All posts by: Magazine Editor

Musician Devin Walker ’89, political science, took his “Uncle Devin” show to the U.S. Capitol this summer, sharing educational music with children and parents alike.

Walker, who plays the drums, calls the show “a live, interactive musical experience for children five and over by renowned drummer Devin Walker. The show cultivates the minds of children through percussion instruments and is a dynamic cross between Fat Albert and Schoolhouse Rock.”

View photos from the show here.  Read more about the show here.

Walker and his jazz band, A Sense of Urgency, will be one of three alumni-driven bands playing at this year’s Homecoming Crab Feast on Saturday, October 13. (The others are: Fiddlin’ Around, an Irish folk band featuring UMBC’s own staff and faculty members Terry Aylsworth, Eric Ebersole, and William Farrell, and alums David Aylsworth ’74, Tara Ebersole ’08 and Sara Moreland ’97; and Black Falls, a blues and classic rock band featuring alumnus Philip Medenbach, Jr. ’87.)

For more information about the event, visit the Homecoming website here.

When war strikes in a distant nation, the only way that many Americans experience it is through the lens of the journalists and photographers who risk life and limb to get the shots that capture war’s horrors and tragedies. But what is the personal cost for those who show such courage?

Assessing that human cost to the chroniclers of war is the essence of Donald Maguiles’ play Time Stands Still, which opened last week at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre with UMBC alumni Eric Messner ’01, acting,  and Mandy Moore ’07, acting, among its ensemble.

“When I was at UMBC I used to go and see shows at Everyman Theatre,” Messner recalls, “then for a time after graduating, I lived five blocks away from the theatre. It’s a place where I’ve always wanted to work, and now I’m getting that chance….  I’m so proud that I get to open the final season in their Charles Street space, the same space that I would go to see their plays when I was at school.”

Moore observes that “there are some very big fascinating questions being asked in our production.  I feel lucky to play such fun, joyful role in the discussion.  It’s that sharp kind of theatre where you are asked questions and not told what to think.”

“It’s a really great play,” Messner concurs. “There’s just so much going on emotionally and Donald Margulies has such a wonderful gift for writing dialogue.”

Time Stands Still runs at Everyman Theatre through Sunday, October 7. For more information and tickets, go to  http://everymantheatre.org/.

Mitch Case ’11, media & communication studies, and current UMBC junior Caitlyn Leiter-Mason, a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar majoring in Gender & Women’s Studies and Political Science, are blogging about their experiences as delegates to the Democratic National Convention this week in Charlotte, NC.

Their shared blog, A Tale of Two Delegates, follows their adventures as delegates for President Obama representing Maryland’s 6th and 7th districts (Leiter-Mason and Case, respectively).

Leiter-Mason is the current president of UMBC College Democrats, and Case served as president when he attended UMBC.

Read more at UMBC’s BreakingGround site. BreakingGround is at the forefront of a vibrant, new movement toward increased campus and community engagement—a movement that is now gaining ground nationally. In early 2012, two widely heralded reports called on higher education to play a central role in renewing American democracy and preparing citizens to tackle the challenges of our age.

Four UMBC alums competed in Major League Lacrosse’s Championship Weekend, held at Harvard University Stadium in Boston, Mass.

Attackman Drew Westervelt ’09, economics, is a member of the 2012 champion Chesapeake Bayhawks, while Brendan Mundorf ’06, sociology, Peet Poillon ’10, INDS, and Terry Kimener ’09, American studies, competed for the runner-up Denver Outlaws. All four former Retrievers finished the 2012 season ranked in the top-20 in the MLL scoring race.

Westervelt played for the Denver squad in his first five years in the league. A Third Team All-American for UMBC in 2007, the Bel Air, Md. native tied for 20^th in the league with 33 points and has 209 points (134-69-209) in his six years in MLL.

Mundorf was named 2012 Bud Light MLL Season Most Valuable Player just prior to the championship weekend. He also was named to his second All-MLL Team (2009, 2012) as the attackman finished second in the league with 59 points (32-27-59). Denver’s all-time leading scorer has 206 goals, 100 assists and 306 total points in seven league seasons.

The Mount St. Joseph graduate earned America East Player of the Year honors and All-America citations in 2005 and 2006. He suffered an ankle injury in practice on Friday, did not play in the semifinal victory over Long Island and scored a goal in limited action on Sunday vs. Denver.

Westervelt and Mundorf both represented the victorious United States squad in the 2010 FIL World Championships.

Poillon scored three goals in the Outlaws’ come-from-behind victory over the Lizards, including the game-tying goal early in the fourth quarter. The sharp-shooting midfielder tied for ninth in scoring in 2012 with 40 points (24-13-40) and surpassed the 100-point plateau (75-32-113) in his fifth MLL season in 2012.

The Cranberry Township, Pa. native was a Second Team All-American for UMBC in 2009.

Kimener just completed his most successful of six MLL campaigns, sparking Denver with 17 goals and 18 assists for 36 total points from his midfield position. The Oakton, Va. native earned three All-America citations at UMBC in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

To learn more about the MLL Championship, click here.

This story was first published on the UMBC Athletics site.

Thank you to the alumni volunteers who helped welcome a new class of Retrievers (and move their stuff!) at UMBC’s Move-In Day, August 25. Pictured below (L-R): Corris Davis ’98 of the Meyerhoff Alumni Chapter; Melissa Evans ’07, president of the Chapter of Young Alumni; Bennett Moe ’88, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; Donnie Downey ’85 of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; and Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88 of the Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni.

See more photos from Move-In Day on UMBC’s Alumni Flickr site.

Computer science alumnus Joshua Barczak ’03, M.S. ’06, spoke about his work in the video game industry at this spring’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD). Barczak, who is a senior graphics engineer at Firaxis Games, helped develop Sid Meier’s Civilization V game.

Watch the full video by clicking the image below.