Courtesy of Zorah Quattlebaum

Most people are used to using their iPhones when it comes to taking pictures. To get that right selfie, they have to have the perfect lighting and the right filter. But for photographer Zorah Quattlebaum, the technique behind the right picture rarely has anything to do with the lighting or a filter. It’s about the person. “My signature is just making people comfortable in front of the lens. I want to photograph people’s souls — the beauty that I see within them.”

Driven, motivated and smart, 22-year-old junior Zorah Quattlebaum is definitely the type of person you would want to meet. A gender and women’s studies major, Zorah is a natural when it comes to taking pictures. After a night spent photographing singer Ani Difranco in concert, Zorah discussed what led her to pursue her current passion in photography.

She was exposed to the world of photography at a young age by her father, but Zorah didn’t actually start taking photography seriously until she was 14, when she received her first digital camera. “From there, my dad taught me about aperture, shutter speed and camera manipulation using the digital format,” she recalled. Zorah now chooses to use a Hasselblad for film and a Fuji x-t10 for digital. “Both possess qualities found in tradition film photography,” she said.

As Zorah got older, she began taking her interest in photography to new heights, inspired by the work of two of her favorite photographers, Sally Mann and Annie Leibovitz. In December 2013, Zorah went to a concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, and the trip had more of an impact than she expected.

Zorah created a floor-to-ceiling installation piece that consisted of over 650 individual, hand-burned, 4×6 images of the original crematorium from Dachau. She is most proud of this piece, as the remarkable installation was featured in two exhibitions at Winthrop University in South Carolina.

Zorah plans on pursuing photography professionally, hoping to shoot for Bitch Magazine in Portland, Oregon, or Bust Magazine in New York City. “Honestly, if I can make a career out of my photography, that’s the main accomplishment. It’s extremely difficult to make a living in the field of photography these days, so I’ll take what I can get, as long as it makes me happy!,” she said. As of right now, the photographer shoots freelance pieces for The Baltimore Sun, covering concerts or events that occur inside and out of Baltimore.

When asked what she likes to photograph, Zorah was quick to answer. “People, in the most natural way possible … it’s only when there is a break in seriousness, when they least expect me to press the shutter, that’s when I get the best photographs,” she said.

Zorah said that it’s hard to photograph people, noting that not everyone is able to open themselves up in front of the camera. “It’s a challenge, but it’s always rewarding, no matter what.”

The post Meet Zorah appeared first on The Retriever.

The Shriver Center coordinates this undergraduate scholarship program, funded by the France-Merrick Foundation. After 20 years, this scholarship remains available for students who demonstrate an exemplary commitment to service, leadership, and civic engagement on the UMBC campus and in Baltimore City.   The France-Merrick Scholarship Program seeks to combine service and reflection, build relationships, and strengthen networks to affect meaningful change.

Fellows are awarded a scholarship that goes towards tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board expenses.  This will not exceed $15,000 for Maryland students, $22,000 for out-of-state students.  In 2015-16, Fellows will engage in service connected with Baltimore City;  serve in leadership roles (which includes convening meetings for the France-Merrick Scholarship Program), support meaningful professional development, and serve as ambassadors of service at UMBC.  For 2016-17, two Fellows will be selected.

Scholars are awarded a scholarship of up to $1,500.  In 2015-16, Scholars will engage in service connected with Baltimore City, support meaningful professional development, participate in meetings, and serve as ambassadors of service at UMBC.  For 2016-17, five Scholars will be selected.

Applications for the 2016-17 cohort is in the FINAL week.  As a reminder, the timeline is:

Monday, March 7, 2016 – On-line applications open 

EXTENDED until Tuesday, April 5th, @ 9am!

Monday, April 18 – Friday, April 22, 2016 – Selected students invited for interviews

Monday, April 25, 2016 – Recipients notified

ATTENTION GRAD STUDENTS AND UNDERGRADUATES- GET CONNECTED TO THE USDA

The US Department of Agriculture is coming to UMBC to recruit BOTH undergraduates and graduate students for multiple intern and full-time positions below.  Come in person to the Career Center this THURSDAY to drop off your credentials.

TO APPLY, you must come in person on Thursday, April 7th between 9am and 4pm to the UMBC Career Center (Math/Psychology Room 212) to meet and hand in your application to a member of the USDA.  Required application documentation includes an unofficial transcript and a detailed resume (see position description for details under Required Documents).  If you are claiming veteran preference, additional documents are required. 

ALSO, to learn more about these roles, the USDA will be on campus to meet you.  
Wednesday, April 6th - USDA representatives will attend Career Paths for Graduate Students, 4-6PM in Commons Skylight
Wednesday, April 6th - USDA Information Session, Commons 331, 5-7PM
Thursday, April 7th:  USDA Scientists will attend the Employers in the Sciences event, 11AM-2PM, Commons Main Street 

BELOW YOU WILL FIND THE USDA OPPORTUNITIES FOR UMBC CANDIDATE CONSIDERATION

Full-time Positions for Recent and Upcoming May 2016 Graduates

Dairy Products Marketing Specialist (Agreements & Orders) (looking to fill 2 positions)

Pathway - Recent Graduate - Civil Engineer

Pathways- Recent Graduate- Community Development Specialist

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST (NETWORK SERVICES) (Pathways Recent Graduate)

Survey Statistician (Pathways Recent Graduate), Multiple locations

Auditor (Recent Graduates)

Program Analyst

Intern/Student Trainee Positions for those not graduating in May 2016

Student Trainee (Public Affairs)

Student Trainee (Biological Sciences) (looking to fill 2 positions)

PATHWAYS - STUDENT TRAINEE (Environmental Protection Specialist)

Student Trainee (Biological Science) (Pathways Student Intern), Multiple locations

Student Trainee (Statistics) (Pathways Student Intern)

Pathways - Student Trainee (General Engineer)

Student Trainee (Computer Clerk)

Student Trainee (Computer)

Student Trainee (COMPUTER) (Pathways Student Intern), GS-5

STUDENT TRAINEE (COMPUTER) (Pathways Student Intern), GS-4

Student Trainee (Information Technology) (Pathways Student Intern), Multiple locations

The Alternate Delivery Program (ADP) provides financial, technical, and pedagogical support to faculty who agree to redesign an existing face-to-face (F2F) course for online or hybrid (part online, part F2F) delivery in summer or winter session.

The expansion of the ADP includes three tracks: 

I. Skill Builder Track

The Skill Builder track offers modular training in core components of Blackboard and supporting technologies (Bb Collaborate, TechSmith Relay, Box) to help faculty better utilize the features available in Blackboard and to prepare for the Course Designer track.

II. Course Designer Track

This track, which most closely resembles the "old" ADP, is available to faculty who have either completed the ADP Skill Builder track or demonstrated competency with the Skill Builder components. The Course Designer track typically requires at least a semester for course development before the redesigned course is offered in summer or winter session. It includes a one day training workshop and an opportunity to work one-on-one with an Instructional Technology Specialist in the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Faculty who participate in the Course Designer track should have prior experience teaching in summer or winter sessions and convert courses that have a proven enrollment “track record” in Summer or Winter Sessions. 

III. Quality Booster Track

The Quality Booster track is designed for faculty who are already offering hybrid or online courses, but who have either not previously participated in formal course redesign training through the ADP or participated in ADP prior to the Quality Matters (QM) process integration. Quality Matters is an internationally recognized peer review process to assess the design quality of an online or hybrid course. The goal is to carefully evaluate the components of a hybrid or online course to ensure that it meets nationally identified quality standards.

The Skill Builder workshops are on our training schedule; sign up for them now on the Instructional Technology Events page. The Call for Participation for the Course Designer Track is available now; access it here. We are also currently seeking participants for the next Quality Booster Track.

To learn more about the Alternate Delivery Program and Quality Matters, attend the Quality Matters-Focused Course Design Workshop on June15, 2016.

See our attached UMBC calendar of events highlighting what's happening on campus for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!!  This calendar is produced by Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity and highlights some of the many events happening this month at UMBC.  All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.  

Stay tuned to this post for updates as the month unfolds! 

Learn how Parental Stress Impacts Children’s Effortful Control through Maternal Psychological Well-Being and Physical Coercion

Children’s effortful control (EC) predicts their behavioral, emotional, and academic outcomes. Parents can undermine children’s EC by employing highly controlling parenting practices such as physical coercion (PC). Asian-American parents are characterized as more controlling than European-American parents. However, the processes through which contextual and personal characteristics lead to controlling parenting practices and ultimately Asian-American children’s EC is unknown. Asian-American mothers may experience high levels of parenting stress (PS) as immigrants navigating their new environment, which may impair their psychological well-being (PWB). Furthermore, mothers with decreased PWB might be more likely to use PC, which undermines their children’s EC. The present study examined if Asian-American mothers’ (N=111) PS predicted their PWB, which in turn predicted maternal use of PC, and ultimately their preschool children’s EC, using questionnaire data. Serial mediation analysis indicated that higher PS predicted lower levels of maternal PWB (a1=-0.90, SE=0.17, p<.001), which in turn was associated with an increased use of PC. Higher PC was ultimately associated with lower levels of children’s EC (a3=-0.02, SE=0.01, p<.01). All indirect effects were significant. Implications for the implementation of culturally-appropriate programs will be discussed.

Posted April 3, 2016 on CSEE

The UMBC School of Public Policy, bwtech@UMBC Cyber Incubator, and UMBC Center for Cybersecurity are sponsoring a form on Cybersecurity Concerns in Local Governments from 8:30-11:00am on Friday, April 15, 2016 at the Columbus Center in Baltimore.

“Like their counterparts in the private sector, it is important for local government officials and managers to understand cybersecurity threats to their websites and information systems and to take actions to prevent cyber attacks. The purpose of this forum is to present research on cybersecurity initiatives in local governments in Maryland, and highlight the public policy implications of these initiatives.”

There is no charge to attend this forum, but registration is required. For questions or more information, contact policyforum@umbc.edu.Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.