Director's Update
A letter from Dr. Carolyn Seaman
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CWIT Newsletter Fall/Winter 21-22 Director’s Update
Hello CWIT Community!
Welcome to our new-format CWIT newsletter! Our newsletters have been getting bigger than they need to be over the last few years, mostly because the Center is growing and doing more exciting things we want to tell you about. But it’s time for a new streamlined approach that, we hope, is more accessible to all of you while still letting you know what’s new at CWIT.
Last fall, we had our first in-person activities on campus since the beginning of the pandemic, while we still had large events online, we got used to gathering in smaller numbers with masks and social distancing. It was good to be together again. And it meant we were able to take some pictures that weren’t just screenshots, so I hope you enjoy seeing some of those photos here!
There have been a couple of staff transitions to share. Kate O’Keefe, CWIT’s Assistant Director for Affiliates Programs, left UMBC in November to move to Pennsylvania and start a position with Summer Discovery, an organization that runs pre-college summer camps. We wish Kate all the best!
More recently, in mid-January we welcomed Morgan Lovell as CWIT’s Coordinator for Events and Student Support. Morgan is working with us part time on event management, supporting some of our students one-on-one, and helping with marketing and communications. Morgan is a student in UMBC’s Community Leadership graduate program, and brings a wide range of experiences in education, from school administration to teaching art. We’re grateful to have her on board!
As we prepare for our slate of events and programs in the spring semester, and also to interview and select a new cohort of scholars to join us next fall, we continue to be inspired by our students and their stories. While the pandemic drags on, we find ways to engage and support them, and we remain focused on our vision, to equip our students to be change agents in creating technology workplaces that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We are incredibly grateful for your support.
Health and peace to all of you,
Carolyn Seaman
CWIT Director
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Student Leadership & Recognition
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CWIT Student Council CWIT Student Council is a team of students within the CWIT Community dedicated towards putting together social & engaging events throughout the school year.
Click here for photos and more info about the Council's initiatives from the Fall 2021 semester.
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Conferences Through funding from the BRAID initiative (Building, Recruiting, And Inclusion for Diversity) CWIT sponsored a number of students to these conferences in the Fall 2021 Semester:
Tapia Celebration, Sep. 2021 7 students (virtual)
Grace Hopper Sep. 2021 14 students (virtual)
SWE Conference Oct. 2021 8 students (in person); (5 students virtual)
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CWIT Student Leads
Student leaders in the CWIT Community spearheaded a variety of initiatives in the Fall 2021 semester. Click here to see the full list of our 2021-2022 CWIT Student Leads.
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CWIT Donor Supported Scholarships
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Thank you to our donors!
We are immensely grateful for the long-standing support of the following organizations:
- Northrop Grumman Foundation has sponsored the Cyber Scholars Program since 2013 (106 Scholars to date)
- National Science Foundation has sponsored the T-SITE Scholars Program since 2012 (62 Scholars to date)
- Lockheed Martin has provided three consecutive years of scholarship funding since 2019 (36 Scholars to date)
We also thank the generous individual donors who have sponsored the following 2021-2022 awards:
- Bedwell & Warfield Scholarship (Recipient: Priscila de Almeida Feitosa)
- Caroline DiSoco Scholarship (Recipient: Paige Nair)
- Diane E. Wright Scholarship (Recipient: Shaniah Reece)
- Elizabeth Bowers Scholarship (Recipient: Ruthann Dolinka)
- Frances Edozie Memorial Scholarship (Recipient: Eldana Tadesse)
- Marian White Scholarship (Recipient: Emilien Tchuosi)
- CWIT Donors Scholarship (Recipient: Sandrea Nyivih)
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Scholars, Associates, & Affiliates
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Clockwise from top left:
Affiliates Gathered around a rendition of the UMBC Retriever, attendees of the CWIT Affiliates Conference on September 11, 2021. All students in the College of Engineering & IT who adhere to the CWIT mission are welcome to join our community as Affiliates and to participate in many of the same activities as Scholars and Associates.
T-SITE Scholars T9 and T10 Scholars enjoying a well-deserved snack break at the CWIT Stress Busters’ Event on December 14, 2021. Our T-SITE Scholars Program is an NSF-funded initiative for students in computing majors to transfer to UMBC from Maryland Community Colleges.
CWIT Scholars Members of the C19 cohort with Dr. Carolyn Seaman at the Welcome Back Social on August 31, 2021. As of the Fall 2021 semester, the CWIT Scholars Program has grown to 66 Scholars across all the majors in the College of Engineering & IT. The C20 cohort who joined this past fall is the largest in the program's history.
Cyber Scholars & Associates Cyber Scholars and Affiliates at the Cyber Social on November 1, 2021.This past fall, we had 42 Cyber Scholars and Associates, ranging from freshmen through seniors and majoring in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Systems.
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Clockwise from top left:
New Scholar Reception On November 18, 2021, CWIT formally recognized the new cohorts of CWIT, Cyber, and T-SITE Scholars who joined our community in Fall 2021. This was the largest in-person event we have held since the start of the pandemic and featured speeches by UMBC President, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski III; COEIT Dean, Dr. Keith Bowman; our CWIT and Cyber Directors, Dr. Carolyn Seaman and Dr. Anupam Joshi; and several student speakers. Click here to see some fabulous photos from the event, taken by CWIT Scholar Lizzy Baummer and CWIT Scholar alumna Tess Wootton-Klebanoff.
Challenge Course New Scholars from the 2021-2022 school year collaborate in a team-building activity at the UMD Challenge Course on September 18, 2021. Click here to learn more about the Challenge Course Day.
Fall Career Networking The Virtual Fall Career Networking event on October 6, 2021 brought together students, alumni, and other computing and engineering professionals for small group speed networking to discuss issues relevant to careers in tech.
Welcome Back Social Scholars and Affiliates gather for the sweet treat of getting together - with ice cream!
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Left: Cyber 101 Current Cyber Scholar assists high school girls who came to campus for our Cyber 101 event. Click here to learn more about Cyber 101 as part of CWIT’s K-12 Outreach.
Right: K-12 Ambassadors Ambassadors for the CWIT K-12 Outreach program pose at an in-person planning meeting for the 2021-2022 school year.
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A planning committee of CWIT students facilitated this annual event on October 15, 2021 for high school students interested in learning more about our programs. In addition to the virtual event, students were also invited to an in-person escape room on campus.
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Congratulations to our December graduates!
We at CWIT are so proud of you!
Click on the image to play video.
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Assistant Directors Cindy Greenwood and Erica D'Eramo visit with two alumni (Sam Mendimasa, T5, '18 & Caroline Kery, C13, '18) for a quick visit!
Click here for more CWIT Alumni Updates.
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RetriEVER Grateful Tour
With the conclusion of our Grit & Greatness campaign and three decades of leadership from retiring President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, UMBC has many reasons to feel grateful. Join alumni and friends for a special reception in a city near you as we celebrate our community, the impact we've made together, and the spirit of inclusive excellence that will drive our work for years to come. Learn more at umbc.edu/retrievergratefultour.
As always, please be sure to keep your contact information updated with us and join us on social channels including Retrievers Connect, a new networking platform. If your information isn't updated, UMBC can't invite you to events in your area. Visit this page to update your information, share news for our newsletter, and find links to our social channels: https://cwit.umbc.edu/industry/alumni/
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Black & Gold Rush
Last year, UMBC alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends, and families came together to set a UMBC record during Black & Gold Rush, UMBC's annual giving day. This year, we welcome you to join us again from 9 a.m. on February 16 to 9 p.m. on February 17 as we aim to get 3,000 donors in 36 hours to honor Dr. Hrabowski's 30 years of transformational leadership of our community. For any questions, please email giving@umbc.edu.
Sign up to be a CWIT Black and Gold Rush Ambassador at this link: givingday.umbc.edu/ambassador
You can give to CWIT and share our giving form with your network of friends at this link: http://gritstarter.umbc.edu/cwit
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