A post by Women’s Center staff member Daniel Willey

Earlier this semester, as I’m sure you all remember, we got hit (bombarded, pelted, buried, whatever) by winter storm Jonas. BWI airport recorded almost 30 inches of snow and the wind blew the icy flakes sideways into drifts best navigated with a harness and rope or a tunneling machine. 

The sea of snow outside my house in Halethorpe on Sunday

Baltimore shut down the Light Rail, MARC, and buses for almost a week — only the fourth MTA shutdown in the last 40 years. My roommates and I braved the grocery store on Thursday night before the storm hit and it was a nightmare. I thought my mom was just being a mom when she texted to warn me that all the bread was gone. Some impatient man in a business suit chased me away from my parking spot at the Giant by honking his horn repeatedly so he could swoop in and take it. People were getting nasty.

Now, I’m used to this kind of snow.

Our dog Raven wondering how she’ll ever get out to pee

Having grown up in the mountains in Western Maryland, I’ve seen my fair share of snow and ice storms. But I’ve never experienced it in an urban setting and I’ve definitely never been old enough to be the responsible snow survivor before. It got me really thinking about what it means to have a snow day and how the local and state government reactions to something like Jonas has a lot more to do with social issues and inequality than you might think.

The MTA shutdown is what got me thinking first. If you’ve ever taken a Baltimore City bus you know our transportation system is flaky at best. But you probably also know how many people rely on the MTA every day for school and work and errands and everything else. When it shut down, all those people suddenly lost that essential piece to their everyday goings-on. And sure, the first day or so when nobody could leave their homes anyway may not have mattered. But the people who do the hourly and low-wage jobs that are essential to the running of any city had to get to work on Sunday. And Monday. And Tuesday. And Wednesday.

The MARC and Light Rail didn’t start back up until Wednesday (on a limited schedule) and even though there were buses on Monday, there weren’t very many and it was a total free-for-all in terms of scheduling for several days. While we UMBC students and many people in office or management or government jobs (positions with salaries and benefits and paid leave) had half a week of snow days, the snow plow and bus drivers, food service workers, maintenance and road workers, hotel staff, emergency responders, retail workers, grocery store clerks, pharmacists, and nurses (and the many many others who rely on pay from every hour they can get their hands on) made the trek to work with basically no transit system.

Well, she got out but she is not happy about it

And then I thought about my horrible grocery store experience. I thought about the brave souls running the checkout aisles and managing the rapidly depleting inventory. I thought about all the families without cars or living in food deserts who would struggle to get provisions for the coming storm. What about disabled people or older adults who couldn’t hustle to the store and back in time? I thought about the low income families who are unable to spend large amounts of money at once to stockpile supplies or those who had run out of food stamps because it was the end of the month. What about the people whose heat was shut off? Or those living in abandoned houses or their cars or in the tents on MLK Blvd?

When I picked my boyfriend up from work early on Friday (because there was no bus– surprise!) he said, “The people who are running around and freaking out right now are going to be fine.” And he was right. We had the money to stock up on food. We could afford to live in quality, well-maintained housing with good heat and a solid roof. They had plowed out our whole neighborhood by Sunday afternoon. A friend of mine who lives on Guilford Ave a few blocks outside of Station North said the road was plowed a few blocks down from where it connected to North Ave, but then it just ended. There was no dead end, no cars blocking the street, nothing to indicate it would make more sense to stop there than to continue down into the poorer or residential areas down the street. The lines of where plowing happened first and last show a very clear indication of what areas of the city are important and why.

Taking a snow day is a luxury. Getting a snow day means that if you don’t have a salaried position with paid leave, you have to lose pay for lost hours. Sometimes it means making a choice between braving a dangerous commute and earning your next meal — or even just keeping your job (and if there’s no public transportation, the low-income portion of the 30% of Baltimore residents without cars can’t get to work). A snow day is made possible by people who can’t take a snow day.

Getting a snow day can be fun for some students, but many low-income students rely on free school meals. For some students, this is their only steady source of nutrition.

On the Tuesday after the storm, only female Senate members and their female staff showed up to work on Capitol Hill. Proceedings had been postponed until Wednesday, but someone had to be there to make an official motion to postpone the Senate in order for that to happen. Those people were women. Sure, some may have been truly snowed in but, like I said, a snow day is made possible by people who didn’t get one.

The way a city handles a snowstorm is a social justice issue because socio-economic status is a major factor in the health, safety, and well-being of low-income and at-risk populations. So, think about it. What (and who) made your snow day possible?

Name: Ae Lim Yang

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Position Title: Undergraduate Researcher

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B.S.

Expected Graduation Year: 2017

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

We study Human Immunodeficiency Virus in our lab to better understand the structural biology of the virus. My group primarily focuses on the Dimerization Initiation Site of HIV and its role in its dimerization mechanism. My responsibilities included gel electrophoresis, making RNA, and gathering the data in powerpoint form.

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

I was looking for a research position during freshman year and looked up all the professors at UMBC. I found Dr. Summers and I was intrigued by the HIV research that he did so I emailed him to ask for a research position. After meeting with him, he offered me a position and there began my journey! It’ll be my third year this summer. 

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

I think I enjoy the moment when I can finally present my data. I've participated in SURF and Symposium on campus and it was very rewarding to know that everything on the poster was my work. My mentor, Dr. Thao Tran, is always so encouraging and I love working with her. She always interacts with the students with humor and patience. She also recently got her Ph.D. so I'm really happy for that!

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

Definitely through presentations and publications. I have not been published (yet) but during presentations many people came up to me and asked me about my research. They are always so intrigued and I love telling them about my story. 

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

Do not be afraid to ask! Doors are always open, it's just the matter of you opening it. And if it's locked, find the key. It really isn't that hard. Working in a lab like mine allows you to interact with so many people you otherwise wouldn't have. You end up learning a lot about yourself, and I think that is the best experience of all.

Like this story on Facebook or Twitter!

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!

We’ve had some freakishly nice, warm days lately right? We had a blizzard that melted almost instantly thanks to these 50 and 60 degree days. I even hear birds chirping outside in the mornings, did they ever even go south for the winter? It’s kind of hard not to think about summer with days like this…

We have about three months of break during the summer, which is delightful, but also convenient. It’s a great opportunity to have a job or internship, considering it gives you time to reflect on your career goals, gain experience, and best of all you don’t have to come home at the end of the day and worry about homework or studying. It’s a win-win. Even though summer is a few months away, employers are starting to consider the candidates they’re going to hire for the summer. If you’re about to graduate in the spring, this is a perfect opportunity to consider full-time jobs starting in the summer as well! Whether you’re looking for a job or an internship for the summer season, now is the right time to figure out where you want to apply.

For a perfect opportunity to get a jump start, I highly recommend coming to the UMBC Summer Job and Internship Fair on Wednesday, February 10th in the University Center Ballroom. There will be over 60 employers including NIH, Peace Corps, and PayPal! You can check out the entire list of employers and their descriptions here.

There’s a few things you can do before the fair to make sure you make the most of it and ensure good results:

1.      Research the companies and figure out which employers you want to talk to before the fair. This way you can confidently speak with them about their company’s outlook and goals, as well as why you’d be a good fit with them.

2.      Make sure your resume looks strong before you hand it out to employers. You can look at our resume writing page on the Career Center website, or you can come get your resume reviewed beforehand! You can make an appointment at the Career Center or you can come into our drop-in hours between 2-4 Monday-Friday. The day before the fair we extended our drop-in hours to 10am-12pm and 1-4pm.

3.      Dress professionally! If you need some help, check out our helpful guide here.

4.      Network, network, network. Talk with recruiters, e-mail them after the fair, and consider connecting to them on LinkedIn. There will be a lot of students at the fair, so you want to be sure you stand out.

If you want any more information on this, you can check out our page on navigating career fairs or get in touch with the Career Center by careers@umbc.edu, 410.455.2216, or stopping by Math/Psych 212. 

I hope to see you all there on Wednesday!