It should come to no surprise that numerary luminary Connie Pierson, AVP in IRADS—UMBC’s primary source for official campus statistics to comply with government reporting requirements and support decision-making—is good at keeping track of things. This Friday, December 19, Pierson ’90, M.A. ’92, celebrated her 300th black and gold Friday. 

Originally conceived as a way to stay connected with fellow Retrievers when the world went virtual in March 2020, Pierson is not one to give up on a good streak. “This is part of my personality. I mean—you got to be a little anal retentive to be a data analyst and to have that mindset,” Pierson says. 

For this lifelong Retriever (and it should be noted that her full first name is Constance), this means donning one of her numerous pieces of black and gold clothing—often with a hair accessory—and posting to social media, along with a hashtag that keeps a record of her record-long series. Sometimes she’ll bank some pictures to use later, like when she attends a UMBC athletics game.

If you scroll through the 4.5+ years of photos on social media, Pierson’s hair grows (it also grays, as she points out), she wears a hat, a headband, different glasses, she gets licked by her pups, she’s outside or in—there are many different variables, but one stays the same. She’s got a mega-watt grin that makes you smile back. “It’s part of my weekly routine. You got to get dressed—you got to put black and gold on,” she says.

Pierson and her late father, Kenneth Krach, Sr., on week 166 of her streak.

Pierson has a reason to boast her black and gold bonefides—she’s spent 31 non-consecutive years at UMBC as both a student and staff member. After leaving the university to earn her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a short stint at the U.S. Census Bureau, Pierson returned to UMBC in 1999 for a job in the Office of Institutional Research, Analysis, and Decision Support where she has been ever since.

Pierson says, personally, her commitment to the streak is a way to keep in touch with the larger UMBC community, especially with her retired colleagues. “I’ve had people tell me, ‘Don’t stop! It’s how I know it’s Friday,’” Pierson laughs. She guesses that she’s only missed six or seven Fridays.

Even when her father passed away, Pierson used a picture of her and him at a Retriever’s game for her regular post in his honor. The digital data decision maker plans to retire in summer 2026, and wants to continue her trend into her next stage of life—as an alumna and retiree—so she will always know when the weekend is about to start.