Damian Doyle ‘99, B.S. Computer Science, ‘16 M.S Information Systems, says building trust and relationships are essential to his work every day at UMBC.

Doyle, assistant vice president of enterprise infrastructure in the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), has been recognized with Educause’s prestigious Rising Star award, “For demonstrating exemplary leadership in the implementation and deployment of information technology in support of the educational mission; for strong mentorship and promotion of diversity for those aspiring to the IT profession; for modeling collaborative partnerships within his institution and in the greater higher education community.” He received the award at the annual Educause Conference in October.

Like a number of DoIT staff, Doyle began his career as a student worker, and was hired full time after graduation (51 of DoIT’s 75 FT staff are UMBC alumni). Over time, he began taking on leadership roles in network service and security, technology to support classroom learning, and cloud services. Doyle’s collaborative, positive, and thoughtful approach extends beyond DoIT to his work across campus and beyond.

Doyle is a member of UMBC’s Center for Women in Information Technology (CWIT) internal board, and works closely with CWIT Scholars. He has developed an internship program for the scholars to receive hands-on experience in DoIT’s cybersecurity, UNIX infrastructure, and advanced networking teams. Doyle is also committed to working in shared governance and is currently president of the university’s Professional Staff Senate (PSS) and active with its University Steering Committee (USC). He is chair of the planning committee for Maryland’s First Lego League (FLL) and is one of the state head referees. He also coaches his son’s school FLL team.

“Damian has been a partner with the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) as an advocate for women and underrepresented students, educator, supervisor to CWIT students, and ally within the University of Maryland, Baltimore County,” says Erica D’Eramo, assistant director of CWIT. “He has promoted the opportunities for employment and technical experience in DoIT, and he participates in professional development exercises with new CWIT students and multiple networking opportunities throughout the year for all class years. We greatly appreciate his support of CWIT’s mission and thoughtful collaborations for the past several years.”

DoIT Vice President and CIO Jack Suess, B.S. ‘81 mathematics, and M.S. ‘94, information systems operations analysis, says, “I am thrilled that the EDUCAUSE Awards Committee agreed that Damian’s body of work was exceptional and that he was awarded the Rising Star Award. Damian’s technical and managerial leadership has not only advanced IT at UMBC; he’s taken that leadership and talent to work across campus and in the community, and he is seen as a national leader in the field, especially in the use of cloud technology.”

“I love building bridges,” Doyle explains. “I’m able to work with people on campus and learn what they are doing, then find and match technology to that, in order to help make their work better.

“IT staff see themselves as partners with the university community and so we’re committed to intentional customer service. It’s important to take time with people, to hear their viewpoints and understand their needs. If we’re going to change how we do something, it has to be because it’s of benefit, not just because it’s cool technology.

We’re at a point where you can’t teach and learn without technology, so we have to implement it in a way that serves the community.”

Doyle has also helped DoIT create a culture that is inclusive and welcoming too. Beyond his work with CWIT, Doyle says it’s been important for DoIT keep in mind the wide range of ways people from all backgrounds bring different perspectives on problems and solutions to their work. “I feel we have good values around this, but we want to make sure students understand and have that in an intentional way.” He says DoIT will continue to work on developing this area, and they are planning to launch some new initiatives this spring.

When he’s not at UMBC, Doyle takes time away from IT, playing ultimate frisbee and tennis, running, and biking. But he also loves science fiction and video games, which he often plays with his son, Leo, who shares his love of technology. Doyle, whose parents were part of UMBC’s first graduating class, now enjoys this time with Leo much like he did as a child when he and his father built computers together. He says he explains to his son that using technology and understanding how it works are two different things. That understanding has not only helped Doyle in his career, but has become part of a philosophy that has made a difference to the UMBC community as well.

In an upcoming interview with Educause Review, Doyle shared what keeps him inspired. “The people within higher education and their stories, passions, and dreams have a huge impact every day on my thinking and motivation. I’m continually impressed by the challenges many students have overcome to get where they are, and by the faculty, staff, and colleagues who are changing lives through their work, their research, and their commitment to education. The more people I talk with, learn from, and connect with, the more inspired I am to help them succeed and achieve their goals.”

— Eleanor Lewis

Header image: Damian Doyle, right, Ray Soellner, left, the associate director of telecommunications, and Tobi Odunsi, middle, a master’s student in cyber security. Photo courtesy of Tobi Odunsi.

When Emilie Llenado, M.P.S. ’12, professional studies, first moved to Maryland from Kansas City, Missouri, she didn’t know a soul,  and was working as a server at Longhorn Steakhouse. But, she was hopeful, and she knew she wanted to do great things, so she enrolled in UMBC at the Shady Grove campus. Four years later in 2012, she graduated from the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program with life-long friends, and a new job at Freddie Mac.

“When I first moved to Maryland, I didn’t know anyone. I came right out of my undergraduate degree. I didn’t know what it would take to succeed at school,” said Llenado, who recently joined the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors. “I made three goals, as I knew they would help me be a happier person, and the best version of myself.”

Pillars of Success

Those three goals, or the pillars of success as she called them, were “academic excellence, career enhancement, and interpersonal relationship growth.” With that in mind, she made the most of every moment at the Shady Grove campus.

“If there was a job fair, I would go. If there was a luncheon, I would be there. If a professor would offer up special office hours or a group study session, I would participate. You definitely get out of the program what you put into it,” she said.

At Shady Grove, she said, she built a network of faculty and friends who all encouraged her to succeed. “As I started studying more and getting more involved in my classes, I became closer with my classmates and teachers, who in turn became not just friends, but critical resources in building out my future career,” said Llenado.

Years later, she remains close with the friends she made during her time on campus. They go on an annual beach trip to Ocean City. “We go to the beach, boardwalk, and get crab toast, every year, rain or shine!” said Llenado. “We’ve all been close since the year I moved to Maryland, and this past year marked our 7th annual beach trip.”

For their 10th anniversary, they have big plans for a cruise or a resort to “celebrate our friendship, and tradition in style!”

The spring before she graduated, Llenado was offered a job at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, also known as Freddie Mac. After graduating on her birthday in December of 2012, she received another offer to advance at the company. After yet another offer and a promotion, she is now a multifamily underwriting senior associate.

“All of my daily activities, throughout my career, in Freddie Mac have directly aligned with skills learned through UMBC,” she said. UMBC gave her the ability to serve as a leader, collaborate with others, prepare presentations and more.

Giving Back as an Alumni Leader

In addition to her busy days at work, Llenado was invited to join UMBC’s Alumni Association Board of Directors (AABOD), a group that plans events and recognizes outstanding alums, all while creating a community atmosphere among UMBC’s 77,000-plus alumni. With the start of her term this spring, Llenado became the first Shady Grove alum representative on the board.

“It is important for us in alumni relations that UMBC at Shady Grove alumni see themselves in the work we do,” said Stanyell Odom, director of alumni relations. “Having an alumna on the board of directors that represents that voice will be instrumental as we develop strategic initiatives to thoughtfully organize events and initiatives that will speak to this community of alumni.”

Llenado believes that with the support of UMBC’s Shady Grove community, she was able to find success, which is a big part of why she now gives back as a part of the AABOD. “UMBC gives you all the tools you need to succeed, and that investment and engagement definitely works both ways!”

As a small boy, Erick Chavarria lived with his grandparents in Guatemala in the village of Loma de Chavarria (“village of Chavarria”), where everyone had the same last name. At the time, there were only dirt roads.

“Everyone — and I mean everyone — was dirt poor. My grandparents’ house was made of mud,” he recalls.

Life changed when he was six years old, and the village got running water and electricity. Sometime shortly after, his grandparents got the first television in town. Nearly the entire village would show up at his home during the day to watch Mexican soap operas. “The TV would be on from like 8 a.m. until midnight,” says Chavarria. “This was such a huge thing in the village. Everyone was so engaged with what was going on on the soaps.”

When their electric bill got too high, Chavarria’s grandmother started charging people to watch. “My job was to go around and collect five cents from everyone,” says Chavarria.

The draw of the television soaps made Chavarria think about acting. And with that thought, his whole life would change.

“It’s What I Always Wanted to Do”

When he was 15, Chavarria and some of his extended family decided to head to the United States to live. He spent 23 days walking, riding in 18-wheelers, and once in a fruit truck. His backpack with all his belongings was stolen, and the pocket of his jeans got stuck on a barbed wire fence and ripped off.

Chavarria’s plan was to work for three years in the States and then return to Guatemala for his education. Then living with family in Laurel, Maryland, he enrolled in high school and got a work permit to bus tables. After graduating, Chavarria enrolled at Howard Community College as a business administration major, but then he took an acting class. “It’s what I always wanted to do — be an actor. But my father thought it was the funniest thing ever,” he says.

After five years in the States, Chavarria became an American citizen, and once he finished his AA degree, he transferred to UMBC. He didn’t make it into the theatre program right away; so he took acting classes, worked on his craft, and was accepted the next year.

After he graduated, he didn’t go directly into acting. After a stint as a loan officer, then a real estate agent, Chavarria lost all his money in the real estate crash. With just $500 in his checking account and nothing much to lose, he decided to go head west.

“I said, ‘If I’m broke here, I might as well be broke in LA.’”

“One Day She Called Me In”

Chavarria began working as a server at a restaurant while he took acting classes. Armed with a demo reel made while at UMBC, he secured both theatrical and commercial agents and began auditioning. He began sending introduction letters to casting agents, and Gwen Hellier, who was then casting for General Hospital, stood out. Chavarria made a point of keeping in touch with her.

“I told her how I used to watch the soaps with my grandmother or that I just did a little commercial,” recalls Chavarria. “One day she called me in.”

He was given a script and told to go to the lobby and read it over, and then come back in. That’s when Chavarria realized that he was the only one auditioning for the bartender role. He got the part.

Chavarria was on six episodes of GH, played a recurring character on Eastbound and Down and Borderline, and has appeared in movies like Office Christmas Party. He has also acted at the Frida Kahlo Theatre in downtown LA and in commercials, and has a healthy IMDB profile to show for it.

The greatest reward, Chavarria said, is to be able to make a living acting. “I think a million people could’ve told me the stories of how hard it is to get into acting, and I still would have gone into acting. The most important thing is being happy.”

— Michele Wojciechowski

Image: Josue Pena

UMBC’s photography collection includes more than two million works, including rare and historic prints showcasing a range of formats, processes, genres, and technologies. Among these are the approximately one hundred images chosen for Depth of Field, an exhibit showcasing work acquired over the past decade.

Featured artists in the exhibition at the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery through December 19 include Albert Arthur Allen, Laurie Brown, Kristin Capp, Clarence Carvell BFA ’93, Chim (David Seymour), William Eggleston, Donna Ferrato, Robert Fichter, Todd Forsgren, Peggy Fox, Sally Gall, Ralph Gibson, Penny Harris, Sam Holden, Irina Ionesco, Walter Iooss, Lotte Jacobi, N. Jay Jaffee, Brian Jones, Nate Larson, David S. Lavine, Alen MacWeeney, Mary Ellen Mark, Fred McDarrah, Dorothy Norman, David Seltzer, Steve Szabo, Barbara Traub, Peter Turnley, and Robert VonSternberg. Additionally, the exhibition features daguerreotypes, painted photographs, and post-mortem photographs. Depth of Field is curated by Emily Hauver, curator of exhibitions for the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery.

“The photography collections are really a treasure trove,” says Beth Saunders, the new curator and head of special collections and the gallery at the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery. “I can’t think of another university collection with the depth and breadth of UMBC’s; it is truly remarkable.” Saunders, previously assistant curator in the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, oversees the management, preservation, and exhibition of UMBC’s photography, rare book, and archival collections.

An Enviable Collection

The Photography Collections at UMBC were established in the early 1970s, propelled by the purchase of over 5,000 photographs by pioneering social documentary photographer Lewis Hine. Today the collections contain more than two million photographs by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Berenice Abbott, A. Aubrey Bodine, Bill Brandt, Eileen Cowin, Barbara Crane, Judy Dater, William Eggleston, Robert Frank, Roland Freeman, Lotte Jacobi, Alfred Cheney Johnston, Stephen Marc, David Plowden, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Walter Rosenblum, Jaromir Stephany (professor of visual arts, deceased), Steve Szabo, James Van Der Zee, Edward Weston, Minor White, members of the Photo-Secession, and hundreds of other artists.

“I’m really looking forward to working with and promoting UMBC’s Special Collections, and hope to increase engagement among students as well as the local Baltimore and wider scholarly communities,” says Saunders.

Depth of Field will continue on display through December 19. The Library Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday until 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Additional information about the exhibition can be found here.

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Header Image: Barbara Traub, Twin Peaks, 1994, gelatin silver print. Accession no. 2013-02-022,  © Barbara Traub, used with permission

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