For years, UMBC students have made a mark at the highest academic levels, winning many of the top prestigious scholarships available. With the assistance of staff and faculty in the Honors College, students from every discipline have impressed the judges with their subject expertise and broad world outlook. Here’s a quick look at some of our more than a hundred past student winners of prestigious scholarships.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Ian M. Ralby ’02, modern languages and linguistics, and M.A. ’02, intercultural communication, founder and CEO of the international consulting firm I.R. Consilium, is one of four UMBC winners of the Gates Cambridge. Even after completing a law degree at William and Mary and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, Dr. Ralby still regards the education he received at UMBC as “unequivocally first rate and world class.

Marshall Scholarship

Loren Siebert ’93, computer science, earned his master’s in computer science at the University of Manchester and did research on technology policy at the London School of Economics. His master’s research earned him a mention in The Economist and in New Scientist in the same week. He later developed LinguaStep, software that is used in Arabic language programs at over 30 different universities.

Truman Scholarship

Alicia L. Wilson ’04, political science, dreamed of becoming a lawyer since the age of 15. After graduating from UMBC, she earned her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. She is now Senior Vice President of Impact Investments and Senior Legal Counsel for Plank Industries.

Goldwater Scholarship

Daniel Ocasio ’17, chemical engineering, was a Meyerhoff Scholar, MARC U*STAR Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar, and member of the Honors College at UMBC. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where his research focuses on developing improved water treatment techniques and technologies.

Fulbright Scholarship

Jacqueline Wojcik ’17, visual arts, took an interdisciplinary approach to their research, combining animation, computer science, and history. They have spent the last academic year at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, exploring the role of game development in visualization, learning, and connecting people with history by modeling interactive environments based on the Gokstad ship.

Read more about UMBC’s very first Rhodes Scholar here.

Thousands of Retriever graduates, family, and friends streamed into the new UMBC Event Center last week to celebrate spring commencement, as the ceremonies returned to Hilltop Circle for the first time in two decades. The new arena quickly filled with crowds of cheering supporters, with more tuning in to UMBC’s live webcasts from around the globe.

The graduate commencement ceremony, for students earning master’s and doctoral degrees, took place on Wednesday, May 23. The ceremony included remarks by honorary degree recipient Erin O’Shea, the first female president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

O’Shea reflected on the tremendous promise of UMBC’s graduates as leaders of tomorrow, telling graduates:

As I look around this room, I see a lot of powerful individuals. I see individuals who are true to themselves. I see individuals who will have a seat at the table and who will pull up a chair for others. I see individuals who will listen and be heard. I see individuals moving towards greatness.

UMBC hosted two undergraduate ceremonies on Thursday, May 24, including a morning commencement for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, School of Social Work, and Erickson School, and an afternoon ceremony for the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Kara Seidel ’18, psychology, valedictorian of the morning ceremony, shared her family’s deep connection to UMBC, where her parents and brother also earned their degrees. She reflected that, initially, she was uncertain about whether she could create her own unique path at the university. But once she stepped onto campus, she joked, “the UMBC community sucked me in,” and her college career was full speed ahead.

While studying at UMBC, Seidel accessed opportunities to work in the Trauma Lab of Christopher Murphy, professor and chair of psychology; in an HIV/addiction lab at Johns Hopkins; and at the American Psychological Association. These experiences helped her identify her core interest in the field of psychology: supporting families dealing with trauma.

The people of UMBC have also had a lasting impact on Seidel. She reflected, “We have had the opportunity to learn, not just in the classroom, but as members of a diverse, civic-minded community.”

Honorary degree recipient Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, addressed graduates in the morning ceremony. “Achieving excellence, no matter what your background, that’s the greatest victory of all,” he reflected. He also brought some levity to the festivities in recalling UMBC’s history-making NCAA victory, joking that UMBC helped advance his bracket because he chose his winning teams based on academic reputation.

Valedictorian Eudorah Vital ’18, biochemistry and molecular biology, addressed her classmates during the afternoon undergraduate commencement ceremony. “There are three things from our UMBC experience that I believe we can all carry with us into our next pursuits,” she said. “They are: (1) learning to be comfortable with discomfort, (2) upholding the value of diversity, and (3) the practice of gratitude.”

Vital became highly involved in research beginning in her freshman year, as a Meyerhoff Scholar, MARC U*STAR, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholar. She has already co-authored two papers in top academic journals, and a third is coming soon. Her interest in completing clinically relevant research in an inclusive scientific community, like the one she found at UMBC, led her to select Emory University’s M.D./Ph.D. program in neurobiology as her next step.

Paula A. Johnson, president of Wellesley College, addressed graduates of the afternoon ceremony as an honorary degree recipient. Like Vital, Johnson spoke of the special nature of UMBC’s learning community. She reflected, “All of you have lived and learned within this remarkable culture, one that embodies the best of the nation’s values and ideals.”

Michelle Gourdine represented the University System of Maryland Board of Regents at the ceremonies, and shared her perspective on UMBC’s success. “By any measure—national rankings, research partnerships, public service activities, faculty accomplishments, student achievements…and let’s not forget athletic achievement—UMBC stands as one of the finest universities in the country,” she said.

President Hrabowski’s remarks this year focused on an appreciation for the value of truth and integrity, as well as service and commitment to community. He took time to honor veterans and graduating students who will pursue careers in social work and teaching. He also encouraged guests to read UMBC’s Class of 2018 feature, which highlights the personal stories of 43 Retrievers recognized for academic excellence and demonstrating a commitment to a greater good through research, scholarship, creativity, and work with underserved communities.

Before the graduates turned their tassels, he reminded them:

Your dreams, and more importantly, your character will determine who you become. Your character will be reflected most clearly in the courage you possess and the compassion you show for others.

Videos of President Hrabowski’s full remarks, as well as those of the honorary degree recipients; valedictorians; Graduate Student Association President Roy Prouty, M.S. ’16, atmospheric physics, M.S. ’19 computer science; and others are now available with captioning on UMBC’s YouTube and below.

Graduates and those cheering them on can share memories, well wishes, and photos through #UMBCgrad, and view UMBC’s Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter accounts for coverage of the festivities.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neKFFyTHeBU&t=6000s

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML9ipKp96pw&t=2387s

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoSqHtIdYic&t=6381s

Header image: CWIT Scholars celebrate together one last time. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

In a first-of-its-kind survey released in April, researchers at the Wisconsin HOPE Lab at Temple University found that at 66 colleges and universities, 36 percent of students do not get enough to eat.

This comes as no surprise to Julie Rosenthal, program management specialist for Asian studies and the doctoral program in gerontology, who helped spearhead the launch of UMBC’s Retriever Essentials — an on-campus food pantry run by students, for students — in September 2017.

“If you stop and think about it … it makes sense,” Rosenthal said. “These students age out of the public school system where they are getting food assistance. Then somehow they have the wherewithal to get themselves to college, but they don’t always have enough to eat.”

According to Feeding America — a national nonprofit network of food banks that provide food to 46.5 million individuals — 49.3 percent of its clients in college have had to choose between educational expenses and food annually, and 21 percent did so for a year.

From the Ground Up

“I heard from others in the central Maryland area who were helping this vulnerable population, that there was a real issue of hunger on college campuses,” Rosenthal said. “I spoke with my supervisor and told her I was interested in starting a food pantry at UMBC. She connected me to Deveraux Smith, a grad student, who was also interested in this issue.”

From there the newly forged partnership started to grow connecting with campus offices, student groups, campus religious leaders, and other like-minded individuals to make their vision a reality.

“It has gone from a very organic movement of a few individuals, both student and staff, to a much larger team that developed into a comprehensive program to address the problem of food insecurity,” said Katrina Grusell, UMBC Episcopal chaplain.

For Retriever Essentials, partnerships with campus organizations and the student body are vital to its success. The program relies on student volunteers to meet the day-to-day needs of the organization, and most importantly to help spread the word about Retriever Essentials.

“I’ve rarely seen initiatives where so many people come together so quickly for the benefit of others in our community,” said Zain Abidin ’18, biology, who has helped recruit volunteers from groups he’s involved with, like the Muslim Student Association and the Golden Key National Honor Society, in addition to collecting food from the different boxes (Food Zones) on campus to bring back to the pantry.

Building these relationships helped the Retriever Essentials team find different avenues to combat student food-scarcity issues. Through their partnership with Chartwells — which manages Dining Services and True Grit’s dining hall — they’ve started the Save-A-Swipe program that allows students to donate up to one meal a week from their meal plan to a shared pool. In less than four months, more than 30 students donated more than 150 meals.

“Chartwells has been amazing,” Rosenthal said. “They came up with the Save-A-Swipe program. Now students in need can get a card for five free meals from True Grit’s at the Counseling Center.”

Growing the Program

These partnerships also led to the creation of six Campus Food Zones where students can conveniently pick up a free bag of non-perishable food on campus. Four Donations Stations were created where contributions can easily be made as well. While building the program, the team even created another essential service by starting a clothing closet.

Last semester Retriever Essentials gave out more than 50 bags of non-perishable groceries to students in need with the help of more than 15 student volunteers, and they are on target to provide even more during the spring semester. It’s a great start to combat a growing issue, and the team is already hard at work to make Retriever Essentials even better, including more variety and healthy food options.

“The next big goal is to have a full pantry on campus that has not only ample space for food, but also for refrigerated food storage,” Grusell said. “We’d like to have that set up in a way that allows students to come and choose the food for themselves instead of the preassembled bags we currently give out. The variety of the food we could distribute would also increase.”

As for now the Retriever Essentials team is constantly working to get the message out about their program so no student at UMBC goes hungry.

“UMBC does an awesome job educating our students,” Rosenthal said. “We want to make sure all students facing food insufficiency have enough to eat so that they can work at top capacity. It’s all multiple pieces that go together. We’re launching people out into the world.”

— Eddie Jenkins

Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11