The “Jessica Effect” was named for the late Jessica Soto Pérez, former graduate student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, member of the first cohort of PROMISE Peer Mentors. We wanted to invite, involve, and engage family members of graduate students in an effort to promote a more inclusive environment that caters to the whole person, and that values the importance of family and friends.

First PROMISE Peer Mentors at UMBC, circa 2004

About Jessica:

• Daughter of Antonio Israel Soto and Luz N. Pérez
• Undergraduate degree: Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayagüez
• P. B. Certificate in Biochemical Regulatory Engineering
• Graduate School: Chemical & Biochemical Engineering (Research: Novel methods for chromatofocusing), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
• Peer mentor: National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP.
• Instructor: UMBC Upward Bound Math Science
• Member, American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• Member, American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Jessica’s research: The effect of pH transients formed by salt gradients on protein ion-exchange chromatography

The article on the Jessica Effect can be found here:  https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/tull

More background can be found here: https://renettatull.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/the-jessica-effect-and-women-in-stem-mujeres-en-stem-en-memoria-de-jessica/

Dr. Claudia Pearce, UMBC Alumna and Senior Science Authority at NSA

On October 11, 2016, there will be a networking opportunity for CWIT, Meyerhoff undergraduate scholars, and PROMISE members from 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM to meet the 2016 ADVANCE Distinguished Lecture, featuring, Dr. Claudia Pearce,  M.S., ’89 and Ph.D., ’94 and 2014 UMBC Alumna of the Year in COEIT. Dr. Pearce is currently Senior Computer Science Authority at NSA, a member of UMBC’s COEIT advisory board, and involved in collaborative research our CSEE faculty. 

EVENT DETAILS

Event: Networking Opportunity with Dr. Claudia Pearce

Date: October 11, 2016

Time: 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM

Location: UMBC Campus, Commons 331

REGISTRATION

Members of the UMBC Community:

Please RSVP at http://my.umbc.edu/groups/advance/events/41572.

Members who are not part of the UMBC Community:

Please RSVP with your interest in attending in the comments section below.

This networking opportunty is part of her visit for the 2016 ADVANCE Distiguished Lecture later that day at 4:30 PM, a campus-wide talk on her career trajectory at 4:30pm in the Library Gallery followed by a reception. All are welcome to the afternoon event as she will share a personal story of perseverance in her educational, research, and career journey as a computer scientist.  We are proud to incorporate this event into UMBC’s 50th Anniversary celebrations where she will deliver. 

Dr. Claudia Pearce, UMBC Alumna and Senior Computer Science Authority at NSA

On October 11, 2016, there will be an ADVANCE Distinguished Lecture, featuring, Dr. Claudia Pearce,  M.S., ’89 and Ph.D., ’94 and 2014 UMBC Alumna of the Year in COEIT. Dr. Pearce is currently Senior Computer Science Authority at NSA, a member of UMBC’s COEIT advisory board, and involved in collaborative research our CSEE faculty. All are welcome to come as she will share a personal story of perseverance in her educational, research, and career journey as a computer scientist.  We are proud to incorporate this event into UMBC’s 50th Anniversary celebrations where she will deliver a campus-wide talk on her career trajectory at 4:30pm in the Library Gallery followed by a reception.

 EVENT DETAILS

REGISTRATION

Do you know your credit score?

Registration

PROMISE AGEP Opening Week is coming! We will be hosting and supporting annual opening meetings this year on September 8, 2016 and September 9, 2016.

UMD  Opening Day – September, 8, 2016 

Showcase of Graduate Student Groups and Graduate Diversity Networking Reception

http://gradschool.umd.edu/calendar/events/event/2256

PROMISE AGEP participants at the UMD Adele H. Stamp Student Union Atrium

The PROMISE AGEP at the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) will be among the programs featured at the annual opening meeting in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Atrium. Attendees will have the opportunity to become familiar with the various graduate student groups and network with other attendees at the Graduate Diversity networking reception.

Date: September 8, 2016

Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Location: UMD Campus, Adele H. Stamp Student Union Atrium

RSVP:   Please contact Christopher Perez at the University of Maryland College Park for more information. This event is for students at College Park.

UMBC PROMISE AGEP Opening Day – September, 9, 2016 

On September 9, 2016, PROMISE AGEP at UMBC will be hosting its annual opening meeting! Everyone is invited! This is a great time to relax, enjoy food, and meet other graduate students, postdoctorate fellows, and faculty/staff who also attend our PROMISE events. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Date: September 9, 2016

Time: 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Location: UMBC Campus, The Commons Gameroom (2nd floor)

RSVP:

UMBC members, please register at http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/40832

Students from other schools, please RSVP in the comments section below with your interest to attend.

Interested in learning how to fund your graduate education? Come and learn how to apply for the NSF GRFP Fellowship! Our speakers, Dr. Frances D. Carter-Johnson and Dr. Patricia Ordonez,  are both UMBC Alumni and former NSF GRFP winners. This seminar has been presented at the National Science Foundation’s HBCU-UP national conference, the American Association for the Advancement in Science’s  Emerging Researchers Network national Conference, Harvard, MIT, Spelman, Clemson, and at others universities in Puerto Rico, Texas, and DC. Our speakers have been part of MIT’s Tech TV series, and continue to be sought-after speakers on the topic of graduate funding. 

Speakers:

Dr. Frances D. Carter-Johnson, Education Data Scientist, National Science Foundation, Division of Human Resource Development (HRD), and Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) (left)

Dr. Patricia Ordóñez, Department of Computer Science, University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras (right)

EVENT DETAILS

Date: September 10, 2016

Time: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Location: UMBC Campus, Sherman Hall 003

Registration:

UMBC members, please RSVP at http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/40836.

non-UMBC members, please RSVP by writing in the comments section below with your interest in attending the event.

Our speakers’ work on the topic of graduate funding was presented at the “Understanding Interventions” national conference in 2012, and was published in a paper by the American Association of Engineering Education in 2013. This year, in addition to their annual workshops in Boston, their seminar, “The $10 Million Dollar Plan: Increasing Graduate Funding and Diversity in Computing” was presented at the 2014 Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, in Seattle, WA. Their list of winners continues to grow, and participants who have taken their workshops have won the prestigious NSF GRFP Fellowship and other awards,  totaling more than $1 million of fellowship money! 

AGENDA

SESSION 1: “Funding Your Graduate Education” 

10:00 AM -12:00 PM — SEMINAR (General Public)

This seminar will include general information about funding for graduate school. Information regarding a variety of fellowships will be shared. Most of the content will focus on funding that is available in the U.S. for students in STEM fields.  Many of these fellowship opportunities are sponsored by the U.S. government, and are therefore reserved for U.S. students. There will be a small amount of information available to international students and students in the Humanities and Education, but in addition to talking about general fellowships, a primary focus of this seminar will be the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP).  The NSF GRFP Fellowship covers STEM fields, including social and behavioral sciences, e.g., Psychology, STEM Education, Public Policy.)

Breakfast will be served.

————————————

SESSION 2: “Starting Your Application”

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM — NSF Fastlane session (By reservation/appointment only)

To join this session, you must reserve your space in the comments below before September 7, and you must bring your laptop. Lunch will be served at this session. Lunch is reserved for attendees who come to the second session. This session is for those who are making the commitment to submit the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship application. Participation in this session requires participation in SESSION 1. This session will take you through the process of logging onto the Fastlane, NSF’s online application submission website, and the presenters will assist you with the early stages of preparing your essays and documents for the fellowship application.

List of fields: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12599/nsf12599.htm#appendix.

Applicants for the GRFP must meet the following criteria:

• During the senior year of an undergraduate program
• After completing their undergraduate program but prior to entering graduate school
• During the first year of graduate school
• Prior to completing the Fall term of the second year of a full-time graduate program.

[Both undergraduates and graduate students may attend SESSION 1 and SESSION 2.]

Speaker Biographies

Dr. Frances D. Carter-Johnson, Education Data Scientist, National Science Foundation, Division of Human Resource Development (HRD), and Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR)

Dr. Carter-Johnson is a graduate of UMBC’s Department of Public Policy and formerly served as a STEM Policy Analyst at Westat.  Dr. Carter-Johnson has degrees in Public Policy, Applied Physics, Pure Physics, and Mechanical Engineering from UMBC, Georgia Tech, and Spelman College. She has received research support and fellowships from NASA, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), SREB, The Department of Education, GEM, the American Evaluation Association, NIH, and MIT. Dr. Carter-Johnson completed her postdoctoral training at the Teaching and Learning Laboratory at MIT, and was a Science and Technology Policy Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She currently is an Education Data Scientist at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) and is the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR).

Dr. Patricia Ordóñez, Department of Computer Science, University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras

Dr. Ordóñez  is a graduate of UMBC’s Department of Computer Science. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras. Dr. Ordóñez has degrees from Johns Hopkins University and UMBC in Hispanic and Italian Studies, and Computer Science respectively.  She has taught several classes at UMBC and was a Technical Trainer for UMBC’s Training Centers, focusing on JAVA Computer Programming Certifications and curriculum development. Dr. Ordóñez  was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and has received fellowships and/or recognition from Xerox, Verizon, Google, The Ford Foundation, The Hispanic Scholarship Fund and UMBC. Dr. Ordóñez is the Leader of Biomedical Informatics Function for the Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, and her research is   focused on applying machine learning, data mining, and data visualization to big time series data for the purpose of improving medicine and on developing assistive technologies for programming. Dr. Ordóñez also presents this workshop on graduate research funding in Puerto Rico in Spanish.

_________________________________

Graduate students and undergraduates from all schools in the region are invited to attend this seminar. All current LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellows are required to attend the workshop, and are required to apply for the NSF GRFP.

REGISTRATION: 

UMBC Members: Please RSVP at http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/40169

Dr. Robert Deluty, Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean of the Graduate School, discussing about balancing work and life responsibilities at PROMISE AGEP’s 2015 Work-Life Balance seminar.

PROMISE AGEP will be hosting its annual “Work-Life Balance Workshop: A Talk with Dr. Robert Deluty.” Dr. Deluty has been a professor of psychology for 36 years and served as the director of the clinical psychology doctoral program for 18 years. In addition to being a professor, Dr. Deluty is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School and a prolific poet.  He has written 51 books of poetry, all of which are available at the campus bookstore. His most recent collection,Saved by Imagination and Humor, was published in late July.

Over the holiday weekend, the Dissertation House online opened, and we already have several students who have come over to join! The Dissertation House at UMBC which will house approximately 12-15 students in-person during the week with workshops, writing sessions, and meals, will also feature blogging activities. Since space is limited, we have invited others to join us online. This invitation extends to you. If you are working on your dissertation this summer, or if you SHOULD be working on your dissertation, we invite you to join us. Click here: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2016-challenge/

The Dissertation House – Summer 2016 Challenge is open! Post! Let us know what you’re doing. Are you working on… https://t.co/y1F02ZIl1z

— PROMISE: MD’s AGEP (@PROMISE_AGEP) July 2, 2016

Working on dissertations? Join coach @drwcarter & me for our @PROMISE_AGEP Dissertation House #SummerChallenge https://t.co/Xj73eaZCsP

— Renetta G. Tull (@Renetta_Tull) July 2, 2016

Coaches: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale, Dr. Renetta G. Tull

Summer Dissertation House Challenge Photo Credits: Paul J. Everett, “Hot Air Balloon Summer Heat Festival,” and DarlArthurS’ “Colorado Springs Hot Air Balloon Competition,” under Creative Commons attribution 2.0. The Summer 2016 Dissertation House is co-sponsored by The Graduate School at UMBC, and by PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP.