it all to the people I have spent my life with for the past five days.

• Met some amazing people, learned so much about leadership and myself, and made wonderful friends. Feeling tired, loved, and inspired from #STRiVE2014

• STRiVE 2k14. I had no idea what I was getting into when I got there on Monday. Since then, I've made some amazing friends with people I never would have before.

• STRive 2014 was too amazing for words. Every person I meet there was awesome and I look forward to seeing you all when you get back on campus.

• I can't believe that over the course of 5 short days, I would come to know so many great and amazing people from UMBC. 

• I'm speechless after coming back from STRiVE. I wanna thank all of the previous STRiVE grads for telling me about this opportunity. It is easily the best thing that I have participated in during my time at UMBC. In only 5 days, we became good friends and really learned what it means to be a leader by learning more about our values and strengths.

• STRiVE for me was an unforgettable experience. I've learned a lot about myself, and met new amazing and wonderful people. I hope we all move forward with our new found goals and visions, and make something wonderful from them.

• I REALLY enjoyed #‎STRiVE2014! I have made numerous friendships and connections, but I also believe I have learned a great deal about myself. I want to thank all of my new friends that helped me along the way.

• This week made me realize that I really do love UMBC #strive2014

• STRiVE is a PERSPECTIVE DIVERSIFYING EXPERIENCE. I have so much energy and I can't wait till school resumes!! ( I never ever say that) but this is different because I made awesome friends and learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. Now I feel limitless and I'm sure we all feel the same way #STRiVE2014

• TV weather forecasters referring to "normal" temperatures (as in, "Today's high of 74 was ten degrees above normal") when they mean "average." There are two problems here. First, the average high temperature for a given date encompasses many past instances of higher-than-average temperatures for that day, as well as many instances of lower-than-average temperatures for that day. There is nothing abnormal about a day on which the temperature does not exactly equal the long-term average. Second, average temperatures are increasing over time due to climate change--so more and more, the average temperature is not "normal" at all. A hundred years from now, when the polar ice caps have melted and coastal cities are under water, will the weather forecasters be saying "Well, today's 120 degree high temperature seemed hot, but that's perfectly OK, because 120 degrees is normal for this date"?

• "Nelson Cruz led the American League in six offensive categories." "218 high temperature records were broken today." Those sentences seem to be telling you something very specific. But do you see the problem? I think of it as the "statistical numerators for which there are no agreed-upon denominators" problem, though there is probably a  better name for it. Here's the issue: Exactly how many offensive categories are there in baseball? (There is no answer, because there are infinite ways to keep track of information about players' performance). Exactly how many places are keeping track of temperature records, and do those places overlap? If you don't have answers to those questions, the initial pieces of information are essentially meaningless.

• The use of the phrase "statistical dead heat" or "statistical tie" to describe a polling result where the difference in support for two candidates is within the poll's margin of error: "Candidate A leads Candidate B by 52%-48% in the latest poll, but the margin of error is +/- 4%, so it's a statistical dead heat." Wrong! This is not a tie. A more appropriate interpretation of this poll result is: "While we don't know for sure that Candidate A leads Candidate B by 52%-48% among the population sampled, that's the most likely scenario. And while there's a small chance that support for the two candidates among the population sampled is 50%-50%, there's an equal (small) chance that Candidate A's lead is twice as large as the poll indicates."