"Peace is costly, but it is worth the expense.” — African proverb

“I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.” ― Helen Keller

First and foremost, this is not about conflict between parties, people, or places. I would not presume to wax poetic about what it all means or what you should feel or think about any or all of it. Loss of life is always tragic to someone.  If you are looking for it, there are plenty of resources where you can find whatever you want to know. This is about a different kind of peace, yours.

“You have peace when you make it with yourself.” ― Mitch Albom

“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.” ― Marvin Gaye

I’ve written about my dope friend groups before, and recently we kicked around the idea of peace, not just as a notion but as a practice, as a way of living and being.  Back in the “old days” when we were in college, peace was the farthest thing from our minds.  Especially at a time like now when you are working to close out the semester with finals and projects.  As you make the transition to winter break and the holidays, I’d like to give you something to consider if that is okay.  In our noodling, we came up with a formula for peace that could be of benefit, and it’s even alliterative.  Shout out to my amazing sister for one of the elements. So here we go.

Peace = Positivity + Patience + Perspective + Presence + Purpose

Pause and let that marinate for a minute. 

Each of the P’s is important in its own way, but more importantly, all the P’s are completely within YOUR control.  Each of the P’s could be the subject of its own Missive, and they may become just that. For now, let’s stick to the formula. 

“Peace is a day-to-day problem, the product of a multitude of events and judgments. Peace is not an ‘is,’ it is a ‘becoming.’” — Emperor Haile Selassie I

Positivity doesn’t mean blind optimism.  I am not telling you to plaster a fake smile on your face no matter how you actually feel.  What I am encouraging you to do is to tell yourself this truth. Where you are, maybe could be better, definitely could be worse, but is where you are right this second. So, see the best in it so that you can make the best of it. 

“It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” - Germany Kent

Being positive allows you to be patient with others, with circumstances, and most importantly, with yourself.  Patience can be challenging when everything you do, see, and hear happens so fast.  I’ll admit, I haven’t always been good at it.  I get why you may not be either.  Here’s the thing I had to learn, the water in the pot will eventually boil.  That is just science, joules to be specific.  What feels like infinity while you’re watching, whether it be from anticipation or anxiety, is a function of factors inside of you not the stove, the pot, or the water.   We’ve talked about giving grace before to yourself and others.  Patience is at the core of that.  No, it may not be happening as fast, or going as well as you want it to. They, whoever they are, may be doing too much, or not doing enough.  Through it all, be patient.  It is what it is and will be what you make it.

"Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience." — Leo Tolstoy

“Patiently we learn to dance with fear, to fly with tears, to laugh with the wind, and sing with the stars." - Gloria Anzaldúa

Exercising patience changes how you see things.  My former therapist put me on to a tool that may help.  She called it standing in the pause.  There is a stimulus and a response, again, science.  When you can pause between the two and ask yourself what they really said or did, you can change the nature of the response, that’s perception.  When you can stand in that pause and critically examine why they said what they said or did what they did, you can change the nature of the stimulus, that’s perspective.  This may be hard to believe but no matter how personal it may feel, most people do or say things, even to you, because of themselves not you.  Learning to discern that can change the way you see the life that you live and the people in it.

“Empathy begins with understanding life from another person's perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It's all through our own individual prisms.” - Sterling K. Brown

Practicing perspective internally is as important as standing in the pause.  You don’t have to become an expert in metacognition.  You do have to be present so that you can critically self-reflect and confidently self-project.  In that dance between past and future, the tug of war between the you who has been and you yet to come, there is the you that you are, right now.  And that person is awesome, in your own unique way.  Your awesomeness may be obvious to everyone or hard to see yourself, but it is there, I promise.  Spend some time with yourself to explore or find the awesomeness inside of you.  While you’re at it, enjoy your now.  This time will never come again (for good or for ill) experience it, all of it.  Do so mindfully with a sense of wonder.  Take in the sensations that living offers.  Take some chances on some experiences. We don’t get another try at this thing called life, unless you believe in reincarnation that is.  But even then, it won’t be you, here, now.

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday, and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.” Dalai Lama

“If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is to be present in the present. Gratefully.” Maya Angelou

In her book Grit, Dr. Angela Duckworth tells the story of three bricklayers.  When asked “’What are you doing?’ The first says, ‘I am laying bricks.’ The second says, ‘I am building a church.’ And the third says, ‘I am building the house of God.’ The first bricklayer has a job.  The second has a career.  The third has a calling.”

Do you? Have a calling I mean.  Do you have a purpose that all this blood sweat and tears, all this work, all this sacrifice is building towards?  Seem too grandiose to even begin to consider?  It is not.   Do not conflate your goals with your purpose.  Both are important but they are not the same. Purpose is… more.  I would say it is the difference between doing well and doing good, but that still doesn’t quite capture it.  Purpose is your why.  What is it that you want to say, do, create, tear down, fix, change to make people’s lives better?  It can be your own, your family’s, your communities, all the way up to the world’s.  You don’t have to know now, but you do need to start thinking about it.  Living your purpose keeps you going when you’re tired, or your experiment isn’t working, or your code won’t compile, or your samples keep getting corrupted. Living your purpose, on purpose lets you actively recalibrate to make sure that the potholes on the road we all travel don’t throw you off course.  Your purpose can and will change. Keep focused on it and peace will have a funny way of finding you.

"When you learn to control your thoughts, you learn to control your reality." - Iyanla Vanzant

“When things change inside you, things change around you.” —Unknown

“You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.” — Swami Kriyananda (née J. Donald Walters)

Now go be GREAT!

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” — John Wooden

Any views or opinions expressed in this missive are solely the author’s and do not represent that of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County or any programs, departments, or partners affiliated with UMBC. While I make every effort to ensure that the information I am sharing is accurate, I welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.

Sam is a sophomore Biochemistry major and a transfer student from Howard Community College. He is currently working on two research projects.

Title of your research projects:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Model for KRAS G12C Cancers (HCC research)

 Nicotine-Induced Associative Learning in Caenorhabditis elegans (Build a Bridge to STEM (BBS) internship research)

Describe your work:

Our project at Howard Community College uses a species of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae to model a type of cancer in humans that occurs from mutations in one of our genes involved with growth, KRAS. Our model could visualize a live cell to see pathways and tumor growth in real-time, which relates our model to live human cells.

Our project at UMBC in the BBS internship uses a roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans to model human nicotine addiction. We saw if the worm could make an association between their food and the presence of nicotine to see what effect food/hunger has on nicotine addiction.

Who are your mentors for your projects?

At Howard Community College (HCC), my mentor is Professor Joseph Sparenberg. I met Professor Sparenberg through the research program at HCC. Our initial talk was riveting, and I found a lot of qualities Professor Sparenberg had as a researcher relatable. His dedication to his research and students despite his very limited time is a quality that I will always respect about him.

At UMBC, my mentor is Dr. Maria Cambraia from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences department. I met Dr. Cambraia through the Build a Bridge to STEM (BBS) internship program over the summer. Dr. Cambraia is a selfless and wonderful mentor. Her selfless behavior helped me to establish myself at UMBC and attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minortized Scientists (ABRCMS).

How did you become interested in these projects?

I had and still have an extremely positive outlook on the success of the project. Professor Sparenberg’s thoughts on the application of our model were very interesting to me, and I knew that his project would be something I would love to dive into. His ideas on how we literally use a live cell to visualize cancer are crazy to me because I knew that traditional research starts within cells that are dead or in a frozen state. Over time, the project has evolved to be a collaborative effort from Professor Sparenberg, myself, and my lab members to determine the future of the project.

At the BBS internship, we were given freedom over our entire project and were allowed to come up with our own research topic, but we had to center it around the C. elegans roundworm. My group, including a current UMBC student, Supriya Jones, were interested in psychology and how people/organisms learn. Our topic on associations between food and nicotine hadn’t been investigated extensively, so we thought it would be quite a novel idea to simulate the learning process in C. elegans.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? 

The hardest part about being a researcher is time commitment. You can only commit so much time to certain tasks and your brain can only take so many rigorous tasks before you either burn out or become tapped out from working for the day. There are definitely ways to circumvent this problem (mainly by finding a balance), but it is quite intimidating at first.

What has been the most rewarding part?

The most rewarding part of my research is the ability to talk about research. From conferences to regular scientific conversations, I have a platform to talk about my research and hear about other's research. I love feeling involved in a community where I can get to know a diverse collective of research projects to learn a variety of different information.

How will you disseminate your research?

My plan is to present my summer research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), present my HCC research at URCAD, the Maryland Collegiate STEM Conference, and possibly at the Frontiers at the Chemistry-Biology Interface Symposium conference (FCBIS), and publish my HCC research in the Journal of Research in Progress (JRIP) at HCC or possibly, the UMBC review. Other options for publication or presentation still remain up for discussion.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?  

My advice to students trying to get involved in research (especially transfers) is to not feel afraid to reach out, gain information, and be willing to put yourself out there. However, do not overextend yourself and take on a lot of responsibilities in the pursuit of getting yourself established because it is quite possible that you will burn yourself out or lose sense of your priorities.

What are your career goals?

My current career goals are to work toward a Ph.D. in a molecular biology-related field like microbiology, virology, or cancer biology. After obtaining my Ph.D., I plan on doing my post-doc in either public health or academia and working toward becoming a principal investigator in public health or a professor in academia. My end goal is to become involved in administrative work (i.e. a director, a dean, etc.), or possibly pursue scientific entrepreneurship.

UMBC continues to show its strengths in undergraduate research, innovation, value, teaching programs, and several other areas highlighted in the 2023–24 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges undergraduate rankings. This year, the university moved up in the national rankings in numerous categories, showcasing UMBC’s growth in several key areas. 

The 2023–24 U.S. News college rankings, released today, were calculated using 19 key measures of academic quality, evaluating nearly 1,500 four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions in the country. For the second consecutive year, UMBC has moved up several slots on the list of Best National Universities (tied at #133). UMBC also climbed 38 slots in the category of best value schools, coming in at #69 nationally. 

The university remains a leader in undergraduate teaching programs, ranking #12 nationally. UMBC also maintains its longstanding position as one of the nation’s most innovative universities, ranking #15 this year. 

Since receiving a Research 1 Carnegie designation in 2022, UMBC has advanced nearly 20 slots in the undergraduate research and creative projects rankings, now nationally ranked at #27. Those research efforts culminated in UMBC students receiving prestigious Goldwater and Gates Cambridge scholarship awards within the last year. 

“This impressive jump shows that internal and external stakeholders have really taken notice of the incredible work that our undergraduates are engaged in,” says April Householder ’95, visual and performing arts, UMBC’s director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships. “The faculty and staff at UMBC nurture a culture of research across all disciplines, supporting academic excellence from the humanities to the sciences.”

See the full UMBC News story here: https://umbc.edu/stories/us-news-best-colleges-2023-24/

Submission Deadline Extended to this Friday, 9/22!

The UMBC Review is a peer-reviewed publication, completely directed by UMBC undergraduate students. All of the articles published in the UMBC Review go through a rigorous peer review process. The Review is indebted to the anonymous off-campus faculty reviewers who volunteer their time to assure the high quality of our publication. We are proud to produce the publication in print format.

Submissions for the 25th edition are being accepted through 9/22. We invite researchers of all disciplines to submit their work to our journal. The Review offers a rewarding opportunity to get your undergraduate research published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, improve your writing, and add to your resume!

Publish your research from a summer REU, capstone, honors thesis, or other independent work. All majors welcome! Boost your resume or grad school application by becoming a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

Free copies of the current issue are available for pick up at the Office of Undergraduate Research (AOK Library, 216 D).

https://ur.umbc.edu/umbc-review/

Contact the editors at umbcreview@umbc.edu

Meet Garrett Hill, a FOUR-TIME URA Scholar! 

Garrett attended Mount Hebron High School in Howard County, where he had the opportunity to participate in the Biotechnology Career Academy at the Applications and Research Laboratory (ARL)   program and conduct research at UMBC during his senior year at Hebron. He is a senior Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major, a Meyerhoff Scholar, and conducts research in the Marten lab.

Research Title: Characterization of the PrkA Protein Kinase in Aspergillus nidulans

Describe your project:

 My project aims to investigate the way that mold repairs its cell wall after damage and how the cell organizes structures related to this repair. New understandings gained through this research can contribute to how we use fungi to make drugs and enzymes and may even help others to design new antifungal medications.

Who is your mentor for your project? 

         I work with Dr. Mark R. Marten in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering. As a high school senior, I was a part of a program that allowed me to participate in research at neighboring institutions, and I came across Dr. Marten and his lab when searching for research I may be interested in. After meeting and talking about the work done in the lab, something that stood out to me was how Dr. Marten stressed the importance of project ownership. Being the “expert” in the lab on a project gives students a unique level of both responsibility and drive, and this is what drew me to joining his lab.

How did you become interested in this project?

         Before starting work on this project, I had assisted some graduate students with their projects, and that’s when I learned that I had an interest in both the molecular genetics and the fluorescence microscopy that we do in our lab. This project seemed to combine both interests, so I decided to choose it when looking for a project of my own.

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? 

         Something that really took getting used to was the number of setbacks I faced in my project. I quickly learned that in research, it takes many tries to get something right, and failure became much more familiar to me throughout my journey as an undergraduate researcher.

What has been the most rewarding part?

         I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage in research at almost every stage a projects life. I started with comprehensive literature reviews, where I then formulated my own hypotheses, and under the guidance of my mentor, I designed experiments to test these hypotheses. I also got experience communicating my science in conferences and presentations, allowing me to get a great view of what research really feels like.

How will you disseminate your research?

         I plan to present my research next spring at URCAD and look forward to the prospect of attending conferences to potentially present my work.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research?

           I think getting involved in research can seem a little daunting at first, so I would recommend that people just take the leap! There is a lot of exciting research being done at UMBC, so I would say to just see what’s out there and if something seems interesting, reach out to the lab to see if you can get involved. Now is the time to experiment and see what you want to do in your career, and there are many mentors here that could help you on that journey.

What are your career goals?

         After graduating UMBC, I plan to pursue a PhD in microbiology. The prospect of staying in academia and becoming a mentor for others is exciting to me, but I also look forward to exploring what other career paths I might be able to follow after graduate school.

Read more about UMBC's URA Scholars:

ur.umbc.edu

URA Workshop featuring

Corey Carter

Director

UMBC Sherman Teachers Scholars Program

AND

Music producer who elevates

listeners’ consciousness about

educational, social, and cultural issues

Research and Rhymes

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023

12-12:50pm

ILSB 118

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop! Guest speaker Corey Carter (Director of the UMBC Sherman Teacher Scholars Program) will join us to talk about his process in making music and being a black man in education, as well as drawing connections to auto-ethnography and counter-storytelling research structures within the creative space. Let’s talk about what it means that black men constitute only 2% of K-12 educators and getting creative with your research! How well are we doing on our "Progress Report"??

(This lecture satisfies one of the required URA workshops.)

MRCRTR’s album, Progress Report can be found on all major streaming platforms— Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon.

The UMBC Review is a peer-reviewed publication, completely directed by UMBC undergraduate students. All of the articles published in the UMBC Review go through a rigorous peer review process. The Review is indebted to the anonymous off-campus faculty reviewers who volunteer their time to assure the high quality of our publication. We are proud to produce the publication in print format.

Submissions for the 25th edition are being accepted through 9/15. We invite researchers of all disciplines to submit their work to our journal then. The Review offers a rewarding opportunity to get your undergraduate research published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Publish your research from a summer REU, capstone, honors thesis, or other independent work. All majors welcome! Boost your resume or grad school application by becoming a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

Free copies of the current issue are available for pick up at the Office of Undergraduate Research (AOK Library, 216 D).

https://ur.umbc.edu/umbc-review/

Contact the editors at umbcreview@umbc.edu