While many know that Charm City is home to the wizard of weird himself, John Waters, along with the quirky American Visionary Art Museum, poodle skirts, and flamingos galore, most probably don’t associate UMBC with the same offbeat reputation. But take a splash in the wacky waters and you’ll find Retrievers all the way down.

By Janelle Erlichman Diamond

It’s a few minutes into her Fluid Movement water ballet scene, and while most of the swimmers have dropped the red cloaks that hid their bathing suits—a nod to The Handmaid’s Tale—and slipped into the pool as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” plays on the speaker, Delana Gregg stands alone. As the song reaches its crescendo—“let the choir sing”—Gregg, still in her red cape, falls dramatically backward into the water as the audience gasps and cheers.

Gregg, M.S. ’04, Ph.D. ’19, has worked at UMBC for more than 20 years and is currently the assistant vice provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, working with the Academic Success Center and with data and analytics supporting student success. But her summers are filled with swimsuits, glitter, and choreography sheets. 

Fluid Movement is a Baltimore-based nonprofit performance art organization that creates joyful, inclusive, quirky, and accessible performances in public spaces, most notably their annual synchronized swimming shows in city pools. “Our art is a love letter to the city of Baltimore and its residents,” says Ashley Ball, Fluid Movement artistic director. “We focus on inclusivity and the empowerment that comes from movement.” 

Baltimore City’s commitment to the quirk is well documented, but you might be more surprised to learn that UMBC may be one of the best breeding grounds for pursuing and creating non-traditional art. (John Waters, the kinky, eccentric, famous Baltimore-based filmmaker, writer, and artist known as the “Pope of Trash,” borrowed UMBC film equipment to make some of his early films.) UMBC, a school with an R1 classification for its high level of research and known by a national audience perhaps for the immensely successful STEM-focused Meyerhoff Scholars Program or the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball upset, has a long history of stirring the artistic pot—and current Retrievers play an active role in the weird and inclusive art world of Charm City. 

Water ballet get STEAM-y

Photos by Erik Whipple

Gregg swam in her very first water ballet in 2014—Star Spangled Swimmer—and has starred in, stage managed, or produced almost every ballet since including her role as a fatberg in Sinkholes, Sewers, & Streams: A Water Infrastructure Ballet. This past summer she added directing to her repertoire with The Handmaid’s Tale scene in the Dive Into Banned Books: A Water Ballet of Resistance and Joy performance. 

That her love for theatrics and performance might be nurtured at a school that has earned a national reputation for excellence in STEM education is not a surprise to Gregg. “Art and design are in everything, and you can’t have theatre without science and technology,” she says. Anyone who has ever built a set or mixed music can attest to that. “Performance is the ultimate interdisciplinary project, and community performance allows for all the different talents to find expression. You know how to sculpt, sew, run cable, create a program, design a logo, write a script, plan a budget, figure out how to create a waterproof, lightweight, affordable set design that can fit in a storage pod—so much geometry and engineering—we need all of those talents, along with sparkle.”

Ball, the artistic director, comes from a STEM background and has her master’s degree in environmental engineering. “People in STEM need art just as much as anyone else, and a Fluid Movement show is nothing short of an engineering marvel,” she says. 

And it’s clear that this is a draw for Retrievers. “I’ve met so many UMBC people via Fluid Movement: former board members like visual arts professor Timothy Nohe and Kelly Quinn—people who are committed to creating art in Baltimore with people in our communities. UMBC alumni who live in the area, like Amelia Meman ’15; Maria Blanca, M.A. ’15; and Charlotte Keniston, M.F.A. ’14, Ph.D. ’24—it was so great to work with them at UMBC and to create art with them in Baltimore City. Other amazing artists, like Ann Tabor ’03 of the Mercury Theater, I met through Fluid Movement and realized the UMBC connection later,” says Gregg. 

“I think there is something about working at a university committed to excellence that makes space for people to be excellent in many aspects of their lives,” says Quinn, managing director of The Choice Program at UMBC and a longtime Fluid Movement participant. “I’m really grateful that I have a boss who’s challenged me as part of my performance plan for this year to incorporate more of my artistic work with Fluid Movement into my leadership of our organization,” says Quinn. This next year she’s going to add “whimsy and creativity” to her storytelling. “I think that’s a testament both to Fluid Movement and my boss’s understanding of the value of arts in everyday life. People at UMBC—including our leadership—really take seriously our artistic and civic lives beyond our position descriptions.”

There’s a place in the pool for everyone

These artistic endeavors may hit the UMBC sweet spot because of the recognition that STEM and art go hand in hand, but the accessibility and inclusiveness of the programming also aligns with the Retriever spirit. “I first became acquainted with Fluid Movement while lifeguarding for Baltimore City Aquatics,” says Judith “Judi” Reynolds-Stokes ’87, M.A. ’02, who works as an instructor, advisor, and career counselor at the Caroline Center, a workforce development program for adult women. “I guarded many of their water ballet shows and loved their creativity and inclusivity. I decided that I wanted to be a swimmer in one of their shows.” Her Fluid Movement debut was in the 2019 show Fluid Movement: The Water Ballet in honor of the nonprofit’s 20th anniversary. 

“I think the pull of Fluid Movement for UMBC folks is that you can be a big kid having fun dancing, swimming, and acting. You get to wear pretty costumes and outrageous makeup, and the best part is you get to bring others joy and laughter,” says Reynolds-Stokes.

Like Gregg, she loves that the quirky—in the best way possible—group brings her so much joy and affirmation. “People are validated by seeing people of all shapes and sizes and ages and ethnicities performing. My performing at age 60-plus as a full-figured, African American woman is affirming to many people in our audiences. It lets others know that they too can be in a Fluid Movement show and will be accepted just as they are,” says Reynolds-Stokes, who swims with Stephanie Johnson ’86, her aunt and a fellow UMBC alum. “I love to swim and dance and put on pretty things, so Fluid Movement is a perfect fit for me.”  

Release the Kraken

The American Visionary Art Museum, adjacent to the Inner Harbor, is another incubator of Baltimore quirk. The distinctive landmark and home to Fifi, a 15-foot pink poodle on wheels, is dedicated to the preservation and display of outside art and features the work of self-taught artists. (Retriever Jess Owens-Young ’08, political science, recently showed her sports-inspired work in the museum’s galleries.) That includes the Kinetic Sculpture Race, for which teams build and pedal works of art for eight hours on Baltimore City streets, including a foray into the Baltimore Harbor.

In 2011, Steven McAlpine, assistant teaching professor in the Individualized Study Program (INDS), was at the race, as a casual observer with his son. “Dad, can we build one of these?” he asked in awe. McAlpine had also been blown away by both the artistry of the floats and the physical effort of the 15-mile human-powered, all-terrain race for custom-built amphibious sculptures. McAlpine was trying to figure out how he could construct a 12-foot high and 30-foot-long creature at his house when he had a lightbulb moment—the answer was UMBC. 

In 2014, McAlpine started the Kinetic Sculpture Project, an interdisciplinary applied learning experience funded by the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and UMBC community engagement organization BreakingGround. Students from INDS, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, visual art, psychology, geography and environmental systems, and mathematics all came together to design, build, and race the Kraken Upcycle in the 2015 race. “You need all those perspectives and disciplines to be that innovative,” says McAlpine.

In the 400-level class, students studied sustainable design methods and use of recycled materials (including plastic bottles and barrels as well as reclaimed metal and wood) that would often involve McAlpine dumpster diving—especially after the theatre department broke down a set.

“I wanted to explore something less traditional, where I could express new, wacky ideas and merge creativity with engineering.” 

—Michael Webb, computer engineering student

Top and bottom photos courtesy of Steve McAlpine; Middle photo by Poulomi Banerjee ’16, M.P.P. ’21

That very first year UMBC’s team was awarded the “Grand Mediocre East Coast Champion,” and in the 10 years since, more than 100 students have passed through the class. Last year UMBC teamed up with a disability advocacy organization and took home the “Best Art Award” for IMAGE Man—in which a larger-than-life teal superhero sits in a wheelchair with a football in hand, flying over some of Baltimore’s iconic buildings, such as the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower and the Baltimore World Trade Center. 

Of all the years UMBC has participated, McAlpine was especially proud of this one since it showed “the beauty of an infusion of a new partnership,” that, like the water ballet, also underscored UMBC’s commitment to accessibility for all. 

“It’s a lot of work—but unconventional art that leans a little offbeat and weird is never all work because it’s playful too,” says McAlpine. “I think it’s absolutely essential for education to feel thrilling and full of discovery and adventure.”

An Out-of-the-Ordinary Spectacle

Dulcey Comeau, a sophomore computer engineering student, participated in the 2025 race with IMAGE Man. “The race day was super cool; we woke up early to get our capes and our helmets, and we spent some of the morning talking to people who wanted to know more about the float,” says Comeau. “It was a cool experience to have people cheering you along all throughout Baltimore,” she says. The race started a bit rocky—they were having some issues with the brakes—but once they were fixed, it was smooth sailing. 

“Part of the race is to ride through the mud and I remember getting stuck, and it was so fun to be pushed up the hill through the rest of it,” she says. “Usually as engineers, we create something for a very specific reason with specific standards for the customer, so it was cool to create something for ourselves and really see the full engineering cycle. The opportunity to have creative freedom with such little specifications made the project that much more enjoyable, and I was able to find the fun in being an engineer again.”

Michael Webb had a similar experience. “As a computer engineering student, I was initially drawn to STEM-related clubs and activities like Baja SAE and UMBC’s chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Those organizations are incredible for hands-on experience, but they tend to be more formulaic, focused on refining and improving designs from past generations,” the sophomore says. He wanted something a little more left-field and subversive. “I wanted to explore something less traditional, where I could express new, wacky ideas and merge creativity with engineering.”

The Kinetic Sculpture Race, like Fluid Movement, is a perfect blend of the new iteration of STEM—one that includes art with an emphasis on off-the-wall—and it’s in that combination that UMBC excels. The UMBC team and faculty Webb ended up working alongside helped challenge some of his established systems and beliefs and consider alternative perspectives. 

“The Kinetic Sculpture Race is unlike anything I had ever seen before,” says Webb. “It was fun, quirky, and completely different from the structured world of engineering I’m used to. The whole event is just for fun, and the sculptures people bring in are absolutely wild: a giant poodle, giant alligators, even a platypus with a differential axle. The rules are just as wacky—you can even bribe the judges.”

It was the wake-up he needed. “In engineering, the goal is usually performance and efficiency,” he says. But in the Kinetic Sculpture Race, the goal is simply to make something imaginative and have fun trying to race it. “It’s messy, unpredictable, and just laughs; a reminder that engineering and art can come together and be creative, ridiculous, and fun at once.” 

“There’s a little engineer in all of us. Because the truth is you’re iterating all the time. You’re failing, but you’re learning from those awesome failures.” 

Jamie Gurganus ’04, M.S. ’11, Ph.D. ’20, mechanical engineering, doesn’t believe engineers need to be geniuses; she also doesn’t believe failure means it’s the end of the road—so much so that her winding and impressive career over the last twenty years has been a product of taking chances, accepting the small failures, and still marching onwards. 

As an undergraduate, Gurganus pursued an opportunity to teach STEM subjects in local middle schools. The experience sparked her interest in engineering education. Her desire to help everyone see that they, too, could become an engineer has driven her professional life ever since. Students praise her for lifting them up when they felt discouraged and always encouraging them to aim high.

Gurganus’ tireless advocacy for students and continual innovation in teaching will be recognized on October 29, when she will receive the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Award from UMBC’s Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Building confidence

Gurganus says that as a college student, she never expected to end up where she is today: “I didn’t think I’d ever be faculty or get a Ph.D.”

But when she got a National Science Foundation-funded fellowship in 2002 from the Teaching Enhancement Partnership Program at UMBC’s Shriver Center, she found herself enjoying the STEM classes she was teaching at local schools, especially connecting with students who may have assumed their options in life were limited.

“Many of these students came from precarious situations and weren’t thinking about going to college, much less having a STEM career,” Gurganus remembers of the Title I schools, which means they had high percentages of children from low-income families.

Gurganus taught as part of the partnership program for almost three years, and then proceeded to earn a graduate fellowship both through NSF and later NASA, which in turn cultivated a real passion for teaching and research. 

Gurganus also became a substitute teacher for the Anne Arundel County public school system, focusing on teaching mathematics. “My goals were fostering engineering awareness in these kids and showing them they, too, could do this—and showing them the real-life applications of it all.”

Breaking down the basics of math and engineering got the kids excited. As they got excited, they became more engaged, and as they became more engaged, their grades began to improve significantly. It might not have been the only reason for the successful outcome, but Gurganus believes being a young college student played a hand in it all. The breadth of knowledge and sense of authority was always present but packaged in a way that the students weren’t familiar with.

While in graduate school at UMBC, Gurganus also helped lead professional development for Project Lead The Way, a national nonprofit organization that provides STEM education programs for PreK-12 students, and Engineering is Elementary, which provides engineering teaching materials. In 2012, she became an instructor in mechanical engineering and assistant director of engineering education initiatives in the College of Engineering and Information Technology at UMBC, transitioning to a faculty role in 2014.

Over the years, Guganus’ skills, passions, and love for her students have improved UMBC’s course offerings, reputation, and quality of education. Currently, Gurganus is the associate director for STEMed Research, director for the Center for the Integration for Research, Teaching and Learning in the Graduate School and an assistant teaching professor in the engineering and computing education program. She also serves as a faculty fellow in entrepreneurship for the Alex. Brown Center For Entrepreneurship and Innovation, has mentored around 150 engineering teams under the senior capstone design course (including teaming up with Steve McAlpine to guide the kinetic sculpture team this year), and is an honorary faculty coach for UMBC’s softball team. 

Reaching across borders, she has also built international partnerships in Brazil, Portugal, Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and collaborates widely on STEM education initiatives.

Embracing the journey

If her professional progression comes across as linear and like it unfolded at breakneck speed, Gurganus is here to assure you it did not.

“It’s been an interesting journey,” she says. “I stopped trying to plan my future and just accept (and expect!) the unexpected. I just take it on and see what happens.”

She’s never strayed from that principle, letting the journey—and the experiences it’s unveiled—guide her to new milestones. One of those milestones has been the nurturing of a strong undergraduate teaching fellows network on campus. Remembering her own experiences as a student and then seeing much of the same insecurity in the local middle school students from years ago, Gurganus struck out to find students who could guide other students by relating to the stresses of failure they might feel. 

“I had this mission to foster a community of individuals who never thought of themselves as being ‘smart enough’ to teach others in their own technical field,” Gurganus says. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s how Gurganus expresses she felt as a student herself.

While the teaching fellows program was started nearly 20 years ago as a tool for undergraduate students to assist faculty, and more importantly their peers, in classes, Gurganus has expanded the program in an organic way. 

“These students just became friends and bonded over their common interests or maybe their similar experiences in undergrad,” she says. 

“The teaching fellow program laid a foundation for growth and confidence-building in the formative stages of my career,” says De’Shaunna Scott ’19, computer engineering, who is now a principal RF integration engineer at Northrop Grumman. “I quickly felt overwhelmed and out of my element, but Dr. Gurganus was the guiding light I could always turn to. There were times, I would just show up after work and sit in Prof’s office unloading all the stresses I endured. Without fail and without question, Prof listened to every one of those complaints and provided words of advice that I still use to this day.”

“Prof G profoundly shaped my life and inspired me to become faculty,” adds Shannon Clancy ’19, mechanical engineering, who is now an assistant professor of engineering at Elizabethtown College. “As her teaching fellow and research assistant, I experienced mentorship rooted in care, unwavering support, and high expectations—even during my most uncertain moments. The teaching fellow program was the catalyst to get my Ph.D. I wanted to teach undergraduate students and build a community in my own way like Prof had.”

The fellows’ connection with each other, as well as the students they teach, has fueled the community’s growth. Gurganus begins naming fellows who are thriving post-UMBC, having gone on to receive master’s degrees, Ph.D.s, research fellowships, and more. It’s an obvious point of pride for her as she recalls the impact of all the work being a two-way street—for both her and the students.

“To teach is to engineer,” she adds. “You try it, you make it better, you bring your own spark, to keep improving with purpose and heart.”

By Nikoletta Gjoni ’09

Mark your calendars for the 2025 Alumni Awards on Wednesday, October 29, at 6 p.m., and consider joining the UMBC community at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena to celebrate Jamie Gurganus and the many remarkable individuals receiving awards. The event will be livestreamed for those unable to join in person. You can learn more at alumni.umbc.edu/alumniawards.

Each week during her student-facing office hours, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby meets with students to chat about their lives and experiences at UMBC. Today, she’s speaking with Okechukwu Tabugbo ’25, computer engineering, president of UMBC’s Black Men’s Society, a group that provides mentorship, skills training, and community to students while trying to eliminate negative narratives and stigma around what it means to be a Black man in America.

Okechukwu Tabugbo: I found out about UMBC’s Black Men’s Society when I was in my first year. I knew Marvin Onwukwe, the club secretary at the time. He was always walking around campus smiling, and I would ask him, “Why are you smiling so much, Marvin?” He would say, “It’s because I have my life together. I have everything going for me. So what reason do I have to frown?” I would say, “Why do you have everything going for you?” He said, “Because I’m on top of my work. I can help you out, too. You should come to Black Men’s Society so that we can all be on top of our work.”

President Sheares Ashby: Oh, that is so good.

Tabugbo: But, in all honesty, I did not go to the first one. Then Amery Thompson…the current advisor, told me that I should come out, and I have to be honest, I did not go at that time either. [Laughs.] Then, finally, our current vice president, Israel Funmilayo…invited me, and he said, “It’s about financial literacy…I just need you to come out.” I looked at my bank account, and I said, “Okay.” 

After getting there, I sat down. Amery was giving the introduction on financial literacy and telling us everything that we need to know. It honestly just made me feel at home and appreciated, the fact that someone took the time out of their day to teach me something that I constantly left on the back burner. I took that for what the club is.

I take it especially as a safe space for Black men on campus—to make them feel appreciated, to give them the time they need to grow in a world that rushes them so often. I appreciate the overall aspect of giving Black people on campus a space for professional development that they may not have had before and giving us a space to talk about issues surrounding the community. The Society allows everyone, despite their views, to be understood and to have time to understand others.

Sheares Ashby: That is amazing. And what is so interesting to me is the mentorship of the more senior students to the younger students because I see it all the time. I see the senior students saying, “Hey, come on over here. This is where we are. This is what we’re doing. This is how we can support you.” They’re really living out the mentorship in ways that are so important. And it is so wonderful to see the younger students come in and then become those mentors to other people. I can see that growth even in a year.

Tabugbo: Exactly. And on that note of mentorship, that’s why we wanted to start moving toward outreach programs, especially to local high schools and middle schools. This effort is spearheaded by our secretary, Daniel Bajulaiye. If we can get to these students early and make them know that they’re appreciated, make them know that they can be heard, that will be important in fostering a good relationship, especially as they come into UMBC. Just letting people know that you’re there for them is so important because a lot of people, especially on this campus, don’t know their potential.

Sheares Ashby: I one hundred percent agree. One of the things I’m really excited about for UMBC is the work that we continue to do in Baltimore. We’re right here, and we know that there are a lot of Black men, young men, in Baltimore who would benefit. I don’t think too many Black men in Baltimore walk around feeling appreciated.

Tabugbo: Even when I did get the role [as president of Black Men’s Society], I still had imposter syndrome. I didn’t truly feel I belonged until actually stepping into the shoes and having to take over. Talking to my brother all summer, the amount of encouragement he had to give me to say just, “You can do this. You are here for a reason.” Hearing it from Amery, hearing it from Israel, it took a lot to be able to have the confidence to come and do this again and again every day.

Sheares Ashby: Mentorship has always been important. Sometimes it just takes somebody to look at you and tell you, “I see you, and I think you’re pretty special,” or, “I see this gift or talent that you have,” and it can change somebody’s life just like that. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t need encouragement.

This year’s UMBC commencement speakers represent the best of what higher education strives to be, applying insights to meet the needs of humanity.

Commencement speakers

Keith T. Elder, Ph.D. ’02, health policy and policy sciences, will address graduates at the ceremony for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; School of Social Work; and Erickson School of Aging Studies on May 25 at 10 a.m.

Paula Therese Hammond, this year’s honorary degree recipient, will speak at the 3 p.m. ceremony, addressing graduates from the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Engineering and Information Technology, and Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Keith T. Elder’s commitment to improving healthcare

Keith T. Elder (Image courtesy of Keith T. Elder)

Elder is the provost and executive vice president of Mississippi College. His research focuses on finding ways to improve the quality of healthcare for our most vulnerable populations. 

Elder is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal AIMS Public Health and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others. Elder is a 2022 UMBC Alumni Award winner for Outstanding Alumnus in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and has also received a distinguished service award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“I got the chance to learn more about Dr. Elder’s research and work in public health and academia when he received a prestigious award from our alumni association this past fall,” says Stanyell Odom, director of alumni engagement. “Our graduates will gain inspiration from his UMBC story and life’s work as this year’s commencement speaker.”

Paula T. Hammond, nanomedicine innovator

Hammond is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, head of the department of chemical engineering, and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Her research focuses on nanomedicine and novel responsive polymer architectures for targeted nanoparticle drug and gene delivery. She is a member of all three National Academies: Science, Engineering and Medicine.

In 2019, Hammond received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Margaret H. Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer.

“Dr. Hammond is an extraordinary scientist and educator,” says Greg Simmons, M.P.P., ’04, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “We are very excited to have her participate in our commencement exercises and look forward to hearing her remarks.”

UMBC valedictorians

Also speaking during the commencement ceremonies will be UMBC’s two valedictorians: Christopher Slaughter ’23, M31, computer engineering, and Zinedine Partipilo Cornielles ’23, financial economics and mathematics. 

Partipilo Cornielles’s passion for public service is fueled by his experience fleeing Venezuela at age 16 with his family to seek asylum in the U.S. He is a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar who has researched the impact of financial literacy on student loan decisions among undergraduates across the United States. He also served as a teaching assistant and tutor for fellow students, taught English to local immigrants through the Esperanza Center, and was a member of the national championship-winning UMBC Mock Trial team. He is part of the Sloan Predoctoral Program through the UMBC economics department and will pursue a Ph.D. in economics.

Christopher Slaughter is a Meyerhoff Scholar who won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at the University of Cambridge this coming fall. He has worked with Govind Rao, professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, in the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), helping develop technology that can sense glucose levels through the skin. He hopes to focus his career on developing novel biomedical technologies that meet the healthcare needs of under-resourced communities.

Partipilo Cornielles will address graduates at the 10 a.m. ceremony, and Slaughter will speak at the 3 p.m. ceremony. UMBC’s graduate commencement ceremony will be May 24 at 10 a.m. Live videos of all three ceremonies will be available at commencement.umbc.edu.

Ify Jacob

Degree: B.S., Computer Engineering
Hometown: Gaithersburg, MD
Post-grad plans: Software engineer at Northrop Grumman

Ify Jacob’s mentors describe him as someone who has worked tirelessly to create community among Retrievers in on-campus student housing, particularly as they dealt with the challenges and traumas of COVID-19. Jacob currently serves as vice president of UMBC’s Residential Student Association, but his journey of leadership through service has taken place over the course of years at UMBC.

Jacob has served as a Welcome Week leader (known as a “Woolie”) and as an office assistant in Residential Life. On the academic side, he has been a teaching fellow in engineering and computer science courses. He has also served as captain for UMBC Men’s Club Soccer. 

Jacob also served in several leadership roles as a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, saying that joining the fraternity helped him to step outside of his comfort zone. “Being a member of Pi Kappa Phi gave me the confidence that I could adapt to any situation. The positions I held gave me firsthand leadership experience, which applies to my other campus roles,” says Jacob. 

Following a systems engineering internship at Northrop Grumman in summer 2022, coordinated with the support of UMBC’s Career Center, the company offered Jacob a full-time position. He will begin that role after graduation. 

Has there been a mentor or fellow student who influenced your time at UMBC?

“Jamie Gurganus ‘20, mechanical engineering, has been a professor, mentor, and advisor to me since my freshman year. I took her Introduction to Engineering course and she later gave me the opportunity to serve as a teaching fellow for the course, which I’ve done for four consecutive semesters. I’m also currently taking a two-semester seminar course that will lead to an associate undergraduate teaching certification through the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning, facilitated by Dr. Gurganus. She has had a huge impact on my undergraduate experience, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunities she has given me.”

What has been the best part of your UMBC experience?

“The best part of my UMBC experience has been interacting, collaborating, and holding events with several student organizations, such as the Filipino American Student Association, the Vietnamese Student Association, Club Soccer, and my fraternity. UMBC, being as culturally diverse as it is, has given me the opportunity to look at life from different perspectives and have amazing experiences with great people. These organizations that I have been a part of have done big things for the community through their philanthropy events and finding great ways to raise awareness for real-world issues.”

Meet Xavier Smith, a senior computer engineering student who is heading to MIT next year to pursue his dreams of earning a Ph.D. and starting a biotech company. As a part of UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program, the U-RISE Scholars Program, and a number of other organizations on campus, he truly understands the meaning of community. Take it away, Xavier!

Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: I am a senior studying computer engineering on the communications track. In fall of 2023, I will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in electrical engineering as a recipient of the MIT Presidential Fellowship supported from the Lemelson Foundation (Lemelson Minority Engineering Fellowship). 

I will be focusing on engineering magnetic nanoparticles for wireless neural stimulation with hopes of developing non-invasive therapeutic treatments for individuals diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. My future career goals are to start a biotechnology company that practically implements these therapeutic innovations in a translational manner, and my professional goals are to make biomedical technology more accessible and equitable for individuals from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

Xavier Smith, ’23, M31, U-RISE Cohort 2

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: UMBC has many niche communities, and although it’s important to find the one that fits you, the university has a way of mixing those communities together in an energetic way that helps spark interesting conversations and life-long connections. Additionally, UMBC is hyper-focused on their students, which allows your voice to be heard on a larger scale.

Q: Tell us about someone in your community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: My father, Brian Smith, has inspired me as an black engineer and entrepreneur in STEM through the various companies he has owned that are either technologically-based or focus on exposing students to opportunities in science and engineering. His tenacity, optimism, work ethic, positive attitude, adaptability, and collective success of more than 25 years motivates me to push the boundaries of science and technology in my community, and to be just like him.

Q: Tell us what you love about your academic program or an organization you’re involved in.

A: What I love about UMBC’s computer engineering program is the overall focus of implementation and practicality of content. The faculty prepare students to tackle real-world problems from a plethora of perspectives not just from STEM. Separately, I am currently president of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) at UMBC, and I lead this organization with my stellar executive board of friends I made along the way in computer engineering. What I love about this organization is its versatility of impact as we focus on getting students of all majors and backgrounds excited about STEM, and exposed to real-world opportunities and applications of science and technology.

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: I came to UMBC because of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which is a Ph.D. pipeline-program focused on preparing historically underrepresented students for higher education in academia and industry. I knew I wanted to earn a Ph.D., but I didn’t know why or in what specific field, and the Meyerhoff Program here at UMBC provided me with resources that helped me figure out the answer to those questions. As I took advantage of these opportunities to set my foundation in research, I joined the U-RISE Program here, which guided me on manifesting my desire to enter the world of biomedical science.

I got involved with organizations here such as the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Black Student Union (BSU), etc. and teaching opportunities as a teaching assistant and learning assistant in the computer engineering department. Overall, before I entered UMBC I had one perspective of what the university had to offer me, however, as I continued to explore, I began to see the multitude of opportunities that UMBC provides that can be encompassed into one word: community.

Q: What are some of the benefits of your involvement in student activities?

A: I am a student leader in many different contexts: the president of IEEE, a peer advisor in the Meyerhoff Program for incoming computer engineering students, and a research project leader in Dr. Ramana  Vinjamuri’s Brain Computer Interfaces lab. As president of IEEE, I get a chance to break the barriers of the club in terms of our impact, event sizes, and activities with my friends on the executive board. We have focused on creating a makerspace for students of all majors and backgrounds, giving them a physical place to be able to express themselves, explore their creative interests, or simply complete homework with friends.

As a peer advisor for the Meyerhoff Program, I have the opportunity of mentoring other students in the program interested in computer engineering. I serve not only as their go-to person for when they need help, but also as an advocate for them if they need support inside or outside the program.

Lastly, as a research project leader in Dr. Vinjamuri’s lab, I’m mentoring students on projects that focus on improving the lives of patients with physical and mental disparities by engineering novel myoelectric prosthetics, neuroprosthetics, recording devices, and robust decoding systems. I love being able to give direction and inspiration to the next generation of students in science through my efforts, especially to those who originate from historically underrepresented communities.

Q: What’s it like to be part of a scholars community at UMBC?

A: I am part of the Meyerhoff Scholars and U-RISE Scholars programs here at UMBC, and the main thing I enjoy about both programs is the overarching support that they provide me as I’m working toward reaching my academic, career, and professional goals. The resources that they routinely provide me are invaluable: mentoring, contacts, support groups, advising, and most importantly, communication. Not only have I found exactly what field of science I want to pursue and why, I have found my voice in STEM and the confidence to pursue my goals and dreams of making a lasting difference in the world because of both programs.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Richard Forno, principal lecturer in Computer science and Electrical Engineering, UMBC

A warning about the threat of political violence heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 28, 2022.

The bulletin was released the same day that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hospitalized after a home invasion by a lone right-wing extremist seeking to harm her.

This incident is the latest in an increasing stream of extremist confrontations taking place across the United States in recent years. These incidents have primarily targeted Democrats, including a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. But threats from both sides of the political spectrum are up significantly.

And, of course, there was the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of a defeated Republican president, acting on a widespread lie he perpetuated, violently attempted to prevent the certification of electoral votes. According to well-documented public evidence, some rioters planned to find and execute both Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence.

Such incidents reflect a disturbing trend that targets the very fabric, foundation and future of U.S. democracy. But what led to this point?

As a researcher taking a critical and apolitical eye toward security issues, I believe the rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism – and violence – began with an outdated focus in national communications policy.

Media-induced slow burn

Until the late 1980s, the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine required traditional licensed broadcasters to offer competing viewpoints on controversial public issues. But these rules did not apply to cable or satellite providers. As a result, the rise of cable news channels in the 1990s led to highly partisan programming that helped divide American society in the ensuing decades.

This programming fueled increasing polarization in the public and political arenas. Bipartisanship was abandoned in the 1990s, when the Republican Congress under Speaker Newt Gingrich embraced a “scorched-earth” policy of governing. That meant treating the minority party not as the loyal opposition and respected elected colleagues who had differences over policy, but as enemies.

In addition to emerging partisan cable television networks like MSNBC and Fox News, in the early 2000s, an increasingly polarized Congress and the public received a new source of division: social media.

Internet platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and 4Chan allowed anyone, anywhere, to create, produce and distribute political commentary and extremist rhetoric that could be amplified by other users and drive the day’s news cycle.

Political pundits and influencers across the spectrum became less concerned about correctly informing the public. Instead, they stoked outrage in the search for money-generating clicks and advertising dollars. And political parties exploited this outrage to satisfy and energize their voting base or funders.

Moderation or censorship?

To combat online extremism, social media companies reluctantly began moderating user posts and sometimes banned prominent users who violated their community standards or terms of service.

In response to what it dubbed “censorship” from Big Tech, the right-wing splintered into numerous niche platforms catering to their conspiracy theories and extremist or violent views such as Truth Social – run by former President Trump – Gab, Parler, Rumble and others.

Compared with Democrats, Republicans have mastered this form of gutter politics. One example: Right-wing political figures have mocked Paul Pelosi for being attacked, spread baseless conspiracy theories about his personal life and used the incident for applause lines at campaign rallies.

Accordingly, today’s voters and politicians end up confronting one another in the public sphere not on matters and substance affecting the future of the country, but on fundamental facts and conspiracy theories, or to address distractions often generated by their respective media ecosystems. This is only exacerbated by a prolonged nationwide decline in media literacy and civics education.

Law enforcement’s unique problem

Against this backdrop, federal law enforcement has become more vocal in warning about the dangers of domestic political extremism, including a bulletin issued in February 2022. The Oct. 28 DHS bulletin further underscores this concern.

But it’s hard for law enforcement to effectively address political extremism, because speech protected under the First Amendment is a major consideration. Phrases like “I’m fighting for you!” or “Saving our country!” might seem like typical political bluster to one person. But they could be seen by others as an implied call for intimidation or violent action against political opponents, election officials, volunteer poll workers and even ordinary voters.

How does speech turn into violent action? Security specialists and scholars use the term “stochastic terrorism” to capture how a single, hard-to-locate person might be inspired or influenced toward violence by broader extremist rhetoric, as appears to have been the case with the man who allegedly tried to kill Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

Law enforcement’s problem is made worse by right-wing lawmakers who normalize or actively praise the actions of violent extremists, calling them “patriots” and demanding their prison sentences be overturned or pardoned. This helps obscure the actual reasons for such incidents, often by deflecting them into broader conspiracy theories involving their opponents.

Certainly there are controversial left-leaning politicians, pundits, activists and talking points too.

But few – if any – openly disregard the fabric of American government, scheme to overturn democratic elections by force or plot to assassinate politicians.

By contrast, there are over 300 Republican election deniers running for office this year, including many incumbents – the vast majority of whom endorse political violence such as the Jan. 6 attack either by their actions or their silence.

Hope for the best; prepare for the worst

Tensions are high heading into the 2022 midterms. Politicians are making final arguments, and the online messaging machines are spreading campaign information, fundraising requests – and plenty of disinformation as well.

Americans expect a peaceful transfer of political power after elections, but recent history shows we must prepare for the worst. It’s clear that the modern Republican Party is openly and successfully embracing and exploiting misinformation, outrage and attacks on democracy and the rule of law.

Until Republicans actively disavow their extremist rhetoric and the misinformation contributing to it, I believe the likelihood for political violence in America increases with each passing day.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Eight recent UMBC graduates and alumni will soon travel to countries across three continents as 2022 Fulbright U.S. Student scholars. They include emerging leaders in education, astrophysics, cybersecurity, human rights, and more, and they are excited to explore difficult questions through fresh perspectives.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program. UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution in 2019 – 2020. In the last decade, UMBC has received over 60 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for research and teaching placements in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, South America, and Europe. 

Creating new paths

This year marks UMBC’s first Fulbright awards to El Salvador and to the UK. Caleb Jacobson ’21, global studies, and M.A. ’23, sociology, will research human rights and the transition to peace in post-conflict El Salvador. Kaitlyn Keaton ’22, computer engineering, a Cyber Scholar in the Center for Women In Technology, will head to Newcastle University (NU) in North East England to complete a master’s in cybersecurity. NU is recognized jointly by the UK’s National Cyber Security Center and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as an Academic Centre of Excellence in cyber security research.

Keaton has focused on making the most of her college education by pursuing a wide range of learning experiences. She has held competitive software engineering internships at General Dynamics Mission and Systems and Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, and has participated in Capture the Flags cybersecurity competitions, but this will be her first learning experience abroad.

As a Cyber Scholar and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Society member, Keaton is determined to further develop the skills necessary to be on the cutting edge of cybersecurity research. She is also committed to creating new pathways for more women and girls to be leaders in engineering. 

“I want to inspire and encourage even more girls and young women to join the cybersecurity world,” says Keaton. “There is a critical need to get girls interested at younger ages to show them they can do it too.”

Intercultural understanding in medicine

Maryam Elhabashy ’21, anthropology, developed an interest in the process of healing early in her life while surrounded by a family of physicians. In high school, she shadowed a physician at a hospital and saw instances where patients’ cultural backgrounds sometimes conflicted with the physician’s concerns. She wondered if a lack of intercultural understanding in medicine can get in the way of good medical care, leading to health disparities.

Elhabashy found an answer in listening to culturally diverse perspectives. As a student of anthropology with a focus on medical anthropology, she found that listening to people’s stories can help physicians develop empathy. This is one way to ensure patients feel heard, understood, and are able to navigate medical processes that can give them access to the best care possible.

While at UMBC, Elhabashy received an Undergraduate Research Award to research “Cupping and Wellness Among Muslims In the Baltimore-Washington Area.” She also served as a research assistant in sociology, anthropology, and public health (SAPH), studying physical activity among older African Americans in Baltimore. 

After graduating, Elhabashy worked at Rutgers University as a research assistant studying tobacco and e-cigarette use among minority populations. In the past year, she interned at the Amgen Scholar Program at the National Institute of Health, working with leading biomedical scientists to identify and address health disparities as a potential result of societal, cultural, and environmental influences.

During her Fulbright year, Elhabashy will live in Kuwait City to work on her research project at Kuwait University titled, “Faith, Family, Food, and Fitness: Exploring Trends of Obesity Amongst Kuwaiti Women.”

“I hope to one day be at the forefront of a movement towards truly personalized medicine that embraces individuality and intercultural communication as a foundational tenet of the field,” she notes. “I hope my experience in Kuwait will serve as a strong foundation for this work.”

Latine teachers needed

Adrianna-Marie Urbina-Ruiz ’21, mathematics, and M.A.T., secondary education, was raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, but her roots are in Venezuela. She remembers only having four Hispanic teachers growing up. All were Spanish language teachers and supported her academic and personal growth. However, Urbina-Ruiz felt some of her other teachers had lower expectations of her, limiting her opportunities, and she saw other Hispanic students struggle with this same experience.

“Many Hispanic students learning English and those who are bilingual have been seen as having limited academic knowledge, limited potential,” says Urbina-Ruiz. “I want to stop that narrative.”

At UMBC, Urbina-Ruiz met Bonny Tighe, a senior lecturer of mathematics, who encouraged her to become a math major and a math teacher through the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program. 

“I will never forget walking into her office hours for the first time. She recognized me as having one of the highest grades in her Calculus I class,” says Urbina-Ruiz. “She and the Sherman staff had confidence that I would rise to any challenge. They built a strong foundation for my success.”

Urbina-Ruiz also completed a master’s in teaching and earned a certificate in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages while student-teaching at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City, which serves many Hispanic families. “I want to have as many tools at my disposal to make my classroom as accessible as possible,” says Urbina-Ruiz. “I want to be the Latine STEM teacher I never had.”

Urbina-Ruiz will work towards creating her first Collaborative Online International Learning program during her Fulbright year. She will connect college students at the Universidad Industrial de Santander in Colombia with students in Maryland while teaching English. “Latine teachers are needed around the world,” says Urbina-Ruiz.

Urbina-Ruiz plans to return to teach in Baltimore City Public Schools where there is a high demand for bilingual Hispanic teachers.

Representation in science

Similar to Elhabashy, Maithily Diana Díaz ’21, biology and modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, is pursuing a career focused on health equity. As a first-generation student, Díaz encourages other Latinos to go to college and to be ambitious even if it means they are in spaces where they are the only Latino, something she has experienced as a Latina in STEM. 

“I’m usually the only Latina, but now it means something more,” says Díaz. “Now, it’s just the jump of saying Latinos can be scientists, researchers, physicians. If we believe in ourselves then someone else will too. And once that door is opened, then who knows how far we can go.”

Díaz recently moved to Tijuana, Mexico to work at a non-profit health clinic serving a largely refugee and migrant population. For the past school year she has been teaching science and medicine to predominantly Hispanic and African American K-12 students for Refugee Health Alliance in Harlem, while completing remote research in mental health at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

During her Fulbright year, Díaz will complete a master’s in immunology and work on cancer research at the French National Institute of Health while mentoring undergraduate students at Sorbonne University. .

“It’s a dream come true that someone like me received a Fulbright at such prestigious institutions. My students were shocked,” says Díaz. “I want more and I intend to achieve it. But at the end of the day, this is for my community.” 

While in France, Díaz will work with researchers seeking to identify more effective means of treating soft tissue sarcomas. The findings may reveal potentially novel immunotherapy targets for a variety of cancers. 

As a linguist with proficiency in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian, Díaz knows her ability to successfully communicate across multiple cultures and languages can lead to greater opportunities. She wants to show Latinos what can happen when they value their multicultural and multilingual lives as assets.

Following her Fulbright, Díaz plans to pursue an M.D., promoting equity in both research and healthcare.

Global education and disability

Mimi Yaldram ’20, history, is very familiar with the process of acclimating to a new culture and country. When she was seven years old, her family left their home in Karachi, Pakistan for the United States to seek better mental health services. 

“We came  in 1999 right before 9/11,” says Yaldram. “It was a lot to manage the racism towards my Muslim family while learning how to live, study, access services, and work in the U.S.” 

This experience inspired Yaldram’s passion for living and learning within multiple cultures, religions, and languages, which she began to explore at Montgomery College. There she held numerous executive student leadership roles and traveled abroad to Ethiopia, where she researched the influence of India on ancient trade routes and currency. 

In 2017, Yaldram joined UMBC’s Shady Grove campus, embarking on new student leadership opportunities, including serving as president of the Student History Association and studying abroad in Denmark. She learned about Viking history and participated in a dance project focusing on Danish pop dances and Pakistani Bollywood dances.

Yaldram identifies as a student with a mental health disability, and she is passionate about advocating for and teaching other students with disabilities and neurological differences. For the past two years, she has tutored students with autism spectrum disorder on strengthening their writing, communication, and social skills.

Now that she has earned her both her Teaching English as a Second Language and mental health first-aid certifications, she is ready to spend her Fulbright year teaching English in Taiwan. She is excited to be part of Taiwan’s goal to become a bilingual nation by 2030 by raising English proficiency. She also looks forward to sharing her skills in disability education and services while teaching. 

“My dream is to make a positive impact on immigrant communities by utilizing my own experiences and education,” says Yaldram. “I hope to make a difference and bring that to the Fulbright program in Taiwan.”

Yaldram plans on a career at the intersection of global education, social justice, and disability beginning with humanitarian work in Pakistan after her Fulbright experience.

Korean world influence

Chemutai Wangui Nganga ’21, global studies, comes from a Kenyan family in the United States. During elementary school, she lived in Kenya for four years where she improved her Swahili skills and learned more about her Kenyan culture. When she moved back to the U.S., her family settled in Howard County, Maryland, home to numerous international communities, especially a thriving Korean community. Nganga learned about the influence the Korean economy, cuisine, music, art, and technology have had on the world. 

Living in a diverse community, led Nganga to major in global studies at UMBC. She gained a greater understanding of the opportunities and conflicts of globalization and decided to focus on international politics and French. Her Asian studies courses increased her interest in Korean culture, which led her to pursue a Fulbright year in South Korea. 

“For me, Korea is a full step into a new world,” says Nganga, who will be teaching English. “It is another chance to push the boundaries of my worldview as well as serve others.” She plans to explore a career path in foreign service on her return to the U.S.

Stellar research

As a burgeoning astrophysicist, Kaitlyn Szekerczes ’22, physics, lives and breathes for exploring the infinite universe. She didn’t know that all those nights stargazing on her deck with her dad and discussing the plausibility of science fiction shows would lead her to pursue a career in space science research. 

“I was always fascinated by the questions we were not able to answer. We are not even close to knowing nearly everything when it comes to astronomy,” says Szekerczes. “My goal is to contribute to answering lesser-known big and challenging research questions.”

Szekerczes will lead a project on gravitational lensing of tidal disruption events at the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany. It will be the first study to apply the technique of gravitational lensing—the bending of light by gravity—to researching tidal disruption events, which are events that happen when a supermassive black hole tidally disrupts a star.

“My dream job is to work as an astrophysicist for NASA,” says Szekerczes. “UMBC was the perfect fit for me because I was encouraged to pursue my passion for tackling challenging unanswered questions. I was also given the resources and support to piece together the puzzle of how to work towards my goals.”

After returning from Germany, Szekerczes will begin a Ph.D. program in astrophysics at Penn State University in fall 2023.

Since 2009, as part of its Alumni Awards celebration, the UMBC Alumni Association names one “Rising Star” recipient each year who exemplifies early career and professional achievement. In the coming weeks, we will spend some time with awardees from the past decade to see where they are now—and how they’ve grown in their fields while maintaining ties to UMBC. In this installment, UMBC Rising Stars and Fearless coworkers Delali Dzirasa and Kelsey Krach discuss their Retriever networks and the responsibility of working in the civic tech space.

When Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering, founded Fearless 12 years ago, he ran it out of his mother’s basement. A year later, when Dzirasa joined forces with John Foster ’04, computer engineering, their first proper office was a shared cubicle at bwtech, UMBC’s business and technology research park. Their vision for the software company was to provide digital services, but specifically tools that empower communities and create good change. “Software with a soul,” Dzirasa, CEO, says.

And their methods caught the attention of the Retriever community. In 2011, Dzirasa won the Rising Star award from the UMBC Alumni Association, and in 2019 Fearless project manager and designer Kelsey Krach ’14, anthropology, won the same award for her contributions to human centered design. Krach, now based in California, joined Dzirasa virtually to discuss the fulfillment of working on technology in co-creation with the community who will use it, and how the Fearless culture is changed and strengthened with each added team member. Reflecting on the years since their respective awards, Dzirasa and Krach see their professional and personal growth as possible only through the support they received from their UMBC communities.

Here’s a little secret they both share—as members of Retriever-filled families, neither Dzirasa nor Krach initially saw themselves going to UMBC, but the campus won them over as high schoolers and the pair can’t help but hype their alma mater.

So much more than software

Delali Dzirasa: Some folks might ask, “Well, what in the world does a software company have to do with community partnerships and service?” 

Kelsey Krach: Fearless is so much more than a digital services firm. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I was drawn to come work there, because we do so much in the Baltimore community, like partnering with the Downtown [Partnership’s] BOOST Program and some other community organizations. 

Dzirasa: Fearless is actually based in Baltimore because of the Downtown Partnership, so they’re very much a part of our story. Black-Owned and Occupied Storefront Tenancy (BOOST) is a program of the Downtown Partnership where they’re looking to increase Black-owned founders and entrepreneurs. I think it just really speaks to entrepreneurs that might have the passion, might have the energy, but need a little bit of support to get going.

Krach: What type of help did you receive in your early stages? I feel like that’s one of the reasons why you spend time doing this work.

Dzirasa, standing second from left, and Foster, right, with members of the Fearless team. Photo courtesy of Fearless.

Dzirasa: Fearless started off at UMBC, and so UMBC is always going to be part of our story. My brothers and I had a bunch of little side hustles and businesses growing up but never really knew the formal side of entrepreneurship, and UMBC started a fantastic entrepreneurship program while I was there, so I attended those courses.

When Fearless was born, our first cube—not even an office, but our first cubicle—was at UMBC in the bwtech Incubator on campus. So UMBC has been there, whether we needed advice, whether we needed partners, whether we needed someone to be able to get direction from. 

I don’t know that I feared it not working, right? I think entrepreneurs have to have a healthy dose of delusion. I think if there was a fear it was—will we be like everybody else? Or would we have the courage to stand out and try to do things a little bit differently?

A Fearless culture

Krach: I’ve been at Fearless for three years, and I’ve seen a lot of growth happening, especially over the past couple of years. I think what’d be really interesting to talk about are maybe two things, how do we keep this community camaraderie as we continue to grow and how do we make sure that as people come into the company we are maintaining excitement around the community work that we do?

Dzirasa: I don’t think that we will keep the culture, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Every time we add a new person into Fearless, the culture is different. That’s because new people bring new ideas and new interests and new energy, and they create something that wasn’t here before that we all get to benefit from. What I think will remain consistent are the values, our internal culture code, like “create belonging, take initiative, open dialogue, make impact.”

Fearless team members at a company picnic wearing their signature purple. Photo courtesy of Fearless.

Krach: I think that’s a great way to explain it, and I think when we talk about the community aspect of Fearless, what I really love, too, is that we have things built into our work, like our community hours, a certain number of hours a year we get compensated for doing some of this community-based work. I remember even before we had those community hours, a group of people at Fearless went out to serve breakfast at a local food shelter in Baltimore. I thought, “Wow, these are amazing people who want to wake up with me at 5 o’clock in the morning.”

Dzirasa: A question I ask myself often is have we done a good job as a company giving space for people to do community work, or have we just done a good job of attracting people that already care about humanity and the world and just get out of their way? I think it’s a little bit of both but probably more the latter.

Kelsey, in your case and all you’ve done, whether it be serving food or supporting mental health institutions and initiatives or Code for Baltimore—we didn’t create or enable that. That’s you. You were going to do those things anyway. So I think we’ve been able to do a good job of getting a collection of great humans and just kind of getting out of the way and helping them to amplify their message and what it is that they’re doing. 

Women in Tech panel that Krach, third from right, spoke on. Photo courtesy of Krach.

Krach: I think this topic leads into our role in the civic tech space. People are like, “Well, let’s just build this piece of technology and that will fix problems.” But we know you need to have communal co-creation from the people it’s going to affect. We can’t just assume that they’ll want to use the thing that’s created.

Dzirasa: That’s right. What civic tech is—is you’ve got civic and you’ve got tech and they come together and they co-create and they solve problems together. I think that’s something that allows us to both bring an air of authenticity in what we’re doing, but it also ensures that there is accountability for everyone to solve the problem together. 

Keeping Retriever ties

Krach: UMBC has had such a fundamental effect on me and…I’m at a loss for words, actually, to talk about what UMBC has done for me. I couldn’t even imagine having another type of university experience.

Dzirasa: UMBC means a lot. I mean, not just from personal and professional, but it’s a bit of a family thing. I met my wife at UMBC. Both my brothers went to UMBC, so our whole family went there. Then there are the personal relationships I made on campus, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, Greg Simmons, Kim Leisey, and so many people that are at UMBC who were instrumental in my journey, like Vivian Armor, who directs the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. Any time there’s an opportunity to participate or give a talk or support students, I jump at the opportunity.

Dzirasa accepting his Rising Star award in 2011.

Krach: I laughed when you said your whole family went to UMBC. My mom and dad went to UMBC. My younger sister went to UMBC at the same time I was there. My aunt went to UMBC and works there, so I definitely get that family feeling. In fact, I did not want to go to UMBC because of that.

Dzirasa: We share that.

Krach: I was a very rebellious younger person, and I was just like, “No, I’m not going to go to UMBC.” I wanted to go as far away as possible. Then my mom was just like, “Just please visit and then you can say definitively.” I shadowed a friend of mine from high school who was going to UMBC, and I totally fell in love.

Krach in front of the A.O.K. Library. Photo courtesy of Krach.

Dzirasa: We’re like the same person. Same thing, I resisted it. It was the last place on earth I wanted to go to. But then I absolutely loved it, and I couldn’t have imagined a different world for myself. 

Krach: My liberal arts education set me up to be a critical thinker going into the tech space. My job is to think about the big picture. How is what we’re doing with our piece of technology actually solving the problem for whomever we’re trying to help? 

I’ve been able to go back to the Sondheim Scholars Program and teach them about human-centered design and how that can be applied in policy and how technology is related to the policies that we implement. It’s all so connected in my brain. It’s funny because I’m like, “How do people not see all of these things are connected?”

How have you grown since receiving the Rising Star award?

Dzirasa: All right, let me set the stage. I received the award about 10 years ago. My guess is that every single person in our company could fit in the first row or two in the Library Gallery, where they held the ceremony. That’s certainly not the case now!   

A less visible area I’ve seen growth is in something I’m not inherently good at, so it’s something that I’m continuing to work at, which is how to build systems. But at Fearless, we’ve been able to bring along amazing people that are really smart—a heck of a lot smarter than I am in their respective areas—who contribute so much to the organization. So it’s really finding what am I uniquely gifted at, leaning into that lane, but really trusting other people to do what it is that they do so well. 

When the company was at their original bwtech location, they were called Fearless Solutions. Photo courtesy of Fearless.

Kelsey, you received your Rising Star award more recently in 2019. Can you talk about what has changed in your own life personally and professionally?

Krach: I had a big shift personally with moving from Baltimore to California right before I got that award—our ceremony was in the Linehan Concert Hall. I’ve been so lucky to continue working with Fearless in a remote capacity, so a big piece for me has been growth around building a new life here. One of the most beautiful parts of this move is that Oakland reminds me a lot of Baltimore in the sense of the people and community. 

Professionally, I’ve been able to dig in more to being a product manager and thinking more about what is the value we’re providing. What problems are we focusing on with our technology, and how are we helping the government make smart decisions about what they want to implement. I want to make sure that we’re not just putting Band-aids on stuff but instead we’re ripping off the Band-aids and getting to these deep wounds that exist.

Krach accepts her Rising Star award in 2019. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Delali, one last question—what was something you learned at UMBC that you still use in your daily life?

Dzirasa: I feel like UMBC taught me how to build community, how to help put some of the pieces in place that build culture. What about you?

Krach: For me, it’s like what have I not used? But, really, one person who stands out for me is Vivian Armor, who you mentioned earlier, and the entrepreneurship classes that I took while at UMBC. That combined with my cultural anthropology background took me to this level of thinking about structure and agency and what it means to build the technology in order to help individuals accomplish their goals. And to ask ourselves, is our tech creating a foundation for equitable spaces? 

Dzirasa: For me, it goes back to what we talked about: how do we empower people like you who already care about humanity and are awesome humans and let them just do amazing things? Even through the lens of equity, if you’re a woman founder or a founder of color or whatever it is who has a particular experience that traditionally isn’t in the marketplace, if we help those companies to be really successful, they then have a lived experience of how to do that. They become a story…an example that people can point to and say, “Oh, I can do that, too.” 

Do you know a UMBC alum who should be recognized for the great work they’re doing? Nominate them for an Alumni Award by filling out this form by May, 3, 2021.

Alumni Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering, and Andrew Mavronicolas ’14, information systems, were recently featured in a SmartLogic video promoting bwtech@UMBC. Both alumni run companies based in the research park: Dzirasa is the president of the software company Fearless Solutions, and Mavronicolas is co-founder of Backpack ‘Em, an online intra-campus exchange platform. Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of bwtech, is also featured. Watch the whole clip here: