Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Samantha Carestia ‘15, visual arts (animation), who is a UMBC Grant recipient.

Name: Samantha N. Carestia
Major: Visual arts (animation / interactive media concentration)
Extra Curricular Activities: March of Dimes Walks, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, creating digital ads for a local restaurant
Scholarships received: UMBC Grant

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
I decided to attend UMBC because of the Visual Arts degree program, which contains many of the aspects that I find desirable in my major. The visual arts program with the animation/interactive media concentration allows me to focus on both 2D and 3D artwork, made both physically and electronically, and extend the range of tasks I can perform in my desired field. I was also attracted to UMBC because it is an “in-state” school with a very high academic rating. I had looked at other institutions, even attending a different one in my freshman year that offered a large scholarship. I transferred to UMBC when I realized that UMBC had a program that better suited my educational needs.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
I think that the most amazing thing I discovered at UMBC is the instructors. They are very compassionate about what they are teaching and do so in a way that draws you into the subject. They are also so very helpful and accessible when I have a question or a problem. I am also amazed at how kind and active the UMBC community is.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
I feel that [the] course ART 384 — Introduction to 3D Computer Animation — was the class that most opened my mind. This class let me work with 3D modeling, which is something I have always wanted to do. I found I have a knack for it, which is great!

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
I am the daughter of what some may call “older parents.” My father is retired on Social Security, and my mother’s job is their only other income. They have sacrificed a lot to assist in my college tuition and expenses as best they can so I won’t be saddled with a huge amount of loans when I graduate.With the economy as it is today, there are challenges obtaining employment. A large amount of school loans may make it very difficult to concentrate on my employment search. This scholarship also means a lot to me because it means my parents won’t have to struggle as much in their efforts to help me achieve my goal of a college education.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
I am most proud of my high GPA. I am especially proud of the past two semesters with 6 courses each, and obtaining and maintaining a 4.0 GPA both semesters.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
I feel it is my obligation to continue doing my very best in my studies to prove not just to myself and my parents, but also to those that believe in me and have helped me that their faith and assistance are not in vain.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
After achieving my goal of a degree from UMBC, I hope to obtain employment at a nearby game-making studio, such as Bethesda, or find a job making web pages for a local firm. I will probably have to prove myself and start from the bottom and work my way up to my ultimate goal.

 Support UMBC student scholarships today!

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Danielle Bouchard ‘15, social work, who is an Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship recipient.

Name: Danielle Bouchard
Major: Social work and print media minor
Extra Curricular Activities: NASW Member, BSW Representative for NASW, Meals on Wheels Volunteer, President of the Social Work Student Association, Vice President of Phi Alpha Honor Society, and avid rock climber.
Scholarship received: Alumni Association Scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
I wanted to attend an institution that provided opportunities for research, had a diverse student population, and was in close proximity to Washington, D.C. I was also drawn to UMBC because of the reputation of its social work program.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
I am able to interact and study with students from an array of different ethnicities, races, and cultures. I am able to have intellectual conversations with students who have opposing views on topics discussed in and outside of class.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
My first semester at UMBC I enrolled in SOWK 200 taught by Dr. Guzman-Rae. She opened my mind to the vastness and versatility of a social work degree. I was introduced to the various types of roles social workers can play: macro, mezzo, and micro. We can be brokers, advocates, counselors, educators, facilitators, or a combination of them all.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
If I did not receive any scholarship support, I would have had to postpone attending school full-time and have work another job to offset the expenses of attending school. It is extremely important to me to receive these scholarships so I can focus on my education and my long-term career goals. In addition, without the Gilman Scholarship I would not have the resources to study abroad in Ecuador and Peru this past term.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
My involvement in the Social Work Student Association. A couple students and I reignited SWSA by increasing membership and providing monthly opportunities for all students to become involved on and off campus helping other individuals within the community.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
I have been fortunate enough to meet with two of the donors of my scholarships and will hopefully meet with the third within the coming months. I expressed my gratitude for their generous donation and explained how the scholarship has helped me further my education.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
I hope to be accepted into the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India. I want to work with victims of human trafficking in rural areas of India. After the program, I hope to attend UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and School of Social Welfare.

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re featuring Danielle Bouchard ‘15, social work, who is an Alumni Association Legacy Scholarship recipient.

Name: Danielle Bouchard
Major: Social work and print media minor
Extra Curricular Activities: NASW Member, BSW Representative for NASW, Meals on Wheels Volunteer, President of the Social Work Student Association, Vice President of Phi Alpha Honor Society, and avid rock climber.
Scholarship received: Alumni Association Scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
I wanted to attend an institution that provided opportunities for research, had a diverse student population, and was in close proximity to Washington, D.C. I was also drawn to UMBC because of the reputation of its social work program.

Q: What’s been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
I am able to interact and study with students from an array of different ethnicities, races, and cultures. I am able to have intellectual conversations with students who have opposing views on topics discussed in and outside of class.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind.
My first semester at UMBC I enrolled in SOWK 200 taught by Dr. Guzman-Rae. She opened my mind to the vastness and versatility of a social work degree. I was introduced to the various types of roles social workers can play: macro, mezzo, and micro. We can be brokers, advocates, counselors, educators, facilitators, or a combination of them all.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
If I did not receive any scholarship support, I would have had to postpone attending school full-time and have work another job to offset the expenses of attending school. It is extremely important to me to receive these scholarships so I can focus on my education and my long-term career goals. In addition, without the Gilman Scholarship I would not have the resources to study abroad in Ecuador and Peru this past term.

Q: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your time at UMBC?
My involvement in the Social Work Student Association. A couple students and I reignited SWSA by increasing membership and providing monthly opportunities for all students to become involved on and off campus helping other individuals within the community.

Q: What would you say to the people who provided your scholarship?
I have been fortunate enough to meet with two of the donors of my scholarships and will hopefully meet with the third within the coming months. I expressed my gratitude for their generous donation and explained how the scholarship has helped me further my education.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation?
I hope to be accepted into the William J. Clinton Fellowship for Service in India. I want to work with victims of human trafficking in rural areas of India. After the program, I hope to attend UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and School of Social Welfare.

CREDIT CARDS
You can quickly and easily make your year-end gift online. Gifts by credit card must be submitted no later than midnight EST on Wednesday, December 31.

CHECKS
Checks must be dated and postmarked by Wednesday, December 31, to be counted in the 2014 tax year. Please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to the UMBC Foundation at 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.

GIFTS OF SECURITIES
The gift of appreciated stock can be beneficial to UMBC and you. You may be eligible to take a charitable deduction for the market value of the securities, and could potentially benefit by avoiding capital gains tax and reducing your estate tax. You can request additional information about donating securities by visiting UMBC Foundation.

PLANNED GIVING
Planned gifts can be a significant benefit to you, your family, and UMBC. Bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts offer donors a variety of ways to support the university. For more information, visit our Planned Giving website. You can also contact Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, by phone at 410-455-3700 or by email at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

GIFTS IN KIND
A gift of personal property includes equipment, inventory, books, works of art, or other tangible property. Gifts of personal property are accepted by UMBC. Gifts in kind can be used to benefit the university, an academic department, or program as designated by the donor. If you are interested in pursuing this type of gift, please call Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, at 410-455-3700 or email her at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

QUESTIONS?
You may reach Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving, at 410-455-3377 or dayna@umbc.edu.

If you have already made your gift, thank you!

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation for the benefit of UMBC.

CREDIT CARDS
You can quickly and easily make your year-end gift online. Gifts by credit card must be submitted no later than midnight EST on Wednesday, December 31.

CHECKS
Checks must be dated and postmarked by Wednesday, December 31, to be counted in the 2014 tax year. Please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to the UMBC Foundation at 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.

GIFTS OF SECURITIES
The gift of appreciated stock can be beneficial to UMBC and you. You may be eligible to take a charitable deduction for the market value of the securities, and could potentially benefit by avoiding capital gains tax and reducing your estate tax. You can request additional information about donating securities by visiting UMBC Foundation.

PLANNED GIVING
Planned gifts can be a significant benefit to you, your family, and UMBC. Bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts offer donors a variety of ways to support the university. For more information, visit our Planned Giving website. You can also contact Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, by phone at 410-455-3700 or by email at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

GIFTS IN KIND
A gift of personal property includes equipment, inventory, books, works of art, or other tangible property. Gifts of personal property are accepted by UMBC. Gifts in kind can be used to benefit the university, an academic department, or program as designated by the donor. If you are interested in pursuing this type of gift, please call Kim Robinson, Senior Development Officer, at 410-455-3700 or email her at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

QUESTIONS?
You may reach Dayna Carpenter, Director of Annual Giving, at 410-455-3377 or dayna@umbc.edu.

If you have already made your gift, thank you!

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation for the benefit of UMBC.

Dr. Ana María Schwartz Caballero, associate
professor of Spanish and second language
education, is something of a fixture here at UMBC: she’s worked at the university in various capacities for the past 30 years, mostly bouncing between the Language and Education Departments, but always making sure to stay closely involved with students.

However, you won’t find her just on UMBC’s campus. Since Dr. Schwartz Caballero is heavily involved in Baltimore’s Hispanic and Latino community, you’re just as likely to find her running a meeting of the Latino/Hispanic Faculty Association. Or walking through City Hall with the rest of the members of Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s Hispanic Commission. Or presenting her research on language teaching and learning to the Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages.

So, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Schwartz Caballero was selected to receive the 2014 NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award at a special presentation ceremony during the Ravens’ September 28 game.

It should also come as no surprise that she chose to donate the $2,000 grant that came with the award to UMBC’s Esperanza Scholarship Fund. “My heart has always been with the students I work with and the community here at UMBC,” says Dr. Schwartz Caballero. “I couldn’t think of giving money to anyone else.”

Which is exactly why she chose the Esperanza Scholarship: it supports undergraduate and graduate students of Latino or Hispanic ancestry and/or students committed to the advancement of minorities, especially of Latino or Hispanic descent. And, as faculty advisor for the Hispanic/Latino Student Union, as well as a member of the UMBC Hispanic and Latino Student Admissions Advisory Group, Dr. Schwartz Caballero knows that students need all the support they can get. “I know that students struggle. They work hard, juggling jobs and schoolwork, and that can be very stressful.”

For students of immigrant families, though, it can be even more difficult. “Students from families that are just beginning to be established here often lack the financial support available to others,” explains Dr. Schwartz Caballero. “And, in many cases, the students themselves, on top of working and going to school, are also supporting their families however they can.”

And Dr. Schwartz Caballero is doing what she can to help, too. “It takes a long time to build up the funds for something like that [the Esperanza Scholarship], and any donation can help build that base. I just hope it makes someone’s life a little easier.”

Support the Esperanza Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Ana María Schwartz Caballero, associate
professor of Spanish and second language
education, is something of a fixture here at UMBC: she’s worked at the university in various capacities for the past 30 years, mostly bouncing between the Language and Education Departments, but always making sure to stay closely involved with students.

However, you won’t find her just on UMBC’s campus. Since Dr. Schwartz Caballero is heavily involved in Baltimore’s Hispanic and Latino community, you’re just as likely to find her running a meeting of the Latino/Hispanic Faculty Association. Or walking through City Hall with the rest of the members of Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s Hispanic Commission. Or presenting her research on language teaching and learning to the Alliance for the Advancement of Heritage Languages.

So, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Schwartz Caballero was selected to receive the 2014 NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award at a special presentation ceremony during the Ravens’ September 28 game.

It should also come as no surprise that she chose to donate the $2,000 grant that came with the award to UMBC’s Esperanza Scholarship Fund. “My heart has always been with the students I work with and the community here at UMBC,” says Dr. Schwartz Caballero. “I couldn’t think of giving money to anyone else.”

Which is exactly why she chose the Esperanza Scholarship: it supports undergraduate and graduate students of Latino or Hispanic ancestry and/or students committed to the advancement of minorities, especially of Latino or Hispanic descent. And, as faculty advisor for the Hispanic/Latino Student Union, as well as a member of the UMBC Hispanic and Latino Student Admissions Advisory Group, Dr. Schwartz Caballero knows that students need all the support they can get. “I know that students struggle. They work hard, juggling jobs and schoolwork, and that can be very stressful.”

For students of immigrant families, though, it can be even more difficult. “Students from families that are just beginning to be established here often lack the financial support available to others,” explains Dr. Schwartz Caballero. “And, in many cases, the students themselves, on top of working and going to school, are also supporting their families however they can.”

And Dr. Schwartz Caballero is doing what she can to help, too. “It takes a long time to build up the funds for something like that [the Esperanza Scholarship], and any donation can help build that base. I just hope it makes someone’s life a little easier.”

Support the Esperanza Scholarship Fund.

Once a month, we’ll profile one of the amazing Phonathon students working in UMBC’s call center. This week, say hello to student caller Shannon, class of 2016.

Shannon is from Montgomery County, MD, and is working toward a degree in political science with a minor in psychology. We sat down with Shannon to get to know her a little better and here’s what we learned:

Q: Why did you choose to come to UMBC?

A: I chose UMBC because I believe it is an academically strong campus. Also, when I visited for the first time I automatically fell in love with the campus and believed that I could really see myself being a part of the UMBC community.

Q: What activities do you enjoy outside of class?

A: Outside of class I take advantage of many activities UMBC has to offer. One thing offered is volunteering opportunities such as BARCS. BARCS is an animal shelter located in Baltimore and I try to visit as much as I can on Sundays. I really enjoy being able to get away from schoolwork and being able to relax by walking/playing with dogs. I also enjoy the fact that I am helping bettering an animal’s life.

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

A: What I like best about being a student caller is talking with alumni and listening to their experiences here at UMBC. A lot has changed since some alumni have graduated and updating them on how much our campus has improved makes me proud to go to school here.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: Hopefully, I plan to continue on to law school and become a lawyer.

Q: What do you enjoy most now that you’re here?

A: I very much enjoy our school spirit and sense of community. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming and I feel right at home here.

Learn more about the UMBC Phonathon!

Once a month, we’ll profile one of the amazing Phonathon students working in UMBC’s call center. This week, say hello to student caller Shannon, class of 2016.

Shannon is from Montgomery County, MD, and is working toward a degree in political science with a minor in psychology. We sat down with Shannon to get to know her a little better and here’s what we learned:

Q: Why did you choose to come to UMBC?

A: I chose UMBC because I believe it is an academically strong campus. Also, when I visited for the first time I automatically fell in love with the campus and believed that I could really see myself being a part of the UMBC community.

Q: What activities do you enjoy outside of class?

A: Outside of class I take advantage of many activities UMBC has to offer. One thing offered is volunteering opportunities such as BARCS. BARCS is an animal shelter located in Baltimore and I try to visit as much as I can on Sundays. I really enjoy being able to get away from schoolwork and being able to relax by walking/playing with dogs. I also enjoy the fact that I am helping bettering an animal’s life.

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

A: What I like best about being a student caller is talking with alumni and listening to their experiences here at UMBC. A lot has changed since some alumni have graduated and updating them on how much our campus has improved makes me proud to go to school here.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: Hopefully, I plan to continue on to law school and become a lawyer.

Q: What do you enjoy most now that you’re here?

A: I very much enjoy our school spirit and sense of community. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming and I feel right at home here.

Learn more about the UMBC Phonathon!

The Thanksgiving leftovers have dwindled away and many of us have put a significant dent in our holiday shopping lists, having bustled through Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Three years ago, Giving Tuesday was established to encourage us to to break away from the consumerism and chaos that has swallowed up our holiday season and return to a spirit of giving.

This year, there are a number of great causes to consider at UMBC for Giving Tuesday. Your commitment truly is a gift that will keep on giving, and our communities will benefit from the great work of the students this spring.

Support UMBC Students on #GivingTuesday!