Here in the Office of Institutional Advancement, we are always working hard to support the university and connect our donors with causes they care most about. We would like to introduce our donors — to whom we are so grateful — to the people who help make those things happen. Today, we’ll be hearing from Leanna Powell ’08, English, who has just returned to UMBC as our Assistant Director of Annual Giving. 

Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Name: Leanna Powell

Job Title: Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Focus Area: Student philanthropy, crowdfunding, direct mail

Years at UMBC: .5 as staff, 4 as a student

Grad Year: 2008

Where are you from originally? I grew up in southern Maryland near D.C., but I consider myself a Baltimore gal now after 10+ years in the city.

What do you love most about UMBC? In a city so packed with higher ed institutions, UMBC feels like a well-kept secret. The campus is serene, the people are sweet and low-key, and yet you see student and alumni achievements popping up all over the state in the arts, research sciences, and public policy. Light City is a great example — I’m excited to get to rep for my college at the Inner Harbor.

What’s your favorite thing about your job? I majored in writing, but immediately got swept up by nonprofit work, so I’m glad to have the chance to put all of my professors’ hard work to good use (shoutouts to Chris Corbett, Jody Shipka and Orianne Smith!). I have also spent a lot of time working with student philanthropy on the nonprofit beneficiary side, so I’m glad to get the chance to apply that experience in helping Retrievers fundraise for their own amazing projects through our campus crowdfunding site.

Who do you admire and why? Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are two of my biggest idols. To me, they represent a generation of women who are comfortable being smart, funny, and supportive of one another — and aren’t afraid to speak up or to take criticism.

Have you ever done anything crazy or out of the ordinary? Now that we’re in short-sleeves weather, some of the first things people notice about me are my tattoos. Most of them have a lot of personal significance, but I did get one on impulse one afternoon with a friend — matching dinosaurs, to remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.

Tell us what you loved most about UMBC on Retriever Stories!

Kinetic Trailer from Zachary Garmoe on Vimeo.

Last year, a group of UMBC students and alumni combined their expertise in engineering, art, and design to build the Kraken Upcycle, a plastic behemoth on wheels that took home the grand prize in Baltimore’s Kinetic Sculpture Race. (We wrote about them last summer at UMBC Magazine, and you can take a peek here.)

The next step in their incredible journey is the Kinetic Grand Championship in Arcata, California, this May…and they need your help to get there.

When you give to UMBC’s Kinetic Sculpture Race team, you’re not just supporting this one project — you’re helping UMBC build its reputation as a hub for innovative undergraduate teaching, where project-based collaborative learning leads to great achievements and great discoveries.

You’ll also help fund graduate teaching assistantships for the INDS 430 course, called “The Upcycle,” where students will pool their talents to design and build sustainable installations for events like the KSR, Artscape, and Light City.

Make your gift today at our GiveCorps site!

Every so often, we’ll profile one of the amazing Phonathon students working in UMBC’s call center. This month, we talked with student caller Emily, an economics major from Baltimore, Maryland.

Why did you choose UMBC, and what do you like best now that you’re here? I chose UMBC for a number of reasons: it was affordable, it was local, and it came highly recommended by both of my alumni parents. In my time at UMBC, I have enjoyed many classes and student orgs. But I would have to say that what I like best is the ease with which I found like-minded friends. UMBC has a great diversity in its population, and I was really able to “find my people,” so to speak.

What activities do you enjoy outside of class? I’m a commuter so I don’t spend a ton of time on campus, but when I am here I hang out at the Women’s Center quite a bit. They provide a really comfortable space, and I’m always learning something there. Additionally, I started my own org called People United, and have done a lot of cool things with that, including hosting really interesting discussions and running a voter registration drive. In my personal time, I really enjoy playing video games and hanging out with my super cute dog.

What do you like best about being a student caller? I really like the feeling that I have helped someone get through school a little easier. Last semester, I raised enough money to cover tuition, books and a meal plan for one student. That’s such a great feeling. Really, I think education is an essential human right, and knowing I contributed to someone’s access to the awesome education we provide here at UMBC is just great. Besides that, I really like to hear where alumni end up after UMBC. It has given me a lot of perspective about the wide range of possibilities after graduation. Also, I think my social skills and self-confidence have really improved. Before this job, I really struggled with timidity. Now, I think I could strike up a conversation with basically anyone.

What are your plans after graduation? I am actually in training to run a university call center myself. The company UMBC works with to manage our call center has graciously given me an opportunity to train with my call center manager in an apprenticeship. It’s giving me a lot of exposure to the “behind-the-scenes” of a call center. When I finish the apprenticeship, I will have an opportunity to apply with this company for a full time position somewhere in the U.S.A. I have really enjoyed my time in Phonathon, and am so excited to continue in this line of work. Beyond that, I plan to continue my education in either economic anthropology or social work  — but I’m still figuring that part out.

Check out some of the awesome projects our Phonathon students are fundraising for!

For the past four years, alumnae of UMBC’s Lambda Phi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Inc. have been gathering over Homecoming weekend to reconnect and reminisce. For the past three, the event has come with a giving component to benefit the Second Generation Scholarship, which goes to two minority students a year. And in 2015, the alumnae chapter raised $1,585 through their Homecoming programming.

The amount has been steadily increasing each year, something Dr. Tamara Lewis ’92, psychology, is very pleased with. A chartering member of UMBC’s Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni, as well as an AKA alumna, she says the Second Generation Scholarship is “a minority scholarship we can all relate to.” She and two other alumnae – Crystal Watkins-Johansson ’95, biological sciences, and Anita Jackson ’80, health science and policy – decided to incorporate the giving component into the event about four years ago.

This year’s award went to three recipients:  Micahyas Akama ’18, economics, Natacha Olugemo ’17, computer engineering, and Ayana Henderson ’16, biological sciences.

Henderson, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha who plans to complete an M.D./Ph.D. program after graduation, is grateful to have received the award. She says the Second Generation Scholarship demonstrates “the high value UMBC [places] on uplifting minority students.”

Olugemo, who transferred here from Howard Community College and hopes to build a career in network or hardware engineering, says that the financial award has allowed her to focus more on her studies than how she will pay for tuition. She thanks those who gave to the scholarship fund.

“You are not just helping us stay in school, you are also helping us build a better future for ourselves and our [families],” she says.

— Julia Celtnieks ’13

Every so often, we’ll profile one of the amazing Phonathon students working in UMBC’s call center. This month, we sat down with student supervisor Fiyin, class of 2016, an information systems major from Burtonsville, Maryland.

Q: Why did you choose UMBC, and what do you like best now that you’re here?

A: Honestly, I chose UMBC because [it was kind of] the perfect university…It was small enough, but also had the perfect majors[.] Also, it’s pretty close to home [,and] it doesn’t cost too much…[Now that I’m here, I enjoy] the camaraderie, [and] also the classes, despite the fact that they are a little bit more difficult than most colleges’…[If] you do put in the work, you do get the payoff, which is not only a good grade, but the fact that you’re graduating from an honors college.

Q: What activities do you enjoy outside of class?

A: Playing basketball with friends, just hanging out. Does [Phonathon] count as “outside of class”?

Q: What do you like best about being a student caller?

A: I’m not even that much of a student caller anymore, because I’m a supervisor now, but [I like] the instant interaction with alumni, most of all. The fact that that you can learn so much from people who’ve been in your position, some a while ago, some not too long ago. It kind of gives you basic knowledge [of] what you’re going to encounter once you graduate…I’ve gotten people that will tell me [where to] apply for internships and things like that, so that’s pretty cool.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: After graduation, I plan on going into the workforce…Hopefully, I’m able to get an internship in [the IT] field soon enough.

Check out the other fantastic projects our student callers are raising funds for!

 Todd Carton ’77, interdisciplinary studies, has never been one to follow a conventional route. As an undergraduate, his degree program (then called Option II) combined theatre criticism, literature, and creative writing. Additionally, his experience as a tutor in the Learning Resource Center inspired him to get a master’s degree in linguistics and teach English as a foreign language.

When that market proved dry, he went on to become an accountant and work for several nonprofit organizations until his retirement. It’s certainly not what one might expect from a former theatre student!

Despite his varied career paths, Carton has remained committed to both the performing arts and UMBC.  He says his professors encouraged him to go off the beaten path and fostered “an independent and creative thinking process.”

He recalls, specifically, an American literature final he took as an undergraduate. The first question on the exam was about William Faulkner, and Carton was inspired to write his answer in that author’s distinct stream-of-consciousness style.

By the time he finished, he realized he only had a few minutes to answer the other two essay questions, but he passed the exam “despite giving [the questions] short shrift.”

“I think that built a strong attachment to UMBC for me,” he says now.

Carton has directed his philanthropy to support the arts at UMBC in significant and deeply personal ways. His initial gift, made when the first phase of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building opened in 2012, was to name the building’s box office in memory of his late brother, Steven M. Carton, whom he remembers as “the coolest guy ever.”

More recently, he has established the Carton Family Endowed Scholarship (named in honor of his parents) to support promising students in the performing arts who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. He has also included the university in his estate plan, in hopes that the scholarship fund will continue to grow and benefit more students far into UMBC’s future.

The inaugural recipient, Chandler Stafford ’19, theatre, says she is “truly honored and grateful” for the opportunity, and says that not having to worry about how she’ll pay for school has given her much more freedom to pursue her artistic and academic goals.

“With the help of this scholarship […] I can focus on furthering my knowledge and growing in my field of study,” she says.

Carton is looking forward to meeting Stafford at the Endowed Scholarship Luncheon later this semester. When asked what he might say to her, Carton says he would “…encourage [her] to make the most of [her] opportunities at UMBC, and to realize that…it’s possible to use a UMBC education and succeed in a field that may not be a direct line from your [degree].”

As we wrap up our spotlight on Alternative Spring Break, we’d like to talk about another trip that impacts our Maryland community. The ARC of Carroll County serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout their local area, providing resources for employment, education, transportation, and community living.

On this ASB trip, students will have the chance to work directly with the people the ARC supports, building bonds and breaking down stereotypes about disability. Your gift will  go towards supplies, food, lodging, and transportation for 12 students who are bound to remember this trip for the rest of their lives.

To donate to the ARC ASB trip, click here. To hear from the student leaders themselves, click the video below:

This week, we’ve been focusing on UMBC’s Alternative Spring Break trips, which give students the chance to go out into the world, make a difference, and learn more about issues affecting society on their week off in March. Today, we’re shining a light on the Public Health trip.

Through this service-learning opportunity, students will learn about the Maryland through hands-on service projects in free clinics and health-focused nonprofit organizations throughout the city of Baltimore. This year’s trip, in particular, will focus on the issues of childhood obesity and food deserts in Baltimore.

As with the other trips we’ve featured this week, any financial contribution you might make is much appreciated, and will help cover the cost of supplies, lodging, food and transportation for 12 students. To give, head here. To hear straight from this year’s trip leaders about the positive impact of the Public Health trip, give this video a watch:

Here on the giving blog, we’ve been giving you an look at UMBC’s Alternative Spring Break programs, which give students a chance to participate in a service learning project over the March holiday. This next trip takes students right into the city of Baltimore, where, over the course of one year, at least 30,000 people will experience homelessness at one point.

Over their spring break, students will work on various projects throughout the city, and learn about how its homelessness problem intersects with poverty, crime, and other issues facing Baltimore. Your gift will go towards supplies, lodging, food, and transportation for 12 UMBC students.

To give to the Homelessness ASB trip, head to GiveCorps. To learn more about the trip from this year’s student co-leaders, take a look at this video:

As we near the end of the calendar year, we’d like to remind our community of the many places their gifts might go this holiday season. This week, we’ll be focusing on next year’s Alternative Spring Break trips. These provide a wonderful opportunity for students to spend their week off doing good for the communities and gaining a new understanding of the world.

One of these trips will take students to Patch Adams’ Gesundheit! Institute. They’ll interact with patients, help maintain the grounds, and learn about Adams’ humanistic model of health care and the Institute’s approach to social justice. In past years on this trip, students have visited veterans’ hospitals and retirement homes in the area, tended to organic gardens, and kept the Institute’s rural West Virginia campus clean and bright.

Your donation will go towards the cost of supplies, lodging, food, and transportation for 12 students over the upcoming spring break. To give to the Gesundheit! trip, head to the GiveCorps site. For more from the students themselves, take a look at this video!