A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
From Pole Vaulter to Member of Parliament Jamahl Strachan went to Washington in the summer of 2008 to work as an intern on Capitol Hill, where as a rising senior at UMES he landed a coveted assignment in the office of the junior senator from Illinois. That fall, the latter became the United States’ first Black president. Strachan, now 33, is the Bahamas’ youngest Member of Parliament. Strachan finished his studies at UMES in 2011 with two degrees — a bachelor’s and master’s in criminal justice — and with a new-found yearning to return to the Bahamas to make a difference in people’s lives. “I felt I had to go home,” he said. “You can’t spend all your time at university.” After seeing a poster on a Hazel Hall bulletin board and encouragement from a UMES professor, Strachan secured a Comcast Diversity Congressional Scholarship, a program that exposed undergraduates at historically Black institutions to the work of Congress. Strachan was not immediately assigned to a Congressional office. A week later, however, he got a message to report to Obama’s U.S Senate office. By early June it was clear Obama would be the 2008 Democratic Party nominee for president; Strachan’s ambitious fellow interns unsuccessfully lobbied him to trade assignments. He showed up for work and recalled an office staffer greeted him with a typical ice-breaker question: “Which part of Illinois are you from?”
FEBRUARY 2022
Strachan embraced the assignment as a challenge just the way he would “as a competitive student-athlete” as a pole vaulter on the UMES track team. “I had absolutely no knowledge of Illinois,” he said. “So, I devoted myself to learning everything I could about the state and the people Sen. Obama represented.” Strachan interacted with Obama three times that summer, including a photo session on the Capitol steps the senator made time to attend to show appreciation for his work. “It shows you how your life can change in an instant,” Strachan said. Finding work back home right away was difficult. He eventually landed a position with IBM, then was recruited to work for the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While thankful to being able to serve his country, the life of a desk-bound bureaucrat did not excite him. In 2015, Strachan headed to Beijing, where he said he earned a master’s degree in international law from the China Foreign Affairs University. At 28, Strachan borrowed a page from community-organizer Obama’s early career playbook and started a non-profit, “The Future of our Neighborhoods.” Strachan enlisted a network of friends and acquaintances to join him in mounting a grassroots campaigns to clean up down-on-their-luck neighborhoods and address “food security” woes facing Nassau Village neighbors. His image as an emerging philanthropist got noticed. “I resigned from my job not knowing whether an election would even be called,” he said of the former British colony’s election system, adding “I have no issues not knowing what I’m going to do next.” Strachan has not had contact with former President Obama since 2008, but noted “I wrote to him while I was vying to be a Member of Parliament.” He swept into office in September 2021, garnering, he said, 75 percent of the vote to represent the Nassau Village region. Strachan credits taking a chance on coming to America for a college education as “a once in a lifetime opportunity.” “The reality is that – that was my springboard,” he said. “I’d like to think my story – so far – shows the sky is the limit,” he said.
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Admissions & Recruitment
Student Essay
Faculty News
Black History Month at UMES
UMES & DSU Impact Education Curriculum
Awards & Achievements
Employees of the Month
Athletics
HBCU Leader
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THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
school news
UMES approaches enrollment and recruitment with new leadership and strategies
Photo: (L-R) Coordinator of On-Campus Recruitment Lakeisa Brown, Admissions Counselor/Recruiter Ebone Dorman, Academic Program Specialist Daijah Johnson, Admissions Counselor/Recruiter Philip Harrison, Director of Admissions & Recruitment Darryl Isom, Admissions Counselor/Recruiter Aaron Cork, VA Liaison Assistant Stephanie Hallowell, Interim Assistant Director of Admissions & Recruitment Denitta Gladding and Administrative Assistant Tiffany Burgess.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Office of Admissions and Recruitment is heading in a new direction under the leadership of Darryl Isom. Isom, a native of Kansas City, Kan., is a graduate of Morehouse College with over 15 years of experience in the enrollment management arena. Prior to his role at UMES, he held positions as Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Services at Wiley College and Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Morehouse College, Edward Waters College, Albany State University, and Emory University. “A champion of ethical leadership development, I have been successful in consistently facilitating the acquisition of higher education for undergraduate and graduate students across the United States and internationally. I am passionate about the enhancement of diversity in higher education, and have focused a major part of my efforts to that end,” he said. The team is made up of a few recruiters/counselors, an on-campus coordinator, an academic program specialist and a communication coordinator. The admissions team’s recruitment strategies include moving to a more virtual strategy, having greater alumni involvement in recruitment, expanding efforts beyond regional reach, and implementing effective communication. “Our admissions strategy has been updated to be a national recruitment strategy. Our team has acquired new software to streamline the admissions process which allows students a quicker response if they have been admitted to the university.
This same software also serves as a search engine that allows our team to analyze data that further captures what type of student we are attracting, and what region and high school they are coming from,” admission recruiter/counselor Aaron Cook said. Admissions staff note the following as some of the top selling points presented to prospective students and families: the university’s low student-to-staff ratio, unique degree programs offered (PGA golf management program, aviation science professional pilot program, human ecology, etc.), the personal attention and family feel of a small college with the resources and research found at large public universities - and commitment to student success. “The Department of Admissions and Recruitment, under the leadership of our new Director, is driving new initiatives to focus on increasing the enrollment here at UMES on a national scale, local scale (tri-county) as well as the community college scale. With the installation of our Spring Student Engagement Days, our Virtual Counselor Days and others, we are prepared to spearhead the process of increasing the enrollment here at UMES,” admission recruiter/counselor Philip Harrison said.
student essay
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‘Everybody ~ have you heard… about my experience with a mockingbird?
UMES honors students in Dr. Amy Hagenrater-Gooding’s freshman English course are writing essays inspired by a year-long, university-wide reading initiative using Ross Gay’s Book of Delights and focusing on delights of their own.
I walked outside one day this past summer to a sky that was baby blue painted with wispy clouds. There was a breeze weaving through the air and then I felt something tap my head. I turned around to see a mockingbird flying around me. A few days later, strolling to the park, I spotted a head poking out through the bush. I got closer to take a better look, and it was one of four baby mockingbirds, all still blind with no feathers. The mockingbirds had claimed my front yard as their new home and territory. From that day on, I made it my duty to watch these baby mockingbirds grow. I tried to keep my family inside so the bird family wouldn’t feel anxious, yet the mockingbirds always attacked us when we walked past the nest. The thrill of running away from (real-life) angry birds was a delight. We didn’t want them to move away; we enjoyed their company. Soon the babies were growing and were able to move about a lot more. In the beginning, they were pink, and their eyes were shut, and they hardly moved at all. The little creatures were now wiggling and shifting to get comfy in the nest. The rainy season came, however, and thunder flashed everywhere, every night scaring the parents into hiding. Since we didn’t see them much, we assumed the parents weren’t getting enough food. Through Google, one of my sisters found out that mockingbirds are fond of grapes. So, my sisters and I started squishing grapes and tossing them with grapes, a satisfying splat on the ground. The birds liked their privacy so we could not watch them eat the grapes, but when we came back to check on their buffet, the grapes were gone. Three weeks passed, and the baby birds began to stand at
the edge of the nest like they were going to jump, but eventually, they just sat back down. The birds were round and plump and tumbled over each other like there was not enough space for them all to live comfortably. The first chick was brave and reckless and jumped with no single fear. The second bird came out without us looking; we are not sure where she went. The third was very cautious; he jumped out while his parents were near and sat on the ground for a while before moving. The third bird must’ve been lost because it was walking up to my house before the mother flew in to direct the little one to a nearby tree where the others were. The last bird took its sweet time after a few days and a lot of yapping and nagging from the mama bird, he finally hopped out only to be attacked by a robin. The baby ran in fear while the mother swooped down and had a pecking fight with the robin, then the baby ran into the neighbor’s bush across from my house and safely met up with his siblings. A sudden lump formed in my throat. We had gotten so used to seeing the birds. They were family. It felt lonely and quiet without them. I missed when they would come around and chase us till we reached the end of the sidewalk. I cherished the time I spent watching these birds grow. Even my parents couldn’t fake being happy about their absence, but some of the birds come back from time to time to sit on the roof and scream for absolutely no reason. It was like they were reminding me they were back home. Oluwatosin Ogunmola of Upper Marlboro, Md., is a freshman majoring in biochemistry.
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THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
faculty news
UMES technology trainer is Jefferson Award winner
Muna Elobaid recognized for helping resettled Sudanese in Somerset County On Christmas Eve, Tegwa Fadl Alla sent an e-mail to Salisbury TV station WBOC, which annually coordinates the local Jefferson Award program that recognizes the community’s unheralded altruists. The Arabic teacher nominated fellow educator Muna Elobaid, drawing attention to Elobaid’s work assisting Sudanese immigrants assimilate to life in America. “As a migrant community,” Fadl Alla wrote, “our members – especially newcomers – need a lot of support. Muna has always been the first person to reach out and provide help.” Elobaid is a computer science lab specialist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she also is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Business, Management and Accounting. She teaches a course called Computer-Concepts/ Applications, according to Dr. Leesa Thomas-Banks, the department’s chairwoman. Fadl Alla noted Elobaid uses her technological savvy to “open enormous opportunities for our community members,” including “guiding and monitoring immigrant students to understand the system and make best decisions regarding their studies.” Much of Elobaid’s volunteerism revolves around life at the Islamic Society of Princess Anne. “She takes a leading role,” Fadl Alla wrote, “in organizing Ramadan Iftar (a post-fasting meal) at our Islamic Center.” She also has helped organize trips to metropolitan areas where Sudanese gather to express frustrations with and protest conditions in the African nation, which has endured internal political strife the past several years. WBOC is a local partner with the
American Institute for Public Service, which has handed out awards named for President Thomas Jefferson since 1972. The late Jackie Kennedy was instrumental in forming the organization to recognize people working selflessly on the frontline of community service. In the era of social distancing, WBOC journalist Bill Mich called Elobaid instead of the prepandemic practice of surprising the honoree with a visit to deliver the news – and then did a followup virtual interview. “I take (on) the problem as if it is my problem,” Elobaid said. “I ask God to help me resolve, or help them.” “When somebody has a problem or an issue and it is resolved, I would be so happy,” she said. Fadl Alla was also interviewed. “She helped me get a job,” Fadl Alla said. “She does that for everyone.” WBOC noted on its Facebook page “Muna received dozens of nominations from those in her community. Those nominations, time and time again, praise Muna for her tireless effort in helping Sudanese people settle into the Somerset County community.” Past national Jefferson Award winners include Gen. Colin Powell, President Jimmy Carter, tennis great Arthur Ashe, actor Paul Newman and broadcaster Walter Cronkite. Elobaid, who began work at UMES in 2008, is the first individual employee to be recognized since Clifton H. Harcum a decade ago. UMES electrician Donald Ballard was a Jefferson nominee in 2019 with his brothers for collective philanthropy through their popular car-enthusiast organization known as the Ballard Boyz.
faculty news
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A Half-Century of ‘Paying it Forward’ Veteran educator launched UMES’ education leadership doctoral program The 2022 spring semester will be Dr. Derry Stufft’s swansong as founding director of UMES’ doctoral program in education leadership. Stufft, who turned 73 this past December, is retiring from full-time work after a 52-year career in education spanning the spectrum from kindergarten to graduate school. He will continue as a dissertation adviser to current students he recruited to the program. “I am just an old fisherman wading into the sunset,” Stufft wrote in a self-deprecating email. Stufft joined UMES’ faculty in 2009 to create a graduate program for primary and secondary school educators looking to climb the career ladder as principals, administrators and superintendents. Winding down his tenure in the K-12 sector nearly two decades ago, Stufft remembers telling a journalist he “would love to create, start, teach … run a doctoral program.” He created UMES’ curriculum from scratch, drawing on threeplus decades as a public school administrator, including three stints as a K-12 superintendent. He stitched together a team of adjunct instructors drawn mostly from the ranks of superintendents. “We all had been there,” he said. “It wasn’t book learning. It was hands-on, on-the-job teaching about real-life challenges and circumstances schools are facing.” Stufft is not difficult to miss in front of a classroom or on stage at graduation draping a doctoral hood around the neck of students who have earned a terminal degree in education leadership. At 6-feet 7-inches, he jokes that he tells degree candidates they won’t likely have to kneel for him to execute higher education’s ultimate rite of passage. Stufft used his stature to get an education and escape the generational cycle of working in western Pennsylvania’s coal mines.
A standout prep athlete in Somerset County, Pa. (near the site of the Flight 93 plane crash on 9-11), he accepted a basketball scholarship from Rutgers University in New Jersey. The history major’s first job upon returning home in 1970 was teaching sociology and economics at a vocational technical high school – and eventually adding coaching basketball and baseball to his duties. His early experiences taught him effective teachers had to be flexible and accessible, a guiding principle he follows to this day. “Educators today face a far more complex profession magnified by the lingering COVID-19 pandemic,” Stufft said. “Public education has become so politicized,” he said. “You have to have thick skin … work at having great community relations, and strong political skills.” “We used to say education is the solution to our problems,” Stufft said. “I think some believe today we’ve moved to where (people) see education as the problem.” “That’s very upsetting to me,” he said. COVID-19, Stufft said, taught him to rethink instructional management theory he and his faculty colleagues have tried to convey to students. The pandemic “has challenged everything we thought we knew about how to deliver an education,” he said. “We’ve had to talk about the importance of being willing to adjust. It’s become more community relations and putting in 14 hour days, sometimes six days a week.” When he reflects on his decision to retire, Stufft said he’s tried to be guided by the belief that “I’m paying it forward.” “I tell students ‘it’s your job to prepare the next generation.’ I’m preparing you to replace me,” he said. “Somebody helped me to get me where I am,” Stufft said. “Now, it’s your job to help someone else get ahead.”
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black history month
THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
Black History at UMES
A Golden Hawk, Starletta DuPois (’68), is a Tony-nominated theater and television actress. The Philadelphia native has performed all three female roles in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” during her career. Some of her film credits include “The Notebook,” “Waiting to Exhale,” and ”Friday After Next.” She received a 1978 Tony Award nomination in the Best Featured Actress category for the play “The Mighty Gents.” When she is not on screen or the stage, she is always showing her Hawk Pride during Homecoming.
Born in Durham, N.C., Gail Nelson-Holgate has achieved a multi-faceted career in theater and music. Daughter of the late Rev. William Tycer Nelson (former sociology professor & chaplain at Maryland State College), the singer and actress grew up on the campus of then Maryland State College. She is photographed performing on campus in 1967 to celebrate the founding anniversary of the institution. She is a graduate of Oberlin College with a master’s degree from New England Conservatory. Her New York Credits include: Broadway’s The Tap Dance Kid (Ginnie Sheridan); Applause; Hello Dolly; On the Town; Eubie!; Music! Music!; By Strouse and Radio City Music Hall’s The Ginger Rogers Special. Her touring credits include: Bubbling Brown Sugar (Irene Page); Houston Grand Opera’s revival of Porgy and Bess (Bess); Funny You Don’t Look Like a Grandmother (Anne); Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Billy Holiday), Barrington Stage Co., and Merrimack Repertory Theatre, American Festival Stage. Nelson-Holgate worked with such entertainment legends as Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway during her career. She was married to the late pianist-arranger, Danny Holgate. Her body of work in the theatrical business will be displayed in the Actor’s Fund Performance Legacy Project. She teaches voice privately in New York City and has taught at Sarah Lawrence College and Manhattan School of Music Preparatory School.
Marion D. Cuyjet is a pioneer in Black dance education. Cuyjet taught ballet in her Judimar School of Dance and later served as a dance instructor at Maryland State College beginning in the 1950’s. “I took my little company to perform and I never left,” Cuyjet said. “I stayed 14 years. The president of the college ( John T. Williams) was very enamored with this ballet company, as he called it.” She provided access for children of color to the art of ballet in Philadelphia from the 1940s to 1970s. In a 1953 Pittsburgh Courier profile on Cuyjet’s impact within the ballet community, journalist Jack Saunders wrote: “Marion is recognized as one of the outstanding ballerinas of the United States, irrespective of race, color or creed.” Saunder’s article describes Cuyjet as “beautiful, statuesque and goldenhaired.” Some of her students who went on to professional acclaim include Delores Browne Abelson (New York Negro Ballet), China White (first dancer of color to receive a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Ballet Company), Lee Parham, Johnny Hines, Judith Jamison (Artistic Director Emerita, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), and Gail Nelson-Holgate (Singer & Actress). She died Oct. 22, 1996 in her native Philadelphia.
black history month
THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
Black History Month Alumni Lecture Series
A Sin of Omission:
The Immoral Unbalance in the History of Graphic Design In honor of Black History Month, the Mosely Gallery presented the exhibition “A Sin of Omission: The Immoral Unbalance in the History of Graphic Design” on Feb. 10. The exhibition is curated by Pierre Bowins, graphic design professor in UMES’ Department of Fine Arts. It highlights the careers of eight exceptional African American designers from the 1920s until the present and features examples of their professional design work along with artifacts depicting the omitted narrative. Dr. Cheryl D. Miller, a visiting scholar and nationally recognized leader for the Advocacy of Black Design, was the featured panelist during the opening reception. The exhibit is open through Mar. 17 in the Mosely Gallery at UMES. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo: Dr. Cheryl D. Miller (left) and Dr. Marshall Stevenson Jr., dean of the School of Education, Social Sciences, and the Arts, pose for a photo in the Mosely Gallery.
ALLEN TAYLOR
DR. TOSHA STARKE RODGERS & JUDGE CHE C. ROGERS
DR. A. KARMALITA CONTEE
Photo: (L-R) Gallery Director & Fine Arts Instructor Susan Holt, Dr. Cheryl Miller, and Professor Pierre Bowins.
Allen Taylor (Class of 1989), Judge Che C. Rogers (Class of 2001), Dr. Tosha Starke Rodgers (Class of 2000), and Dr. A. Karmalita Contee (Class of 1986) returned to campus as guest speakers for the Black History Month Alumni Lecture Series.
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THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
faculty news
Revisiting how history is taught UMES is helping Delaware expand K-12 curriculum Two University of Maryland Eastern Shore history professors are assisting Delaware State University colleagues in crafting recommendations to expand how U.S. history is taught in “First State” public schools. Dr. Marshall F. Stevenson Jr., dean of UMES’ School of Education, Social Sciences and the Arts, and Dr. Arlisha R. Norwood are among 10 educators working to identify specific ways Delaware should incorporate a broader narrative of Black history in the curriculum. “It’s making history multi-racial,” Norwood said. “We’re talking about capturing historical interpretations of events.” Del State secured a $230,000 state grant this past fall to review and suggest revisions to history education taught in the eighth and 11th grades to comply with a Delaware law enacted earlier in 2021. The project currently is headed by Del State’s Dr. Niklas Robinson, an associate history professor and acting chairman of the Dover institution’s history, political science and philosophy department. “We’re not designing a new curriculum, or a delivery system, or a learning system,” said Robinson, who grew up in Cambridge, Md. “We’re trying to identify voids in the subject matter, and make suggestions on how to fill them.” Delaware’s new law came about, Robinson said, in response to a grassroots movement by high school and college students who lobbied state lawmakers to support a formal review and an update of the history curriculum. Robinson said there was broad consensus that important elements of the contributions of Blacks to American history were missing. Two working groups currently are focused on shaping recommendations that address the abolition of slavery and the “Lost Cause,” short-hand for “an interpretation of the Civil War … that attempts to preserve the honor of the South by casting the Confederate defeat
in the best possible light,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The first reports on those topics were due Feb. 1 to Delaware’s state education department. Del State – UMES collaborators will continue working throughout the spring, guided by the law directing public school districts and charter schools to follow a K-12 curriculum “that shall provide instruction on Black history,” including: • The history and culture of Black people prior to the African and Black diaspora, including contributions to science, art and literature. • The significance of enslavement in the development of the American economy. • The relationship between white supremacy, racism and American slavery. • The central role racism played in the Civil War. • How segregation, as well as other federal, state and local laws perpetuated the system of slavery. • The contributions of Black people to American life, history, literature, economy, politics and culture. • Black figures in national and Delaware history.
Norwood, an assistant professor of history whose research focus is 19th century African American history with an emphasis on slavery, freedom and gender, will contribute input to the Delaware project on content as well as help write the report that will go to the state agency. “I’m hopeful we’ll be able to make (recommendations for) a more inclusive curriculum,” Norwood said. “Until students see themselves in history, they’ll never love, or appreciate it.” Stevenson, a UMES history
professor, will serve as a reviewer of changes recommended by the working groups. Prior to joining the UMES faculty, Stevenson was a Delaware State administrator. Stevenson and Robinson said in separate interviews they hope the initiative in Delaware might emerge as a model or template for other states to follow. The goal is to have the expanded curriculum for eighth-graders ready for delivery this coming fall.
awards
THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
Awards & Achievements
The Institute of Printed Circuits Education Foundation, which creates awareness of the careers in the electronics manufacturing industry, has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to senior Nasir Neal-Watson (left) he’ll use to help defray the cost of finishing his degree work this year. “I will be able to pay off my school debt as well as purchase resources for the projects I am working on, thanks to (IPC) award,” Neal-Watson wrote in response to being picked as a recipient. The IPC Education Foundation also named UMES’ Joel Tomlinson, a lecturer and lab manager in the computer science and engineering technology program, as one of the organization’s two Michael V. Carano Teacher Excellence Award winners for 2021 and received a $1,000 honorarium. Tomlinson, who joined the UMES faculty six years ago, call the award “a great honor … because it will reinforce my commitment to teaching and preparing the next generation of electrical/electronic technicians, technologist, and engineers.”
In mid-December, UMES’s aviation science program achieved a strategic milestone culminating years of planning and preparation – Federal Aviation Administration 141 certification of the university’s flight program for private as well as instrument training. In addition, faculty member Joe Brink passed a checkride with an FAA inspector to qualify as a 141 Chief Instructor of the flight program. This step, aviation program coordinator Chris Hartman said, “sets up the program for continued growth. The hard work of the flight training team, led by Brink, is to be commended.”
Billy Dillon recently earned a PGA Master Professional Program credential, a highly coveted peer recognition in the world of professional golf educators. Dillon is founding director of UMES’ PGA golf management program and serves as the university’s women’s and men’s intercollegiate golf team coach. A PGA professional for 28 years, Dillon said he was motivated to pursue the Master Professional certification in hopes of serving as an example that will inspire his students to follow suit.
Izaiah Brown, a sophomore from Baltimore, is the inaugural recipient of “True North” financial aid from Alaska Airlines. In 2021, the company committed to underwriting postgraduate flight training for select underrepresented aviation science majors to help them earn commercial airline pilot credentials. In return, Alaska Airlines will guarantee UMES alumni who qualify a job.
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staff news
THE KEY / FEBRUARY 2022
Employees of the Month OCTOBER 2021 – ELISSA GORDON The University of Maryland Eastern Shore recognized Elissa Gordon in the Office of International Education as Employee of the Month for October 2021 for Outstanding Service to our Students, specifically for her student retention efforts. Gordon has not only made the transition of the outgoing director and incoming Interim Director easier, but with Philip Broussard taking the role, he has seen firsthand how Ms. Gordon takes a genuine interest in the lives of our students. She takes “time to learn about each of them individually,” Broussard reports. He points to her engagement with students, positive attitude, and willingness to step in to help when needed, as reasons that students stay at UMES, not to mention her extensive knowledge around navigating international education. On behalf of our students and the Hawk Family, thank you Elissa Gordon.
NOVEMBER 2021 – MICHELLE TURNER Michelle Turner was recognized as Employee of the Month for November 2021 for Exceptional Contributions to her unit, the Access Services Department of the Frederick Douglass Library. She not only performs the tasks required of her, but also goes beyond her assigned duties daily stepping in to fill other critical roles. She has learned technical aspects of the Inter-Library Loan system, accepted an evening work schedule, which requires her to take on additional job responsibilities, and trains and mentors student workers. Even with all of her extra duties, Turner still finds time to submit articles for the FDL newsletter, create lobby displays and serves on the Sunshine (social) Committee for the library. Thank you for all you do to serve our faculty, staff, and students, Michelle Turner.
DECEMBER 2021 – TRACEY DIRUSSO Tracey DiRusso was named the December 2021 Employee of the Month for Exceptional Contributions to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. DiRusso is the senior Instructional Technologist at UMES, coordinating the learning management system (LMS) used by faculty, staff and students. She began her position in March 2020, just as the COVID pandemic hit Maryland. She helped to transition many departments to fully online operations and made sure that “thousands of students and hundreds of faculty and staff ” had the resources they needed. Transitioning to a new LMS this January brought more challenges, which she tackled with grace. This year alone, DiRusso has “manually corrected errors for 184 students in 520 classes and resolved more than 80% of outstanding help desk tickets.” Eleven faculty and staff members wrote in to support her nomination. We do not know where we would be without you, Tracey DiRusso. Thank you.
alumni spotlight
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UMES alum makes debut at Daytona International Speedway Christian Rose took another important step earlier this month in pursuit of a career as a stock car driver by qualifying for an undercard race during “Daytona Speedweek” at the renowned Florida track. Rose, a pitcher on UMES’ baseball team in 2017 and 2018, made his superspeedway debut on the 2½-mile oval in the “Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire” race. He placed 31st in the 36-car race broadcast on TV’s Fox Sports 1 network. The Feb. 19 ARCA Menards Series race was a preliminary event signaling the start of the 2022 NASCAR season and its two signature series races, including the Daytona 500. “I love what NASCAR has done with the schedule putting the ARCA race before the Xfinity race on Saturday,” Rose said. “We’ll have a lot more eyes on us out there … in person and across the country.” Just days before competing at Daytona, Rose started his 2022 racing season at an ARCA Menards East Series event at a small but familiar locale, the New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. Rose will again drive for Cook Racing Technologies — a relationship that served him well in 2021 when he had modest success on the ARCA Menards West Series circuit. “We had two Top 10 ARCA runs last year and are looking to continue to build off that and to get better every week,” he said. “I believe that we can fight for Top 5 finishes and wins and that is what our goal is going to be this season — constantly running Top
10, click on some Top 5’s and by the end of the year if we aren’t winning races I’m going to be disappointed.” Rose heads into the 2022 season still working to secure sponsorship, a challenging reality of the pricey racing business. “We are really hoping to lock up a full-season sponsorship,” he said. “We are working on some things, but nothing is final.” “It’s a battle and a grind to stay on the racetrack with sponsorship,” Rose said “It’s just a tough business, but there are a lot of places and interesting tracks we’d love to go run this year and we are hoping to have the money for it. And, if the money presents itself, we are in a very good position with Cook Racing.” As for having a chance to race his #42 Toyota on one of motorsports most famous venues, the moment was not lost on Rose. “It’s just very, very cool to pull out there onto the track knowing that all my heroes I ever watched went and raced there — and the amount of races I attended there as a fan,” he said. “It’s where I used to sneak into the garage. It all kind of came full circle, from sneaking into the garage to being on the racetrack is surreal.” “I had never run at Daytona, but I had dreamt of it,” Rose said. “The team was … waiting to see what I looked like when I pulled … into the garage after testing and when they took the window net down, I was smiling from ear-to-ear and they were all laughing.” Photos: Christian Rose Racing team website
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University Relations 30665 Student Services Center Lane Princess Anne, MD 21853
The HBCU Campaign Fund recognized President Heidi M. Anderson as one of the Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders. Congratulations Dr. Anderson!
H A P P Y 1 0 1 ST B I R T H D AY
DR. SARAH MILES WOODS!
(L-R, standing) Dr. Nicole Gale, Dr. Geri Mason, and Joyce Farrare (president of Delta Sigma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.) Photo: Kadeem Turnbull
The 101st birthday of Dr. Sarah Miles Woods was recognized and celebrated Feb. 16. The Crisfield, Md. native and retired professor of chemistry (Roosevelt University) is a supporter of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. In 2009, Woods established a STEM scholarship with a major gift of $50,000 in memory of her parents, Marguerite Daugherty Miles (1915) and Howard S. K. Miles (1915) (alumni of then Princess Anne Academy). The Key / February 2022
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