Alumni

students in commencement regalia look up as glitter falls

Going the distance—virtual classrooms allow 300 former students to earn their degrees

/ 2 minutes of reading

Finish Line began as an outreach program in the fall of 2020, targeting former Retrievers who had 60 or more credits but hadn’t completed their degree before leaving the university. And while these students  might not have had the opportunity to return physically to campus, the sudden availability of a virtual classroom offered them a new pathway to their degree goals. Continue Reading Going the distance—virtual classrooms allow 300 former students to earn their degrees

a woman works on repairing a colorful mural representing different biology motifs

Alumna brings biology mural back to life

/ 3 minutes of reading

Walking down Academic Row, the ground floor windows of the Biological Sciences Building reflect the flow of student traffic, and colorful renditions of animals and microbes, silhouettes of researchers, and other elements of biology seem to pop off the wall and join the campus milieu.  For many, the images on the mural blend into the background of campus—just another wall in just another building. But the artist remembers the blank wall 10 years ago, covered sparsely in inspirational posters and placards.  “It was a huge wall, and visible from the outside,” says Anna Vikhlyayeva ’15, visual arts. In addition to… Continue Reading Alumna brings biology mural back to life

a glass vial with fruit flies inside and about a dozen eppendorf flasks on a black countertop; many more vials in a red plastic holder in the background, and more eppendorf flasks in a teal container.

First Roth Research Award recipient broadens horizons after summer research experience

/ 5 minutes of reading

Inioluwa Oluseyi has wanted to be a neurosurgeon as long as she can remember. She didn’t anticipate how much fly husbandry would play a role in her reaching her goal. Summer research with Fernando Vonhoff, funded by a new scholarship, has given her opportunities to excel. Continue Reading First Roth Research Award recipient broadens horizons after summer research experience

group photo of three women in overalls holding plants, indoors

Sustainability Fellow Isabel Dastvan ’22 grows her career and invasive species management at UMBC

/ 5 minutes of reading

Throughout the 2022 – 2023 academic year, Isabel Dastvan completed on-the-ground surveys, created maps of invasive species on campus, identified the most urgent invasive threats, and determined the best ways to combat their spread. The end result is a 187-page, comprehensive Invasive Species Management Plan for UMBC. Continue Reading Sustainability Fellow Isabel Dastvan ’22 grows her career and invasive species management at UMBC

A man with long gray hair and matching beard and glasses waves. He was a philosophy major at UMBC.

Meet a Retriever — Rev. Bob Hall ’74, philosophy

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Meet Rev. Bob Hall ’74, philosophy, president of the Christian Council of Delmarva and a planned gift donor to UMBC. Through his work, Rev. Hall is able to combine the strengths of traditional churches to address needs in his community — and he says he got the grounding he needed for this work as a student at UMBC. We can’t wait to hear about who inspired him most. Take it away, Bob! Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want the Retriever community to know about you? A: I am a clergyperson who has worked in the faith-based non-profit sector for most… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever — Rev. Bob Hall ’74, philosophy

A woman in bright purple walks and talks next to a man in a suit jacket outside next to a sculpture. she is helping connect him to faculty funding and awards

Meet a Retriever—Rachel Brubaker, M.A. ’00, faculty funding connector

/ 5 minutes of reading

Meet Rachel Brubaker, M.A. ’00, historical studies, assistant director for grants and program development at the Dresher Center for the Humanities. Brubaker, a self-proclaimed humanities nerd, has worked in different positions at UMBC for 22 years, but her current seat in the Dresher Center allows her to combine her UMBC degree with her passion for public humanities and education to collaborate with faculty members on research proposals and help connect them to prestigious funding opportunities. Take it away, Rachel! Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you? A: I have been assistant director for grants… Continue Reading Meet a Retriever—Rachel Brubaker, M.A. ’00, faculty funding connector

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