Courtesy of Wayne Lutters

Wayne Lutters of the information systems department reigns as one of only two UMBC instructors that have a perfect 5.0 rating on ratemyprofessors.com. The Retriever reached out to Lutters to find out more about the man behind the rave reviews.

Behind the five-star rating, you will find a very unconventional professor. In his HCC 728 Online Communities course, for example, Lutters requires that students join and log in to a “Yik Yak-esque” class chat during the period. Students use it for everything from questions on lecture material to laments about cold Chick-fil-A nuggets. The chat is often projected onto the classroom wall and students turn to it to generate new ideas for discussion.

“If people are going to be chatting in class anyway, I would rather to have them chat with their classmates about [class],” said Lutters.

In his courses, students engage in debates about topics such as the role of information technology in organizations, telecommuting and autonomous technology. “This is my first course with him and it’s discussion-based,” said Jesse Futter, a graduate student pursuing a master’s in human-centered computing. “He makes us sit in a circle every class and we discuss the readings.”

In addition to teaching, Lutters does research in human-centered computing, a sub-field of information systems. He describes it as the methods by which we design our technologies to work best with people. Within HCC, Lutters studies systems that support groups like video calling platforms such as Skype.

Lutters wasn’t always on this academic path, however. As an undergraduate, he pursued journalism at a small liberal arts college. Quickly realizing he did not possess an affinity for tight deadlines, he earned degrees in cognitive science (a precursor to neurology) and European intellectual history.

He later worked as a modeler for neuroanatomical forms of learning while attending University of California, Irvine as a graduate student. It interested him, but the work still didn’t feel quite right.

A colleague guided him towards the field of social informatics, where he observed and interviewed individuals in order to design better software for them.

“I was in heaven,” said Lutters. “I found a place where all my interests tied together.”

He worked briefly at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, W.A. as a usability engineer before completing his doctorate at UCI. In the midst of his search to find his niche, his role model Jenny Preece left the United Kingdom to become the head of the information systems department at UMBC.

Though he wasn’t familiar with UMBC, he was lured by the possibility of working with Preece. The rest is history: Lutters has been a proud Retriever ever since.

“He always brings a very happy, positive vibe when he comes to class,” said Rakesh Arvapalli, a student in the HCC master’s program.

Despite his technical field, Lutters retains his interest in the humanities and appreciates the ambiguity of our world: “There are very rarely right answers for anything,” he said. “[I enjoy] encouraging students to be comfortable navigating and discovering in that gray, mushy middle where we all live.”

The post Dr. Lutters and the ‘mushy middle’ appeared first on The Retriever.

Courtesy of Lindsay Dixon

For Lindsay Dixon, a 39-year-old student majoring in history, the decision to go to college was inspired by her family. A mother of two and a Michigan native, her move to Maryland presented new opportunities and brought her to UMBC.

Dixon sat down for an interview in the dining area of The Commons the day after returning from a weekend visit home. She wore an oversized, gray UMBC sweatshirt and her nails painted alternating blue and yellow for University of Michigan: her husband’s alma mater.

Michigan’s shrinking economy led to Dixon’s decision to move. After her husband graduated with his bachelor’s, he was unable to find work as a programmer and decided to look outward. Maryland had great job opportunities for good pay. With two children it was difficult to move away from extended family but the choice strengthened Dixon and her family.

“It really demanded that we elevate ourselves to a new level of our relationship and who we wanted to be and try things without any nearby support,” Dixon said. “We’ve been thriving here; flourishing.”

Dixon’s husband encouraged her to explore her own future. She was a single, working mother when she met him and was content working minimum wage jobs.

“I just really hadn’t considered myself as being capable of doing anything more. I was okay with the status quo. My husband was like, ‘You can do anything you want to do, I will help you,’” Dixon said, smiling and adjusting her oval-framed glasses.

After some exploration, Dixon realized that because of her love of books, she should be a librarian. After completing her bachelor’s, she will obtain her master’s in library science.

Being a working mother in school has been understandably difficult for Dixon. She spends her days at UMBC from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and works at Trader Joe’s from 4 p.m. to midnight. The time in between is spent studying and being with her family.

“My daughter is almost 15,” said Dixon. “She picks up the slack for me. My husband is obviously a great father so they have really managed to work out a system to help me.”

The UMBC community has also been a source of support. Part of the reason she chose to come here is because of the on-campus preschool. Unfortunately, when Dixon started attending UMBC, the preschool had to close for renovations. Luckily, faculty were supportive when Dixon needed to bring her four-year-old son to class with her.

“My teachers would be completely fine with a four year old doodling in the corner and I couldn’t be more appreciative of that,” Dixon said. “It really made me feel welcome.”

Because of the encouragement of her teachers and the reopening of the preschool, Dixon was able to take daytime classes and spend the short time between classes and work with her family. Now in her last semester at UMBC, Dixon is close to reaching her newfound goals.

The post A new home and new opportunities appeared first on The Retriever.

Courtesy of Valerie Parks

When someone brings up the topic of SGA, many of UMBC’s students and faculty may immediately think of the heated scandals that have plagued the campus in recent years. This, tied with generally polarizing politics in America, may keep UMBC’s members from really trusting and taking any interesting in SGA and what they do on campus. However, it is important to remember that, despite what has happened in the past few years, the original intent and purpose of SGA is still one that is positive and empowering for its students.

We seem to forget how expansive SGA is and how, at the end of the day, it is still comprised of a group of everyday students with personal interests and ideas working for the good of the campus. This is what Valerie Parks explained as she reminisced about her time serving in SGA.

Parks graduated from UMBC in spring 2015, having majored in financial economics, minored in Spanish and earned certificates in financial accounting and managerial accounting. Parks also spent all four of her years at UMBC in an SGA seat after being inspired to join by her fellow Honors College friends during her second semester as a freshman. That semester, she became an SGA senator. Her sophomore year, she became speaker of the senate. The following year, she became the assistant Prove-It coordinator and during her senior year she was vice president to Ganesh Mysore.

“It was definitely a balancing act,” Parks said when speaking about juggling four years of SGA work and her academic work. She went on to explain that the skills that she had learned in SGA, especially administration systems and balancing different kinds of work, were well worth the stressful days that she experienced.

She claimed that she was never alone when her SGA work became stressful. “There was always someone there who had my back and would be willing to pull some of the weight if I was struggling and I would do the same for them,” she said. She went on to explain that even though there was always some natural friction between members, SGA was always, first and foremost, a cohesive family, despite whatever scandals and drama have gone down in recent years.

“Like anything else, SGA does and will always have room for improvement and change,” Parks stated. When asked if there were specific things that Parks would change about SGA, she quickly responded, “The way elections are run, student integrity and accountability for the way candidates conduct themselves in their campaigns. People who cannot go against these ideals are the reason that people view SGA in such a bad light.”

Comparing election races when she was an underclassman to what they have been in recent years, Parks said, “Over in D-Hall, the last three nights before elections were always extremely intense, but it was never in a negative sense. Election culture shouldn’t be a bad thing, rather, something that people can enjoy.”

Parks looks back on her four years serving in SGA in a redemptive and hopeful light. “SGA really is full of people who care a lot of about UMBC. For example, one of my big projects during my time as senator was working with the Muslim Student Association to get halal in the Commons, but I was only their guide. MSA did all of the work,” she said. “A big philosophy in SGA is that we are there to empower the students do achieve what they want, not what we want.”

When asked if there was one thing she wanted to leave our readers with, Parks said, “It is amazing to come back two years later and see things that I got to help establish. SGA has a lot of potential and it gives the students a lot potential as well. In the past few years, UMBC has seen a very bad side of SGA. Please do not hold on to this bad impression of SGA. They were my community, my supporters and my family.”

Minutes after this remark, Parks scrolled through old election photos, laughing and smiling at every new photo. She came across a particular campaign photo with a Retriever statue, Ganesh and herself. “Yeah,” she said smiling, “we really had some good times.”

The post Valerie Parks reflects on her time with SGA appeared first on The Retriever.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions. This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/7/2016,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I),
Saturday, 10/8/2016, 9:00 – 12:00 PM (Part II), 

Location: Albin O. Kuhn Library, Room 767

RSVP by clicking “I can attend” below and apply via the Dissertation House’s website:

http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/42532

https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Please send your application to promisestaff@gmail.com by September 15, 2016. 

Tell us a little about yourself 

My name is Junaid Bhatti and I am a tutor at the Writing Center and the Math Lab. I was born in Pakistan and moved to Baltimore when I was very young. I am junior Biology major and am currently on the pre-medical track at UMBC.

Tell us about how you are involved on campus.

Along with tutoring, I am also a TA for a few classes. I also work in a pair of on-campus research labs and am an active member of many clubs and organizations at UMBC.

How and why did you get involved in being a tutor?

This is my fourth semester as a tutor for the LRC.  A while back, I got an email informing me that I was recommended by my English professor to work in the Writing Center. I always enjoyed tutoring, so I decided to apply and was fortunate enough to get the position. The same sequence of events occurred the following semester, however, this time it was my Calculus teacher that had recommended me for the Math Lab. Along with Math and English, I started tutoring many other courses such as Chemistry and Biology.

What is your favorite thing about being a tutor?

Knowing that you are making a difference. Often times students will come in with absolutely no clue on how to do something. By the end, however, they seem to understand that same concept so well that they’d teaching their fellow peers about it. Seeing students make progress and getting the results they want is really rewarding as a tutor.

Why should students utilize the tutoring?

It helps you either learn something you don’t understand or reinforce your knowledge on some concept that you are fairly comfortable with. Even if you feel you have a good enough grasp on a certain concept, I would still encourage you to drop by because it usually enhances what you already know. There are really experienced tutors that have taken and excelled in courses they tutor and will give you tips from the perspective of a fellow student who has already been through that situation. On a side note, it’s also surprisingly a really great place to meet people. Many students will come in for tutoring and end up leaving with a new friend or two with whom they usually form a study group with. This can be really helpful in some of those upper level classes.

What advice would you give students about how to prepare for a tutoring session?

Try attempting some of the assignment/problems (Math Lab) or drafting part of your paper (Writing Center) ahead of time. If you made previous attempts, you usually have a better idea of the material when the tutor is going over it due to that preliminary exposure and are more likely to completely understand it by the end.

When and where can someone work with you through the Learning Resources Center?

For Fall 2016, you can find me at the Writing Center and Math Lab on Wednesdays.