.jpg)
]]>
Name: Noor Amin
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Maryland House of Delegates
Position Title: Constituent Services Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s): Political Science
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
I work for the office of Brooke Lierman, delegate of district 46. My primary job is to communicate with constituents and inform them about the current bills that are being proposed. My job also includes substantial research on the pros and cons of specific policy measures. I then present these to the delegate when requested.
Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.
I applied via UMBCworks. I had my resume approved from Career Center. After applying, I had an interview over the phone.
Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?
UMBC Career Center and UMBCworks.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?
I get to be part of this year's legislative session. I have met some very important people while working at the House of Delegates. I love hearing from constituents and seeing how past bills have impacted them.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
On a few occasions, I helped solve the problems of constituents. For example, a month ago, a constituent called about not receiving "homeowner's credit." I then called the agency directly responsible for giving out the money. The issue was soon resolved. As a result, I felt empowered. I was able to use my position to help someone in need. It was spectacular.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Work hard. Know your priorities. Work always comes first.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position.
I was able to make a positive contribution in the lives of Maryland residents.
Like the Career Center on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!
]]>
I always hear people say that connections mean everything, which automatically used to lead me to believe that I am out of luck because I like to stay in my shell and avoid people. But during my college career, I’ve learned that you can make connections in the most unexpected places.
Start with your professors! If you’re not comfortable approaching them during office hours, approach them slowly! Start by coming to class a few minutes early or staying after class a few minutes late. Make an effort to seem interested in class and relate what you’re learning back to your experiences. This practice is what can make for an easy conversation starter. Professors know your learning ability, your learning style, and how much you are capable of doing. They’re the perfect people to ask for recommendations and references, but you want to make sure that they know you on a personal level so they can make your recommendation or reference specific and tailored to who you are and things you do outside of the classroom.
I presented a workshop a few weeks ago, and one of the students in the workshop told me she would never have thought about putting internship experience on her resume because it was unpaid. Internships should most definitely be on your resume, as they are valuable experiences! They’re great opportunities to gain experience in the real world and make connections with people specifically in your field. Your supervisors at an internship can offer an opinion on how you work in a workplace setting, not just an educational one.
Say you finish an internship in the summer and want to ask for a recommendation for an internship the following summer. There’s a large gap between that time, so make sure you continue to reach out to your supervisors! Shoot them a quick email every few months with something that reminded you of them, or asking for an update on a project you were helping out with while you were there, or just give them an update on what you’re doing!
LinkedIn is also a popular place to network. For me, I always feel a little weird using LinkedIn, just because I don’t know these people. If you feel the same, my suggestion is to start by adding people you know that are your own age. People you went to high school or college with, or completed an internship with. Then move on to your direct supervisors and bosses. From those connections, you can find other people in your field that you might be interested in talking with.
I also find LinkedIn helpful because I can broaden my perspective of the professions offered in my field. I can look at a profile, see a job that person has held, and think “wow I never thought I could do that as a career.” For more information about LinkedIn, click here.
If you want to learn more about networking, on Wednesday, April 5, from 12PM-1PM in Commons 331, the Career Center is hosting a “Build your Professional Network” Panel for students interested in how to get their foot in the door.
April is Career Month, and I definitely suggest that students go to as many events as they can because there will be employers and UMBC alumni at these events. Career Center events are a wonderful way to talk to professionals in an environment that you’re comfortable in, on campus! We bring the employers to you, so take advantage of the opportunities we offer to make a first impression before you even submit your resume. Here’s a calendar of the events we offer in April, so be sure to check them out! ]]>Today is the deadline to submit a housing application for guaranteed housing next year. You need to have submitted a housing application from your Residence account (can be reached via the Residential Life website: www.umbc.edu/reslife) by 11:59 PM TONIGHT (March 28, 2017)
Remember, applications need to be completely submitted by clicking the SUBMIT button as opposed to "draft" status. If you have any questions please call 410-455-2591 or come to the Res Life Office!
]]>
I am a senior, biology major, an Honors College member, and a math minor. I am a huge nerd and am also involved with research on campus in Dr. Lu's lab. After I graduate (this semester!) I am going to graduate school for a PhD in microbiology.
Tell us about how you are involved on campus.
I head the Lab Tours Committee for Biology Council of Majors, as well as being involved with UMBC's Club Fencing team.
How and why did you get involved in being a tutor?
I have been tutoring since Fall 2014. I had enjoyed helping to tutor friends unofficially throughout high school, so I decided to apply.
What is your favorite thing about being a tutor?
I love seeing the "Aha!" moment when a student finally understands something they have been struggling with. It's really exciting to watch students who came in very confused start to understand and work on problems independently.
Why should students utilize the tutoring?
I think the tutors try to be really helpful to students who are struggling, but I might be biased. Also, tutoring can be great even for students who aren't struggling. Trying to explain things to fellow tutees is a great way to cement your understanding. If nothing else, it's free and easy to get, so you've only wasted a little time if it doesn't work out.
What advice would you give students about how to prepare for a tutoring session?
Figure out what you want to get out of the session ahead of time, and try to be clear about it. It helps me to know if you want me to answer the occasional question and check your solutions or if you need me to explain concepts and give lots of support in solving problems. Bringing notes/textbooks and the questions you want to go over is key.
And if you can't figure out exactly what you're struggling with, that's okay too! I'm happy to work with you to try to figure it out.
When and where can someone work with you through the Learning Resources Center?
I am in the Math Lab Mondays from 9am-10 and Fridays from 9am-1pm. I also do appointment tutoring for Genetics on Wednesday mornings.
This post was written by Farhan Augustine, a UMBC senior studying Biochemistry. In addition to his work at UMBC, Farhan advocates for the rights of human trafficking survivors and is actively involved in local efforts to create legislation that would protect survivors.
Human sex and labor trafficking is a hideous violation of human rights that has been quietly growing in our communities for many years. According to some of the statistics, human trafficking is now the second highest grossing criminal enterprise across the world.
Although the awareness regarding human sex and labor trafficking appears to be growing, our state of Maryland remains a treasure-trove for human sex and labor trafficking. Maryland is a vital location because many of our highways, especially I-95, provide easy access to some of the most populated communities on the East Coast. Traffickers use many of our local highways to traverse between New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. In fact, National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) reports receiving 531 tips and registering 158 Human trafficking cases in Maryland in the year 2016. Further breakdown of the NHTH data indicates that 77% of the reported human trafficking cases involved sex trafficking, and 16% of the reported cases involved human labor trafficking. Moreover, Maryland’s Judiciary (Administrative Office of the Courts), the U.S. Department of Justice, and Department of Legislative Services advises that approximately 476 violations of Maryland’s Criminal Law, Article 11-303 (MD Criminal Law, Article 11- related to Human trafficking), were seen in District Courts and 256 violations were seen in the Circuit Courts.
Despite being so prevalent in Maryland, human trafficking remains hidden in plain sight. My main purpose in writing this article is to make you aware of human trafficking in Maryland in the hopes that you may become an active and informed member of our society.
Human Trafficking is More Than Sex Trafficking
Many people associate human trafficking with sexual exploitation; however, human trafficking has many different faces, and it plays a major role in dozens of businesses across Maryland. Labor exploitation is another facet of human trafficking. Maryland counts domestic labor, begging rings, traveling sales crews, agriculture and fish farming industries, health care industry, marriage and online dating, commercial brothels, hotel/motel brothels, and online escort services as hubs of human trafficking. As widespread as it is, human trafficking is often undetectable to the untrained eye. “Mail-order brides,” for example are illegal in Maryland under Criminal Law §11-303 and (HB#0276F) which describes “compelled marriage” as marriage in which a person knowingly takes money or uses fraud to compel the other person to marry another person. This crime is punishable with up to 25 years of imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $15,000. A person who knowingly aids, abets, or benefits financially from such ventures or activities is also in violation of the state’s human trafficking laws, and is subject to the same penalties. Thus, human trafficking is more widespread than many people realize and spreading awareness is of utmost importance.
Furthermore, many people are maladroit in distinguishing between smuggling and trafficking. This in part is because of the widespread neo-abolitionist discourses adopted by almost all anti-trafficking efforts, movies, TV shows, and political activities which sets up widespread misrepresentation of victims of trafficking only as young and innocent women who are deceived and forced into the sex industry. The reality is something of a complicated nature and is often perverse for policy and law making purposes. For example, it is true that many women that are trafficked for sex and labor are often forced into such acts. However, the unauthorized international migration, often initiated by women themselves to ameliorate their lives and families, positions them as isolated and distinct victims of emotional, physical, and sexual exploitation that is almost unprecedented and often under reported by victims due to fears of retaliation from the law enforcement agencies. Thus, a simple definition of a trafficking victim that suffers at the hands of individual men: traffickers, clients, and buyers, needs to be broadened to form holistic anti-trafficking policies and laws that do no assume or correlate trafficking with only sex work. The problem with the popular view of “human trafficking = sex work” is that it relies on the construction of human trafficking based on gender stereotypes and denies men and women’s agency by focusing exclusively on sexual exploitation of women that makes other types of labor exploitation almost invisible. Instead it reinforces the patriarchal discourse that all “sex workers” must necessarily be “passive victims” that need paternal protection, and it establishes a single framework for victimhood that most of the exploited undocumented migrant victims cannot meet in the court of law. Thus, it is important to be aware and create laws and policies to distinguish between people that intentional engage in sex work purely for their own economic gains, and separate those from the people who are forced and coerced into modern day sex-slavery.
Maryland’s Legislation and Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts
Maryland, compared to some other states like Florida, New York, and California, does not have a comprehensive human trafficking legislation. To give you some background regarding the Human trafficking laws in Maryland, I have chosen to present you with information which (I believe) every responsible citizen of the State should be aware of. (Click the hyperlinks if you require further comprehension of Criminal Law Article-11). MD Code, Criminal Law, §11-303, as repealed and reenacted in October 2010, provided the following major provisions to the Criminal Law Article.
Maryland’s Human trafficking Laws are slowly becoming more comprehensive, nonetheless, without more community involvement our State’s legislature will continue overlooking Human Rights Violations associated with human trafficking.
Community Safety and Involvement
As stated previously, much of our community is unaware of the expansive foothold that human trafficking is establishing in our communities. Maryland, in 2007, established the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General of Maryland, and the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City to investigate, prosecute, and serve the victims of human trafficking in our state. MHTTF has been subcategorized based on the region it serves. See the resource section for the list of local Task Forces. Since January 2013, the local task forces and federal law enforcement partners (FBI, Dept. of Homeland Security, etc..) have identified ≥ 200 victims of trafficking and have prosecuted 94 human traffickers. The men and women of MHTTF do great fieldwork and deserve our gratitude for making our communities safer.
However, the infrastructure to support MHTTF is still in the infancy stage. The state and federal funding to establish facilities that can provide crisis services to victims and survivors, and to serve as community outreach centers for training, research, and development is lacking significantly. It is paramount to provide training to first responders, public universities, school teachers, and to health care professionals that can confidentially screen potential victims of Human trafficking.
My principles spare me no excuse, for the same freedoms, which I enjoy so much, should also be accessible for every person regardless of their race, ethnicity, immigration status, or age. Most of my December and January months were spent studying Maryland’s Constitution and Criminal Law, Article-11. I was writing emails and making phone calls to anyone I though could help in making my voice heard at the state or the federal legislature. My singular voice in the ether of bureaucracy was praying for a change to occur. Thanks to the efforts of so many people who had the same conviction as me, the change has begun to happen. On January 23, 2017, the Human Trafficking – Civil Actions – Statue of Limitations (HB#0276) was first read and passed in the Maryland’s General Assembly. Its purpose was to extend the Statue of Limitations related to Human trafficking, effective October 1, 2017. Which means, if a plaintiff who were a minor at the time the statute of limitations began to accrue, he/she would now have 10 years to file a civil cause of action in Maryland. Furthermore, a new federal bill has been proposed in the House of Representatives in January, “Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2017.” This new bill is spearheading the efforts to decriminalize certain non-violent convictions and arrest records of Human trafficking victims. Many of our young adults and runaway foster-care children become victims of human trafficking. [They are pushed into a lifestyle that they did not choose and often violently exploited.] It is heartbreaking for me to acknowledge that instead of providing safety, protection, and guidance to people, our laws assign a criminal status to those who are victims of Human trafficking.
Thus, I implore you to partake in the process of bringing freedom, liberty, and happiness to victims of Human trafficking, and help to lessen their suffering. One of the easiest ways you can help is by holding your public officials accountable. Public pressures and public awareness is the key to getting our legislatures to recognize and change the laws which protect and safeguard our communities against Human traffickers. Together we can bring change in our communities. I am providing you with two links to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s petition forms. Please consider signing the petitions to protect the victims of Human trafficking, and please help them get their freedom back.
1). Petition for the reauthorization of Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act: http://act.polarisproject.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=23990
2). Trafficking Survivor’s Relief Act http://act.polarisproject.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=23688
Additional Resources:
Maryland’s Human Trafficking Task Forces: http://www.mdhumantrafficking.org/mhttf
NGOs and Other Local Agencies: http://www.mdhumantrafficking.org/partners
Make the most of your summer with an internship at the National Institutes of Health-- the nation's premiere biomedical research center! Its 27 Institutes and Centers are the foundation for the medical innovation sector as they enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. This is an opportunity to work with top professionals who exemplify and promote creative discoveries, innovative strategies, and collaborative exchange of information. Be a part of the mission-- apply now!
The Global Recruitment Unit (GRU) of NIH is excited to announce the Pathways Student Trainee positions will open on Monday, March 27th. Provided below are the links to the announcements.
Student Trainee (Administrative Support) || GS-0399 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 || https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/466485200
Student Trainee (Biological Science Laboratory Technician) || GS-0499 1/2/3/4 || https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/466486900
]]>