Meet Sean,

He is a Visual Arts major and an URA Scholar. He is a proponent of research funding... "You have nothing to lose except the potential of how far $1500.00 can push you in your career. You can do almost anything you want with the funds as long as you just prove that it’s worth doing." His future goals is to freelance as a photographer and to continue to visually tell the stories of people who can’t tell their own.

Sean's creative project will document the "invisible citizens" of Baltimore City. Homeless individuals are visible casualties of racial and socio-economic class divisions, yet as individuals they are often invisible to much of society. In an effort to make some of these individuals visible, Sean will interview and make individual photographic portraits of select homeless persons with whom he has become acquainted in the past year. This work will personify the individual. Homeless people who participate will be able to take credit for helping others who share their struggle.

Read more about his research here…

A reflection of what self-care really looks like for each of us, especially during finals, by Women’s Center student staff member Prachi Kochar.

It’s a common refrain that we’ve all heard, especially around this time of year. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself during finals week!”, “Remember that self-care is important!”, and so on. But what does taking care of yourself look like? Does it look like buying yourself your favorite drink at Starbucks? Does it look like going to the gym for a hard session on the treadmill? Does it look like sleeping in an extra hour? Does it look like going to the movies with your friends? Simply put, there is no easy “yes” or “no” answer to these questions. Self-care looks like what is right for you at this point in time. And self-care does not always fit into a neat little box of “Do this and you’ll feel great!” Self-care can be an ongoing process, a process that is sometimes painful and sometimes exhilarating. And it is something that everyone has their own interpretation of, which can be incredibly overwhelming – googling “what does self-care look like” yields over 29 million results!

Besides these yummy cupcakes, what does treating yourself look like?

For me, self-care can take the form of sleeping in a few hours and giving my body and mind the time to rest and recover from stresses. It can also take the form of waking up early and going to the gym for a 7 AM yoga class or going for a run. Sometimes self-care means showing up for all of my commitments, even when I am tired, and sometimes it means saying “no” or “I can’t do it.” Sometimes self-care means pushing myself to finish all of my assignments when I am not feeling my best so that I will not be thrown into crisis mode later when all of my commitments pile up. What is most important is that I take stock of how I am feeling, mentally and physically, and do not become upset at myself for not being able to do everything, but also recognize that sometimes it is necessary for me to push myself to take care of myself. In other words, self-care sometimes involves doing the hard things and showing up for yourself.

More wise words from Parks and Recreation!

As you might be guessing, self-care involves a large amount of self-reflection – taking stock of your feelings, needs, and wants. This can be difficult for many of us, especially in our fast-paced world where we are praised for chugging caffeine and pushing past our human limits. However, it is necessary to know yourself in order to take care of yourself.

Ask yourself:

What stresses you out? When do you feel most stressed out? Is it those papers that you always seem to leave to the last minute? Is it the way that the dishes pile up in the sink during a busy week?

What can you do to reduce these stresses?

This may consist of creating a detailed schedule or setting aside a specific block of time for completing particular tasks. It may also consist of doing little things to reduce your stress during periods of time that you know will be particularly stressful for you. Remember some of the self-care methods I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post? Doing something like eating your favorite food, getting a workout in, or putting on a facemask with some cucumber slices can be great ways to reduce stress during these periods of time, but no one can tell you exactly what works for you.

And finally, show up for yourself! But don’t be afraid to ask for support from those around you – and don’t be afraid to reach out to others. If you notice that a friend is stressed or going through a rough time, you can reach out to them.

Taking care of yourself is an ongoing process that is not always easy, but you can do it. As we head into finals week, good luck, and don’t forget to take the time to take care of yourself, whatever that looks like!

Resources

• What Nobody Tells You About Self-Care
• The Self-Care Revolution
• An Interactive Self-Care Guide
• “Twice As Good”: On Being a Woman of Color and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism
• Treat Your Body Lovingly: A Twelve-Step Program
• Self-Care for Thanksgiving

Name: Awa Bakayoko

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: University of Georgia, College of Engineering

Position Title: Independent Biomedical Researcher

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology

Expected Graduation: May 2017

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

During my research experience, I had the opportunity to conduct groundbreaking biomedical research on breast cancer metastasis at the University of Georgia. I was fortunate to work in two labs, with two different mentors. In Dr. Davis' Genetics lab, I learned about racial disparities within different breast cancer sub-types. African American women affected with Triple Negative Breast Cancer have a higher mortality rate than Caucasian women affected with the same type of breast cancer. We hypothesized that this racial disparity could be due to altered expression of a receptor called Atypical Chemokine Receptor 1 (ACKR1). The ACKR1 receptor normally binds to inflammatory chemokines in the blood stream and sequesters these chemokines. Populations in sub-Saharan Africa have high amounts of a Duffy-null mutation, which means that they do not express the ACKR1 gene on their red blood cells. This means that they have high amounts of inflammatory chemokines within the blood stream which could explain why African American women with triple-negative breast cancer are harder to treat.

I was tasked with researching the effects of pro-inflammatory chemokines on breast cancer metastasis. In this lab, I cultured cells, performed wound healing assay's, and used software to measure breast carcinoma cell invasiveness with and without the pro-inflammatory chemokine CCL2. In Dr. Gomillion's tissue engineering lab, I developed a three-dimensional bio-material scaffold in order to simulate breast cancer metastasis. In this lab, I engineered the scaffold using bio-materials, observed cell motility through the engineered scaffold, and I fixed and stained the cells with a nuclear stain (DAPI). The results from the research I conducted could shed some light on the process of breast cancer metastasis and help us to better understand and characterize the disease.

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

I found out about the research program through Undergraduate Research group at UMBC. I obtained help from Mrs. Janet McGlynn, who gave me tips on how to make my resume stronger and helped me through the process of applying to research programs overall.

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

What I enjoyed most about my summer research experience was working independently on my research project, and working full time. I also learned a great deal of lab techniques during my time in the lab. In my classes at UMBC, I learned many techniques that scientists used to learn more about how our body works, and being able to actually do these tests and techniques myself was very enjoyable.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I believe I have aided in helping to understand breast cancer.

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

Some advice would be to start your applications early, to get help especially on personal statements and resumes, and to search the UMBC Undergraduate Research group in order to find great opportunities and sites to conduct research.

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!

A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay!

Things you should know:

The Bell Foundry, a queer/POC dominated art space, was condemned on Monday December 5th, displacing dozens of artists and performers in the process. There are efforts to find temporary homes and long term spaces for those people, including a benefit relief fund event.

Article of the Week:

Time Magazine has a pretty good list of tips for exam week. Take care of yourself, get some sleep, you’ll do fine.

The holidays are coming up, meaning family. We understand family can be difficult to navigate and be around. Check out Feministing’s guide for navigating the holidays.

UMBC Happenings:

Self-Care Day is December 12th from 12pm to 1pm. Join us during free hour for arts/crafts, tea/coffee and a stress-free zone.

During Exam week and Winter break, the Women’s Center will be reducing the hours of operation.

Song of the Week:

I’ve been listening to really great music recently, and I want to share that with all of you! This week’s song is a youtube playlist for studying. Enjoy some jazzy goodness and get some work done!

You are great! You can pass all of your exams! Enjoy winter break!

The panelists and facilitators (from left to right: Shira Devorah, Dr. Kate Drabinski, Dr. Mejdulene Shomali, Dan Wiley, and me, Mike Jalloh-Jamboria) from the Fatness in Focus Roundtable. Keep an eye out for the roundup!