A beautiful day to be a Retriever

Ramping up to the end of the Retriever 2024 – 2025 academic year, UMBC’s Office of Student Engagement and Belonging gathered students, faculty, and staff to celebrate their accomplishments and invaluable contributions with the communities closest to them. Angelina Jenkins, assistant director of UMBC’s Mosaic Center, which provides the campus community with resources and community building, was at the helm of the three Cultural and Affinity Celebrations and Awards, with a cadre of co-chairs making the Asian, Lavender, and Black/Latine/x events a reality.

Thania Muñoz, associate professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, served as the co-chair for the 5th Black and Latine/x celebration. Priya Bhayana, project manager for UMBC’s Global Asias Initiative, served as the co-chair for the inaugural Asian Cultural Celebration and Awards gathering. Zoe Brown, program coordinator for the Women’s Center and current M.P.P. student, co-chaired the Lavender event with Darcie Adams, graduate assistant for UMBC’s Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being, who supported all three events.

“The Office of Student Engagement and Belonging strives to collaborate with a team of interdisciplinary partners across campus to create a true emphasis on our narrative that inclusive excellence and belonging are a reality for everyone at UMBC,” said Jenkins. “Your stories belong here. Our collective UMBC story and community are made better by them.”

(l-r): Jenkins (first on left)with Mary Rose Khamfong ’25, psychology, a McNair Scholars Program Teaching Fellow, and recipient of the Love Today and Tomorrow Award at the Asian Cultural Celebration and Awards. Marilin Argueta-Osorio ’25, media and communication studies, receives black and brown honor cords and a certificate of recognition at the Black and Latine/x Celebration and Awards. Director of the McNair Scholars Program, Reverand Michael Hunt ’06, computer science, and Ph.D. ’25, language, literacy, and culture (LLC), with his family. Darcie Adams ’23, gender, women’s, and sexuality studies (GWST), political science, and M.P.S. ‘25, receives the Legacy Award, which honors those who have made an unforgettable, lasting impact on the UMBC queer community.
(All images by Tanzila Malik ’26, GWST, except the Hunt family by Bradley Ziegler/UMBC)

Inaugural Asian Cultural Celebration and Awards

Gathering Retrievers from all corners of the world is something that Meghna Chandrasekaran ’25, political science and biological sciences, is skilled at as the president of the Student Government Association and vice president of undergraduate affairs on the University System Student Council. She hosts “Chai Chats with Meghna!” where she serves piping hot tea and fosters camaraderie throughout the year. “Because of my role as the associate director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, as well as my lived experience as both Chinese and Jamaican, I’m honored to have been asked to participate in this inaugural event to present the Another World Is Possible Award to Meghna Chandrasekaran,” said Ricky Blissett ’11, bioinformatics and computational biology. He was proud to add to Chandrasekaran’s long list of accomplishments include her workshops on intersectional leadership and Tamil-language teaching. “She doesn’t just imagine a better world—she builds it, step by step, with humility and resolve.”

(l-r): Meghna Chandrasekaran with Ricky Blissett. (Bradley Ziegler/UMBC). Chandrasekaran receives her red honor cord. (Tanzila Malik) Students and their families celebrate their accolades. Party time! (Top row by Bradley Ziegler/UMBC. Bottom row by Tanzila Malik)

12th Annual Lavender Celebration and Awards

(l-r): Master of ceremonies, Jacob Leizear ’16, geography and environmental systems; Lorae Bonamy-Lohve, the new assistant director of UMBC’s Pride Center; Darcie Adams; Joseph Vann-Jones, program coordinator for UMBC’s Gathering Space; and Maya Jones ’25, psychology. (Bradley Ziegler/UMBC)

As Lorae Bonamy-Lohve, the new assistant director of UMBC’s Pride Center, made the opening remarks for the Lavender Celebration and Awards, she had a clear message for her new Retriever community. “Lavender is a color long tied to liberation, strength, and the beauty of our community,” said Bonamy-Lohve. “Today’s ceremony is about how you made it easier for the next generation of students like you to imagine themselves here, thriving, loved, and affirmed. Let this celebration not only be a moment of joy, but also one of remembrance and responsibility, a reminder that liberation is collective, and that we carry many histories as we move forward.”

Love and history are two intrinsically intertwined concepts for Sanai Eaton-Martinez ’25, a political science pre-law track transfer student and Grit Guide. “My first words were ‘Te quiero mucho.’ [I love you] Love is what we give, but respect is what we’re owed. UMBC allowed me to keep my path forward, and it soon became my home,” said Eaton-Martinez, the Lavender Celebration and Awards undergraduate keynote speaker and founder of UMBC’s Sisterhood: A Women of Color Coalition. “We have raised thousands of dollars to better our community and now have 200 members. Sisterhood is a labor of love. It has taught me so much more than I could have imagined. Not only did I gain a community, but I gained a family.”

(l-r): Amariana Crawley, a psychology sophomore, and award presenter; Dasani Mia-Sheree Mann, a media and communication studies sophomore; Carrington Cline ’25, media and communication studies; and Eaton-Martinez. (Tanzila Malik)

When Adams was designing the student art gallery for the Lavender Celebration and Awards, he reached out to Key Gallagher, an English junior, sophomores Jamar James, a computer engineering major, and Qaiyah Dawson, a biological sciences major with a photography minor, to display their crocheting, robotics, and photography skills, respectively. This is Dawson’s first photography exhibit, but James is an avid robotics competitor, and Gallagher’s whimsically crocheted stuffed and wearables sell quickly at campus events.

(l-r): Gallagher with his latest designs, James with the Retriever Robotics Team VEX Robot, and Qaiyah Dawson explains her first series of photographs exploring different phases of mental health. (Bradley Ziegler/UMBC)

“I’ve been crocheting for two years now. I have ADHD and need to work with my hands, or else I can’t focus. I finished this piece today. It is a piece of advice that my therapist gave me about not letting fear stop me from experiencing life. It’s a way to express myself,” said Gallagher, a critical disabilities minor, of his ‘Do It Scared’ banner, which took 16 hours and 7,500 stitches to make. “It is amazing when someone comes to my table and sees their flag. Their eyes light up. It’s a great way to connect with people and say, ‘I see you. You are safe here.’”

(l-r): Graduate student keynote speaker, Riley Donahue ’24, political science and current M.P.P. student, receiving the Lavender Activism and Inclusive Excellence Award. She serves on the America East Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SACC), as co-president of UMBC SAAC and Division I NCAA SAAC, and is a representative for the America East and the NCAA Mental Health Advisory Group. Candace Hill, head coach for the UMBC women’s basketball team. (Bradley Ziegler/UMBC) Sealed with Lavender honor cords and ready for the next adventure. (Tanzila Malik) Jacob Leizear. (Tanzila Malik)

“I was here for the first Lavender Celebration back in 2014. I received the 2016 Student Leader of the Year Award,” said Leizear, a geography and information systems specialist for The Nature Conservancy. “I think it’s amazing that this is still happening. The people I met here became my friends and are now friends for life. It’s great to be back and see everything happening—bigger and better than ever.”

5th Annual Black and Latine/x Celebration and Awards

“This moment is a combination of dreams, both spoken and unspoken,” said Marian Saunder White ’87, information systems, a member of UMBC’s Alumni Association Awards Committee, at the 5th Annual Black & Latine/x Celebration and Awards. “It is the legacy of your ancestors who survived the unimaginable so that you can imagine freely.”

(l-r): Saunders. Michael Hunt with his child receiving the black and brown honor cords from Maria Sanchez, director of the Engineering and Computing Education Program, interim director and director of education and outreach of the Individualized Study Program, and committee member for all three cultural and identity celebrations. Black and Latine/x students stand tall and proud wearing their black and brown honor cords. (Tanzila Malik)

Legacy is something Janerra Allen, Ph.D. ’25, electrical engineering, (above second from the right), has had on her mind, as a first-generation college student, more so now that she will begin her postdoctoral research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory this summer. “When I told my grandmother, she cried. She didn’t know what a postdoc was, but she knew her granddaughter had made it,” said Allen, the Graduate School keynote speaker. During her time at UMBC, she served as a graduate senator for the College of Engineering and Information Technology, secretary of the Graduate Student Association, and president of the Black Graduate Student Organization. “Wherever you go next, know this: You carry the power of every obstacle you’ve overcome and every hand that helped lift you. You are not alone. You are part of a legacy that is unshakable. So take pride. Take your rest. And take up space—because you deserve it.”

(l-r): Camila Chombo Sam ’25, computer science, receives her black and brown honor cord from Sanchez; Black/Latine/x Student Leader of the Year, T’ana Joseph ’25, mechanical engineering; and Scholar of the Year, Gabrielle Ware ’25, individualized study, with a friend. (Bradley Ziegler/UMBC) Lesley Hernandez ’25, biochemistry and molecular biology, the undergraduate keynote speaker. (Brad Ziegler/UMBC)

As the curtains close on another year, the Office of Student Engagement and Belonging is already thinking ahead on how to top these years’ ceremonies. The Cultural and Affinity Celebrations and Awards ceremonies aren’t just about recognizing achievements. They are about praising the journey, the effort, the laughs, and speed bumps along the way, and the promise of what’s still to come.

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