Official Newsletter of the INCENTIVE AWARDS PROGRAM SPRING 2021
DIRECTOR’S LETTER Dear Friends, Wow, these past twenty years certainly flew by! We’ve accomplished so much since former president C. D. Mote, Jr. (pictured right) broached the idea of creating the Incentive Awards Program (IAP) and Barry Gossett (pictured below right) made his foundational gift. What started as a pilot in 2000 is now a thriving program boasting nearly 200 alumni, most of whom are professionals with graduate degrees and homeowners, with children of their own. When the first cohort of nine students enrolled at the University of Maryland in 2001, with me as director, it was impossible to know where our journey would take us. Those brave students, nearly all first-generation college bound, are the reason the program has endured until this day. With no exemplars to pave the way, they forged ahead, creating tracks for the nineteen cohorts that would follow them. Their success, along with those in the earliest cohorts, enabled us to expand from Baltimore City to Prince George’s County, to KIPP Public Charter Schools, to select Baltimore private schools and, most recently, to Montgomery County, thanks to a game-changing gift from Phillip and Elizabeth Gross (read about them inside). I salute these students for their courage and thank them for the important role they played in IAP’s history. This issue of In Touch chronicles the program’s evolution, growth, and highlights just some of the alumni, students and donors who have made an indelible imprint on the program. I hope you enjoy the articles that honor our past, convey the program’s impact in the present and give a nod to the bright future ahead. We look forward to the next 20 years and all we will accomplish, together. The pandemic prevented us from celebrating our 20th anniversary in person, but we look forward to convening virtually on Wednesday, May 12 at 6PM. Details are forthcoming, but I hope you will mark your calendar and plan to join me then. Best wishes,
Jacqueline Wheeler Lee Director
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"I have never seen a better program for transforming the lives of young people who have... capability, character and determination. This program has the potential to transform institutions, communities and families as much as the students themselves." – C.D. MOTE, JR.
“How better to invest in the community than through the young people? This program gives really promising young people the opportunity to accomplish something on their own. In turn, these kids will realize that there are people who are willing to give back to the community, and we hope they will follow in the same footsteps.” – BARRY GOSSETT
“ UMD Encouraged Me to Aim High” Fifteen years after graduation, Tiana Wynn ’05 rose to partner in an accounting firm By Josh Arinze
SHORTLY AFTER THE BEGINNING of her freshman year at the University of Maryland, Tiana Wynn lost her mother. It was a time of intense, disorienting grief for her and her six siblings—among whom she’s the oldest. But Tiana wasn’t going to let her emotional pain derail her intense desire for college and success. So, even as she struggled with the loss, she stayed the course. She had a goal to reach, and she knew her siblings were looking up to her. This difficult time was also when Tiana realized the strength and depth of the support network she had in the Incentive Awards Program and at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “I was in the first cohort of the program, and I felt strongly supported, by my IAP peers and the program staff, as well as people at the Smith School,” she said. “That personal support meant a lot to me. That was what kept me going. And it has also kept me connected to UMD to this day.” Tiana’s connections to UMD run deep. A lifetime member of the University’s Alumni Association, she also serves on the Association’s Board of Governors. When her second term ends this year, she would have served four years on the board. It’s a commitment anchored on robust gratitude for the pivotal impact her Maryland education has had on her career success. Of course she didn’t get to choose to be her mom’s firstborn, but Tiana
has proved herself a trailblazer in other respects. When she set her sights on getting into UMD and succeeding in college, she was a role model for her siblings. In addition to being one of only nine scholars in the first cohort of IAP, she was also the first IAP scholar to study abroad—in Britain—during the spring semester of 2004. Many more IAP scholars have followed her example since. Tiana was also the first IAP scholar to pledge for a UMD sorority, and was deeply involved in the campus community. She was a resident assistant in Easton Hall and Leonardtown Hall, and immersed herself in the Markets & Society program at the Smith School of Business. It didn’t take long for people who knew her on campus to begin to see her as a leader. Time has shown that this impression was not misplaced. Born and raised in Baltimore, Md., Tiana always wanted to attend UMD—she was so laser-focused on this goal that she only applied to a couple of other universities just to please her high school guidance counselor. Deep down, she knew it had to be UMD. But even as she looked forward to being accepted, she worried about the cost of college. The Incentive Awards Program solved that problem, while providing Tiana with a level of guidance and mentoring that surpassed her expectations. After graduating in 2005 with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance, Tiana joined the Baltimore office
of the accounting firm Ernst & Young, and spent about five years there, along the way earning an MBA from Loyola University Maryland. Then she went to work as an audit manager for SB & Company, LLC, a certified public accounting and business advisory firm headquartered in Owings Mills, Md. She quickly rose to senior manager and then, in July 2020, she was named a partner at SB & Company. Tiana’s promotion to partner was a clear demonstration of the confidence that SB & Company’s founders and senior management had in her abilities and work ethic. In her new role, they have entrusted her with managing a new line of business for the company, to ensure compliance with technical requirements, make decisions that are in the best interest of the firm and help protect its profitability. And she’s determined to meet the challenge. Tiana has been highly motivated for as long as she can remember, but she’s also quick to credit the impact of her Maryland education. “UMD is a place that pushes you, encourages you to break barriers,” she said. “And the IAP provided excellent training in so many ways. I was always trying to see what else was out there, but UMD encouraged me to aim high, to work harder and to be more inquisitive.”
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$6.8M Gift to Extend Opportunities to Underserved Montgomery County Students Unlikely Family Connection Drew Donors to Expand Incentive Awards Program By Lauren Brown
A NEARLY $7 MILLION GIFT from a Boston couple will significantly increase the size and long-term impact of a University of Maryland program that supports promising students from selected areas of the state. Starting in Fall 2021, five freshmen from Montgomery County each year will be awarded four-year scholarships, receive mentoring and join a tightknit peer community in the Incentive Awards Program (IAP)—which until now comprised students in Prince George’s County and Baltimore—through the funding from Phillip and Elizabeth Gross and a matching grant from UMD and the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise Program (MPP). It is the largest-ever donation to IAP, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, and to the Maryland Promise Program, created by a 2017 investment from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation to provide scholarships to underserved populations from the state of Maryland and D.C. “We’re leveraging matching grant money, and we’re supporting outstanding students in a program where they have a very high chance to succeed and high expectations to perform and impact the community,” Phill Gross said. “Put that together and it was easy for Liz and me to get involved.” That’s despite the fact that he graduated from another Big Ten school, the University of Wisconsin-Madison
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(UW), and the Grosses previously had no direct connection to the University of Maryland or IAP. What drew them in was their relationship to a similar program at his alma mater founded, coincidentally, by the mother-in-law of IAP’s founding director. Phill Gross, co-founder and managing director of Adage Capital Management, a money management firm in Boston, was looking to give back to UW about 20 years ago when he met Mercile J. Lee, who had established its Chancellor’s Scholars Program and Powers-Knapp Scholars Program to welcome talented students from underrepresented groups. The paired programs emphasized service, leadership development, peer support and mentorship, and provided financial aid and Lee’s inimitable influence. “There were 120 students in the program, and she was a mentor to all of them,” Gross said. “She was a person you didn’t want to disappoint. Everybody felt that.” He and Liz Gross ended up making several major gifts to the UW program, with the last one scheduled to be announced in November 2018. When Mercile Lee died a month earlier, that event became a celebration of her life, and the family memorial service held that day brought together the couple with her son, Robb, and daughter-in-law, Jacqueline Wheeler Lee. Gross had previously heard about IAP, and he began asking founder Jackie
Lee about the UMD program over the following months. His takeaway: “She knows how to run a program, and she knows how to set expectations that these students can change the world when they leave it. Our confidence in that was a critical part of this.” The new Mercile J. Lee Maryland Promise Incentive Awards Program Endowed Scholarship will ultimately fund 20 students at a time from Montgomery County; IAP currently counts 64 scholars, including some of the 23 MPP scholars. The Mercile J. Lee Incentive Awards Program Support Endowment will allow Lee to hire additional staff and grow its programming. Jackie Lee said the Grosses would never have supported IAP if it weren’t for Mercile, or for the program’s successful track record, which includes 180 graduates, many of whom have gone on to earn advanced degrees, launch successful careers in education, medicine, business and more, and serve their communities. “This gift will catapult IAP toward its long-term goal of welcoming students from every county in Maryland. It isn’t just expanding the number of opportunities we’re extending to students, but it’s also expanding our reach,” she said. “It’s so meaningful for me personally as well. I’m touched knowing that the impact of Mercile’s life is even more widely felt than at Wisconsin and in our family. Her
This gift will catapult IAP toward its long-term goal of welcoming students from every county in Maryland. It isn’t just expanding the number of opportunities we’re extending to students, but it’s also expanding our reach.”
Jacqueline Wheeler Lee, Phill and Liz Gross
enduring legacy will now live on through the scholars this gift will support." The gift, the biggest to the university since Darryll J. Pines assumed its presidency in July, supports both of his top priorities: to promote excellence and to create an inclusive, multicultural campus community. “I’m energized by the generosity of Phill and Liz Gross, whose approach to philanthropy is uniquely unbound by geography or personal affiliation,” he said. “By giving to IAP and the Maryland Promise Program, they are expanding access to a world-class University of Maryland education, and we are deeply grateful.” Phill and Liz Gross, whose substantial philanthropy extends across the arts, higher education and youth programs,
are particularly moved by those that focus on diversity and mentorship, as IAP does. “I really, really believe we all have mentors in our lives who changed the trajectory of our education or our careers, and we believe that diversity is critical, but it’s not going to happen by itself,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to be in the situation that we’re in, and we feel it’s an obligation to try to support many, many different programs that achieve these important goals.”
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CELEBRATING
20 YEARS
1998
2002
2008
Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr. becomes the new president of the University of Maryland. President Mote envisions a pipeline program, inspired by a similar one he developed at UC Berkeley, that will identify and encourage talented, determined students from Baltimore City to enroll in UMD in greater numbers.
BIAP staff expands to include associate director.
Yavona Williams Pirali ’05, M.Ed., Secondary Education, Towson University, becomes the first alumni to earn advanced degree.
2003 Tiana Wynn ’05 becomes the first scholar to study abroad.
2000 The Baltimore Incentive Awards Program (BIAP) launches in partnership with nine public high schools in Baltimore City. Jacqueline Wheeler Lee is hired as BIAP director.
2009 The first Jennifer F. Lewis Memorial Award, honoring a 2006 graduate, is presented to Randal Brewer ’09 for outstanding academic performance, exceptional character and lasting contributions to the Incentive Awards Program and the UMD community.
2005 The program expands to Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) and changes its name to the University of Maryland Incentive Awards Program (IAP). The first cohort of IAP scholars graduate.
2001 The first cohort of BIAP scholars matriculates at UMD.
2006 First scholars from Prince George’s County matriculate at UMD. Jennifer Lewis, 1984-2008
2011 Cohort 7 makes the first class gift to IAP. The number of alumni tops 100!
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2013 IAP expands to KIPP schools, thanks to a gift from Chuck Daggs ’69.
Charmaine Wilson-Jones ’15 is selected as a Byrd/Elkins Award finalist and member of the Maryland Medallion Society. The number of high school students reached through IAP recruitment and outreach events exceeds 3,500.
2017
2019 Arnold I. ’69 and Alison L. Richman ’69 make a substantial gift, allowing IAP to extend its reach to select private schools in Baltimore City. Jahi Jones ’19, a four-year wrestling letterman, is selected as the University of Maryland’s recipient for the 2019 Big Ten Medal of Honor award, the conference’s most prestigious accolade.
The program institutes an annual IAP Day of Service, in which all students, alumni, mentors and friends are invited to participate. Nancy Canales ’13 becomes the first IAP scholar to be inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and elected into Phi Beta Kappa. She is chosen to serve as a senior marshal at spring commencement. Kori Hill ’13 is selected to be the student speaker for the winter commencement ceremony.
IAP partners with Education Abroad for the Maryland in Buenos Aires program in the winter term—the first time IAP students and an IAP staff member traveled abroad together. This trip becomes a permanent fixture for interested students each year.
IAP starts a professional development series for alumni.
Darian Senn-Carter ’08, Ed.D., Educational Leadership, Edgewood College, becomes the first alumnus to earn a doctorate.
2015
IAP joins the Office of Undergraduate Studies under the leadership of Dean William A. Cohen.
2014
The program name expands to include the Suzanne G. and Murray A. Valenstein Baltimore Incentive Awards and the Prince George’s County Incentive Awards. Lenaya Stewart ’15 is the Department of English’s student speaker at spring commencement.
2018 IAP’s Giving Day fundraising totals are double the previous year due to a concerted effort to engage alumni and students.
2020 The Alumni Council is launched to promote lifelong engagement with IAP staff, students and alumni, and to foster professional development, social interaction and personal enrichment. Thanks to Phill and Elizabeth Gross, IAP receives the largest gift in its history to expand the program by twenty students over the next four years. High school students from Montgomery County Public Schools will join the fall 2021 cohort. CollegeBound Foundation textbook scholarships for Baltimore IAP scholars near $350,000. IAP enrolls 21 students in its freshmen cohort, the largest in its history.
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IAP Alumni Paying It Forward IAP alumni reflect on the impact their service has had on them, IAP and their local communities.
IAP SELECTION COMMITTEE Alumni discuss why they serve on the IAP selection committee, helping to determine the future cohort of IAP scholars. Yavona Williams Pirali ’06 Biology-Physiology and Neurobiology “My 13 years as a secondary science teacher for a Baltimore City Public School and serving on the selection committee is my way of giving back to Maryland and my Baltimore community. I want to be involved in the process which gives scholars from a similar background as me the opportunity to attend Maryland. With promising and carefully chosen new scholars, the Incentive Awards Program will continue to fulfill its equity vision and build a bridge from Baltimore to the University.” Olivia Coates ’08 Economics and Anthropology “Attending the University of Maryland and being part of IAP have solidified the longterm benefits and impact of education and IAP. As an alum I have always had the goal of giving back to the school and program that has done so much for me. Through my involvement on the selection committee, alumni panel and attendance at IAP events, I am able to share the knowledge and experiences I have gained with students from similar backgrounds in the hopes of helping them succeed.”
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Jennifer Covahey ’08 Criminology and Criminal Justice “I became a part of the selection committee in 2013. I am a product and a true believer that education is a way to help families out of poverty. Growing up in Baltimore, I experienced challenges and realized education was a way to help, not only myself, but my family. Now helping students who face extreme adversities achieve their goal is my passion because I know it works. In my career of helping students go to college and as an IAP alum, I feel I have a good perspective on what IAP embodies and what students will be a good fit.”
GIVING BACK TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY These alumni share how their experience in IAP solidified the importance of giving back to their local communities by way of their professional endeavors.
PEER MENTORING IN THE WORKPLACE IAP alumni connected when working together at Accenture Federal Services, creating a pseudo IAP pipeline within the company. Juan Peralta ’13, a consultant, was already working at Accenture when Jordan Dantzler ’18, a business process development senior analyst, joined the company. “I connected with Juan in my first year at Accenture and we normally meet once a month to discuss career goals and career paths at Accenture,” Jordan shares. “I referred Dorrian Gross ’19, [now] a technology engineer for the Department of Justice at Accenture, to the company and helped him prepare for the interview process. We started texting regularly. I also connected with Darius Lawson ’19 once he joined the company and we have met at various company events.”
Darian Senn-Carter ’08 Criminology and Criminal Justice Darian continues to give back to IAP and his local community, having recently served as a city council member for the City of Bowie. “I enjoy being engaged and involved in the community, and city council was an opportunity to do so in a critical manner,” he says. IAP, his professional career and his time spent serving as a city council member have taught him that “each and every one of us has the capacity to make a difference and together we can make positive change.”
TOP: Dorrian Gross ’19, Information Science. BOTTOM: Jordan Dantzler ’18, Mechanical Engineering
MENTORSHIP As mentors to IAP students, alumni speak on their experience and why they have made such a commitment. Katherine Coleman ’13 Biological Sciences “Mentoring in IAP gives me the opportunity to give back to a program that has truly changed the trajectory of my life. I often see a younger version of myself in the students I’ve mentored and want nothing more than to champion their ambitions and support their achievements in the best way that I can. This deeply gratifying experience invigorates my passion for inclusive leadership through the personal and professional development of amazingly talented individuals, who like me, often go underrepresented.”
Carlos Howard ’16 Music “Receiving ongoing guidance from seasoned professionals in the University of Maryland community was formative and meaningful to my experience as an IAP Scholar. The mentorship program provided a more comprehensive level of engagement that supported my growth in the classroom and beyond. It sparked in me a desire to support my community and IAP in any way I can. Becoming an IAP mentor has been a great privilege and honor!”
James Brockington ’06 Marketing, Logistics and Supply Chain Management “Why work as a teacher in Baltimore? Baltimore is home. I consider Charm City to be a character in my life story,” James shares, “I recognized at an early age that ‘knowledge is power,’ but knowledge is only power when it is exercised. Teaching people who come from where I come from is a labor of love and an investment in the future of the city, state, country and hopefully the world. Being a teacher is hard, but the reward is PRICELESS when I see my students grow into pillars of the community.” Although James has since transitioned from being a teacher, he continues to impact education in a meaningful way. “I’m still connected to education in Baltimore City as an assessment specialist for BCPS for grades 9-12; I’m still impacting the city I love, just in a very different way.”
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THROUGH RESEARCH These alumni impact their community through research that aims to transform the lives of local community members. Joshua Trowell ’16 Community Health Josh is a senior research program coordinator at Johns Hopkins University and is part of a 20-person clinical team conducting a study entitled C-FORWARD (Community Collaboration to Combat COVID-19). The goal of this vital study is to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected families in Baltimore City. “Although vaccines have been approved and distributed, the need for testing and research are crucial to help understand the impact of the virus and slow the spread,” Josh explains.
Joshua Trowell placing a door hanger on a participant’s home to encourage recruitment into the C-FORWARD study.
Sabrina A. Christian ’18 Sociology As a clinical research assistant alongside Dr. Lisa Berlin at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Sabrina was an integral part of the Baltimore Babies Project (BBP). The aim of BBP is to gain insight into Baltimore City mothers’ experiences (regardless of socioeconomic factors) raising a newborn, and whether mothers had access to resources that Baltimore City offered to growing families. “During the interviews with local mothers, BBP provided families with information for local resources,” Sabrina says. “BBP will bring awareness, and hopefully funding, to support the needs of growing families within the city. I fell in love with research because it brings us closer to answering the ‘why’ to many questions. I became passionate about maternal health and empowering mothers from my community.” Taneisha Carter ’16 Psychology “My personal and research experiences give me a greater understanding of the impact of trauma and the importance of access to quality mental health services,” Taneisha says. “I’m a senior clinical research assistant at the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. I work on various projects about the improvement of school mental health care at local, state and national levels. I’m involved in research, grant and manuscript submissions, and develop reports about the work we do. I strive to be a culturally-aware clinician working to reduce barriers that prevent underserved groups from engaging in mental health treatment and research.”
THROUGH NON-PROFITS I’Shea Boyd ’20 Computer Engineering In 2017, while she was still a student at Maryland, I’Shea created BitView, a non-profit aimed at helping Baltimore City students “fearlessly pursue post-secondary education.” The non-profit was established as a unique peer-mentoring program between high school and college students. “BitView was inspired by the people that I have in my life,” I’Shea tells us. In the Fall of 2020, the program hosted guest speakers, game nights, workshops about leadership and coding and a college-life student panel featuring STEM UMD students. “My IAP family offered words of encouragement and volunteered their time to help advance BitView’s mission. This fall, we were fortunate to receive our first two donations. My hope is that by partnering with other leaders, we will be able to advance Baltimore further.”
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A group photo from one of BitView’s virtual meetings featuring a special guest speaker.
We are Family IAP prides itself on being a family, but sometimes that’s more than just a figure of speech. Take a look at the real family ties that bind our members across many years.
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SIBLINGS
1. Hamza ’15 and Ahmed ’16 Idris 2. Josselyn ’17 and Karen ’20 Hernandez 3. Christina ’19 and Cynthia ’18 Kearns
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4. Jessica ’17 and Jocelyn ’19 Nolasco COUSINS
5. Maiya Spell ’21 and Deja Cooper ’23 MARRIAGES
6. Brittany Atkinson ’11 and Thomas Palmerino ’10 7. Rhonda Roach ’15 & Hamza Idris ’15 8. Marlon Everett and Jasmine Morgan ’20 CHILDREN
Forty-four and counting! 5 8
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Paving the Way for Future Scholars Our alumni have paved the way for our students and are true examples of success. Here’s what a few of our current scholars had to say about the impact the IAP community has had on them.
Collin Bast CLASS OF 2024
“Starting college was frightening to say the least. What made it easier was the vast amount of resources that IAP provides. Since I struggled to make friends through my classes, I turned to my cohort. IAP genuinely is a family and because of them I was able to make connections with members of all cohorts and have mentors that significantly impacted my first semester of college.”
Kylene Hernandez CLASS OF 2023
“IAP has given me more than I could ever ask for. I have a family, support system, mentors and so much more. I would not trade any of this for the world! IAP believed in me from the very beginning and that will always push me to strive for greatness.”
Roger Arangorin Jr. CLASS OF 2021
“IAP was a strong pillar in my growth and development. Witnessing the success of the alumni propelled me to do the same. With the support of IAP, I was able to make long-lasting connections, utilize on campus resources and become a stronger leader in my family and community.”
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Jayme Savoy CLASS OF 2022
“IAP has shown me what can happen when you believe in students. I’m inspired by not only the achievements of our alumni but by how much they’ve impacted their communities. My peers are the biggest change agents I know, and the support from them and the amazing staff encourages me so much on my college journey.”
By the Numbers
96% One-year retention rate for IAP scholars, higher than that of other freshmen students at the University of Maryland
84% Six-year graduation rate of IAP scholars
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IAP scholars who have served as commencement speakers
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IAP students inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a 100-year-old national leadership honor society
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Student inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, America’s most prestigious honor society
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Student received Big Ten Medal of Honor, the conference’s most exclusive award
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IAP scholars who have studied abroad in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Ethiopia, France, Germany, the Grenadines, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Lesotho, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
36% Current IAP scholars who are enrolled in the Honors College, College Park Scholars, CIVICUS and other living and learning programs.
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Maryland Medallion Society and Byrd & Elkins Finalists
180 graduates An additional 12 more students are on track to earn their bachelor’s degrees in 2021.
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IAP alumni who have earned or are pursuing doctoral degrees. These alumni will be among the 2% in the United States population who hold doctorates.
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IAP alumni who have either completed or are pursuing graduate studies at institutions, including Cornell University, Georgetown University, William & Mary Law School, University of Illinois, American University, Johns Hopkins University, Temple University, Strayer University, Widener University, Edgewood College, Argosy University, Morgan State University, Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Syracuse University, New York University, Boston University, San Francisco State University and the University of Maryland.
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CLASS NOTES Anna Kalmykov ’08 graduated last May with her Ph.D in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and works as a postdoctoral associate with the American Dental Association in Gaithersburg, MD. Brian Robinson ’09 earned his Ph.D. in education policy from New York University in September. His dissertation was on the intersection of school choice and gentrification in Washington, D.C. Dekebra Crowe ’10 teaches mindfulness and yoga to elementary scholars in Washington, DC Public Schools. She also started D.C. Royal G.E.M.S, a wellness education consulting firm that provides professional development, e-courses and creative expressions to schools, businesses and non-profit organizations serving African American students. Amara Sillah ’10 is pursuing a master of science degree in nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship at the University of Baltimore. He also got engaged last summer and he and his fiancée purchased their first home together. Randal Williams ’10 (right) and husband, Steve, welcomed their second son, Titus Ezra Williams on October 2, 2020.
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Nancy Canales ’13 earned a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center last year and was admitted to the Maryland State Bar Association in December. James Bowman ’14 works as the director of accounting for Weller Development Company, a real estate development firm in Baltimore. Davian Morgan’s ’14 (opposite page, bottom) non-profit, Hopeful HoriSONS, received $35,000 in grant funding to launch “Black Boys Book Bunch,” a virtual book club that provides free books for boys of color in the DMV. The initiative has grown from 30 to over 145 participants. In addition to being a speech-language pathologist for Montgomery County Public Schools, Kendra Browne ’15 continues to grow her makeup artistry business. She hosts an online makeup class for everyday women and continues to expand her clientele.
Samuel Yirenkyi ’14 and wife, Sarah, welcomed their son, Samuel Kwame Yirenkyi, in September. Samuel also started a new position with Microsoft as a site reliability engineer. Taneisha Carter ’16 is pursuing a master of science in applied psychology on the counseling psychology track at the University of Baltimore. Gerard Dailey ’16 earned his master of science in human resource management from University of Maryland Global Campus in December. He works as a human resources management associate with Citi and will be moving to New York City in June. Alecia Frye ’16 earned her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and was admitted to the Maryland State Bar.
CLASS NOTES In Joshua Trowell’s ’16 new role as a senior research program coordinator, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, he assists with the implementation of a two-year longitudinal COVID-19 study in Baltimore. Additionally, he is the first author on a recently published article, “How Good are Controlled Attenuation Parameter Scores from Fibroscan to Assess Steatosis, NASH, and Fibrosis?” in a science journal. After completing her master of arts degree in speech-language pathology at The George Washington University in May, Jessica Nolasco ’17 is now a speech-language pathologist clinical fellow at The Lab School of Washington. She is also an English Language Arts teacher for middle school students and co-facilitates an affinity group for students of color. Nabreyia Scott ’17 works as a mental health medical assistant with Psych Associates of Maryland and teaches part time at Medical Education Resources Initiative for Teens (MERIT) Health Leadership Academy.
De’ja James ’20 (above) began working at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Cybersecurity, Privacy and Forensics practice and obtained a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification.
Katherine Medina ’19 earned a master of science in accounting in May from the University of Maryland and is an auditor at the Federal Reserve Board.
Karen Hernandez ’20 is a community health worker with the Prince George’s County Health Department. She works with the COVID-19 care program, aiding vulnerable county residents who have either encountered someone who has COVID-19 or have contracted COVID-19 themselves and are in quarantine.
Olatunji Onigbanjo ’19 started a new position as a senior compliance specialist at Bloomberg in New York City. In his spare time, he shares tips on personal finance on his own website. He has written nearly 100 finance articles.
Shamon Thomas-Green ’20 is a Promise Corps member with Promise Heights at the University of Baltimore School of Social Work. She also serves as a case manager at Booker T. Washington Middle School for the Arts in Baltimore.
Olivia Bankole ’20 started a master’s degree program in public health at The George Washington University in January.
Miguel Turcios ’20 is a co-author on a recent publication, “Determinants of Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in a Parenting Intervention” that appeared in Psychology of Men & Masculinities.
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1103 COLE FIELD HOUSE 4090 UNION DRIVE COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742 To learn more about how to support the Incentive Awards Program, please contact Jacqueline W. Lee, director at jwl@umd.edu or 301.405.9024.
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SAVE THE DATE THE INCENTIVE AWARDS PROGRAM TURNS 20
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12 6PM–7PM We look forward to convening virtually. Be on the lookout for your invitation.
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