Jamie Costello from ABC’s Baltimore affiliate WMAR has a short video feature, UMBC is on a mission to crack the code, on UMBC students who are studying and doing research on the cybersecurity of computing hardware, software and systems.

If you walk through your door and notice your home computer in pieces scattered throughout the house, call UMBC.

In the old days, parents wanted their children to grow up to become doctors and lawyers, now its about becoming cyber security experts.

A select group of students at UMBC knew this was for them. Some tore computers apart. Some knocked XBOX players off their game on purpose. And one student, while in high school and with the school’s blessing, hacked into the school’s security camera system.

Jobs are like gnats on a summer night, college graduates are swatting the offers away. And the pay is good, really good.

Students are learning how to hack into systems and then prevent such attacks. They are studying hardware, software and tools in between. The more we invent and tie into the internet, the more cyber security experts are needed.

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The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.

This week we’re featuring the history of The Clothesline Project at UMBC. 

The Clothesline project is still fresh in our minds with April, which is Sexual Assualt Awareness Month, not being in the too distant past. The Women’s Center had a calendar full of events, including a full-day display of The Clothesline Project

Assistant Director Megan Tagle Adams at this year’s Clothesline Project.

So what has the Clothesline Project looked like in past years?

The Clothesline Project in 2013

The Clothesline Project during V-day in  2001.

Editorial in the Retriever Weekly, fall of 2000

The Clothesline Project at UMBC gives voices to the experiences of survivors, victims, family, and friends who have been affected by violence. Through the years, The Women’s Center has provided materials for those who identify as survivors to decorate t-shirts that are then added to the project display. This is a national campaign created to address the stories of survivors and the violence that exists all around us, metaphorically ‘airing dirty laundry’. The clothesline is also a historical means through which women discussed domestic violence with other women, signaling the need for help with specific codes on the laundry lines. Traditionally there are specific colors indicating different kinds of survivor’s stories, but The Women’s Center has given space for survivors to use any colors available to add to the project.

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

The Women’s Center at UMBC turns 25 this year! We’re excited to share our important milestone with UMBC’s 50th Anniversary and will be celebrating throughout the year with the rest of campus! We were inspired by Special Collections archival project Archives Gold: 50 Objects for UMBC’s 50th and decided to do our own digging into the Women’s Center archives. Over the course of the year, we’ll be sharing 25 “Then vs Now” archives to celebrate the origin and evolution of the Women’s Center at UMBC.

This week we’re featuring the history of Women’s History Month Calendars and Programming!

This year, with added support and funding from the Provost’s office, the Women’s Center was able to celebrate International Women’s Working Day and A Day Without a Woman with a keynote addresses delivered by Loretta Ross, a human and women’s right’s activist. Her keynote lecture was entitled Human Right’s as Women’s Rights.

Women’s Center Staff and community members with Activist Loretta Ross on March 8th. We’re wearing red in solidarity with A Day Without a Woman. 

This year was indeed a special celebration of Women’s History Month, but regardless of whether we hosted a keynote event or not, the Women’s Center has been marking the celebration of Women’s History Month over our 25 years of existence. Below are some calendars from Women’s History Months passed.

Women’s History Month 2001

Women’s History Month 2011

What are the memories you have of the Women’s Center over the years that are meaningful to you? What does the Women’s Center mean to you today? Share your memories and pictures with us in the comment section below!

Stay up-to-date with our 25th anniversary on social media using #UMBCWC25. Share your Women’s Center experiences and memories with the UMBC community using #UMBCWC25 AND #UMBC50!

By: Lily Zhang via The Muse

Congratulations—you’ve graduated! (Or, well, are about to.)

If you haven’t quite landed a job yet, you might be wondering if your resume should look different now that you’re officially a graduate. Does your education section move down to the bottom of your resume ? Should you really include relevant courses? What’s the difference between applying for entry-level jobs and applying to part-time jobs and internships?

Rest easy: Here’s a step-by-step guide to what your resume should look like when you're fresh out of school.

Education

Unless you have significant relevant work experience outside of school—a couple solid semester-long internships , for example—then your “Education” section should stay at the top of your resume. As a new graduate, this is still your greatest qualification . Not to mention, all the companies that have opportunities specifically intended for new graduates will be looking for this info front and center.

Right beneath your university, you may currently have a line labeled “Relevant Coursework.” Only keep that subheading if the classes you list are, in fact, relevant or send a message to the recruiter. If, for example, you take the compilers class as MIT, most technical recruiters will know that’s an exceptionally difficult (and very relevant) class. Or, if you’ve taken classes outside of your major that relate to your field of choice, this section can be helpful.

Same goes for “Awards.” If the honors you’ve earned mainly serve to illustrate that you did well in school, you don’t really need this section. But if you have awards that showcase your leadership abilities or other professionally relevant skills—for example, a distinguished fellowship like the Rhodes or the Marshall —go ahead and keep it.

Experience

College is a time to explore your interests, so it’s unlikely that all of your internship, work-study, or research experience is relevant to your current post-graduate interests. So, what should that look like on your resume ?

The solution: Keep your most relevant experiences at the top of your resume (under your “Education” section) by creating a section titled “Relevant Experience” and another section beneath it titled “Additional Experience.” Better yet, title the first section based on your field of interest: “Marketing Experience,” “Business Development Experience,” or “Editorial Experience,” for example.

Breaking out your most important experiences from everything else allows you to still follow the standard reverse chronological order expected on resumes, while making it easier for recruiters to see what you’ve done that qualifies you for positions you’re interested in.

Extracurriculars

Extracurricular experiences are a big part of any college experience—not to mention, they often help you develop skills that companies want. With this in mind, try branding your extracurriculars in a way that is appealing to your future employer . For example, if you’re going into a field that requires taking initiative with limited supervision, labeling your extracurricular experiences section, “Leadership” is a good way to go. On the other hand, if your position requires more teamwork and community building, consider “Community Involvement.”

In terms of format, it’s a good idea to format your extracurriculars in exactly the same way you’ve organized your work experience: the organization name, your role (president, VP, social chair, sophomore representative), the dates you were involved, and bullet points detailing your accomplishments. You want to send the message that you took your work for student organizations just as seriously as your internships—and that they should be considered as such.

Skills and Interests

This section of your resume will likely be on the bottom. Think hard skillsfor this section—Photoshop, SEO, wet lab skills, carpentry—not soft skills like communication or organization. You can also consider adding relevant interests. (Though, emphasis on relevant —if you’re applying for a social media job, photography makes sense. Waterskiing does not.)

One big exception to keeping this section at the bottom of your resume is ifyour previous experience doesn’t really show that you can do the job. For example, say you’re a political science and computer science double major and are a solid programmer, but you spent all your summers during college on Capitol Hill assisting with various campaigns and not coding. In that case, it would be a good idea to push your “Skills” section up above your “Experience” section.

Resumes, like cover letters , should really be tailored to the position you’re applying for. Think about what facets of your background are most impressive to the hiring manager, and make sure your resume tells that story. Then, get it out there!

Browse Entry-Level Jobs Now

Photo of student in library courtesy of Shutterstock .

Natacha Ngea, future software engineer, reflects on the impact of mentorship

Natacha Ngea
B.S., Computer Engineering
Hometown: Yaounde, Cameroon
Plans: Software engineer, Harris Corporation

I have had multiple mentors and coaches at UMBC. Their support and feedback have been invaluable in succeeding and building my brand, and to find my voice.

When Natacha Ngea transferred to UMBC from Howard Community College, she knew that she wanted to pursue a degree in computer engineering and she hit the ground running. She became involved with the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) as T-SITE Scholar. She also received a Returning Women Student Scholarship through UMBC’s Women’s Center, as well as a First Generation scholarship through the McNair Scholars Program, and Society of Women Engineers scholarship.

Ngea particularly credits relationships she developed through CWIT, the Women’s Center, and the Division of Information Technology, as an intern, for helping her access networking opportunities and resources that supported her success.

Ngea pursued a number of exceptional experiences during her time at UMBC. She earned a scholarship to attend the Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing, which inspired her to persevere through the challenges of completing her degree as one of few returning women students of color in a computing field. Through attending the conference, she secured an opportunity to intern at IBM in summer 2016.

After taking a course with Tammy Henderson, lecturer of Africana Studies, Ngea was inspired to become a mentor to fellow UMBC students, sharing knowledge gleaned from conferences and workshops, including the National Society of Black Engineers Convention. She also enjoyed working directly with low-income high school students, helping them to prepare for the SATs, and connected with fellow students through the Catholic Retrievers, Jubilee Choir, and Gospel Choir.

Adapted from an article on UMBC News. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

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Matthew Landen, peer mentor, pursues security-focused computer science Ph.D.

UMBC’s class of 2017 is graduating this week and UMBC News has provides that highlight examples of the very capable and accomplished new graduates. Matthew Landen, who received a B.S. in both Computer Science and Mathematics, is one of them.

Matthew Landen
B.S., Computer Science and Mathematics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Plans: Ph.D., Georgia Tech

UMBC has taught me the value of and need for collaboration. The world is currently faced with complex problems which cannot be solved by one individual.

In his time at UMBC, Meyerhoff Scholar Matthew Landen has excelled in the classroom, the lab, the theatre, and the boardroom.

Landen has pursued several research opportunities, presenting at Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day and, most recently, working in the Multi-Agent Planning & Learning (MAPLE) lab led by Marie desJardins, associate dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and professor of computer science and electrical engineering. There he was particularly known for helping his peers understand complex concepts.

Landen also worked with students as a teaching fellow for Computing 101, and regularly volunteered to hold extra study sessions for students to support their success. In fall 2016, he became the head teaching fellow for the course, and worked closely with Stacy Branham, lecturer of information systems, to lead class activities, grade assignments, and answer students’ questions.

Landen’s exceptional work led to his induction into the Phi Kappa Phi honors society, and he recently received a highly prestigious and competitive graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

Beyond excelling as a student, peer mentor, and researcher, Landen has been actively involved in UMBC’s Musical Theatre Club for each fall showcase performance and each spring musical during his four years on campus. He has also served as webmaster for UMBC’s Student Government Association, collaborating with fellow computing students to design websites to help SGA stay organized, transparent, and effective as the primary governance body for UMBC undergraduates.

Landen will pursue his Ph.D. in computer science at Georgia Tech, with a focus on intelligent security systems.

Adapted from an article on UMBC News. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

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