March is Women’s History Month!

Three  years ago Women’s History Month’s national theme was “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” The theme honored generations of women who throughout American history have used their intelligence, imagination, sense of wonder, and tenacity to make extraordinary contributions to the STEM fields. At UMBC we honored this theme by partnering with the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) to feature some of their amazing students participating in technology in the engineering and information technology fields. While the theme for Women’s History Month changes every year, we have come to love the tradition in spotlighting the stories of UMBC’s CWIT women. So with that, we are honored to bring you the 3rd Annual CWIT Showcase in honor of Women’s History Month.

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Elyse Hill
Mechanical Engineering
CWIT  Scholar

Meet Elyse Hill! A CWIT Scholar and mechanical engineering major.

Describe what sparked your interest STEM and the journey to choosing your major.

Women often face subtle comments (microaggressions) or people who tell them they can’t/shouldn’t be in these majors which are often dominated by men. What would you say to those women or what advice do you have?

To people who have faced microaggressions, my best advice is to be wary of the comments. There are times to challenge the microaggressions, and there are times to let them slide and keep moving on with your life. Sometimes, it’s necessary to challenge what someone else is saying about you. Don’t let someone else get away with hurting your feelings or putting you down because, as my mom always said, “No one can hurt you unless you let them.” In addition, challenging such commentary can be a great learning experience for all those involved. However, there are also times when you don’t need to fight all battles. Sometimes, it’s just not worth it, especially when the person (or people) talking to you will never be able to learn from the experience of addressing the issue. So I say, take the commentary in stride, but don’t let it in any way diminish you or your outlook on your choices in life.

With viral hashtags like #DistractinglySexy or #AddWomen and #Ilooklikeanengineer, women in STEM are using social media as a tool for activism and creating awareness about women’s representation in STEM. What’s your favorite example of women in STEM supporting and empowering themselves and other women to change the narrative about women in STEM?

Elyse giving the thumbs up for her #ILookLookanEngineer shot!

Social media is my favorite example of women in STEM supporting one another. Things like Twitter and Facebook are great ways for the masses to react when something big happens on the internet. For example, Tim Hunt’s comments sparked #DistractinglySexy which led large numbers of females in science to latch onto the hashtag and post about their own lives. I think a community’s reaction to something is the most important part about the world we live in because it gives that community the chance to become visible. Who would have even pictured all the women who would respond with the #DistractinglySexy tag? To those women, they were just living their everyday lives until the whole thing blew up, allowing them a chance to share what they do with the world. Now we all know their stories, which can be seen as inspiration to some. As long as these tags keep themselves going, people’s perspective of the STEM field will expand and illustrate that women can be just as capable and present in these fields as men.

 

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The Center for Women In Technology (CWIT) is dedicated to increasing the representation of women in the creation of technology in the engineering and information technology fields. CWIT efforts begin with nurturing a strong group of Scholars, grow to building community resources for other women in these majors, extend to fostering a healthy gender climate and ITE pedagogy in College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) departments, and finally expand into outreach efforts to increase interest in technical careers. A successful program for female-friendly engineering and information technology education at UMBC will help make UMBC a destination for women (and men) interested in technical careers and serve as a national model for other universities. To read previous Women’s History Month CWIT spotlights, click here. 

To learn more about the experience of women in STEM, check out the American Association of University Women’s report, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) which presents in-depth yet accessible profiles of eight key research findings that point to environmental and social barriers — including stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities — that continue to block women’s progress in STEM.

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For more information about Women’s History events and happenings, visit the Women’s Center myUMBC group page.

When he searched for this mug of his dreams and couldn’t find anyone manufacturing something similar, he decided to create it himself. After graduating he pulled together a talented team of fellow UMBC engineering students and alumni and got started on the design and the business model to make it a reality.

Fast forward more than four years, and the combined travel mug and coffee brewer that Hyman envisioned has become the first product of the MoJoe Brewing Co., backed by more than 700 supporters of a Kickstarter campaign. The team sought $20,000 through crowdfunding to jump-start production, and ended up with more than $85,000 in pledges.

Hyman collaborated with Ezekial Kolajo ‘11, mechanical engineering, who he has known for more than 15 years, and Jingrui Wang ‘16, Ph.D., mechanical engineering, the teaching assistant for an electrical engineering course that Hyman took at UMBC, as well as Alexandre Wing to develop the personal mobile brewer for MoJoe.

One challenge they faced was developing and launching the company’s first product while maintaining full-time jobs, which limited the time they had to focus on the new company. “It’s exciting that after years of building a product, people actually want it. And that there’s a demand for it,” Hyman said. “It makes the sleepless nights worth it.”

Kolajo, co-founder and engineer for MoJoe, says that the experience has taught him the importance of believing in himself and persevering when things get challenging. “It’s been rather surreal to find ourselves in a position where an idea has come to life and is getting a lot of positive attention,” he says. “I never imagined I would find myself in a position like this.”

Although Hyman does not have any formal business education or a background in the industry, during his time at UMBC he had an opportunity to work with the Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, which gave him the confidence that creating his own business was possible. He and Kolajo also credit their experience in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program with honing their collaboration skills and tenacity to succeed.

Hyman explains that it can be overwhelming for aspiring entrepreneurs to  start a business or develop a product when they look only at the big picture and do not know exactly where to begin. He  recommends examining  each aspect of the new venture on its own, and working through challenges step by step to make steady progress.

To aspiring entrepreneurs without a background in business, but with a passion for an idea and the drive to bring it to fruition, Hyman says, “When it comes to entrepreneurship, it really can be you [who succeeds]. There is no special person who that can happen to. You just need to know the steps you need to take.”

The Kickstarter campaign just ended, but the company is already looking ahead and preparing for the future—a future with a larger staff, downtown Baltimore office, and new product lines.

Learn more about MoJoe Brewing and their successful crowdfunding campaign through this media coverage: The Huffington Post, Baltimore Business Journal, Mashable and Gizmag.

Image: Coffee and beans. Photo by David Pacey, CC BY 2.0. 

Former Baltimore judge dies

Thomas Ward, a former city judge and councilman, passed away on Sunday afternoon. As a member of the City Council during the 1960s, Ward was instrumental in protecting the Fells Point National Register of Historic Places. He also helped found the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point. Ward had most recently served on the city’s Board of Liquor License Commissioners until 2015. He had recently turned 89 and died of ongoing health issues.

Book Thing repairs begin

Volunteers have begun repairs to the Book Thing, which had suffered extensive damage from a building fire this past Wednesday morning. Volunteers worked to find recoverable books and remove waste from the fire. In addition to the loss of many of the books inside, the fire resulted in damage to the building’s ceiling and its electrical and plumbing systems. The Book Thing was founded as a non-profit organization provides free books on a wide array of subjects. An announcement has been made that the Book Thing will be closed for repairs until further notice.

Body cameras for school police considered

Baltimore City school officials are more heavily considering outfitting school police with body cameras in the wake of an alleged assault by an officer. Earlier this week, a video surfaced supposedly showing a school officer slapping and hitting a student. The officer, identified as Anthony C. Spence, has been placed on administrative leave.

The post A judge passes, Book Thing repairs, and police body cameras appeared first on The Retriever.

Recently, UMBC had a heartbreaking reminder of the intolerance and hate that still exists in the community in the midst of an extremely fractured and contentious time in American political history.

The staff of The Retriever strongly condemns any acts of hate or intolerance. These heartless acts only result in increased tensions, misunderstandings and brokenness in the community. When blatant acts of hate like these occur, many wonder how this could be taking place in this modern age.

The only plausible explanation is that humans are naturally resistant to change. If something or someone that is different from what they are accustomed to presents itself, many will feel threatened. In order to make themselves feel better, they lash out in hurtful ways, attempting to establish their superiority.

The question then becomes how can the community remedy this issue of hostility towards difference. The solution is to give these individuals what they have likely been sorely lacking for the majority of their lives: exposure to others.

The efforts of the Mosaic Center, Women’s Center, Student Life and other entities on campus that regularly host events celebrating the diversity of UMBC in countless ways help contribute to this exposure to diversity. These organizations should continue sponsoring events that allow for open, honest dialogue. There has been incredible fascination and learning that takes place at these events, particularly at the interfaith forum in spring 2016 and the recent Pangea Cultural Showcase.

But this can be taken a step further. Now that many have become aware of cultural differences, it is time to hear from the experts. UMBC departments, such as the Department of Political Science, Gender Women Studies, African Studies, or Asian Studies, could organize a talk series with professionals across disciplines to shed some light on where these hostilities between groups came from, how it affects our society and what the community can do to begin remedying them.

“You’re always going to be impacted by comments by what those people say, but brave spaces call us to be vulnerable and practice generosity and forgiveness,” said Women’s Center Director, Jess Myers.

“I think part of the problem is that people want to be in dialogues, but they think, I want to change your mind, and the other person thinks, I want to change your mind. You’re coming in with close-mindedness, but brave spaces are about a self-reflection of how am I showing up in this space, and how can I listen better.”

In the spirit of embracing all ideas, UMBC could go further in welcoming those from across the political spectrum to speak on campus. While statements and acts of intolerance are never welcome, those with diverse viewpoints on a variety of issues certainly should be. Perhaps another motivation for hateful acts is the frustration with the one-sided arguments that often occurs with campus dialogue. While extremism is no counterpart to liberalism, those who commit these acts may not truly feel this intolerance, but rather become frustrated with an environment where their opinions – whatever they may be – do not seem to matter.

To remedy these acts of intolerance, this campus needs to foster dialogue between diverse groups of people to increase their exposure and receptiveness to others.  The suppression of ideas should not be allowed to lead to extremism. Those with opposing ideas should be able to express themselves freely, granted that they are not provoking violence or hatred. Most of all, everyone needs to strive to open their minds and hearts to connect with their fellow Retrievers — and fellow humans.

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 are NOW available on-line.  The Application Timeline is:

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

Monday, April 4, 2016 – Applications will close at 5 pm

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

Monday, April 25, 2016 – Recipients notified

16/17 SEASON OF DARK PLAY AUDITIONS

IRON CROW THEATRE:
Baltimore's only professional queer theatre. Producing queer theatre for a queer city. Sean Elias, Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer; Heather Peacock, Director of Production; Ann Turiano, Director of Education & Literature; Jeanette Wooten, Public Relations Manager & Outreach Coordinator.