The “Jessica Effect” was named for the late Jessica Soto Pérez, former graduate student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, member of the first cohort of PROMISE Peer Mentors. We wanted to invite, involve, and engage family members of graduate students in an effort to promote a more inclusive environment that caters to the whole person, and that values the importance of family and friends.

First PROMISE Peer Mentors at UMBC, circa 2004

About Jessica:

• Daughter of Antonio Israel Soto and Luz N. Pérez
• Undergraduate degree: Univ. of Puerto Rico Mayagüez
• P. B. Certificate in Biochemical Regulatory Engineering
• Graduate School: Chemical & Biochemical Engineering (Research: Novel methods for chromatofocusing), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
• Peer mentor: National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP.
• Instructor: UMBC Upward Bound Math Science
• Member, American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• Member, American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Jessica’s research: The effect of pH transients formed by salt gradients on protein ion-exchange chromatography

The article on the Jessica Effect can be found here:  https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2014/spring/tull

More background can be found here: https://renettatull.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/the-jessica-effect-and-women-in-stem-mujeres-en-stem-en-memoria-de-jessica/

With the 2016 Olympic Games off to an exciting start in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the UMBC community will have the chance to see two alumni compete in the pool and on the field later this week.

Mohamed Hussein ‘14, mechanical engineering, a current master’s student in engineering management, will represent Egypt as a member of the swim team. He will compete in the 200 meter individual medley.

Also competing in Rio is Cleopatra Borel ‘02, interdisciplinary studies, who is participating in her fourth Olympic games as a member of the Trinidad and Tobago track and field team. She will compete in the women’s shot put competition.  

At UMBC, Hussein was a member of the men’s swimming and diving team for three seasons, and qualified for the NCAA Championships twice. He broke UMBC school records in both the 100 yard and 200 yard backstroke events. In 2015, The Baltimore Sun highlighted Hussein’s strength in the pool and his participation in the 2015 World Aquatics Championship.

In 2002, Borel, won the women’s shot put event at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, making her the first UMBC competitor to win a NCAA Division I title. She is a three-time All-American and broke the UMBC school record in both the indoor and outdoor shot put, in addition to the weight throw and hammer toss competitions.

Earlier this year, Emily Escobedo ‘17, psychology, participated in the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. She swam the 200 meter breaststroke in an impressive 2:27.03, which put her in 10th place in the semifinals, just two spots away from qualifying for the finals.

Hussein will swim in a 200 meter individual medley qualifying heat on Wednesday, August 10 at 1:14 p.m. The semifinals for that event will be held that evening, beginning 10:29 p.m., with the finals held Thursday, August 11, at 10:01 p.m. Borel will enter the shot put circle on Friday, August 12 at 10:05 a.m. for qualifying round of the women’s shot put competition. If she advances, Borel will participate in the medal round of the women’s shot put on Friday, August 12 at 10:00 p.m.

Images: Mohamed Hussein, left, during a race as a member of the UMBC Men’s Swimming and Diving team. Cleopatra Borwl competes in shot pot for UMBC. Photos courtesy of UMBC Athletics.

It’s Olympics time! Happy Summer Olympics everyone! Did you know that UMBC actually has a pair of alumni athletes competing in Rio?

We’re proud of our athletes Mohamed Hussein ’14 and Cleopatra Borel ’02 for representing our university and their countries at the 2016 Rio Olympics.Mohamed is a swimmer and will compete in the 200m individual medley. The event is slated for Wednesday, August 10th at 1:14 PM. While at UMBC, Mohamed studied mechanical engineering, swam on the men’s varsity team, and broke two school records in the 100 and 200 yard backstroke. He is currently studying to earn his master’s in Engineering Management.We’re sending Mohamed our best wishes as he represents Egypt and goes for the gold!

Cleopatra is a track and field star who will be competing in the women’s shot put competition. She is scheduled to enter competition on Friday, August 12th at 10:05 AM for the qualifiers. We can’t wait to see Cleopatra represent UMBC and Trinidad & Tobago! Cleopatra was an Interdisciplinary Studies major during her time at UMBC and racked up the athletic accolades at the same time!

She was a three time All-American, broke indoor and outdoor shot put school records, and won the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, which makes her the first Retriever athlete to win an NCAA Div I title. To add to an impressive list of accomplishments, Cleopatra won a gold medal at the Pan Am Games in 2015. This will be Cleopatra’s 4th Olympic appearance after Athens, Beijing, and London.

We’d also like to extend a special shout out to Emily Escobedo ’17, a current student who participated in the 2016 US Olympic Trials and came in an impressive 10th in the semifinals for the 200m breaststroke.

It’s great to see our alumni and students representing both our university and the world at the Olympic Games!