Vivek Moorthy
B.S., Financial Economics; B.A., Mathematics
Magna Cum Laude
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Plans: Business Management Analyst at Northrop Grumman

Assets like the Career Center and The Shriver Center, coupled with accessible faculty, create a space for students to engage with their campus and push their own boundaries. In this environment, I met hard-working and highly motivated people who pushed me to work and think more passionately than I ever have before. I will strive to carry this passion into everything I do.

As a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and member of the Honors College, Vivek Moorthy has committed himself to Walter Sondheim’s vision of integrating research, teaching, and learning for the benefit of society.

Throughout his undergraduate career at UMBC, Moorthy completed varied and challenging coursework that helped him realize his passion for economics and mathematics research. His numerous academic achievements include being invited to Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, and completing a year of graduate-level course requirements in economics and mathematics.

Moorthy worked closely with The Shriver Center and Career Center to land internships at T. Rowe Price and Northrop Grumman. He will begin a new position at Northrop Grumman after graduation, with plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in economics.  

Images: Vivek Moorthy with his fellow Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars, whom he credits for guiding, inspiring, and challenging him throughout his four years at UMBC; photo courtesy of Vivek Moorthy. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Hailey Lynch
B.S. Mathematics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Plans: Investment Fellow, T. Rowe Price

The education I have received at UMBC has undoubtedly prepared me to enter the professional world. I truly believe that I would not be the thinker that I am today had I chosen to attend another institution.

Hailey Lynch is an academic powerhouse, earning her degree in mathematics with a perfect 4.0 record, supported by numerous competitive university and state scholarships. She has also worked hard to take advantage of prestigious internship opportunities that have opened the door to an engaging industry career. While at UMBC, Lynch has completed internships with the Hershey Company and UMBC’s department of physics. She says UMBC’s Career Center support was instrumental in preparing her for a career upon graduation.

Lynch shares that she is particularly thankful for the nurturing and supportive faculty, staff, and students who helped shape her educational experience. “I am surrounded each and every day by peers who continue to astonish me with their intelligence and drive,” she says.

Images: Hailey Lynch shares her personal story with prospective students and their families at UMBC’s New Student Day; photo courtesy of Hailey Lynch. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Markus Proctor
B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies
Cum Laude
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Plans: CEO of EduPal, Inc.

UMBC is an institution that fosters academic excellence, inspires creative thinking, and nurtures character in every student. There are opportunities for students to achieve their highest academic potential at UMBC no matter what their goals are in life. UMBC has allowed me to craft my own journey through the INDS program and that has prepared me more than I could have ever imagined.

Markus Proctor is walking the walk with his interdisciplinary studies degree. He created his own major, Technology Entrepreneurship and Organization Management, not just to prepare for a career as a tech entrepreneur, but while founding and building his own company: EduPal, Inc.

Proctor’s work on EduPal has already earned him several accolades, including 3rd prize in the Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition, 2015-16 UMBC Entrepreneur Scholar of the Year, 2015-16 PNC Entrepreneur Scholar, and 2nd prize in the SEFA National Design Competition. He is also the 2015-16 Joseph and Frieda Faiman Eisenberg/VPC Scholar and was featured as a speaker on the panel “Youth and Diversity in Entrepreneurship” at Baltimore’s inaugural Light City U Creative Innovation Conference in April 2016.

Proctor plans to continue operating EduPal after graduation, transitioning it into a nonprofit “that provides free, innovative technology for students in order to support their rise to academic and career excellence.”

In addition to his entrepreneurial work, Proctor has served as vice president of the Interdisciplinary Studies Council of Majors. He has been invited to serve with the UMBC Alumni Council, UMBC’s Chapter of Black & Latino Alumni, and the Baltimore Emerging Leaders Roundtable.

Images: Markus Proctor with his mentors Greg Cangialosi ’96, English, and Vivian Armor ’73, American Studies; photo courtesy of Markus Proctor. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Brielle Levenberg
B.F.A., Acting; B.A., Modern Languages and Linguistics
Summa Cum Laude
Hometown: Greenlawn, New York
Plans: Teaching at From Stage to Screen Performing Arts Academy and auditioning for roles in New York

Every professor demonstrates support and encouragement for the success of all of their students. The theatre department in particular has prepared me for a career. Since the department conducts all classes, rehearsals, and shows as if they were professional productions, there are no surprises when entering the field.

Brielle Levenberg has excelled in her academic and artistic undergraduate career. A Premiere Award launched her time at UMBC and she has continued to distinguish herself as a member of the Honors College, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa, with a 4.0 GPA. Her numerous awards include the 2015 Theatre Department Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement, 2016 Theatre Department Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance, and 2016 Modern Languages and Linguistics Overall Academic Achievement Award.

Levenberg has been an active student leader, serving the Musical Theatre Club as president, 2014-2016, and as treasurer for the AF Theatre Company. She was nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Region II based on her work in the world premiere of Voracious by Susan McCully, senior lecturer in theatre.

After graduation Levenberg plans to audition for roles in the New York area, and to teach and work as an administrator at From Stage to Screen Performing Arts Academy in Huntington, New York. Levenberg eventually plans to pursue TV and film work in California.

Images: Theatre’s 2013 performance of Eurydice, Brielle Levenberg’s first production at UMBC. “I am reaching forward in the picture, which says to me that the best is yet to come.” Photo courtesy of Brielle Levenberg. Portrait courtesy of Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

Olivia Spicer
Ph.D., Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences
Cum Laude
Hometown: Bayou Vista, Louisiana
Plans: Biotechnology researcher

The faculty at UMBC have allowed me to travel the world, conducting research, and to broaden my skills in biological research.

When Olivia Spicer crosses the stage to formally receive her Ph.D., she’ll do so as a scientist already recognized for groundbreaking discoveries in her field. Spicer researches targeted mutations in the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in zebrafish. These hormones play critical roles in reproduction.

Spicer’s doctoral dissertation focused on the molecular mechanisms of peptides (chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein) in the brain that influence reproduction.  As part of her research at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology with Yonathan Zohar, she received the Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund Graduate Student Fellowship, providing her the opportunity to spend three months on research with a neuroscience collaborator at Tel Aviv University in Israel. In addition to travel for the fellowship, Spicer has attended numerous other scientific conferences and meetings to present her research.

Images: Spicer in the Negev Desert in Israel during her three-month fellowship; photo courtesy of Olivia Spicer. Portrait by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.