In her day job as a vice president at the advanced technology company Booz Allen Hamilton, Catherine Ordun, Ph.D. ’23, information systems, leads teams of engineers working on far-out AI tech. In the evenings, she crafts a different type of futuristic world, putting the finishing touches on a sci-fi trilogy featuring two alien brothers at odds with each other over a plan to invade Earth, which she hopes to publish in early 2026.

Ordun started writing the books in 2022, as a break from her intense computer science Ph.D. research work, which she completed in 2023 under the direction of UMBC assistant professor Sanjay Purushotham. Although fiction writing and coding seem to call for different skill sets, the two pursuits share some defining features, from the mental challenge of connecting ideas to the satisfaction that comes from completing a herculean task. In both, Ordun embraces the thrill of creating—whether an imaginary world where characters grapple with technologically infused questions of identity and purpose, to the seemingly sci-fi, yet very real, AI tools that will shape our own tomorrows.

Tools of the trade

• A thirst for knowledge
• A pen and paper (when you need old fashioned tools)
• Computer (when you need digital assistance)
• Vision and discipline
• Lots of coffee

Step 1: Hit the books

Ordun voraciously consumes knowledge and ideas. Although she earned her bachelor’s degree in biology, not computer science, she became deeply interested in machine learning around 2015, while working as a data scientist for Booz Allen Hamilton. “I became fascinated by the idea, just like really, really obsessed,” she says. “And for five years, I taught myself.”

Ordun’s favorite book from this time was Deep Learning, by Google AI researcher François Chollet. “It is like dogeared to the max. I went through every page and I typed out every line. I learned so much, from natural language processing to computer vision.”

When Ordun decided she needed a brief break from technical research, she kept right on reading—though she turned to sci-fi books, from the cyberpunk novels of William Gibson to the technically elaborate works of Neal Stephenson. “At the time, I was also very interested in simulation theory, this kind of Matrix-like idea that we could be living in a computer simulation.

And I thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to write my own sci-fi book, so I can explore this idea.’”

Step 2: Get your hands dirty

Once you have some background knowledge, it’s time to dive in. Ordun wrote the first draft of her novel (which she eventually split into three parts and named the Morfyk Trilogy) in under three months. “It was a horrible, horrible first draft. And it was huge, like 600 pages long,” she says. She revised it multiple times herself, and then hired a professional editor. 

Ordun says working on the books has become a nightly ritual. “Every night, even if I’m dead tired, I tell myself to just put five words down, it’s better than zero.” 

In her AI-work, Ordun tackles problems on a similarly compressed timeline. “One team I lead is called AI rapid prototyping, and we basically crank out prototypes for exquisitely hard AI problems in about four weeks.”

Ordun isn’t committed to any one way of transforming ideas from her brain into a tangible object. Sometimes she reaches for pen and paper, other times she is coding and typing on a digital screen. What unites the efforts is the desire to build, be it novel AI-tools for a client or a different universe she can escape to when the work day is over. 

Step 3: Tackle the hard problems

Book authors and scientific researchers share the challenge of birthing something entirely new. When searching for the fertile ground that could yield unique knowledge, tools, or stories, it helps to lean into profound, hard problems. 

Ordun says the most rewarding part of her Ph.D. work was tackling a long-standing challenge in computer science—how to match up differently sized images of the same object, and finding a new way for computers to train themselves to do it. 

She says her book writing also took a more fulfilling turn when she started to reflect on her own traumas and anxieties and the big themes of purpose and identity. She explored morality, the nature of reality, and her characters’ fluctuating sense of themselves. “I found I was pouring a lot of my own self into this book, so it became much more than “What if we live in a simulation?”

Step 4: Assemble your team

The work of creating new worlds is monumental, so it helps to have a solid cast of characters supporting you. Ordun praises the engineers she leads at Booz Allen, who she says are tackling some of the toughest technology challenges out there and pioneering innovative solutions. 

In the writing sphere, she credits editors and volunteer readers for helping her hone her “horrible first draft” into polished prose. 

More recently, Ordun has turned to teaching, in a sense educating future collaborators. She joined UMBC as an adjunct assistant professor in summer of 2024, and she regularly engages with aspiring young computer scientists on TikTok, answering questions and commiserating about coding problems. 

“I learn by imagining having to teach a concept to someone else,” says Ordun. “So now I’m actually teaching and it’s something I really enjoy doing.” 

Step 5: Celebrate your successes

Ordun isn’t shy about admitting setbacks. She talks about her strings of rejected papers, the coffee-fueled problem solving sessions that turned into pure error finding missions, and the red ink-filled drafts that her book editors send her. Sometimes to release stress, she needed to lace up her shoes, grab the dog, and just go for a run.

Obstacles are a natural part of any pursuit where you push into the unknown. And so, when you do have success, it’s important to take a moment and take it in. “The moment I finished my book, I was out on my deck, it was 10 p.m. at night. I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but I almost cried,” Ordun says. “I felt I had created something totally new, a new universe. It was a similar feeling of pride to passing my Ph.D. dissertation defense.”

Meet Brandon Dudley ’04, English. Since graduation, Brandon has pursued his passion for writing and teaching—skills he honed while at UMBC. For almost 20 years, Brandon has been teaching English, the last six years at Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Maine. Within the last 10 years, Brandon has also been writing and publishing. In 2021, he published his first book, Hazards of Nature: Stories, a 2020 Maine Chapbook Series winner. Take it away, Brandon!

Q: What initially brought you to UMBC?

A: I came to UMBC because I was looking for a place where I could explore my love for literature and journalism. UMBC was a place that immediately felt comfortable to me when I went on an admissions tour, but I was still slightly hesitant. Although UMBC had a great campus newspaper, the school only offered a journalism minor, and journalism was my intended career. Despite that hitch, I really liked my initial experience at UMBC and felt like it would be a solid fit.

My first extensive exposure to the school was when I came for interviews for the Humanities Scholars Program, where I met Tom Field, a professor in modern language and linguistics, who was running the program at the time, as well as other humanities faculty and current scholars. It was a great deal of pressure, these meetings and interviews, but after that day, I knew UMBC was absolutely where I wanted to be, that this was the group of students that I wanted to be a part of, and these were the type of teachers I wanted to learn from. The day that I got the letter accepting me into the Humanities Scholars Program is still one of my best memories. 

Between the English program, the Humanities Scholars Program, and The Retriever Weekly, I was able to spend four years immersed in all of those elements that I was looking for. 

Q: Can you talk more about the impact of the Humanities Scholars Program?

A: That program was life-changing for me. It exposed me to some of the most intelligent students and teachers I’ve had the pleasure to ever work with, and allowed me the opportunity to study abroad, kindling a life-long love of travel and a motivation to urge my own students now to spend time studying abroad. It’s a program that I’m still incredibly proud that I was able to be a part of.

I’ll also fully admit that the gift of full financial support for college wasn’t something an 18-year-old me truly understood the long-term benefits of. I don’t think anyone at that age fully appreciates the value of a gift like that, but since then, I’ve experienced again and again the financial freedom and flexibility that it has helped me and my family attain. 

Q: What did you love most about your time with UMBC’s student newspaper?

A: I found a second home at the offices of The Retriever Weekly. I spent four years there meeting new people who have become lifelong friends, learning how to be (and how not to be) an effective leader, and getting to know the ins and outs of campus life. 

Q: Can you tell us about your current job and your book?

A: For almost 20 years, I have been an English teacher, the last six years at Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Maine. I love connecting with students and helping them hone their voices and their thinking as writers. In 2021, I published my first book, Hazards of Nature: Stories, which won the 2020 Maine Chapbook Series. Hazards of Nature is a collection of short stories about everyday people dealing with difficult situations. A young boy is teased by his father and brothers. A man raises chickens to help himself cope with his wife’s decision not to have children. An elderly widower struggles to connect with other people, but finds solace in his attachment to a peach tree he planted. The first story in the collection, “Coyotes,” won a Maine Literary Award in 2017.

Praise that means a lot to me (and is in the introduction to my book) comes from National Book Award-winner Sigrid Nunez: “What makes the stories in Hazards of Nature so compelling for me is not just the writer’s insightful portraits of his characters’ struggles but his sensitivity in regard to their pain.”

Photo right: Brandon Dudley ’04, English, at his local bookstore, Gulf of Maine Books, seeing his collection of short stories on sale for the first time in 2021.

Q: Who in the UMBC community has inspired you or supported you?

A: English Professor Chris Corbett was a constant supporter during my time at UMBC, and I’m lucky to still be in touch with him over 20 years later. Professor Corbett was instrumental in my growth as a student, a leader, and a writer. He was the advisor of The Retriever Weekly, and I devoured his journalism classes during my time at UMBC, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to show up to his office well before classes started just to hang out and talk. 

During my time at The Retriever, he was always a sounding board and a resource, helping me figure out how, as editor-in-chief, to effectively lead the newspaper and how to implement my vision for it. He helped connect me with internships at The Baltimore Sun, helped me get my first job at Patuxent Publishing as an editorial assistant right out of college, and eventually even helped me get into my M.F.A. program for creative writing. It was through basically copying his journalism lessons to teach new staff at The Retriever how to effectively shape their stories that I first found my love of teaching, which eventually became my career. 

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

Meet Margaret Chisolm ’80, visual arts with a concentration in film. After graduating from UMBC, Margaret was accepted into graduate school at NYU in cinema studies, but decided to go to medical school instead. She earned her M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1988 and is currently a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2021, the film student turned doctor added another feather in her cap, author. She published her book, From Survive to Thrive: Living Your Best Life with Mental Illness, which won the Nautilus Book Award in the psychology category. Take it away, Margaret!

Q: What initially brought you to UMBC?

A: I came to UMBC to study film. I initially went to the University of Colorado Boulder for my freshman year. After taking every film class they offered, I decided to come back east, thinking I’d go to NYU. Instead, I found that UMBC had a great program and the experimental filmmaking great, Stan Vanderbeek, was a faculty member. So, I decided to enroll at UMBC.

I loved the students, faculty, and staff in the film program—and the program as a whole. My time at UMBC prepared me to do whatever I wanted to do—whether it was to go to the best grad school in the country for cinema studies or to medical school. It was a great education and prepared me for a life of learning.

Q: Who in the UMBC community has inspired you or supported you?

A: From my time at UMBC, I now count some of the students, faculty, and staff as lifelong friends. One of them – Richard Chisolm ’82, interdisciplinary studies – is my husband of nearly 44 years. We met while I was a work-study student. I was in a relationship with someone else at the time, but after a year or so, that relationship ended. In June 1980, Richard and I started dating. I graduated in December 1980, and we were married in June 1981. Another, is Leroy Morais. He was the head of the Visual Arts department at UMBC when I was there. He continues to work as a visual artist today and remains a source of inspiration. He has also become a close friend. 

Photo right: Margaret Chisolm ’80 and Richard Chisolm ’82 while students at UMBC.

Q: What is your current job?

A: I’m a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. I love to learn, and medicine is unparalleled for lifelong learning. I love the combination of scholarship and research, education and teaching, and clinical care that I’ve been able to enjoy. I am able to be creative in designing courses that use the art museum as a teaching space.

In 2015, I was part of the launch of a new initiative in the department: the Paul McHugh Program for Human Flourishing, which I now direct. We use the arts and humanities to explore the big questions with medical learners: what it means to be human, to be a physician, and to lead a good life (for ourselves and our patients). Our goal is to humanize medicine for the good of everyone.

Photos above: Chisolm leading Visual Thinking Strategies discussions with Johns  Hopkins med and pre-students, and health professions education leaders from around the country.

Q: Can you tell us about your journey as an author?

A: During the pandemic, I wrote a book for patients with mental illness and their families and loved ones, From Survive to Thrive: Living Your Best Life with Mental Illness. The book describes a tried-and-true plan to help anyone grappling with life’s challenges so they can learn how to flourish. In the book, I use my own story of depression (first while I was a student and later as a new mother) to illustrate my points. The aim of the book is to demystify and destigmatize psychiatric problems and to give hope for a full, flourishing life to those who experience mental illness.

In 2022, From Survive to Thrive won the Nautilus Book Award in the psychology category, was a finalist for the American Book Fest Best Book Award in the Health – Psychology/Mental Health category, and has been the topic of numerous podcast interviews.

I also co-authored a textbook on the Perspectives of Psychiatry, a holistic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with psychiatric problems in 2012. 

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

We are writing to inform you about recent updates to UMBC’s campus catering policies, effective June 1, 2025. For events that only have UMBC employees, the UMBC Meal Policy and Pre-Approval Form will apply.

Continuing Processes 

Departmental Card (DCARD)

This program is managed by Retriever Card Center and Mail Services and is used by campus departments who have this card.  The DCARD can be used at the following merchants for food: Sorrento of Arbutus, Papa Johns (Arbutus location), and Oca Mocha.  Additional information about the DCARD program, including how to obtain one, can be found here.

Chartwells

Chartwells is the contracted food provider for the UMBC campus through June 30, 2028.  While they remain in that role, catering of any size can be ordered from them using this link.

Existing Contracted Caterers

UMBC is working with existing caterers, listed below, to continue being a campus provider.  Expenses up to $5,000 should be paid by P-card.  Expenses over $5,000 will need to be paid by Purchase Order (PO).

Absolutely Perfect Catering

Classic Catering People

Glenmore Catering

Main & Market

Rouge Fine Catering

New Processes

Orders up to $25,000

Campus departments/offices will be able to identify new food merchants who can meet UMBC’s business needs.  The merchant will need to agree and sign the UMBC Food Provision Agreement and they must be added as a supplier in PAW (initiated by the requesting UMBC department/office, if they are not already an active supplier in PAW).  

If the expense is up to $5,000, a P-card should be used if they have a Merchant Category Code (MCC) of Caterer (5811).  If their MCC is Restaurant (5812) or Fast Food (5814), the merchant will also agree to receive payment through Purchase Order (PO).

Orders over $25,000

Campus departments/offices will be able to identify food merchants who can meet UMBC’s business needs.  A minimum of three quotes will be required for a simplified procurement process.  The merchant will need to agree to the UMBC Food Provision Agreement and will be added as a supplier in PAW (initiated by the requesting UMBC department/office, if they are not already an active supplier in PAW).  The merchant will also agree to receive payment through a Purchase Order.

If you have any questions about these changes or need assistance with your catering plans, please contact Procurement at https://procurement.umbc.edu/contact-us/.

One way to describe Dave Anguish’s journey with UMBC is as a trip around the world and back again. Anguish came to UMBC in 2008 to study political science as well as modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication. After graduating in 2012, he hopped on a plane to Mexico City to conduct political science research thanks to a research grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. He later returned to UMBC to earn an M.P.P. in public management in 2019 while working in UMBC’s International Education Services (IES)—an opportunity that allowed him to travel the world and inspired his first career in international education leadership. Now, it is leading to his second career as he prepares to graduate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Take it away, Dave!

Q: Tell us about your primary WHY, and how it led you to UMBC.

A: In 2008, I came to UMBC as an undergraduate student because it offered something different, something I didn’t see at other schools. I liked that it was “medium-sized” and that the buildings were arranged in a grid, almost like a small city. It was so easy to meet new people, whether they were classmates, staff, or faculty. Everyone was open to making connections. At the time, I was surprised that an undergraduate student had so much access to people of greater stature. I came to understand that reducing the power differential was a deliberate choice and part of the university’s culture. It’s something I’m so glad still lives on today.

Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: After graduation, I moved abroad for a year and then came back to work at UMBC. When I returned, it took a few years to find my passion. An urgent need for an advisor in IES ended up being my big break. I discovered that it wasn’t simply getting to meet and work with people from all over the world that appealed to me; it was also learning and explaining to others the complexity of immigration law. That seed of an idea blossomed into the (eventual) decision to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer focused on deportation defense and justice for immigrant communities. I could never have foreseen how far a frontline advisor position in the “visa office” would take me, or how it would reveal my professional path.

Q: What do you love about working at the Center for Global Engagement (CGE)?

A: I’ve been part of CGE since it was called International Education Services. Back then, we were a small but mighty team of five or so people. Today, CGE has nearly thirty staff, and while our teams focus on different areas, we all seek to forge connections between UMBC and the world. 

I’m so inspired by the work CGE does. My team handles immigration services for the thousands of international students coming to UMBC to study, as well as those who have graduated and are working around the country in exciting fields, getting practical training. 

My colleagues in Education Abroad enable students to break through the confines of campus and explore new lands, gaining crucial intercultural skills, learning languages, and learning more about themselves and their role in the world. Other CGE teams coordinate English language training and design special programs for groups to visit UMBC over the summer for intercultural experiences and training. 

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: For several years, I was on a two-person team serving all of UMBC’s international students. My co-worker, supervisor, and friend, Michelle Massey ’10, intercultural communications, taught me so much about how to be the best version of myself for those I serve. She is the reason why my emails are littered with happy exclamation points, and why I try to communicate in the most positive and friendly way with people who may not be as familiar with U.S. culture, and why I keep in mind that the work we do matters, because it has such an impact on every student’s life, career, and dreams. Michelle left UMBC to join the foreign service several years ago, but her example of servant leadership has stuck with me and set a standard that I try to live up to in my work.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: It’s clichéd to say “it’s the people” that make UMBC what it is, but it’s true. I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many people who work hard every day to make the place run. Maybe it’s our relative youth as an institution, but there is a sense that even a university of our size can be nimble and adjust to new realities. We’re writing the story of UMBC every day. It’s been fascinating to see how much UMBC has changed since I was an undergraduate, but how the ethos has remained constant. We’ve had many changes in leadership over the past few years, and this new era at UMBC is an exciting one to watch and even more exciting to participate in.

Although I returned to UMBC shortly after I graduated, really, I’ve been all over the place: through my work at UMBC I’ve been able to travel the world, meet so many wonderful people, and learn new skills. Two graduate degrees later, my time at UMBC is coming to a close as I transition into an attorney role in another organization. But UMBC has been such a significant part of my life for so long that I know this isn’t truly the end.

* * * * *

UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about. Learn more about UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement.

Tanya Olson, associate professor of English, UMBC.

On March 15, 1974, the Grand Ole Opry country music radio show closed its run at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, with Johnny and June Carter Cash leading the song “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” After that final show, a six-foot circle of wood was cut from the Ryman stage and moved to the new Grand Ole Opry House.

The next night, Roy Acuff opened the first show at the new venue. A video of Acuff singing in the 1940s played before the screen lifted to reveal Acuff himself, singing live in the same spot. The message was clear: Though the stage had changed, the story continued. The circle had not been broken.

The Opry began on WSM on Nov. 28, 1925, and is celebrating its centennial with a series of concerts and tributes under the name Opry 100. On March 19, 2025, Reba McEntire stepped onto the iconic circle on the Grand Ole Opry stage and kicked off NBC’s Opry 100 celebration with a verse of “Sweet Dreams.”

The final song of the night was “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” performed by country legends like Bill Anderson and Jeannie Seely alongside newcomers like Lainey Wilson and Post Malone. It was a moment meant to celebrate 100 years of country music tradition and connection with a stage full of voices harmonizing across generations. A circle, unbroken.

But that night in March, one group of country performers was missing. Not a single openly gay, lesbian or bisexual artist appeared onstage during the anniversary celebration. In a moment designed to honor the full sweep of the genre’s past and future, a long line of country musicians was left standing outside the spotlight once again. Wilma Burgess’ sexuality was common knowledge in music industry circles in the 1960s and ‘70s.

A slowly opening circle

Country music has never been without queer voices, but it regularly refuses to acknowledge them.

From 1962 to 1982, Wilma Burgess had 15 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country chart and two Grammy Award nominations. She recorded with legendary producer Owen Bradley and had Top 10 hits like “Misty Blue.” Despite this success, Burgess never played the Opry. Though Burgess was never publicly out, her sexuality was common knowledge in recording circles. In the 1980s, she left music and opened The Hitching Post, Nashville’s first lesbian bar. Like so many queer country artists, Burgess had to build her legacy outside the circle.

In the 1980s and 90s, k.d. lang and Sid Spencer expanded the presence of queer artists in country music. Lang won two Grammys and performed at the Opry, but she was labeled “cowpunk” and left the genre before coming out in 1992. Spencer released albums and toured widely within the gay rodeo circuit, but he was never recognized by mainstream country before his 1996 death from AIDS-related complications.

The 2000s offered small openings. Mary Gauthier became the first openly queer artist to perform on the Opry stage in 2005. Chely Wright had a No. 1 country single before coming out in 2010, but didn’t return to the Opry until 2019. Ty Herndon charted 17 singles before coming out in 2014. He wouldn’t appear at the Opry again until 2023.

These artists established themselves first and came out later, at great professional cost. The Opry hosts 5–6 shows a week, featuring 6–8 artists each night. In that context, a nine-year absence isn’t just a scheduling gap. In addition, the Grand Ole Opry currently has 76 members, a special designation indicating a level of success in country music. None of them identify as LGBTQ+.

Today, there are signs of change. Lily Rose, who has been openly queer since the beginning of her career, receives radio play, has songs on the charts and tours widely. But she remains the exception, not the rule. Other openly LGBTQ+ artists like Paisley Fields, Mya Byrne and Amythyst Kiah are recording, performing and building loyal audiences, but they are still rarely featured on country radio or invited onto the Opry stage. The circle may be widening, but for many queer artists, it’s still just out of reach.

The importance of the circle

In country music, visibility isn’t just symbolic. If you’re not on the radio, you don’t chart. If you don’t chart, you don’t tour. Without that platform, you can’t build a legacy.

Country radio and the Opry stage serve as gatekeepers of who counts. In 2015, a radio consultant infamously compared women artists to “tomatoes in the salad,” stating a few were fine, but they shouldn’t dominate. That same logic has long applied to queer artists; they can be tolerated at the edges but are rarely treated as essential.

Genre labeling becomes another barrier. Brandi Carlile and Brandy Clark both openly identify as lesbians and have been embraced by country audiences and critics alike, but they are routinely categorized as Americana artists. That rebranding often functions as a fence that keeps artists close enough to celebrate, but far enough to exclude. https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-eE6k1SNW8?wmode=transparent&start=0 Gina Venier is one of today’s many openly gay country artists.

Reimagining the country music circle

The Opry’s centennial celebrations are scheduled to continue through the end of 2025 with a concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall and a final anniversary show in Nashville on Nov. 28. Perhaps openly queer artists will take the stage at those events. If they do, it won’t just be symbolic; it will be a long overdue acknowledgment of artists who have always been here, even if they weren’t always seen.

Country music’s strength lies in how it braids together American traditions: gospel and blues, Black and white, rural and urban, old and new. It’s not a genre built on purity, but one that relies on the mix. That mix is what makes country music American – and what makes it endure.

If the circle on the Opry stage is meant to stand for country music itself, then I hope it will be like the music: honest and able to grow. If “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” is more of a promise than just a closing number, the future of country music depends on who’s allowed in the circle to sing it next.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.

“Hey UMBC, and welcome to my crib!” That’s probably not verbatim what students said when UMBC’s first dormitories opened for students to call home, but there’s always a possibility. Starting from humble beginnings, UMBC opened its residential doors to the first cohort of 118 on-campus Retrievers on March 15, 1970. More dorms would follow, and apartments, and living learning communities, and here we are in 2025 with an on-campus population of approximately 4,000 Retrievers.

While some may take today’s dorm amenities for granted, a November 1969 edition of The Retrieverreports about the forthcoming dorms promising, “The new dormitories boast of many features not currently found in other residence halls. On-campus residents will enjoy wall-to-wall carpeting, numerous lounges and study facilities, and kitchenette facilities for snacks. Each room will have a telephone and individual climate control (air conditioning included).”

The phone and air conditioning were probably great perks, but what really made a lasting impression on the first residents were the intangibles. Tom Stewart ’74, psychology, remembers how much it bonded him and his friends to the campus. 

“It was a bit of a ‘suitcase school’ back then, so when the commuters went home on weekends, we had the whole place to ourselves,” he said. “I was living on the other side of Baltimore and I knew I wasn’t going to get any kind of college experience if I continued commuting.” 

Making a home of their own

Much like the UMBC we know today, there was always an emphasis on making sure that students who lived on campus and those who commuted still had plenty of opportunities to interact through mixers, concerts, and movie nights, many of these being entertainment options still offered through Campus Life in 2025.  

In addition to improving his social life, having a dedicated spot on campus to buckle down and do his work inspired Stewart to grow academically.  

“When I started, I was just a slightly above average student, but things really kicked in for me at UMBC,” he said. “For some reason, this really seemed like the environment to take this whole academic thing seriously.”

During Homecoming 2024, a group of alumni from the 1970s, including Stewart, got together for a reunion tour of campus and had the opportunity to revisit some of their old haunts, including the dorms and the memories all came flooding back. Stewart and his wife Wendy ’77, sociology, agree that the friends they made at UMBC “are our lifelong friends.” And that’s something we can all agree on, no matter your graduation year. 

All photos courtesy of Leo J. “Nick” Nicaise ’75, INDS, unless otherwise noted.

Sahar Souizi, Marylia Duarte Batista (Environmental Engineering Ph.D. students with Dr. Blaney), and Dr. Blaney attended the AEESP 2025 Research and Education Conference at Duke University from May 20-22. With over 1,000 attendees, the event featured oral presentations, poster sessions, plenary talks, workshops, and networking opportunities. Marylia presented her research titled “Development of hybrid anion-exchange resins with enhanced selectivity and capacity for (ultra)short-chain PFAS” in the “Advances in PFAS Treatment and Destruction” session. Sahar shared her work on “Sustainable nutrient recovery from poultry litter using an enhanced tube-in-tube Donnan dialysis system” during the “Resource Recovery from Waste Streams Towards Circular Economy” session. Both students enjoyed the opportunities to connect with fellow PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and professors in the field.

The conference also offered opportunities for reconnections, such as with Ouriel Ndalamba, a former undergraduate lab member now a PhD student at Princeton.

Additional details and links to Sahar and Marylia's submitted abstracts: https://lee-blaney.squarespace.com/news