The Women’s Center is pleased to introduce Bri Gumbs, pronouns she/her/hers, as our full-time program coordinator and the newest addition to the Women’s Center professional staff team! Please help us give the warmest of UMBC welcomes to Bri! Below is a short bio so you can learn a little bit about the newest member of our team! You can meet her in-person when you come into the Women’s Center as she will be one of the first people to welcome you into our space. 

Bri, identifies herself as an unapologetic queer, multi-racial Latinx, womxn. Born and raised in San Diego, CA Bri has devoted her work to being an educator, femtor and advocate for increasing and improving access, representation and retention for students with underrepresented identities in higher education by using an intersectional feminist framework. The revolutionary work of Audre Lorde, The Combahee River Collective, Marsha P, Silvia Rivera and Gloria Anzaldua continues to inspire and motivate her to be an agent of change. Bri hopes to empower others to speak their truth, mobilize and cultivate community care and joy in their various communities. Bri loves her two cats and her extensive hat collection! Bri expresses her truth through zine making, personal narratives, affirmations and through the various community programs she continues to create and facilitate. Bri holds a B.A in Psychology with a minor in Counseling and Social Change and a M.A in Student Affairs.  

Thanksgiving Break Closing Information

Eight-month communities close for Thanksgiving Break on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at 8:00 PM and reopen on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at Noon. Students in 8-month communities are expected to vacate and complete the below checklist to help ensure the overall health & safety of your room and personal belongings:

• Clean your bathroom and personal spaces well. 

• Remove and dispose of all trash in a trash room or a dumpster.

• Turn the heat to a low setting.

• Unplug all appliances and extension cords from the wall, with the exception of refrigerators and fish tanks.

• Feed your fish and water your plants.

• Pack medications and other necessities you might need during break.

• Turn off water. 

• Turn off lights and bathroom exhaust fans.

• Close and lock all windows and doors.

• Close blinds on ground floor rooms; leave blinds up on all other floors.

• Report facilities concerns to your RA or FIXIT (x53948).

Name: Valerie Lee

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The National Aquarium in Baltimore

Position Title: Aquarist Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biological Sciences

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

At the National Aquarium, I was responsible for the day-to-day tasks of maintaining 4 exhibit tanks and several backup tanks. These tasks included taking parameters of all tanks every morning, cleaning tanks, performing water changes, performing backwashes on filters, and preparing diets for my animals. I would also assist with small procedures on animals, such as debridement of a wound on one of the turtles. This is a procedure where essentially I would capture and hold her while the vets cleaned the wound.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I heard from the Career Center that the National Aquarium was looking for UMBC students to hire. So, I had my resume reviewed and learned how to write a cover letter for my application. After doing that, I submitted my application and did a phone interview before being offered a position.

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

I loved learning about the animals I was working with and how the systems they lived in functioned. Even the most mundane task was enjoyable for me. I'm actually still there as a volunteer currently and I'm looking at becoming an aquarist post-graduation. I'm about to take a class in the biology department on the physiology of marine animals to gain more insight into marine and estuarine animals to help with my career search.

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

I helped to maintain the exhibits that hundreds of visitors come to and appreciate every day. By doing this, I know that I was part of the public learning and appreciating our natural world as well as what animals need our help.

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

Even if it's scary, go for it. I applied to the National Aquarium last summer and I wasn't offered a position, but I still applied this year. Because I took the chance, I was offered the position of a lifetime and a new career focus.

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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!

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance where we honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives we have lost to acts of anti-transgender violence.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester's death, and began an important tradition in raising public awareness of hate crimes committed against transgender people. 

According to an annual transgender violence report published by the Human Rights Campaign, at least 22 trans and gender-nonconforming people have been fatally shot or killed by other violent means. Most of those killed in 2019 were young, black women. We do not know the actual number of deaths because too often these stories go unreported – or misreported. 

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we name, honor, remember and mourn the transgender people whose lives our country has lost to anti-transgender violence this year: 

Brianna “BB” Hill | Itali Marlowe | Ja’Leyah-Jamar | Bee Love Slater | Bailey Reeves | Tracy Single| Bubba Walker | Pebbles La Dime Doe | Kiki Fantroy | Denali Berries Stuckey | Brooklyn Lindsey | Zoe Spears | Chanel Scurlock | Chynal Lindsey | Paris Cameron| Michelle “Tamika” Washington | Muhlaysia Booker | Claire Legato| Ashanti Carmon| Jazzaline Ware | Dana Martin | Layleen Polanco | Johana “Joa” Medina Leon

Sources: GLAAD, HRC, NBC news, List of Transgender people killed around the world , Remembering Our Dead

If you've experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ violence, or are concerned about someone who has, you can call the Anti-Violence Project hotline 24/7 at 212-714-1141. All calls are confidential. You can also report violence anonymously or ask for a counselor to reach out to you online.