Hi everyone,

We wanted to share an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in law school or trial advocacy!

This weekend, Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., a law school–level mock trial scrimmage will be happening right here on campus!

The event is hosted by Maggie Taylan, a UMBC Graduate Assistant with Residential Life and current law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Her team will be scrimmaging against:

• Catholic University's Law School team on Saturday

• University of Maryland Carey School of Law on Sunday

Why Attend?

• Watch how law students prepare and argue at the national level

• See courtroom presentations and evidentiary arguments up close

• Ask questions and connect with current law students afterward

• Even have the chance to serve as a juror and provide feedback!

Location: Harbor MultiPurpose Room

Even if you can only stop by for part of the day, this is an amazing chance to see law school in action and get a feel for what mock trial looks like beyond undergrad.

If you're interested, please reach out to us via email,groupme or myUMBC so we can keep you in the loop with final details.

Pete Fitzpatrick ’96 completed his paramedic training in a speeding ambulance in West Baltimore over 30 years ago. It wasn’t the career he had envisioned, but after a friend gave him a textbook for an elective Emergency Medical Technician class, he switched his major to emergency and disaster health systems. “I kind of fell in love with it. As a kid, I never saw it as a profession for me,” says Fitzpatrick. “There are no firefighters or paramedics in my family.”

His ability to communicate clearly and calmly under pressure, foresee medical or technical issues, and notice the tiniest details led him to return to school for nursing. He first worked in an adult neuroscience unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital before returning to ambulance and helicopter transport, including pediatric transport. 

Fitzpatrick has spent the last 12 years at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. As a transport team shift coordinator, he meets the needs and addresses the challenges of flight crews, medics, receiving hospitals, and families before, during, and after helicopter or ambulance transport. “I remember my surprise the first time somebody referred to me as a pediatric nurse,” says Fitzpatrick. “I guess I am.”

Addressing the opioid crisis

In light of Fitzpatrick’s background and relevant training, in May 2025, he was appointed as one of 12 members on Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council. Established in 2022, the council makes recommendations for the allocation of financial settlements from prescription opioid-related lawsuits to help fund programs and initiatives that address the opioid crisis. Fitzpatrick, who is married to Kim Fitzpatrick and father of Sam, Mikey, and Danny, a first-year chemical and environmental engineering student, serves as the council member representing those who have lost a family member to an opioid overdose.

“It’s really a sad story. My oldest child, Sam, died of a fentanyl overdose in May of 2020. He was 22,” says Fitzpatrick. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid used in hospitals to treat severe and chronic pain from cancer and surgery. The Maryland Department of Health reported that between September 2024 and August 2025, there were 631 opioid-related deaths in Baltimore City and County combined, 575 of which were fentanyl-related deaths.

“I tell my colleagues, in emergency pediatric transport, we deal with children in sometimes very tragic circumstances,” says Fitzpatrick. “I say to them, ‘When you lose a child in transport, there’s only one thing you can do—you have to go and try to save the next one.'” 

Broadening access to life-saving treatment

Coming from an emergency medical services (EMS) system approach, Fitzpatrick hopes the opioid crisis will be solved through similar measures. “The 1973 EMS Systems Act came about because of the rise in deaths due to a lack of emergency care,” he says. “The act created grants and programs to fund EMS training, equipment, and infrastructure.” UMBC established its emergency health services (EHS) baccalaureate program in 1980 to develop highly skilled emergency healthcare leaders, managers, and providers. In 1984, UMBC launched the first EHS graduate program in the U.S., and it remains a national leader in EMS education. Both programs are now part of UMBC’s emergency and disaster health systems department.

Broadening access to life-saving treatment for opioid use disorder is always on Fitzpatrick’s mind. Having access to good healthcare, a supportive family, education, and intervention resources helps, but he notes that not all families have that. For example, there were times when Sam was in crisis, and the family needed access to the police department. 

“Baltimore County has a great crisis response,” Fitzpatrick says, “but what if we had not felt comfortable accessing the police department when we needed that help?” He now serves on the Police Accountability Board for Baltimore County to help strengthen the relationship between police and the community and fundraises for the American Society for Addiction Medicine.

“Sam had a lot of things going for him, and it still didn’t work. That’s sad. There’s only one thing I can do at this point,” says Fitzpatrick, “and that’s to try to make a difference.”

Learn more about UMBC’s Department of Emergency and Disaster Health Systems.

UMBC is partnering with Trellis Strategies to launch the Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) — a short, confidential survey about how you manage money and pay for college. Your responses will help UMBC better understand and address students' financial needs.

Survey opens: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Closes: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Look for your unique survey link in your UMBC email from Trellis Strategies (check spam/junk if you don't see it).

Prizes:

• $5 Retriever Dollars — First 500 students to complete the survey

• $5,000 Scholarship — One UMBC student will win for the 2025–2026 academic year

• $50 Amazon Gift Card — National drawing (50 cards available!)

• All current UMBC undergraduate and graduate students

• Must be 18 or older

How to Participate:
Check your UMBC email for your unique survey link from Trellis Strategies and complete the survey by November 11.

Let your voice shape the future of financial wellness at UMBC — and get rewarded for your time!

Questions?
Email financialsmarts@umbc.edu