Give a round of applause to our Summer 2021 Online Leadership Challenge winner: SHAWN RILL!!! Shawn is a senior majoring in Social Work and minoring in Philosophy.

He has this to say about the challenge: 

“I learned that I want to make connecting with others more of a priority in my life, i.e., networking, being involved in groups, volunteering, and overall social activities. I realized that while my values support various college-related activities, I would like to change my top values to better align with my goals; a process that I am undertaking now. I also considered how much time I actually self-reflect and use for mindfulness and would like to spend more time being present, aware, and reflective. All three things would play out in my daily life, both on and off campus, to help others.”

Congratulations again, Shawn! We look forward to seeing you and all that you’ll do during your remaining time here at UMBC!

Make sure to follow our myUMBC page and Instagram page @umbccampuslife to stay tuned for more leadership development opportunities to come. For more information contact Coordinator for Leadership, Beatriz Gutierrez-Malagon at bgutierrez@umbc.edu

1. Get to know YOU: Be known as someone who seeks out, and is open to, feedback. Exist in a continuous state of reflection.

2. Seek out challenge and support: Associate with people who challenge and support you. Seek out environments that will help you grow and that help you become your best self.

3. Nurture your relationships: Once you create a connection, you must continue to nurture the relationship so that it strengthens. The best way to do this is by listening and being present.

4. Communication is key: Consider the ways you communicate within a group or team. Do you voice your ideas? Do you build on or add to others? Do you take time to listen? Are you comfortable with silence?

5. Know that we all have a part in the leadership process: Active group members are committed to the organization and its purpose. Not only do they do what is expected of them, but are proactive and willing to fill gaps.

6. You have the capacity to be an agent of change: It requires embracing creative problem solving, risk taking and courage. Facilitating change requires all that you do, think, feel and believe.

This is a repost on behalf of the Office of Student Disability Services. 

Thanks to Stephanie Lazarus, UMBC's Accessibility Manager & ADA Coordinator, for this important message about the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/accessibility/posts/111379

The anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities reminds us, as a campus, to  celebrate all persons with visible and invisible disabilities, and remain committed to their equitable inclusion.

 Since its enactment on July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and its state-based equivalent statutory protections have provided protections for disability access and inclusion, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, in public accommodation, in public services, in transportation, and in telecommunications. Former President George H. W. Bush called the Act “a new birth of freedom” for Americans who identify as having a disability. This landmark civil rights law has changed society from benevolence towards disability to acceptance. While our campus, both by accessible design and accommodation, endeavors to provide equal access and inclusion for faculty, staff, students and visitors with disabilities, copious work remains, especially within external communities.

 Maryland protects people with disabilities both in Title 20, State Government Article, and in Sections 7-701 to 7-710, Human Services Title. While these laws provide protections, they must be enforced and awareness must continue to be raised to promote equitable access and acceptance of persons with disabilities - on campus, on the job, and in the classroom.

 Recently litigation in Baltimore City brought an assertion about a lack of curb ramps - raising awareness about federal accessibility requirements and  the ongoing need for diligence.  On campus, curb cuts are and accessible grading are described on UMBC's Accessible Route Map.  All construction and renovation on campus is designed to meet current accessibility requirements.  That being said, repair conditions and maintenance needs arise and should be reported to Facilities Maintenance via Work Control (410-455-2550, workorder@umbc.edu) or via a department's AIM request.  Accessibility concerns may be reported at any time via this linked online form. The replacement of elevators in the Sondheim and Fine Arts buildings in 2021 will be a boost to campus navigation, especially for people with disabilities.  UMBC's Web Accessibility page (link), including information for reporting difficulty about digital content accessibility is also shared via the footer of UMBC's websites.

 Additionally, all students with disabilities  - graduate, undergraduate, part-time, full-time -  may seek academic accommodation via Student Disability Services.  Similarly, employees  - faculty, staff, graduate assistants, student workers, work-study - may seek work-related accommodations via Accessibility and Disability Services.

Accessibility and Disability Services looks forward to working in partnership with UMBC's diverse and inclusive community to support equitable access to education,  and employment as we reflect on the growth of campus accessibility over the past 31 years. 

P.S. UMBC's support of accessibility pre-dates the ADA-read more about the designer Guy Chisholm who was honored for his 1965 accessible design elements at UMBC by Governor Mandel in 1982 via this link.

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the fall semester and beyond. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.) The application will be open until August 6th.

Tuesdays 2pm-8pmWe're specifically looking for students available to work during the following hours:

• Wednesdays 8am-2:30pm
• Thursdays 8am-12pm
• Fridays 8am-12pm
• Saturdays 12pm-6pm

TSC Student Consultant Job Description

Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide technical assistance to users by phone, online and in person;
• Answer TSC phones in a professional and courteous manner;
• Create, update and resolve tickets in the Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system;
• Create, update, suggest and recommend relevant FAQ articles to users (www.umbc.edu/faq);
• Provide direct assistance to users on technical issues they cannot easily resolve on their own;
• Respond to all work-related communications in a timely manner;
• Escalate urgent problems to the Full-Time staff, as appropriate.

Required Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate by phone or in person.
• Demonstrated writing ability.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve successful outcomes in handling difficult situations and customers.
• Demonstrated analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability & willingness to learn coupled with a clear understanding of one’s technical abilities, so as to triage and escalate an issue that leads to an effective solution for the user. View on myUMBC »

View on myUMBC »

Last December, the GSA and our graduate student community lost our kind, passionate and hardworking President, Alex Rittle. His family and friends will be hosting an in-person Celebration of Life Event. 

Alex's family has confirmed that this event is open to anyone who would like to attend.

 As it stands, this event will be an informal memorial as well as a time to learn about and reflect on Alex's time with us

Please RSVP so the family can get an appropriate headcount.

https://www.evite.com/event/022EXELBNHGTEUIAEEPL6JRICL7UPI/rsvp

View on myUMBC »