A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay!

This week I watched Do I Sound Gay? on Netflix. It’s an interesting documentary which explores the origin of the ‘gay voice’. It’s also available on Youtube.

As we prepare for the October Roundtable, Queer (De)coded, some of the Women’s Center staff are re-reading Women’s Center staff member, Daniel Wiley’s post on ‘Gay Hair‘. Check it out!

Finally, in worldly news, President Obama shortened the sentences of 102 inmates who committed non-violent crimes. This makes 774 commuted sentences in the entirety of his presidency! We applaud Pres. Obama’s commitment to prison reform!

Continue to slay! See you next week!

Luke 15:3-7 - “Then Jesus told them this parable:“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

In natural disasters and time of war, medical personnel often perform something they call triage. It means that they examine the injured and determine which have the best chance of living. They concentrate their efforts on those they think they can save-and, with regret, allow the others to die, or perhaps to rally and recover on their own.

But Jesus doesn’t do triage. He leaves the healthy ninety-nine safe in their pens while he goes out into the night looking for the one who is lost, sick, depressed, disappointed, wounded, or enslaved. When he has found it, he lays it across his shoulders and calls together his neighbors to celebrate. How could an almighty God do any less? Can you imagine what his message to us would be otherwise? “I’ll come after you and save you-if I’m not too busy saving others, and if my attention isn’t needed keeping these other ninety-nine safe.

That, I believe, is why Jesus told story after story about how easy it is to be lost-and how remarkable it is to be saved. Stories of people hopeless and hurting. People who need living water, people whose souls are tattered, people who are watching the dark close in around them, people whose time is running out.

The story in Luke 15, he told his followers, will remind you of something always to remember: No matter how deep the pit or dark the night, I will always look for you and rescue you because I love you with an everlasting love. You are precious to me. Even when you mess up, even when you’re careless or mistaken or afraid or broken or weak, I still love you. Even when you are incapable of doing anything for anyone, including yourself, I still love you. And just as I come to you, I come for all those who have made mistakes, those who are overlooked, and those who have been devalued and despised.

I come for all the wrong people-the careless and uncared for, the merry and the miserable. I come for the lost, even if that’s a single silly sheep. Do you need to be rescued? Call out to God and he will find you. He promises to come after each one, because each one is precious to him.
(Taken from Christine Caine’s devotional, “Lost and Found.”)

-AP

Name: Jaydeep Dhanak

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: The Living Legacy Foundation

Position Title: IT Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Information Systems

Expected Graduation Year: May 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

At the Living Legacy Foundation I’ve been working on various projects with the IT department such as helping with the new iPhone’s being issued, inventory on computers & printers, setting up new workstations for new people, configuring hardware/software issues for laptops, desktops, and printers, and handling network issues that occur from time to time

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I obtained my internship earlier in the year. I went to the UMBCworks page and applied to internship opportunities I was interested in. From there I followed up on my applications by contacting the companies and asking them if they had gotten a chance to review my resume and cover letter. After that I did get the opportunity to interview for a few companies. From the group of companies I had to decide which company would be most beneficial for me and so I chose The Living Legacy Foundation. I went through about 3 interviews and then finally got the chance to be an Intern for them and it's been great.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

The most interesting thing I have enjoyed about my position at the Living Legacy Foundation is that there is something to learn everyday. Whether it be something technical or health related. Ever since I started working here I have definitely learned and have gotten experience in technical and software concepts but I have also learned a lot of health/donor concepts since the Living Legacy Foundation is an Organ Procurement Organization.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

Through my work here at the Living Legacy Foundation, I have made an impact by helping create a new network environment as we upgraded the systems. We also adopted a new phone system and it has been great so far because the phone systems can do much more than the old ones. I am in the process of also coming up with a plan of action to replace all the old printers in this company with new updated ones which should help out the company a lot.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Some advice I would give to another student is that just stay positive during the process of finding an internship and even after getting one. Know that you're there to help the company out but you're also there to help yourself out by gaining as much experience and knowledge as you can. Communication is also key because if you communicate with your peers, you might get to learn something new or learn how to do something in a simpler way. Communication also gives you a chance to gain new connections not just in your field but connections all around.

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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

We are thrilled to announce a new way to earn recognition for your service to the INDS program.... a special cord to wear at graduation signifying the time and talent you provided to Interdisciplinary Studies.

The breakdown will be (but is not limited to) the following ways to earn your service cord. Additional items can be added to the list, and special circumstances for individualized service will be considered.

In order to earn your cord to wear at graduation, students must earn a minimum of 75 points through a series of activities. Cords would be presented to graduates at capstone presentations. After you have completed a service, submit the form on our website. 

Some opportunities may be announced through our myUMBC group page; others will be presented in a Council of Majors meeting. You can also reach out to a staff member in INDS for current opportunities that need your helping hands.

5 pts - take photos at an INDS event and share with INDS staff

5 pts - assist INDS staff, Council of Majors or LLC RA with set-up for an event

5 pts - assist INDS staff, Council of Majors or LLC RA with clean up for an event

10 pts - write an article (~250 words) for the INDS newsletter

10 pts - take photos and write a photo story (~250 words) about an INDS event

10 pts - spend an hour writing thank you notes to those who contribute to INDS

10 pts - represent INDS for one hour at an Admissions event

15 pts - spend 1.5 hrs help to plan and execute a CoM event under the leadership of a CoM officer or the individual responsible for planning the event

15 pts per meeting - accept invitation and participate in the Mock ISC (includes 30 minutes preparatory reading and 1 hour of participation)

20 pts - serve as an officer for one semester in the INDS Council of Majors

20 pts - plan and execute an event with the management of other CoM members for the INDS Council of Majors

20 pts - mentor an INDS student formally through the INDS Peer Mentoring Program

ABC News in Baltimore took an in-depth look at virtual and augmented reality this week, ahead of Sony’s planned launch of a Playstation virtual reality system. The segment, “Virtual reality opening entertainment, research possibilities,” featured interviews with UMBC faculty on new technologies, the opportunities those technologies create, and issues for users and developers to consider as the field expands.

For viewers unfamiliar with virtual reality, Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research, explained how these technologies allow people to experience the world in a different way. “You put your headset on, you’re in the forest. You could be on a foreign planet or you could be in a battlefield,” he said.

In UMBC’s new PI2 Immersive Hybrid Reality Lab, Jian Chen, assistant professor of computer science and electrical engineering, demonstrated how ultra-high-resolution screens can help researchers visualize complicated data. To experience this technology, users wear 3D glasses with small sensors to enter a world that they can manipulate using handheld controls.

“In this type of environment, your brain thinks your body is moving but your body is not actually moving,” she explained.

The new lab will enable faculty and students in various departments to simulate data in uniquely immersive ways, whether a researcher is exploring wind farms, how blood flows through the human body, or highway traffic, said Steiner.

Ryan Robucci ‘02, computer engineering, and Nilanjan Banerjee, both associate professors of computer science and electrical engineering, are already using HTC Vive headsets in their labs to understand how people make decisions and react when when they are on a battlefield.

Banerjee says that augmented reality technology may be more useful and user friendly than virtual reality systems. Augmented reality allows people to see their surroundings, but alters the world through a device or glasses. Smartphone users are already playing Pokémon GO in huge numbers. In the near future, it could be common to have a technology that, for example, overlays directions and controls onto home appliances.

Watch the full video segment “Virtual reality opening entertainment, research possibilities” on WMAR.

Header image is Nilanjan Banerjee and Ryan Robucci; image within story is Jian Chen. Header photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.