Eating a ton of food. Binge-watching every single Netflix show. Not changing out of pajamas. Not knowing what day of the week it is.

I’m realizing that for at least the first week of break this will be all of us. We deserve it! Finals and deadlines put our nervous systems to the ultimate test, so afterwards it’s so nice to decompress! But I also know that we’ll probably all start getting antsy when January rolls around. This extra time is actually the perfect opportunity to reflect and work on things you have no time to during the semester. Whether you’re a freshman, senior, or alumni, there are options for you to jump-start your professional life! It can actually feel really good to evaluate yourself and decide if your major is right for you, or what kind of experience you want to gain in the future. I want to help you find some of the right options for you this break, so here are some tips (and a lot of these you can still do while watching Netflix):

1.       Work on your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn Profile

Now that you’ve completed more courses and perhaps completed an internship, it’s the perfect time to look back and evaluate how your experiences can be put on your resume as experience in your major. For example, can you list some of your courses from this fall as a “Relevant Courses” section on your resume? Did you join a new club or gain volunteer experience that you can list? Do you have new job or internship experience that need more details? Also, if you’re a freshman, you’ll have a GPA from your first semester grades to list on your resume! If you’re having trouble formatting these kinds of details, I highly recommend checking out our website here, and our career guide, where you can find a lot of helpful tips and examples to help you. If you’re on or near campus this winter break, come by the Career Center for drop-in hours! We’ll still be here from 2-4pm Monday-Friday all of January.

LinkedIn is a great way of establishing connections from your previous or recent employers, classmates, advisors, faculty, and family/family friends. You can even look at all of the alumni from UMBC and see what people from your program have found a career in! Even if you don’t feel like you have a lot to put on LinkedIn right now, I think it’s a great idea to create a profile and fill it in the best you can. As you gain more experiences and connections, you’ll be able to keep filling in your profile more and more. If you check the Career Center’s website, we have a very helpful page for creating a profile, connecting, and internship/job searching. You can find that page here.  LinkedIn also has a lot of helpful videos and tip sheets on how to build your profile as well. You can check out their resources here. 

2.       Sign up for the Dependable Strengths Workshop

On January 8th there is a workshop completely dedicated to YOU finding your strengths (um, best workshop ever?). Whether you’re a freshman, alumni, or graduate student, this all-day workshop is an awesome opportunity for you to identify what you’re good at and love to do, learn how to articulate with an employer, and learn how to make contacts in a field whenever you’re ready to make them! Doing this during winter break can make you feel so prepared and confident as you enter the spring semester. This could help you decide on classes, internships, attending career fairs, and making connections. Come on, take a break from relaxing and do something nice for yourself! If you’re a current UMBC student, it’s completely free to go. You can register online here.

3.       Find out more about your major

Use the Career Insider Portal on the database Vault, LinkedIn, and the website for your academic department to check out some of the fields of work you might be interested in going into for your major. Vault has a lot of contact information for organizations in various different fields of work, so it might also be nice to research those organizations too.

Like I said, we all deserve a break! But it’s important to remember that you’re going to school so you can land your dream job and succeed in your field, so all of this other stuff is important too. Believe me, I’ll still have Gilmore Girls and/or House of Cards on my TV in the background, but I’ll also feel a lot better going into the Spring semester knowing that I’ve caught up on some of my professional documents. I just want you to feel the same relief!

The Library of Congress is seeking applicants for its 2016 Junior Fellows Summer Internship Program—a 10-week paid fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students.

For a stipend of $3,000, the 2016 class of Junior Fellows will work full-time with Library specialists and curators from May 31 through Aug. 5, 2016, to inventory, describe and explore collection holdings and to assist with digital-preservation outreach activities throughout the Library. The program aims to increase access to collections and awareness of the Library’s digital-preservation programs by making them better-known and available to Members of Congress, scholars, researchers, students, teachers and the general public.

The fellows will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work, including but not limited to: collection processing, digital preservation, educational outreach, access, standards-setting and information management. The 2015 class of Junior Fellows processed rare treasures and played an integral part in completing substantive project work. They indexed and rehoused the Library’s Harry Houdini collection; conducted archaeological research on Mesoamerican jade to determine its origins; and analyzed NBC’s Radio Collection from 1950 to 1970, which uncovered broadcasts about the launch of Sputnik and the death of former President Dwight Eisenhower. Additionally, the fellows improved the Library’s description of its World War I sheet music collection by assigning subject headings based on musical presentation format, form/genre and lyrical content.

Applications will be accepted online only at www.usajobs.gov, keyword: Junior Fellows from Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, through midnight Friday, Jan. 22, 2016.

For more details about the program and information on how to apply, visit loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/. Questions about the program may be sent to juniorfellows2016@loc.gov.

Project details, and application information can be found at:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423248100

During the winter break and term, the Women's Center will be operating under limited hours and the Center may be closed during times that UMBC community members need access to the lactation room.

In order to ensure access to this safe and private space for nursing parents, the Women's Center is partnering with the Commons CIC. If you plan on using the lactation room over the winter term, please contact Jess Myers (jessm@umbc.edu, 410-455-2714) for details and next steps. 

Are you looking for a great Summer Internship? Did you know that T. Rowe Price hires at least 60+ interns each summer? In the past, many of these interns have come from UMBC.

Currently, T. Rowe Price is looking for students with interest in the following areas of Information Technology:

-Mobile Applications Development (iOS, HTML5) - 
-Applications Development (Java, CSS, .Net, SharePoint, C++) -
-Business Analysis / Project Management -
-Database/Data Management
-Production Systems Support 
-Trading Floor Support 

The complete details of their internship program are below.

To find out and apply to their internship program, you should apply via the T. Rowe Price website (07894)

If you have not had your resume reviewed by the Career Center, you can schedule an appointment with your coordinator via UMBCworks or come by drop-ins every Monday-Friday from 2-4pm in Math/Psych.

2016 Summer Internship Program – Technology

For over 75 years, T. Rowe Price has changed the investment management industry by delivering world-class service and guidance to individuals and institutions around the globe.  Our shared values enable us to create a dynamic workplace that cultivates high achievement from diverse professionals in a variety of disciplines.  Built on a tradition of integrity, we are committed to our clients and employees and focused on sustained growth and success.

The T. Rowe Price Summer Internship Program offers an opportunity to gain valuable work experience while building skills and long-term career potential.  Through collaboration, innovative thinking and application of your skills, you can add value in various ways to our Technology organization and the clients we support.  You will have the opportunity to work with the latest technologies and work with bright, passionate people who will help you integrate what you learn in school with “real world” business initiatives.

We offer a variety of opportunities:

• Mobile Applications Development (iOS, HTML5)
• Applications Development (Java, CSS, .Net, SharePoint, C++)
• Business Analysis / Project Management 
• Database/Data Management
• Production Systems Support
• Trading Floor Support

Our program offers:

• A challenging work assignment
• Feedback on your performance throughout your internship
• Opportunities to learn and network
• Formal training programs, community service opportunities and social events
• Future Career opportunities upon graduation

To be considered for our internship program, all students must meet the following criteria:

Minimum GPA: 3.00 overall

Major: Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Technology, Business, Finance, other Information Technology related majors

T. Rowe Price is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Here is a fun way to catch up on all our events for the month.

Since becoming a co-host on the renowned talk show The View, Raven-Symoné has made her fair share of offensive comments, resulting in her receiving a lot of backlash on social media. From her comments about race to her jokes about not hiring “Watermelondrea,” let’s just say Raven has put her foot in her mouth far too many times.

While Raven-Symoné’s comments about “Watermelondrea” may have been for laughs and giggles, there is an unfortunate truth about names and racial biases.This is something that Black people with “Black-sounding” or “ethnic-sounding” names experience every day. According to Marianne Bertrand’s study,  “Are Emily and Brendan More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?”, applicants with “white-sounding” names were 50% more likely to be called back for an interview than applicants with “Black-sounding” names. Therefore, not only are Black people discriminated against in person, but we also face discrimination on paper.

This notion of racialized names and name discrimination is not only a form of internalized racism, but it has further perpetuated respectability politics. What Raven-Symoné and many others fail to realize is that these “ghetto” names are embedded with meanings and, most importantly, they are an essential part of one’s identity.

Although Raven-Symoné has since “apologized,” her comments about names have caused me to reflect on my own. As a Black woman with a unique name, and, perhaps, even a “Black-sounding name,” I think about my experiences with my name. I think about the micro-aggressive comments, the constant explanations, and the people that refuse to learn how to pronounce it. Where is that from? What does it mean? Or there’s my favorite, I’m never going to say that right. Do you have a nickname? also known as ‘I really don’t want to learn how to pronounce your name, so I’m going to try to find a shortcut.’

Yes, I have a nickname. No, you may not address me by it. My name is a part of me and, in my opinion, anyone who doesn’t care enough to learn it has shown me that they are not invested in me as a person.

I’ve learned that names can be a source of pride and frustration. I remember talking to my mother one day, who also has what may be considered a “Black-sounding” name. She told me about a family member telling her that she should change her name because “no one was going to hire her.” She was honest with me and told me that she contemplated it for a while, but, ultimately, opted for keeping the name she was given. Her name was a part of her identity that she was not willing to part with.

Respectability politics, like the scenario mentioned above, is a phenomenon that has become prevalent in our community. From making fun of a name’s spelling to adopting names or nicknames that are not associated with Blackness, people are feeling the need to police themselves and their names in order to feel accepted. 

I’d be lying if I said I never think about how things would be had I been given a “white-sounding” name. My name wouldn’t delay attendance-taking in class, Starbucks transactions would be much shorter, and I’d finally be able to find a souvenir key chain with my name on it, but it wouldn’t be me. My name has been something that I have taken pride in long before I experienced discrimination because of it. My name has meaning and it’s an important part of my identity and my story. It wouldn’t feel right going by another name because, quite frankly, my name is me.

Instead of shaming people with unique or “Black-sounding” names or policing ourselves, we should learn to embrace the names we were given and the culture embedded in them. Our names are an important part of us, they matter, and so do we.