At the height of COVID-19, Nicole Attram developed severe lower back pain which impeded her mobility and flexibility. While physical therapy helped mitigate the symptoms, the cause is still unknown. That experience determined the course of her career. After graduating from UMBC in 2023, Attram, mechanical engineering, received a 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student award to study in Milan, Italy, in a master’s program in international healthcare management, economics, and policy specializing in pharmaceuticals and medical technology at the SDA Bocconi School of Management.
“This experience has inspired my interest in orthopedic biomechanics, particularly prosthetics, and exoskeletons, to help restore autonomy to individuals with lifelong mobility challenges,” shares Attram on her website. “I aim to conduct research at the intersection of systemic racism, healthcare policy, and orthopedic biomechanics to offer holistic care and assistive technology to underserved communities.”
Attram’s mentor Maria C. Sanchez, director of the Grand Challenge Scholars Program, professor of the practice, and director of the Engineering and Computing Education Program, says, “Nicole always displayed the motivation, perseverance, and inquisitiveness of a successful researcher. She also demonstrated a high level of global awareness that was refreshing to see in a non-international undergraduate student.”
Advancing global research
Attram is among eight recent graduates and alumni in UMBC’s 2024 – 2025 Fulbright U.S. Student Program class who are sharing their knowledge and building community around the world by earning a master’s degree, conducting research, or teaching English. This year is especially significant, as six of eight awards are research-focused, marking the highest number of research awards in UMBC’s Fulbright history. Students seeking research awards must develop a proposal in coordination with potential advisers in the universities and laboratories where they want to study as part of their application. Graduate degree awards require submitting both Fulbright and graduate school applications.
Arpita Tuladhar ’23 public health, Research Award to Germany
Jennifer Sorrells ’22, political science, Research Award to North Macedonia
Jolie Greer ’24, psychology, Research Award to Bulgaria
Lauren Mister ’24, teaching English to speakers of other languages, English Teaching Award to Bahrain
Sarah-Fatime Yoda ’24, chemical engineering, Research Award to France
Stuart Holton ’24, political science, English Teaching Award to Slovakia
Timothy Mallard, M.A. ’21, teaching English to speakers of other languages, Research Award to Uganda
“This year’s cohort of Fulbright recipients and alternates shows the country and the globe what we at UMBC already know,” says Brian Souders, Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy, and culture, M.A.’19, TESOL, the associate director of global learning at UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement. In this role, Souders, who received a 2023 Fulbright International Education Administrator Award to Germany, has led hundreds of Retrievers through the Fulbright application process as UMBC’s Fulbright Program advisor. “We produce world-class graduates who will lead the future with their work in laboratories, in the field, and in the classrooms throughout the world.” (Image by Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) opened the new Center for Ethics and Values this semester. Through a series of campus, alumni, and community events, the center will foster thoughtful, informed, and nuanced discussions and exploration of pressing ethical issues across a wide range of fields including art, humanities, health care, science, and engineering.
Leading the charge is Jessica Pfeifer, associate professor of philosophy and former executive director of the Philosophy of Science Association. Pfeifer oversaw the development of the center and organized the Public Forum series with additional funding from the CAHSS Office of the Dean. The annual speaker series will feature leading experts on significant ethical issues faced by the campus community and society. Launching the series are experts on Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, U.S. Presidential Elections, Neuroscience, Freewill, and Moral Responsibility, and more.
“We all face ethical issues in nearly everything we do, from work to family life to our interactions with friends, to our role as citizens,” says Pfeifer. “The center will provide the campus community the opportunity to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the ethical issues they face, as well as the relevance of ethical training for daily real-world decisions.”
Whitney Schwab, associate professor of philosophy, will lead the daily workings of the center as its inaugural director. “The Birth of Belief,” an article Schwab co-authored with Jessica Moss, professor of philosophy at New York University, received the 2019 Best Article Prize from the Board of Directors of the Journal of the History of Philosophy and was listed as one of the 10 best philosophy papers of 2019 by Philosopher’s Annual. Pfeifer notes that Schwab brings a wealth of knowledge about the history of philosophy, including the history of ethics, as well as his skills in public and student engagement to the position. “He is one of our most popular teachers,” says Pfeifer, “and is an excellent public speaker and discussant, who can hone in on central philosophical issues.”
In addition to establishing a new public forum series, the center will be home to UMBC’s Ethics Bowl team and a new host in the national line-up of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics regional competitions. This year’s Chesapeake Regional Ethics Bowl Tournament will be held on December 7, bringing teams from colleges throughout the Mid-Atlantic region to UMBC.
“Activities like the Ethics Bowl engage students to think more critically about their own values and decisions, and thereby be better able to engage with those whose views differ,” says Pfeifer. “This will make them better scientists, doctors, programmers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, parents, and citizens.”
As an undergraduate student at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, Nancy Miller, professor of public policy, participated in a National Science Foundation grant-funded program to train students in academic research. Miller traveled throughout Indianapolis, gaining skills in interviewing participants and managing data to investigate how the school, health, and justice systems coordinated child welfare cases. A spark was lit, and Miller has been doing research ever since for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and now, the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Miller, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Baltimore, is now offering undergraduate students here a similar research experience to her own in college. She is the lead principal investigator (PI) on a 5-year cooperative agreement from the SSA to support the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium (RDRC) program. Joining her as co-directors are Lisa Lynch, a professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and director of the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity, and Jarnee Riley ’97, mathematics, associate vice president at Westat, a Maryland-based company that provides research services to government agencies and businesses. The five-year, multimillion-dollar cooperative agreement requires the team to submit each year’s research, training, and dissemination plan and an activity and budget proposal to SSA, which then reviews and releases the necessary funds.
The RDRC cooperative agreement—Promoting Equity in Retirement, Disability, and Health—is focusing on three research areas: equity in access to Social Security retirement for underserved people, the intersection of health and access to healthcare and equitable Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SS Disability Insurance (SSDI) program participation, and disparities in SSI/SSDI program access and participation.
Back row (l-r): Peter Stevenson, a business administration student at UB, Jacob Bassetti a policy, politics, and international affairs senior at UB, Isis Pitt, a political science sophomore at UMBC, George Dwomoh, a political science student at UB, Molly Quinn Walker, a political science senior at UMBC, and Zoe Bond, a public health junior at UMBC. Second row (l-r): Kang, UMBC students Jessie Gordon, a biochemistry senior, and Hala Malik, a political science sophomore, and Miller. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
“We’re training students to conduct relevant Social Security-related research at various points in their academic careers,” Miller explains. This includes a mentored undergraduate summer research program housed at UMBC and UB; a doctoral fellowship program; dissertation grants for research on retirement, health, and disability; and mentoring for early scholars as they conduct pilot studies and academic papers. “The consortium aims to create a diverse pipeline of new scholars interested in SSA and its programs and to increase research interest in this area,” says Miller. To meet this goal, the SSA supports research and engages with minority-serving institutions like UMBC and UB.
This summer marks the end of their first six-week cohort of undergraduates gathering to learn about the research skills needed to deepen the understanding of the cross-cutting issues of the SSA programs.
Faculty as students and mentors
Miller who primarily works with graduate and doctoral students at UMBC’s School of Public Policy was thrilled to engage with UMBC’s undergraduate students, especially since it meant collaborating with her former mentee and long-term research partner, Yu “Sunny” Kang, M.P.P. ’06, and Ph.D. ’09, gerontology. Kang is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Baltimore’s School of Health and Human Services, where she has dedicated the past 12 years to working with nontraditional adult undergraduate students.
(l-r): Kang, Keith Elder ’02, public policy, Miller, and Junling Wang, a University of Maryland School of Pharmacy alumna, at the 2009 American Public Health Association conference in Philadelphia. (Image courtesy of Miller)
Kang began her master’s in the early 2000s and found a kindred spirit in Miller, who served as her dissertation chair. They began publishing research together during Kang’s master’s program and have continued to publish in journals like Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Journal of Nursing Care Quality, The Gerontologist, and Medical Care Research and Review. “I was fortunate to publish before I graduated. Those opportunities helped me in my understanding of the field and my career,” says Kang. She researches health disparities in long-term care settings among underserved populations, the role of government in mitigating these disparities, and how Medicare and Medicaid shape healthcare delivery and access. “Nancy kept mentoring me afterward and offering career advice. That’s why we continue to work together.” Kang has implemented that same mentorship approach with her students.
The first cohort comprised five UMBC students and three UB students across the social and natural sciences. Fellows received a $7,500 stipend to learn various research methods and then apply these new skills to research a topic of their choice related to equity in retirement, health, and disability. Fellows had a mix of opportunities to learn and engage via in-person classes, independent and group research, and one-to-one mentorships. Kang, Miller, and Zhang—who is an associate professor of finance and economics at the Merrick School of Business—taught classes and mentored fellows. Mitch mentored Hala Malik, a political science sophomore at UMBC, who worked with Mitch on her research “Supplemental Security Income and Child Enrollment Based on Family Structure.”
“We are engaging students who may have never heard of Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income to get them excited about the opportunities and issues associated with them,” explains Miller. “We’re trying to focus on young and very early career people who may not be thinking about research and training in this area, introduce them to this area, and get them excited about it.”
Collaboration and independence
When Molly Quinn Walker became a Retriever,she was certain that political science would be her major and her career would center on policy. “My grandfather loved explaining the policy behind the news to me,” Quinn Walker explains. “Often, as I sit in classes, I feel like I’m drawing on nearly a decade of knowledge to reflect on public policy.”
Quinn Walker, now a senior political science major, learned about the Promoting Equity in Retirement, Disability, and Health fellowship in Miller’s Politics of Health class. “It’s probably one of my favorite classes because it was very conversation-based. Dr. Miller had so much information to share,” says Quinn Walker. “Each week, we went over a different section of health policy and discussed where it began, when it was enacted and why, what it was addressing, and how difficult it was to get that policy placed.”
The fellowship offered Quinn Walker yet another opportunity to learn from Miller. “Dr. Miller helped me fine-tune my idea and was extremely helpful in finding each of the data I utilized in the project,” says Quinn Walker. This feedback led her to research “The Life Expectancy Inequalities of Social Security Beneficiaries.” She also found the structure of the fellowship fostered collaboration and independence. Kang, Miller, and Zhang held online lectures to introduce the SSA programs from a social science perspective and met in person to discuss ideas and give feedback. “Hearing about how the other fellows were structuring their research was very helpful for implementing my project,” says Quinn Walker.
Quinn Walker hopes to continue participating in the Promoting Equity in Retirement, Disability, and Health program in the coming years as she transitions from an undergraduate to a master’s student at UMBC’s School of Public Policy Accelerated Pathways Program, where she earns graduate credits while completing her undergraduate degree.
A mentorship powerhouse
Presenting his research findings was exciting for Jacob Bassetti, a UB student who participated in the summer fellowship. “I love talking about policy. I was so excited to share my results that I offered to be the first to present,” says Bassetti. Bassetti a policy, politics, and international affairs senior was preparing for his next academic journey at UB’s School of Law when his economics professor encouraged Bassetti to apply for the summer fellowship. “I love to challenge myself,” says Bassetti, who up until recently was working on construction crews who had jobs at UMBC and UB, but was always hoping he could be the student instead. Bassetti made his dream come true as an adult learner. “I have always wanted to do real work with the education that I’ve received. This was my first opportunity to do so.”
Bassetti, blue polo shirt, speaks with Miller (standing) about his research. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Bassetti’s research resulted in “An Evaluation of Medicaid Expansion through the Affordable Care Act and Its Effects on Chronic Disease Death,” with a focus on the three most prevalent chronic diseases that lead to death—diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
“I felt lost for the first week trying to sort through sources and data,” shares Bassetti. “I talked to Dr. Miller. She knows everything. In less than 20 seconds, she guided me towards the appropriate resources for the question I was exploring.” Bassetti began to understand that conducting research of this scale involves making numerous small decisions to find, analyze, and interpret large datasets. Kang advised Bassetti to be as precise as possible in his approach. “She helped me find my way, the purpose of my findings, and what I wanted to achieve,” explains Bassetti. “Dr. Kang showed me what didn’t make sense but not how to fix it. She wanted to engage my thought process, and it worked.”
Building a research community
The first year of funding established the undergraduate summer fellowship, supported graduate and doctoral research, and two faculty research projects. At UMBC, Zoë McLaren, associate professor of public policy, Mir Usman Ali, assistant professor of public policy, and Miller researched “COVID-19 in adults with disabilities: Disparities in prevalence, health care access and use, and employment.” At UB, Zhang and Kang conducted a study on “The experience of SSDI beneficiaries in the two-year waiting period for Medicare.” Graduate and doctoral students at Brandeis University, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison began their research in retirement, disability, and health policy in institutions across the U.S., including UMBC public policy doctoral student, Shadi Seyedi.
This fall will begin the second year of funding. McLaren, Usman Ali, and Miller proposed to continue their project. Miller and Kang requested funding to begin working on a new research project “Identifying Disparities in and Potential Facilitators to Receipt of SSDI.” Graduate and doctoral students will have opportunities to share their research throughout the academic year. Seyedi will present her research “Evaluating the Effects of Affordable Care Act on Health Care Coverage, Utilization, and Outcomes: A Comparison of Foreign-born and US-born Populations” at UMBC’s Judith A. Shinogle Memorial Award Lecture this November.
Miller (left corner) and Kang (standing) discuss final presentations with summer fellows. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Miller, along with the co-directors and collaborators, emphasizes that the essence of the cooperative agreement is creating a new multigenerational and diverse network of researchers and community partners invested in advancing research on SSA programs. Learning, mentoring, research, and disseminating knowledge are communal, ongoing, and fluid processes.
“It’s important to learn from Nancy. She is a leading expert in health policy, disability and long-term care, health disparities, and aging policy. Her dedication extends beyond her research. She genuinely cares about her students and the populations she studies,” says Kang. “Fellows understand that our support extends beyond their academic performance to their overall growth and well-being. This project represents a lasting tradition of mentorship and teamwork, shaping the future of research in retirement, health, and disability.”
To learn more about the program or to apply contact Melanie Keys, UMBC SSA program manager, MKeys3@umbc.edu.
2024 – 2025 Application deadlines: Undergraduate and Masters Summer Research Fellowship Program, April – May Masters and Doctoral Student Research Grant Program, November – December Doctoral Student Mentored Pilot Studies Program, April – May
Written by Fan Yang, professor of media and communication studies, UMBC
Speaking at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Donald Trump invoked China 14 times. In the course of a 92-minute address, the former president recycled his widely criticized term “China virus” for the COVID-19 pandemic, said China was stealing auto jobs, and touted how his administration had China beat on a variety of fronts.
China also made it into the major addresses at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. On the first night, President Joe Biden said that on coming into office, “the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States.”
“No one is saying that now,” he added.
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris echoed this sentiment on the final night, claiming that if elected she would ensure that “America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century.”
As an expert on how China is represented in U.S. media culture and politics, I believe the fact that China is edging into the election rhetoric is of little surprise – nor is the imbalance in emphasis given to the country by the Democratic and Republican tickets, respectively.
A tried and tested election ploy
Since Biden’s exit from the presidential race, the Democratic candidates have seemingly limited their references to China on the campaign trail, in contrast with their Republican counterparts.
Trump and his Republican allies have long mobilized the use of China to position themselves as anti-Communist and to burnish their “America first” credentials. For Trump, especially, it is a tried and tested electoral ploy. In the run-up to the 2016 election, Trump invoked China so frequently that The Huffington Post produced a mashup video of the candidate repeating “China” 234 times.
This has continued into the current election cycle.
Aside from the frequent mentions in the speeches by Trump and others, the 2024 GOP platform emphasizes “Secure Strategic Independence from China” as a key commitment, through limiting trade and investment as well as “countering China” to “return Peace through Strength.” In contrast, other perceived adversaries such as Russia and Iran received no mention in the official Republican platform.
Meanwhile, Project 2025 – the conservative Heritage Foundation’s policy plan often associated with Trump, although his campaign denies the connection – mentions China no fewer than 483 times in a 922-page document. The project’s official website even highlights the goal to “take on China” on the “About” page.
Neither ‘dragon slayer’ nor ‘panda hugger’
It was not, therefore, surprising that Trump-supporting elements of the U.S. media pounced on news that Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota chosen to be Harris’ running mate, has previously taught in China and traveled there an estimated 30 times since 1989, including on his honeymoon.
Although Walz has said he is “neither a ‘dragon slayer’ nor a ‘panda hugger’” when it came to China, conservative commentators painted Walz as a “Marxist” who would make Communist China “very happy.” Fox News host Jesse Watters even called for Walz to undergo an FBI background check due to his China links.
On Aug. 16, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee chair, Republican James Comer, opened an investigation into Walz’s “longstanding connections” to China.
The Great Walz of China? Hardly
The ties that some Republicans find suspicious include Walz’s running Educational Travel Adventures with his wife, Gwen Walz, from 1994 to 2003. The company they founded helped students from small-town America travel to China to learn about the country’s history and culture. Walz also served on the human rights-monitoring Congressional-Executive Commission on China during his time as a House representative.
Walz’s apparent reluctance to highlight his knowledge about China also contrasts with the action of a previous Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, who served as an ambassador to China and is fluent in Chinese. During his campaign in 2011, arguably a different time in U.S.-China relations, Huntsman repeatedly demonstrated his ability to speak Chinese and was often praised for doing so.
Harris’ great leap forward, not back
One reason behind the difference in emphasis on China between the two presidential tickets is, I believe, the different framing of the election. To the Democrats, the upcoming vote is about movement – they are projecting the choice between going backward or going forward. Taglines such as Harris’ “we’re not going back” position the United States and its people as marching toward a future of unity, promise and opportunity that, in their view, leaves behind the chaos, division and repression of the past.
In this framing, the role of China as a threat is anchored primarily in the area of high-tech competition; Harris’ mentions of China in her convention speech were in regards to the future on space and artificial intelligence.
By contrast, the Republican campaign is premised more on protecting an imagined Americanism from foreign forces, which is why you hear more from Trump and Vance on the much dramatized “invasion” of immigrants illegally crossing the borders and “bringing” drugs and crime.
The same logic, I would argue, informs the GOP’s frequent invocation of China as a geopolitical and economic threat.
After all, Trump has long attributed a great number of actions to the Chinese government, from calling it a creator of the “Wuhan virus” to blaming it for producing the “hoax” of climate change. In his convention speech, Vance linked China directly to the illegal cross-border drug trade. At a rally in Michigan on Aug. 27, he also accused Harris of using tax dollars to pay “the Chinese Communist Party to build factories on American soil,” omitting the fact that the Republican-led legislature had developed the program.
This characterization of China fits what I called the “racialization” of the Chinese state in my book “Disorienting Politics.” The rhetoric depicts China as a powerful agent that carries out nefarious acts that can only hurt America.
‘Make it all about China’
Over the past two decades, parts of the American media have conflated China’s Communist Party rule with fascism and totalitarianism.
That rhetoric in the U.S. over the “Chinese virus” during the pandemic triggered a spike in reported anti-Asian racist attacks, showing that manufactured fear of a distant place like China can also sow hatred toward people perceived to have come from that place.
In this sense, Walz’s reluctance to invoke China perhaps corresponds to a refusal to oversimplify the complex society of China. “The best way to study about people is to hear them tell what it is like where they live,” said the former social studies teacher back in 1991, while discussing a U.S.-China pen-pal program with a local newspaper.
As the election season unfolds, the specter of China is likely to return even as more urgent geopolitical conflicts continue to dominate the headlines.
After all, even one of Walz’s former students – a self-described “dormant Republican” attempting to defend Walz against Republican attacks on his character – still advised the Trump campaign to focus on policy and “make it about China.”
Meet Buhlebakhe Ncubefrom Zimbabwe. She spent six weeks at UMBC as part of the 2024 Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) hosted by UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE). The new cohort included 25 innovators from countries across Sub-Saharan Africa representing education, journalism, tech, health care, and more. Buhlebakhe is now back home reminiscing about her YALI summer experience and the Retrievers she connected with along the way. Take it away, Buhlebakhe.
Q: Briefly introduce yourself. What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?
A: I am the chief of staff for the Shasha Network, located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, but I work remotely from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Shasha Network is a nonprofit organization that provides early career resources, opportunities, and support to students and educators across Africa. I have a bachelor’s degree in civil and water engineering from the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo.
2024 YALI Fellows(l-r): Sintieh Nchinda Ngek Okongefeyin from Cameroon, Ncube, and Richard Siaw from Ghana. (Image courtesy of Ncube)
Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.
A: From the first day we arrived in Baltimore, Madison Pickard, M.A. ’24, intercultural communication, assistant director of special programs, and co-academic director of the YALI Fellowship at CGE, went above and beyond for the YALI Fellows. She drove us to different meetings and events all day and stayed with us late into the night, often going back to her home around midnight. Despite everything, she still showed up the next day with a smile and energy, ready to help us tackle the busy day ahead. Through her, I have learned what it means to be truly selfless and fully involved in someone else’s journey and ensure they are set up for success.
2024 YALI graduation day. (Image courtesy of Ncube)
Q: Since you’ve been a part of the UMBC community, how have you found support of your WHY?
A: When I was at UMBC, I was exposed to various types of leadership styles, and rather than try and alter who I am to fit into a particular style—I learned how to use my uniqueness and strengths to create my path as a young leader. The UMBC team went above and beyond to make sure that we had access to coaches and experts in various fields. The facilitators are exceptional, and the people I met through networking sessions are quite eager to work with me beyond the fellowship. Lastly, the UMBC team is full of cheerleaders who constantly push me to challenge myself. I have done so, and I am thankful to them for their support and faith in my abilities.
2024 YALI Fellows meeting with Maryland Governor Wes Moore. (Image courtesy of Ncube)
Q: Tell us about what you love about the organization you’re involved in.
A: I am grateful that I was placed at UMBC for the YALI fellowship. The community at UMBC is very welcoming. Baltimore and Maryland are full of humanity, culture, history, art, and love. I was able to connect with people not just through networking but on a human level. There is nothing pretentious about UMBC. People here genuinely want the best for you, and everyone wants to come together and create a better and stronger community. That sense of pride in being from UMBC is something I will always carry with me as an adopted Marylander and Retriever!
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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.
Peter Wilschke ’24, economics and political science, hit the ground running after graduation in May, beginning a two-year research assistant position at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. He is working on the quarterly Z.1, a report on the financial assets and liabilities, transactions, and balance sheets for households, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Additionally, Wilschke assists economists with research projects. For Wilschke, these tasks are a welcome set of challenges—he thrives on long-term projects that combine both his majors and allow him a level of independence he nurtured successfully at UMBC.
Just weeks before graduating, Wilschke’s article “Political Drivers of State Fiscal Cyclicality” was accepted for publication in the State and Local Government Review, the official journal of the Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management of the American Society for Public Administration. Wilschke published as the sole author, which is rare for an undergraduate researcher.
A few weeks after graduation, Wilschke was celebrating again. This time, with his teammates Arvind Kuruvilla ’25, financial economics and philosophy, and Matthew Dyson ’25, political science and computer science. Their paper, “Improving American Retirement Prospects: Policy Solutions for the Financially Fragile,” was one of two winning submissions chosen by the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) 2024 iOme (I Owe Me) Challenge national student competition. It was the first time in the 20 years since the challenge was established that two teams held the winning title. UMBC’s trio of undergraduates proudly shared the spotlight with the Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business graduate student team.
While these accomplishments came one right after another, Wilschke has been successfully merging his two passions—political science and economics—for some time.
“Once you take statistical analysis and research methods classes in economics or political science, your world is open to how empirical research is actually conducted in those fields. I would not have known where to start without these classes,” says Wilschke, the 24th recipient of the Pittman Family Scholarship, established in 2006 by Kenneth Pittman ’79, economics, and Patricia Pittman ’78, political science, who shared Wilschke’s majors.
“Peter’s accomplishments and that of his colleagues at UMBC are very impressive,” says Kenneth Pittman.“Congratulations to everyone on the iOme team!”
With a little help from my mentors
His desire to see the impact of policy for the long haul keeps Wilschke open to inspiration. A couple of years ago, Wilschke attended the economic department’s Mullen Lecture, presented by Carlos A. Vegh, the Fred H. Sanderson professor of international economics at Johns Hopkins University. Vegh discussed his research on how fiscal policy is conducted over the business cycle in developing and developed countries. What intrigued Wilschke was how developed countries contract their fiscal policy when the economy is doing well and expand fiscal policy during an economic downturn while developing countries do the exact opposite. He wondered if individual states reflected similar cycles and, if so, whether other factors influenced the expansion and contraction of fiscal policy.
“I explored whether and how political factors—political polarization, turnover, and electoral competition—work to explain why some U.S. states tend to spend more in good times and less in bad times, unlike the federal government,” says Wilschke, who presented the paper at UMBC’s 2024 Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day.
This was Wilschke’s first time leading a research project. “I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into,” says Wilschke. He shared the idea with Carolyn Forestiere, professor of political science and his professor of research methods, and she connected him with Eric Stokan.
(l-r) Eric Stokan and Peter Wilschke at the 2024 Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference. (Image courtesy of Carolyn Forestiere, professor of political science/UMBC)
Stokan, associate professor of political science and now Wilschke’s mentor, says he enjoyed working with Wilschke weekly for over two semesters, which helped him think through all aspects of the work. He taught Wilschke R, a statistical computing and data visualization programming language. Stokan also suggested pieces of literature on the topic, which helped Wilschke think through the operationalization of his variables and analytic specifications and framing policy.
“For each session, I would consistently say, ‘Okay, your next step should be X,’ and he would have done X, Y, and Z,” says Stokan. “It was amazing. Peter learned R more quickly than anyone I have ever met.” Wilschke adds, “It was very helpful to have a mentor who had gone through this process multiple times before.”
“Eric and I encouraged Peter to submit his work to a professional journal,” says Forestiere. “We figured that it would be a learning experience even if it were rejected.” They were all delighted when the journal—which only accepts about 14 percent of submissions—asked Wilschke to revise and resubmit. “We were ecstatic when it was finally accepted for publication!”
WISER choices
Doug Lamdin, professor of economics, mentored Wilschke,Kuruvilla, and Dyson to the finish line of the WISER iOme Challenge. The competition raises awareness among university students about the impact of retirement security on society’s social and economic well-being. Students nationwide respond to the annual iOme Challenge question with a policy paper. This year, students were asked to imagine that Congress named them to an independent commission on retirement, with instructions to re-evaluate and modernize the retirement system from the perspective of Gen Zers (those born between 1997 and 2012).
“I put the team together,” says Wilschke. “I knew Matthew from classes and volunteering at UMBC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance club, and Arvind was a co-worker of mine in the Admissions Office. It was a lot of fun to work with them and much easier with three people than it would have been by myself.”
(l-r): Evan Avila, Peter Wilschke, Matthew Dyso, and Arvind Kuruvilla. (Image courtesy of Ratzsch/UMBC)
Lamdin has ushered four iOme winning teams through the process, starting in 2018 with Evan Avila ’18, economics and political science, now a financial analyst at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avila has served as a co-moderator for the iOme winner’s presentation for the last two years. Lamdin’s mentoring approach—based on guiding mentees toward independence—has stayed consistent since he first mentored Avila. Lamdin assists them in developing a timeline for producing the essay by the due date that aligns with the judging criteria and provides students with background reading materials. From there, Lamdin steps back, trusting the team to work independently, with weekly check-ins to monitor their progress and provide feedback on their drafts.
Lamdin notes that Wilschke was proactive and professional. He appreciated his ability to find relevant research, interpret data, and consider new possible retirement policies.
“It is a rewarding experience for the students and me, so I hope to continue doing it,” says Lamdin. “I have never had a team I mentored not win, so maybe I will stop doing this when the winning streak ends—kidding, sort of.”
Motivation to follow a hunch
While Wilschke was conducting his research for his papers, he was also interning at The Hilltop Institute at UMBC, a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people and communities. He worked for Morgan Henderson, principal data scientist and affiliate professor of economics, and Morgane Mouslim, policy analyst, on a research project funded by the National Science Foundation on hospital pricing transparency. His two-year internship entailed helping to organize data collected from hundreds of hospitals and writing a news brief, “The Impact of Market Concentration on Hospital Pricing,” and presenting it at URCAD 2024.
“Peter is an excellent researcher who helped our hospital price transparency project significantly over the past two years,” says Henderson. “The quality of his work is top-notch—we predict that he’ll go far.”
Wilschke did not plan on contributing empirical research to the field of political science as an undergraduate student. Looking back, he is grateful for the classes and opportunities UMBC afforded him that prepared him to follow a hunch. Wilschke said that he felt that some students don’t look forward to statistical analysis or research methods classes in economics or political science because they’ve heard the classes can be difficult and may appear irrelevant at the moment.
“Most of what I accomplished as an undergrad was something I had to decide I wanted to do without having anyone to tell me I should do it,” explains Wilschke. “I’ve learned how far I can go if I try everything I can think of. It gives me motivation and a little bit of pressure to keep up that level of work throughout my time at the Fed Reserve and, hopefully, in grad school.”
As a community, farmers in the United States often face challenges that are out of their control, such as drought, livestock disease, and global pandemics like COVID-19. For Black farmers, says Loren Henderson, associate professor of public policy, these obstacles are compounded by land theft, inadequate succession planning, systemic racism, and discriminatory U.S. Department of Agriculture policies and practices. As a result, Black farmers today are facing extinction. Henderson was featured on The Academic Minute to talk about her research.
Henderson, who will be the first African American director of UMBC’s School of Public Policy this fall, is the author of Race, Ethnicity, and the COVID-19 Pandemic(University of Cincinnati Press, 2023). She began researching how Black farmers were faring amid these hurdles during COVID-19. Henderson conducted 50 in-depth virtual interviews with Black farmers in the U.S. The project addressed Black farmers’ expertise and experiences in establishing and maintaining farms under the onslaught of systemic racism and COVID-19.
“Additionally, I asked the farmers about their use of governmental and private financial resources and their understanding of social policies that impact their ability to establish or maintain their farms,” Henderson shares with Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and host of The Academic Minute, a daily show featuring faculty from colleges and universities worldwide speaking about their cutting-edge research.
The Maryland State Board of Education has unanimously elected Josh Michael ’10, political science, Ph.D. ’22, public policy, as its new president following his completion of a one-year term as vice president last year. Michael, whose career in education advocacy has been greatly intertwined with UMBC for years, began his interaction with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) as a student representative on the board in 2005.
Now, as president, Michael will continue to oversee the administration of MSDE with the 11-member board, which includes public school educators, parents, community leaders, and a student. UMBC alumna Chuen-Chin Bianca Chang ’91, nursing, is also a board member, representing Howard County since 2021.
Michael will work with the state superintendent to provide oversight of Maryland’s 24 school districts and lead the board’s work in guiding the implementation of MSDE’s Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an initiative to increase state funding for education over the next 10 years with a focus on historically underserved students.
“Over the last 10 to 15 years, Maryland public schools have slowly declined in achievement, in literacy, and math. Our rankings have dropped in many ways. Taking this head-on has been a focus of our work,” Michael explains. “We seem to have lost sight of what is most important—ensuring our students are learning. Our schools must serve children from all backgrounds at all performance levels and provide opportunities to excel. The board is focused on restoring stability, vision, and direction for the state to support public schools.”
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Direct service in the classroom and communities has humanized the policy process for me.
Josh Michael ’10, Ph.D. ’22
Education policy at work
Michael’s work with public education began as a UMBC Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, where he learned about education policy. After graduating, he worked as a math teacher at Baltimore City’s Booker T. Washington Middle School and The Commodore John Rodgers School. After six years in the classroom, Michael returned to UMBC in 2016 to work on growing what was then called UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program with Rehana Shafi, the inaugural director, and with the support of The Sherman Family Foundation. The program prepared STEM majors to become high-quality K-12 teachers in urban settings through academic and professional coaching. The program has since broadened its scope and is now called the Sherman Teacher Scholars Program.
George and Betsy Sherman (first from left) in front of Josh Michael. Freeman Hrabowski, then-president of UMBC, and Jacqueline Hrabowski (first from right) next to Rehana Shafi (in yellow) at the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program’s 10th anniversary.
Shafi and Michael fostered existing partnerships and helped establish the Lakeland Community and STEAM Center, where many Sherman Teacher Scholars continue to hold student-teacher placements and serve as math volunteers. During this six-year period, Michael also earned a doctorate degree at UMBC focused on mathematics achievement and improving outcomes for struggling students.
(l-r): Shafi, Monique Rivera-Velez, M.A.T ’17, education; Corey Carter ’08, biological sciences, M.A.T. ’10, education, current director of the Sherman scholars program; Emily Diaz ’16, biochemistry and molecular biology, and M.A.T ’17, education; Josephine Kalema-Kasozi ’13, dance, teaching certificate in secondary math education; and Michael at the 2018 Celebration of Teaching event. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Humanizing policy
“Josh’s work at the Sherman Teacher Scholars Program laid the groundwork for lasting partnerships between the university and City Schools. One example of this legacy is the Reach Together Tutoring Project (RTTP), which provides over 400 City Schools students each year with targeted math tutoring by UMBC students,” says Jane Lincove, professor of public policy and Michael’s dissertation chair. “The program is both reducing math achievement gaps and inspiring UMBC students to become math teachers. Josh’s work is a glowing example of how academic research by doctoral students in UMBC’s public policy program can be put to work to improve the lives of Marylanders.”
(l-r back row): Carter, Najib Jammal, then-principal of Lakeland Elementary/Middle School, Hrabowski, and Michael. (l-r front row): Betsy Sherman and Shafi. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
“My advice to students interested in public policy is to serve in the communities you want to work with,” says Michael, currently the executive director at The Sherman Family Foundation and a board member of the Maryland Family Network, Cherry Hill Strong, and the Teach For America Baltimore Advisory Board. “Direct service in the classroom and communities have humanized the policy process for me.”
For the last seven weeks, Robert Barry ’25, ancient studies and visual arts, worked in a trench under the sweltering 90-degree sun. It may sound grueling, but this is Barry’s second year working in this archeological site in Greece with Michael F. Lane, associate professor of ancient studies and field director on the Kopaic Cultures, Economies, and Landscapes (KOCECOLA) research program. KOCECOLA is an archaeological investigation of a prehistoric settlement in its physical, human, and historical circumstances in the Kopaic Basin of central mainland Greece. Lane has conducted fieldwork in this area since 2010.
“What I really like about ancient studies is the faculty,” shares Barry. “They show a lot of interest in their students, and I feel like I belong.” Barry has taken archaeology and ancient Greek language classes with Lane, where he has excelled.
Students at UMBC’s 2024 archeological field school in Greece prepare the site for winter by backfilling trenches with soil. (Michael F. Lane/UMBC)
Barry learned about the project in Lane’s ancient Greek language class. Lane was seeking undergraduate research assistants to join the 2023 six-week summer archeological fieldwork opportunity, and Barry joined the team. This year, he returned as a trench supervisor with more responsibilities.
From excavating to supervising
Student research assistants use satellite-based differential Global Navigation Satellite Systems (DGNSS) and optical survey equipment. “We use the DGNSS and optical equipment both to plot the location of our trenches and to record the position of discoveries in three dimensions: latitude, longitude, and elevation above sea level,” explains Lane. Once an excavation site is identified, students use trigonometry to measure trenches and then large shovels to reveal distinct layers of soil. Excavation teams are made up of 2 – 3 students spread across six trenches.
“This year, I was a trench supervisor and learned a lot about myself. My priorities changed,” explains Barry. “Last year, I was digging and following directions from my supervisor. Now, I’m giving the orders and having to be responsible for the health and safety of everyone else while getting the job done.”
Lane says the senior staff at KOCECOLA regarded Barry as a peer. “He’s smart, meticulous, punctual, responsible, untiring, even-keeled, good-humored, and funny,” says Lane. “For this reason, I gave him a trench of his own to supervise for the last three weeks this summer, and he exceeded expectations.”
(l-r): Rachel Channell, a crew supervisor from Greece, teaches Barry a traditional Greek dance. (Brady E. Cavanagh/UMBC)
To get the job done, the team’s daily routine meant leaving the village at 5 a.m., taking a 20-minute drive to the dig site, hiking up a mountain, and beginning work around 5:30 a.m. Barry’s team of three students used small hand trowels and brushes to help reveal soil layers and artifacts, such as pottery. A fine mesh screen helped sift the soil removed during excavation, leaving behind finer artifacts. They would take soil samples for scientific dating and chemical analysis, as well as basic soil and sedimentary descriptions. Thanks to a 2024 UMBC Strategic Awards for Research Transitions grant that Lane received, students also had the opportunity to sample for radiocarbon dating and luminescence dating, which measures the energy of photons released from minerals to determine the age of exposed strata.
Brady E. Cavanagh ’26, visual arts, documents her work. (Elliott G. Alvey/University of Virginia)2023 crew screen soil for fine artifacts. (l-r): Damian V. Koropeckyj ’16, global studies, supervises India J. Kelly ’24, history, and Naomi Morales Glen, a master’s student at the University of the Peloponnese in Kalamata, Greece. (Michael F. Lane/UMBC)
“We record where each artifact is, define its features and its chronological, historical, cultural, and social contexts,” says Barry. “It can get complicated when there are numerous artifacts to identify, map, excavate, bag, and label.” At 1 p.m., the crew would head to the lab for three hours to wash the day’s finds, scrub them with toothbrushes, and catalog finds. The rest of the afternoon would be all theirs until 8 p.m. when they would gather for a communal dinner at the local taverna (Greek for restaurant).
The 2024 crew enjoys dinner in the local village after a long day. (Michael F. Lane/UMBC)
To Greece and beyond
Now that the internship has ended, Barry is sightseeing in Austria before returning to the U.S. “My favorite part of this year’s experience was the international collaboration. I enjoyed getting to know students from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Greece,” says Barry, who used these opportunities to practice his Greek and Latin skills, which are important in the ancient studies graduate programs he’ll apply to after returning to UMBC.
“Probably the moment that most touched me this summer was when Robert sat down at the kitchen table at the staff house with me and said, ‘Lane, can I tell you something…? I think I want to do this for the rest of my life’,” Lane shares. “I now consider it my duty to help him continue to excel, doing everything in my power to get him into the best academic programs and relevant jobs.”
Christopher K. Tong, an associate professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, has taught Asian studies for years. This fall, Tong brings a fresh perspective to his classes after spending two weeks in Mongolia as part of an award from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) to participate in the Overseas Faculty Development Seminar: Climate Change and Public Health—What Does Climate Change Mean for the People of Mongolia? Tong used this opportunity to advance research for his forthcoming book on the emergence of modern science and ecological consciousness in Asian and Western societies.
“Despite the grandeur of this country’s history, Mongolia as a modern nation is often understudied in Asian studies. Within China, Mongolians are an ethnic minority struggling to preserve their language and culture,” explains Tong. “Historically, the Mongolian empire stretched from Asia to Europe, so there is intrinsic value to studying Mongolia from a humanistic perspective. It was also interesting to see how present-day Mongolians understand and represent this history, for example, the life and legacy of Genghis Khan.”
Tong rides a Mongolian horse during a visit to a nomadic family in the countryside near Ikh-Tamir in central Mongolia. (Image courtesy of Tong)
CAORC is a private, nonprofit federation of independent overseas research centers that promotes advanced research with an emphasis on the humanities and social sciences, the conservation and recording of cultural heritage, and the understanding and interpretation of modern societies. Tong was one of 44 faculty members from community colleges and minority-serving institutions, like UMBC, placed in one of three seminars that aimed to help faculty and administrators gain first-hand experience needed to develop and improve international courses, curricula, and teaching materials.
Learning from Mongolians
The seminar took place at the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. The 14 faculty assigned to the seminar in Mongolia visited Ulaanbaatar; the rural communities at Kharkhorin, the historic capital of the Mongol Empire; Erdene Zuu Monastery—the oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia; and Hustai National Park, home to the rare and endangered Przewalski’s horses. They also gained first-hand knowledge of the impact of hotter days, increasing wildfires, storms, colder winters, and drought on Mongolia’s communities and environment.
A soil scientist at the National University of Mongolia explains the different types of soil collected in the city of Ulaanbaatar and its vicinities. (Image courtesy of Tong)
“It was an eye-opening experience visiting Mongolia—meeting its people and experiencing the landscape. I have read novels and research about Mongolia,” shares Tong, “but visiting in person enriched my understanding and challenged my preconceptions.” He notes that Mongolia’s unusually cold winter this year wiped out entire herds of livestock, the primary source of income for nomadic families. Meanwhile, the use of low-grade coal for heating in Ulaanbaatar has increased air pollution and negatively impacted public health. “The effects of climate change are particularly noticeable to the people of Mongolia.”
Tong (center with a blue polo and hat) stands with his CAORC colleagues and the nomadic family the team assisted in constructing their ger, a traditional Mongolian yurt. (Image courtesy of Tong)
The faculty met local officials, health specialists, climate scientists, and nomadic pastoralists to learn about their country and way of life from them. The scholars also assisted a nomadic family in constructing their ger, a traditional Mongolian yurt. These interactions and collaborations helped Tong better understand the Mongolian people’s perspectives on development and its relationship with China and the U.S. “My experience in Mongolia will inform my research in Asian studies and help me connect with Mongolian Americans back in the U.S.,” says Tong. “I’m very grateful that CAORC and ACMS allowed me to visit Mongolia.”
Bringing Mongolia to the classroom
This transformative experience will also benefit UMBC students. Tong has been teaching a course on China’s ethnic minorities, MLLI 335: Modern China: Culture, Society, and Environment, for many years. “A part of the traditional Mongolian homeland is in present-day China, an autonomous region known as Inner Mongolia,” says Tong. He teaches the novel Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong, which tells the story of a student from Beijing who travels to Inner Mongolia to live among the Mongols in the 1960s.
“Of course, the country of Mongolia is different from the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. The field trip made these differences clear,” says Tong, who will develop new course materials on Mongolia as a modern nation and contextualize it within the broader field of Asian studies.
In addition to the CAORC award, Tong received a 2023 – 2024 short-term residential research fellowship from the American Philosophical Society to conduct research at the society’s library and museum in Philadelphia. During this time, Tong researched the history of evolutionary science in the U.S., including the contributions of Asian and African American scientists. He also helped launch UMBC’s new Mellon-funded Global Asias Initiative. The initiative supports rethinking Asian American issues on campus in a global, diasporic, and collaborative framework through community-engaged, public-facing scholarship, and teaching.
These work and research awards, along with a 2021 Early Career Fellowship in China Studies from the American Council of Learned Societies and a 2018 – 2019 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant to China, have given Tong the time and resources to contribute new research to the field and new approaches to the teaching and learning of Asian studies.
McDonough will join scholars from around the world in one of the leading centers for theoretical historical research. This includes research on the history of medieval, early modern, and modern Europe, the Islamic world, East Asian studies, art history, history of science, and musicology. McDonough will spend the year writing chapters of her forthcoming book about the lives of sex workers in the medieval Mediterranean and sharing her progress in weekly seminars with historians as well as mathematicians, natural scientists, philosophers, and social scientists.
“I am incredibly energized by this opportunity to immerse myself in the archival materials I’ve been gathering concerning sex workers and their communities in the medieval Mediterranean,” she shares. Previously, McDonough earned a 2019 – 2020 National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to conduct archival research at six Mediterranean Sea ports: Barcelona, Mallorca, and Valencia in Spain; Marseille, France; and Genoa and Palermo, Italy.
Susan McDonough in Nervi, a suburb of Genoa, Italy. (Image courtesy of McDonough)
“I tell a story of movement, of community, of connection, and of resistance. Sex workers lived under the threat of forced expulsion and were usually migrants to the towns in which they sold sex,” explains McDonough. “They worked, fought, competed against each other in brothels, and left each other precious belongings in their final wills and testaments.”
Marseille’s Vieux Port, with a view of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de la Garde. (Image courtesy of McDonough)
Her research is developing a more inclusive understanding of women’s experiences during this period. “To have the freedom to refine and deepen my ideas in the company of some of the most exciting thinkers, writers, and scholars—many of whose ideas have already been foundational in my conceptualization of this book—is extraordinarily lucky.”
McDonough is the second faculty member at UMBC to receive an IAS membership. Constantine Vaporis, professor of history, received a 2020 – 2021 IAS membership to work on his upcoming book, Sword and Brush: Portraits of Samurai in Early Modern Japan, 1600 – 1868.
UMBC’s commitment to integrating training with research and community engagement drew Sandra Barrueco, professor of psychology,tojoin the psychology department last summer. Barrueco hit the ground running with a two-year grant of over $990,000 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish ADVANCE Maryland or, in Spanish, AVANCE Maryland. The grant provides a stipend to train 14 clinical psychology doctoral candidates and 10 social work master’s students and their faculty supervisors in delivering integrated, culturally and linguistically competent behavioral health services to children, youth, and young adults in underserved and rural English- and Spanish-speaking communities in Maryland.
“I love that UMBC is a community-engaged, R1, and minority-serving institution,” says Barrueco, who founded the BIENESTAR/Wellbeing Lab at UMBC for undergraduate and graduate researchers. BIENESTAR, the Spanish word for well-being, is an acronym for the lab’s myriad but interconnected research areas.
Preparing students for complex roles
Graduate students en route to becoming licensed psychologists require hands-on training to develop expertise in promoting well-being and prevention through diagnosing, treating, and managing psychological disorders in diverse settings. Barrueco, along with other UMBC psychology faculty, dedicates time to guiding students in the clinical track of the Ph.D. human services psychology program through the complexities of their roles, ensuring they are well-prepared for the challenges they will face in their careers.
“The psychology department is exactly all I embody—community, clinical, and developmental psychology—since I work extensively with children and families. So, it is a great fit in that way,” says Barrueco, who came to UMBC after nearly 20 years at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where she was associate dean for graduate programs and research in the School of Arts and Sciences, a full professor, director of clinical psychology, and co-founder of Catholic University’s Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies.
“Living in Maryland, I can see the needs of our local communities,” says Barrueco, “and the big-picture perspective of what UMBC has the capacity to do at a state level.” It’s a goal that requires partners. The grant’s foundation is an interdisciplinary partnership with over 20 institutions and organizations, including partnerships with Melissa Smith, associate professor of social work at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, with experiential sites, and with community and government organizations serving children, youth, and young adults in Maryland’s underserved and rural communities.
(l-r): Emily Lipsitz-Wardrick, a master of social work student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, Sandra Barrueco, Melissa Smith, Rebecca Schacht, Samantha Berg, and Doha Chibani ’08, psychology, M.P.P. ’22, public policy, UMBC psychology doctoral student, the department’s clinical coordinator, and director of clinical services at the STRIVE for Wellness Clinic. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
“There’s often a lot of underfunding of doctoral and master’s students to pursue mental health training and to work in the field,” explains Barrueco. ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland is changing that. Half of the grant purposefully funds graduate students and there is additional support to enhance the training of faculty and current service providers to prepare the next wave of psychology professionals to meet the needs of all communities affected by the national mental health crisis.
Barrueco notes that the students are in placements across the region with clients from various backgrounds. Through the grant, students learn how to provide services for culturally and linguistically diverse youth.
“One of the skills they are learning is how to work with interpreters. There are hundreds of languages in the immediate area, so it is a broader focus,” says Barrueco, who has expertise in Spanish. Since most bilingual speakers in the region are Spanish-speaking, students can get a strong sense of that community and learn from Barrueco’s expertise.
One-to-one solution
Samantha Berg, a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student in the human services psychology program at UMBC, is a research assistant at the Strive for Wellness Clinic, which provides evidence-based care to youth ages 14 – 25 through individual and family therapy, medication management, teletherapy, outreach and education, and consultation and assessment. The wellness clinic is run through a partnership between UMBC, the Maryland Early Intervention Program, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Maryland Coalition of Families, and On Our Own Maryland.
Samantha Berg (center in red coat) sits next to her advisor, Rebecca Schacht, sharing insights from her ADVANCE/AVANCE fellowship. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Berg’s passion for understanding psychopathology across a broad spectrum began almost a decade ago. It flourished when she entered UMBC’s doctoral program and met her advisor, Rebecca Schacht, an assistant professor of psychology, and co-director of the grant. Schacht’s research explores comorbid post-traumatic stress syndrome and substance use disorders. She is the director of the UMBC Psychology Training Clinic, where she supervises doctoral research students like Berg as they deliver low-cost, evidence-based individual psychotherapy related to anxiety, depression, relationship and family issues, and other types of mental health challenges. Schacht continues to be Berg’s advisor and provides clinical supervision.
Berg’s work at the wellness clinic aligned with the goals of the ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland grant. She was one of the grant’s first doctoral fellows. “I was excited to learn new avenues for interacting with clients, such as how to work with an interpreter to do a bilingual mental health assessment. I want to be able to assess and treat as many people as possible, to serve as many populations as possible,” explains Berg. “I think it is part of my responsibility to gain new knowledge and understanding of how to engage with clients with whom I have different language proficiency. This is a one-to-one solution for this situation.”
Amparo Villar Garcia (left), director of learning and development at Ad Astra language services, guides Samantha Berg (in blue) and an attendee through a role-play to train how to work with an interpreter. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
She is excited to be part of a significant shift in clinical psychology as it moves from a medical model to a community-based intervention model. “Part of the intervention movement includes assessments,” says Berg. “I have a personal passion for wanting to be part of the change, part of the development of treatment.”
Developing a workforce
“It’s a huge pitfall of clinical work that there isn’t enough training on how to engage and serve people who don’t speak English,” says Danielle Farrell, another research fellow on the ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland grant. As she looks forward to her fourth year as a clinical psychology doctoral student, Farrell appreciates having access to experiential opportunities.
Farrell studies intimate partner violence. Like Berg, Farrell was already engaged with the community ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland will be focusing on as a research assistant at the Strive for Wellness Clinic. Farrell assessed and connected adolescents and young adults with early intervention referrals for a range of mental health concerns, primarily psychosis, under the supervision of Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, an assistant professor of psychology in the human services doctoral program, another co-director of the grant, and director of the Equity in Psychosis-Spectrum Services (EQUIPS) lab at UMBC. Faculty, graduate, and predoctoral students conduct research around psychosis-spectrum experiences, with an emphasis on psychosocial factors and access to care.
The grant’s workshops, professional development meetings, and job fairs are helping Farrell maximize the skills she’s developed for a successful career after graduation.
Big picture changes
ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland is the culmination of decades of Barrueco’s unique research, which has been instrumental in addressing developmental and mental health difficulties among language minority, immigrant, and migrant children. Her work has led to methodological improvements in the assessment and early identification of bilingual children, expansion of the theoretical and research bases related to developmental and clinical processes, and the creation and examination of multisystemic preventive interventions fostering linguistic and socioemotional functioning. This research has advanced the field of psychology and informed policy.
Barrueco updates the grant team. (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)
Barrueco, now the director of UMBC’s clinical psychology Ph.D. program, is wholeheartedly invested in the future of UMBC’s work. “When I came to UMBC, our goal was: Let’s get some big-picture changes on the table,” she shares. “Funding psychology graduate students more quickly moves the needle on youth mental health in the nation.”
Sandra Barrueco, psicología, y sus colegas reciben casi $1,000,000 para formar a estudiantes de posgrado en servicios de salud conductual con competencia cultural para jóvenes marginados en Maryland
Barrueco (al frente de la sala) reunida con colaborodores de la subvención de la Facultad de Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Maryland y los estudiantes de doctorado de la Universidad de Maryland, Condado de Baltimore (UMBC, en inglés) para hablar sobre los centros de formación de ADVANCE/AVANCE Maryland. (Marlayna Demond, promoción 2011/UMBC)
El esfuerzo de UMBC para integrar la formación con la investigación y el compromiso a la comunidad fue lo que impulsó a Sandra Barrueco, profesora universitaria titular de psicología, a unirse al departamento de psicología el verano pasado. Barrueco se puso manos a la obra cuando la Administración de Recursos y Servicios de Salud (HRSA, en inglés) otorgó una subvención de más de $990,000 por dos años para fundar ADVANCE Maryland o, en español, AVANCE Maryland. La subvención consiste en un estipendio destinado a formar a 14 doctorandos en psicología clínica y a 10 estudiantes de maestría en trabajo social y a sus supervisores docentes en la prestación de servicios de salud conductual integrados y competentes desde el punto de vista cultural y lingüístico para niños, jóvenes y adultos jóvenes de comunidades rurales y marginadas de habla inglesa e hispana de Maryland.
“Me encanta que UMBC sea una institución comprometida con la comunidad, R1 (con actividad de investigación muy alta) y identificado por el gobierno por su servicio con las minorías”, dijo Barrueco, quien fundó el laboratorio BIENESTAR/Wellbeing en UMBC para investigadores de grado y posgrado. La palabra BIENESTAR es un acrónimo de las múltiples pero interconectadas áreas de investigación que tiene el laboratorio.
Preparación de los estudiantes para tareas complejas
Los estudiantes de posgrado que aspiran a ser psicólogos licenciados necesitan una formación práctica para desarrollar las competencias necesarias para promover el bienestar y la prevención mediante el diagnóstico, el tratamiento, y el manejo de trastornos psicológicos en distintos entornos. Barrueco, junto con otros profesores de psicología de UMBC, se encarga de guiar a los estudiantes de la rama clínica del programa de doctorado en psicología de los servicios humanos para que comprendan la complejidad de sus funciones y se asegura de que estén bien preparados para los desafíos a los que se enfrentarán durante su carrera profesional.
“El departamento de psicología es precisamente todo lo que me concentro: psicología comunitaria, clínica y del desarrollo, ya que trabajo mucho con niños y familias. Así que, en ese sentido, es ideal para mí”, dijo Barrueco, quien llegó a UMBC después de trabajar casi 20 años en la Universidad Católica de América en Washington, D. C., donde fue decana asociada para programas de posgrado e investigación en la Facultad de Artes y Ciencias, profesora universitaria, directora de psicología clínica, y cofundadora del Instituto de Estudios Latinoamericanos e Ibéricos de la Universidad Católica.
“Al vivir en Maryland, puedo ver las necesidades de las comunidades locales”, compartió Barrueco, “y la perspectiva general de cómo UMBC puede contribuir a nivel estatal”. Se necesitan asociados para lograr este objetivo. La subvención se basa en la asociación interdisciplinar con más de 20 instituciones y organizaciones, como las asociaciones con Melissa Smith, profesora asociada de trabajo social de la Facultad de Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Maryland; con centros de práctica de trabajo, y con organizaciones comunitarias y gubernamentales que asisten a niños, jóvenes, y adultos jóvenes en las comunidades rurales y marginadas de Maryland.
(De izq. a dcha.): Emily Lipsitz-Wardrick, estudiante de doctorado de la facultad de trabajo social de la Universidad de Maryland, Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, Sandra Barrueco, Melissa Smith, Rebecca Schacht, Samantha Berg y Doha Chibani ’08, psicología, M.P.P. ’22, estudiante de doctorado en psicología de UMBC, coordinadora clínica del departamento, y directora de servicios clínicos de la Clínica Strive for Wellness. (Marlayna Demond, promoción 2011/UMBC)
“Se suele financiar muy poco a los estudiantes de doctorado y maestría para que reciban formación en salud mental y trabajen en esta área”, explicó Barrueco. Esto está cambiando gracias a AVANCE Maryland. La mitad de la subvención está destinada a financiar los estudios de posgrado y, además, se proporcionan otras ayudas para mejorar la formación de profesores y de los proveedores de servicios actuales a fin para que puedan preparar a la próxima generación de profesionales de psicología para satisfacer las necesidades de todas las comunidades que se ven afectadas por la crisis nacional de salud mental.
Barrueco compartio que los estudiantes realizan prácticas a lo largo de toda la región y que trabajan con clientes de distintos orígenes. Por medio de la subvención, los estudiantes aprenden a prestar servicios a grupos de jóvenes diversos en términos culturales y lingüísticos.
“Una de las habilidades que están aprendiendo es cómo trabajar con intérpretes. Hay muchísimos idiomas diferentes en las inmediaciones, por lo que el enfoque es más amplio”, dijo Barrueco, que tiene un alto conocimiento de español. Dado que la mayoría de las personas bilingües de la región hablan español, los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de conocer más de cerca a esa comunidad y de aprender de la experiencia de Barrueco.
Una solución directa
Samantha Berg, estudiante de cuarto año del doctorado en psicología clínica del programa de psicología de los servicios humanos de UMBC, es ayudante de investigación en la Clínica Strive for Wellness, en donde se ofrece atención basada en evidencia para jóvenes de 14 a 25 años mediante terapia individual y familiar, manejo de la medicación, teleterapia, divulgación y educación, y consulta y evaluación. La clínica funciona a través de una asociación entre UMBC, el Programa de Intervención Temprana de Maryland, la facultad de medicina de la Universidad de Maryland, la Coalición de Familias de Maryland, y la organización On Our Own Maryland.
Samantha Berg (en el centro con abrigo rojo) sentada junto a su asesora, Rebecca Schacht, comentando sobre su experiencia con la subvención de AVANCE. (Marlayna Demond, promoción 2011/UMBC)
La pasión de Berg por entender la psicopatología en un amplio espectro comenzó hace casi 10 años. Se potenció cuando entró en el programa de doctorado de UMBC y conoció a su asesora, Rebecca Schacht, quien es profesora adjunta de psicología y codirectora de la subvención. Schacht realiza investigaciónes sobre el síndrome de estrés postraumático concurrente y los trastornos por consumo de sustancias. Es directora de la Clínica de Formación en Psicología de UMBC, donde supervisa a los estudiantes de investigación doctoral como Berg, que ofrecen psicoterapia individual económica y basada en evidencia a personas con ansiedad, depresión, problemas familiares y de pareja, y otros problemas de salud mental. Schacht asesora a Berg y la supervisa en sus prácticas clínicas de forma continua.
El trabajo de Berg en la clínica de bienestar se relaciona estrechamente con los objetivos de la subvención de AVANCE Maryland. Fue una de las primeras becarias de doctorado de la subvención. “Me entusiasmó la idea de aprender nuevas formas de interactuar con los clientes, por ejemplo, cómo trabajar con un intérprete en el momento de hacer una evaluación de salud mental bilingüe. Quiero poder evaluar y tratar a la mayor cantidad de personas posible, atender a la mayor cantidad de poblaciones posible”, explicó Berg. “Creo que adquirir nuevos conocimientos y entender cómo relacionarme con clientes con los que tengo diferentes conocimientos lingüísticos es parte de mi responsabilidad profesional. Es una solución directa para esta situación”.
Amparo Villar Garcia (izquierda), directora de aprendizaje y desarrollo de la empresa de servicios lingüísticos Ad Astra, dirige un juego de roles con Samantha Berg (de azul) y una participante para practicar cómo trabajar con un intérprete. (Marlayna Demond, promoción 2011/UMBC)
Está contenta de poder formar parte de un cambio significativo en la psicología clínica, ya que la idea es pasar de un modelo médico a un modelo de intervención basado en la comunidad. “Las evaluaciones son parte del movimiento de intervención”, dijo Berg. “Tengo el fuerte deseo de ser parte del cambio, de la evolución del tratamiento”.
Capacitación de la fuerza laboral
“Uno de los mayores obstáculos en el trabajo clínico es la falta de formación sobre cómo vincularse con las personas que no hablan inglés y cómo atenderlas”, afirmó Danielle Farrell, otra de las investigadoras becarias de la subvención de AVANCE Maryland. Pronto comenzará el cuarto año del doctorado en psicología clínica y valora mucho las oportunidades de práctica que se le ofrecen.
Farrell se dedica a estudiar la violencia de pareja. Al igual que Berg, ya estaba involucrada con la comunidad en la que AVANCE Maryland se centrará, ya que trabaja como asistente de investigación en la Clínica Strive for Wellness. Ha evaluado y trabajado con adolescentes y adultos jóvenes que necesitaban derivaciones a servicios de intervención temprana por distintos problemas de salud mental, principalmente psicosis, bajo la supervisión de Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, profesora adjunta de psicología del programa de doctorado en servicios humanos, otra codirectora de la subvención y directora del Laboratorio de Equidad en los Servicios para el Espectro de la Psicosis (EQUIPS, en inglés) de UMBC. Tanto los profesores como los licenciados y los estudiantes predoctorales investigan distintas experiencias en relación con el espectro de la psicosis y hacen hincapié en los factores psicosociales y en el acceso a la atención.
Farrell está potenciando las habilidades que ha desarrollado para tener una futura carrera profesional exitosa gracias a los talleres de la subvención, las reuniones de desarrollo professional, y las ferias laborales.
Cambios de gran impacto
AVANCE Maryland es el resultado final de la investigación extraordinaria que Barrueco realizó durante décadas, la cual ha sido fundamental para abordar los problemas de desarrollo y salud mental de los niños pertenecientes a minorías lingüísticas, inmigrantes, y migrantes. Su trabajo ha dado lugar a mejoras metodológicas en la evaluación e identificación temprana de niños bilingües, así como a la ampliación de las bases teóricas y de investigación sobre los procesos clínicos y de desarrollo, y a la creación y el análisis de intervenciones preventivas multisistémicas que favorecen el funcionamiento lingüístico y socioemocional. Esta investigación ha contribuido a generar nuevos avances y políticas en el campo de la psicología.
Barrueco pone al corriente al equipo de la subvención (Marlayna Demond, promoción 2011/UMBC)
Barrueco, actual directora del programa de doctorado en psicología clínica de UMBC, está plenamente comprometida con el futuro de la labor de UMBC. “Cuando llegué a UMBC, planteamos el objetivo de proponer cambios de gran impacto”, contó. “Si financiamos los estudios de posgrado de psicología, lograremos impulsar el cambio necesario para mejorar la salud mental de los jóvenes del país”.
