Name: Danielle McGrogan

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: International Rescue Committee (IRC) | Title of Your Position: Development Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Global Studies

Expected Graduation Year: December 2016

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I have been interning at the International Rescue Committee since September. Originally, during the fall semester, I was a Case Management intern. My main responsibility was to assist Caseworkers resettle newly arrived refugees. I would take clients on important medical and social services appointments, and be their advocate anyway possible. I would also manage client flies and track necessary services that were reported to IRC headquarters and other international organizations. Currently, for the spring semester, I am interning under the IRC Development Coordinator. My day-to-day task include writing donor thank you letters, editing grant proposals, and looking for possible donors. I'm also helping plan the Baltimore's World Refugee Day event in June!

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

After discovering the IRC website, I searched for current internship positions available. After reading through the directions, I emailed my cover letter and resume to the volunteer coordinator, and heard back within a few weeks.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

I volunteered with Refugee Youth Project prior to my internship.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of interning at the IRC has been working with the clients (refugees). I have met so many wonderful and humble people who deserve the life they have built in Baltimore. One of my most memorable moments was picking up a family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the airport and showing them their new home. It gave the IRC's statement mission statement, "from harm to home", a true meaning.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

Working in an international non-profit has been rewarding in so many aspects. Everyday, as I walk through the office, I hear at least 3-4 conversations in different languages. All of the IRC staff are passionate about helping clients reach their fullest potential and sustain themselves. The amount of diversity and love in the office creates a family like other!

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

If you want to intern at the IRC or a related office, be prepared to learn not only about challenges refugees face and the resettlement process, but about yourself and your role in society. Although it may be hard and tedious at time (especially writing case notes), it's important to remember how your small acts impact a larger picture! The IRC also prefers to hire interns (and past interns) for employment openings, which is a huge plus!

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

The International Rescue Committee is an awesome non-profit with a family-like atmosphere. If you're interested in understanding more about global issues, social work, and/or non-profit management, I highly suggest you apply!

* Danielle is also a part of the Shattuck Family Internship Program 

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Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

 Towards Large-Scale Measurement of Vulnerabilities
and Design of Usable New Systems

Prof. Chuan Yue
University of Colorado Colorado Springs

12:00-1:00 Monday, 23 March 2015, ITE325b, UMBC

Security and privacy vulnerabilities are pervasive in computer and network systems. In my research group, we aim to accurately measure and analyze the vulnerabilities of Web, Cloud, and Mobile systems on a large scale; we also aim to design usable new systems that provide better security and privacy protection to millions of users. In this talk, I will first present our research on analyzing the vulnerabilities of popular Web browsers’ built-in password managers and some third-party browser-and-cloud-based password managers. Next, I will present a framework for automatic detection of information leakage vulnerabilities in JavaScript-based browser extensions including password managers. I will explain why it is very challenging to accurately and automatically analyze JavaScript-based browser extensions, justify why our static and dynamic combined approach is practical and appropriate, and further discuss how we may increase the capabilities of this framework to automatically measure and analyze JavaScript related security and privacy vulnerabilities on a large scale. Finally, I will discuss some of our current and future projects on security and privacy research and education, for example, one project is on measuring users’ susceptibility to sophisticated and highly insidious phishing attacks.

Chuan Yue is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. His current research focuses on Web, Cloud, and Mobile Systems Security and Privacy. He received his B.E. and M.E. degrees in Computer Science from Xidian University, China, in 1996 and 1999, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary in 2010. He worked as a Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs China, Lucent Technologies for four years from 1999 to 2003, mainly on the design and development of the Web-based Distributed Service Management System for Intelligent Network.

For more information and directions: http://bit.ly/UMBCtalks.

March is Women’s History Month!

Two  years ago Women’s History Month’s national theme was “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” The theme honored generations of women who throughout American history have used their intelligence, imagination, sense of wonder, and tenacity to make extraordinary contributions to the STEM fields. At UMBC we honored this theme by partnering with the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) to feature some of their amazing students participating in technology in the engineering and information technology fields. Three years later, we still find it meaningful and important to continue spotlighting the stories of UMBC’s CWIT women and with the 2015 theme of “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives” there’s no better time than now to continue weaving the stories of our campus ITE women into the fabric of women’s history and current day lived experiences. So with that, we are honored to bring you the 3rd Annual CWIT Showcase in honor of Women’s History Month.

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Lillie Cimmerer
Computer Engineering major
CWIT  Scholar

Meet Lillie – a UMBC CWIT Scholar!

Describe what sparked your interest STEM and the journey to choosing your major.

My introduction into the STEM world was my parents. They are both in STEM fields, and like most parents, they wanted me to follow in their footsteps. Fortunately for them, my favorite subject in school was math, so getting interested into STEM wasn’t very difficult. In high school I toke several engineering courses through a program called Project Lead the Way. In this program, my favorite course was Digital Electronics. However, UMBC doesn’t offer an undergrad for electrical engineering so I came in undeclared. At my orientation, I was trying to select a specific computer course, however to get in to it, I had to declare myself as computer engineering major

Tell us about an internship, research experience or project that you are proud of.

For Rockets and More, we do various outreach programs. During these outreach events we have anywhere from 20 to 150 middle school students building and launching water bottle rockets using launchers that we, as a club, designed and built ourselves. Not only do we have the students launch rockets, but we also talk to them about the physics behind rocketry and get them thinking about what choices they made to make their rockets optimal. I particularly love these kinds of events, because it’s not just about doing really fun and awesome STEM things, it’s also about sharing my love with others and maybe even inspiring them to be interested in STEM as well.

Who are your role models in the engineering or IT field? How have their stories influenced your educational or career goals?

While I wouldn’t exactly say she is my role model, I definitely would say she has given me the best advice. She is one of my friend’s mom and she received her degree in electrical engineering. After many years working in the industry as an electrical engineer, she learned that she really wasn’t meant to be an engineer. She found that she actually preferred the people aspect, and moved towards working in the finance department. She told me, “If you are going to screw up your life by choosing the wrong degree, do it with an engineering degree.” This is what made me decide I wanted to be an engineer. No matter where life takes me, engineering won’t be just a degree I earn, or a job I acquire, it will be a way of thinking, and a way to solve problems no matter what those problems may be.

Explain your experience as a woman in a STEM major working with other women in STEM. How have you used each other to support your work and persevere in male-dominated fields?

I have never really been concerned about being a woman in the STEM field. While it is not ideal to be one of three girls in a classroom full of students, I have never felt like I didn’t belong, or wasn’t as qualified. Though I have had a couple instances where people have told me they thought what I was doing was too hard, whether that is because I am a woman or just because I am me, it doesn’t matter. Those people don’t bother me, because they are not the ones that matter in life. All our lives there will be someone who doesn’t believe in us, but there is also someone who does. I have found those people both in CWIT and outside of CWIT, both female and male. It’s all about finding those people who bring you up, and forgetting about those who don’t.

“All our lives there will be someone who doesn’t believe in us, but there is also someone who does.” – Lillie

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The Center for Women In Technology (CWIT) is dedicated to increasing the representation of women in the creation of technology in the engineering and information technology fields. CWIT efforts begin with nurturing a strong group of Scholars, grow to building community resources for other women in these majors, extend to fostering a healthy gender climate and ITE pedagogy in College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) departments, and finally expand into outreach efforts to increase interest in technical careers. A successful program for female-friendly engineering and information technology education at UMBC will help make UMBC a destination for women (and men) interested in technical careers and serve as a national model for other universities.

For more information about Women’s History events and happenings, visit the Women’s Center myUMBC group page.

The Women's Center will be closed to the community during the full week of spring break (March 16-20th). 

If you need access to the lactation room between March 18-20th, please email Jess at jessm@umbc.edu to make arrangements. 

Scarlet Eakins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Technology Administration in December 2014. Learn more about her path below.

Where do you currently work?

RELI Group, Inc.

What is your job title?

Business Development Specialist

Location of the Organization/School (City, State)

Catonsville, MD

Which of the following resources did you use to pursue your after graduation plans?

Career Center, Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship

How did you obtain your job position?

During the fall 2014 semester I completed 120 internship hours at RELI Group through the Shattuck Family Internship Program. When I graduated I was offered the opportunity to remain at RELI Group.

What is the name of your graduate program?

B.A. in Business Technology Administration with a Certificate in Web Development

Before graduating from UMBC, what steps should students take to prepare themselves for the workplace/graduate school?

Take the time to pursue hobbies and figure out what you enjoy doing. A lot of people don't realize that they can often find a way to apply their skills in some way that makes them money!

What advice would you give to students who are creating their after graduation plan?

The government is always spending money on something: check out companies that are involved in federal contracting. Look up "NAICS" online and find codes that match what you're into. Now you can find businesses where you want to live that provide those services to the government. You don't actually work for the government and most companies pay well with great benefits.

Prior to your position, did you participate in any internships or volunteer experience? If so, please elaborate.

I almost graduated without doing any internships, but I got an email about a paid internship that would let me choose a start-up to work at in order to give me an inside peek at growing a business. I co-own InSource, a start-up developed by UMBC graduates, so I completed the application. RELI Group hires people with technical skills to work on IT projects for the federal government. I started as a Business Development Intern and literally started from scratch knowledge-wise - I'd never even heard of BD. It was a learning experience, and still is. Having an internship definitely showed me some more fields I can get into with a college degree.

Is there anything else you would like to share with current UMBC students?

If you have a gap between graduating and getting a job, develop new or existing skills or work on a project that you can put on your resume and tell a prospective employer about.

Interested in sharing your post-graduation plans? UMBC seniors/undergraduate and graduate students, you can fill out the form here!

Also, make sure to follow the Career Center on Twitter and Facebook! #UMBCgrad