The Key, March 2022 Edition

A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends

MARCH 2022

Late NASA engineer bequeaths $3.3 million to UMES

UMES professor is an awardwinning mentor

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore celebrated Engineers Week 2022 in a significant way Feb. 22 with a major gift announcement from the estate of a Salisbury man who worked for NASA. George E. Miles, a 1960 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, understood the value of higher education.

Now, his legacy will live on through college students on the lower Eastern Shore, thanks to gifts to three higher education institutions, including $3.3 million each for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Salisbury University, and $2.32 million for Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury.

Miles directed that his donations be used specifically to provide scholarships.

“We are grateful Mr. George Miles remembered the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in his estate plans,” UMES President Heidi M. Anderson said.

“This is all the more fitting, given his work at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the strong relationship UMES has with Wallops with respect to our engineering and aviation science programs. Mr. Miles’ legacy will live on in meaningful ways for many years to come.”

Born and raised in Memphis, Tenn., Miles spent most of his adult life in the Salisbury area. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from George Tech, he took a job at NASA’s Wallops Flight (L-R) Rand Underwood, Dr. Heidi M. Anderson and Underwood’s sister, Peyton Bender Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

There, he worked on projects that included sounding rockets, which conduct brief flights into space ranging from 30 miles to more than 800 miles above the earth. One former NASA colleague recalled Miles as an electronics engineer on payload teams that designed, built, tested, launched and received the data from satellite instrument experiments.

Miles’ gift to UMES is the second largest from an individual philanthropist in the university’s 135-year history.

Miles’ niece and nephew visited all three institutions to meet with school leaders and share in the excitement about the vision each has for helping students. They said they hoped his donations will inspire others to support higher education on the Eastern Shore.

George Ernest Miles died March 7, 2018 at his home in Salisbury. He was 79.

Dr. Miriam C. Purnell, a UMES School of Pharmacy professor, is among 17 University System of Maryland peers to be recognized by the Board of Regents as a 2022 faculty award winner.

The awards are the highest honor presented to exemplary faculty members by the governing board. They honor excellence in: Teaching; Mentoring; Public Service; Research, Scholarship, or Creative Activity; and Innovation.

Purnell was singled out as an exemplary mentor.

“Being awarded this honor,” Purnell said, “is truly humbling because I am surrounded by excellent mentoring role models at UMES.” The regents noted “Dr. Purnell’s commitment to mentorship goes well above academic advising.

She develops and maintains strong relationships with students throughout their academic careers and beyond, from engaging in regular meetings to actively reaching out to students demonstrating signs of struggle.”

A committee of faculty peers makes recommendations to each institution’s president, who reviews nominations and supporting material and forwards recommendations to Chancellor Jay A. Perman. The regents’ Faculty Review Committee makes the final recommendations.

Perman and regents’ Chair Linda Gooden will recognize the winners April 29 at Towson University, where the full board will convene for a scheduled meeting.

George E. Miles’ estate directed the gift support student scholarships

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UMES to Receive Federal Funds

Page 3 Dr. Volkis Feature Story

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Donations Distinguished Alumni Award

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HR Service Awards

cont. on page 3

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Page 9

Page 10

Page 11

Page 12

Women’s History Month Q&A

Faculty & Student News

Spelling Bee

Athletics

Retool Your School

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THE KEY / MARCH 2022

school news

New federal budget includes funding for two UMES projects $850K earmarked for graduate school and the Douglass library archives

Ayanna Lynn (’21) examines a newspaper in the UMES Archives.

UMES is in line to receive $850,000 from the latest federal omnibus funding legislation Congress approved earlier this month.

The money will underwrite a new initiative in the School of Graduate Studies and Research as well as an ongoing project to preserve records, photos and other important documents in the university archives by converting them into digitized form.

The university’s requests were submitted to Maryland’s two U.S. senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, who announced jointly March 11 both were among some $9.5 million included in the next budget bill for projects on the Eastern Shore.

Dr. LaKeisha L. Harris, dean of UMES’ graduate studies and research school, called the $350,000 allocated for an Interdisciplinary Research Center an important investment to keep the university competitive in pursuit of resources to support research.

“This (federal) funding is extremely important … to strengthen our research infrastructure and meet the needs of our graduate students and faculty researchers,” Harris said. “The goal … is to centralize our efforts to identify funding and develop research proposals, which will lead to innovative discovery.”

“When faculty are engaged in meaningful research, our students become engaged. They work as teaching and research assistants, and they contribute to the research,” Harris said.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has designated UMES as a doctoral institution with “high research activity” because it produces 20 or more Ph.D.

graduates annually, a highly sought-after credential.

“Research funding,” Harris said, “is critical to maintaining this goal.”

The remaining $500,000 will go to continuing the laborintensive conversion and organization of archival material in the Frederick Douglass Library that got underway during the 202021 academic year with a $50,000 grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services.

“The (new) money will be used to digitize historical documents that pertain to the state of Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to make these educational resources more accessible to Marylanders and the academic community,” according to a summary seeking the funding.

UMES’ projects are among a wide array of local and regional priorities focusing on infrastructure and economic development across the Eastern Shore. Overall, the senators said they secured over $104 million in federal funding for Maryland in the bill.

“Bringing direct federal investments to our communities helps spur opportunity, create jobs, and grow our economy.

Working together with local leaders across the Eastern Shore, we have identified these projects that will strengthen our communities by driving job growth, modernizing our infrastructure, improving public safety, bolstering educational and small business resources, and more,” said Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Dr. Arlisha Norwood, assistant professor of history, identifying information in UMES’ archives.

scars of war

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Scars of War

UMES professor with Ukrainian roots has witnessed it, now has to again

By Emily Lytle, The Daily Times

Some people have sheltered in basements while bombs dropped on their streets.

Others have watched from afar as war raged in Ukraine, their homeland.

Dr. Victoria Volkis, a chemistry professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, has lived through both.

Volkis’ father was born in Odessa and her mother in Kyiv. At the time, and throughout Volkis’ childhood, these cities and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union, and tensions between Ukraine and Russia ran like blood through the veins of life there.

After her father studied in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Russia, the couple moved there. That’s where Volkis grew up.

Volkis’ family is from Ukraine, but none identify as Ukrainian. They are Jewish, she said, and nearly every family member has left Ukraine and Russia for other parts of the world due to antiSemitism there.

“If personally for me there is a red line – it is right here,” she wrote in a text message.

Witnessing the devastation in Ukraine can be like tiny fractures to the heart, especially for people like Volkis who know the streets and monuments and buildings.

She was 19 when she traveled by bus with her then-husband and their infant daughter from Russia to Israel, where her husband’s family lived.

During the next 16 years, she lived in Haifa, Israel, where she earned her Ph.D. in chemistry and worked for the Israeli military as a chemist.

One day, Volkis was at the Israel Institute of Technology when she heard a series of loud booms and the instrument she was working with shook.

Instinctively, she thought the people downstairs were moving furniture and making a commotion.

As she headed down the elevator, she rehearsed how she would politely tell the staff to stop making so much noise.

But when she got to the bottom floor, no one was there.

Panic rising in her, Volkis started searching for her colleagues. When she found them huddled together in a room, her boss frantically waved her over to shelter with them.

It was the second Lebanon-Israel conflict, and bombs were targeting her city. The scientists stayed in that room for hours without directions of what they should do or where they should go.

Finally, they received word they could rush

home during a break in the bombings and they should listen to the military for more directions.

Volkis went home to her apartment overlooking the city. She was home with her daughter and looked out the window.

“I look down, and I start seeing, ‘boom, boom, boom,’ ” Volkis said.

Her daughter turned to her and said, “Wow, Mommy, so interesting. It’s like a Western movie.”

Volkis said, “This is where I broke down, literally broke down.”

The chemistry professor has lived in Maryland for nearly two decades. Her children are grown, and she spends free time taking photographs, swimming at the YMCA and bowling competitively.

When she talks to people about the violence happening in Ukraine, she realizes her perspective is different from many Americans who have never experienced war on their soil.

“I know what is war a little bit more than everyone here,” she said.

She thinks about history repeating itself, and how much today’s events seem like an eerie echo of Hitler’s invasions in World War II. She also thinks back to the last time she was in Kyiv, passing through on her way to Bulgaria, and how she walked around the city taking in all of its beauty.

“That’s what I’m afraid will be gone,” she said.

And she thinks about her current students … who have not experienced living in a war-torn country.

While many have overcome hardship, living in low-income households or cities overwhelmed with gun violence, most do not share Volkis’ experience of war.

“We need to educate the young generation,” she said, adding that young people in the United States need to be ready, “stronger, more independent, less infantile” in case they ever face something like she has.

“I wish they will never, ever need it,” she said, “but with Ukraine and all my previous experience, you never know.”

She said she hopes her students will read stories like hers and understand wars aren’t just (stories) in history books, but they’ve happened in her lifetime – and they’re happening in real time in Ukraine.

She watches Israeli news coverage of the violence from her home in Maryland – and continues to look to her students for inspiration.

This article, which has been edited for space, was published by The Daily Times in Salisbury, Md. and is reprinted here with the newspaper’s permission.

Faculty award continued from cover

Purnell, who joined the UMES faculty in June 2009, is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration.

“Throughout my life, I have had people encourage me to become the best version of myself,” Purnell said. “I am privileged to work in a profession and at a university that allows me to do the same for others.”

She is the founding adviser for the campus chapter of the Christian Pharmacist Fellowship International (in 2010) and has served in that capacity since then.

“When mentoring others,” she said, “I believe in ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15), which means that it may not always be what someone wants to hear but it is honest, it is intended to help them, and it is spoken with kindness and grace.”.

The regents’ announcement noted “Dr. Purnell’s mentees have earned placement in competitive residency programs, established professional careers, and are now impacting others. Her mentoring has proven critical to achieve UMES’ mission of increasing recruitment, retention, and graduation.”

Each award carries a $2,000 prize provided by the institutions and the University System of Maryland Foundation.

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THE KEY / MARCH 2022

donations and awards

Awards & Donations

Troon, an international golf course and resort management company, made a Black History Month pledge to the university to help underrepresented hospitality and professional golf management students defray college expenses. The company, which manages more than 625 resorts – many with golf courses – will invest $75,000 over the next three years to assist UMES students as well as consider them for internships at their properties. UMES is the nation’s only historically Black institution with a PGA-accredited golf management program.

Photo: (L-R) Noel Ricketts Jr., Madeline Starr, Dr. Heidi M. Anderson, Simone Williams, Jailah Long & Darrell Morton

President Heidi M. Anderson is joined by a delegation from Republic Airways, which visited campus prior to spring break to announce a $20,000 donation to the university’s aviation science program. Plans call for the money to be used for scholarships, student travel to professional aviation events, and advanced training for faculty – all to foster diversity in the industry.

Congratulations to Vernetta Brittingham Williams (’63) on being named UMES’ 2022 Distinguished Alumna of the Year. During half time of one of the games at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament, Williams received the award acknowledging her six decades of loyalty and service to her alma mater. She is the wife of the late Jesse Williams (’62).

Photo: Nick Sutton

awards

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Employees recognized for service to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore

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The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s service awards on Feb. 24 recognized employees with five years of service to those who achieved retirement. Congratulations to over 40 retirees, including (L-R) Clarice Corbin, Kenneth Gaston, Gail Corbin and Alverta Polk who returned to receive recognition! Among the honorees was Sharon Brooks and Dr. Eric May (not pictured) who were each recognized for 40 years of service at UMES. Shearn Barkley and Marvella Rounds were recognized for five decades of service at UMES and over 30 employees were recognized for 20 years of service to the university.

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women’s history month

THE KEY / MARCH 2022

C E L E B R AT I N G Women’s History Month Through a Q&A series in honor of Women’s History Month, we introduce you to some women who graced the halls of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and are successfully making an impact in their respective professions with Hawk Pride. (Pages 6-8)

Meet Jenell Ellison, Esq. Q: What was your professional goal?

A: I initially entered as a chemistry major and wanted to enter the field of forensic science.

At the time, the university was exploring a forensic science program. When it came time to register for classes, I changed my major to Criminal Justice.

Q: What or who influenced you to pursue a career in law?

A: Dr. Ramona Brockett and Dr. Ramona Seabrook were my biggest influences, both were criminal justice professors at UMES. They invited me to a symposium at UMES where Black women attorneys from Rutgers University sat on a panel and told us about their careers.

Jenell Ellison (’12) earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a master’s degree in public administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (’15), and her law degree (‘19) from University of Baltimore. She is the Assistant General Counsel for the New York City Department of Corrections and the owner of Rytm Candle Company. While at UMES, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native was involved in the Student Government Association (20092012) where she held several positions, including Senior Class President.

Q:How did you arrive at the current stage of your career?

A: While at UMES, I entered the Fannie Angelos Scholar’s program through the University of Baltimore. The program awarded HBCU students the opportunity to take a Princeton Review LSAT course and take the LSAT for free. From there, I eventually went to law school at UB and moved back to NYC to be a prosecutor. After two years of being a prosecutor, I moved on to my current position at the NYC Department of Corrections. Here, I am involved with the city’s punitive segregation reform efforts.

UMES taught me how to network, how to be independent and that it was possible to be successfully Black. I left there with the confidence to go for any and everything I wanted in a career and in life.

Q: What advice do you have for someone looking to pursue a career in law?

A: Go for it, but make sure it’s truly something that you really want to do, because it’s hard work. It takes endurance. Put in the work, do the best you can and go for it. While your grades are important, experience is equally as important. Go at your pace!

Photos: Jahaira Dixon and Kaylan Kerr

women’s history month

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Meet Octavia Outlaw

Q: What was your professional goal?

A: My professional goal when I first started out was to be a fashion designer, but while I was in college trying to pursue that goal I ended up becoming an influencer just by people being influenced by who I was. I used that to my advantage and made it into a career, which ultimately helped with having customers purchase my clothing. They were already influenced by my showcase in my fashion from other brands, so I figured why not sell them my brand and create the perfect design for them to purchase and it worked.

Q: What or who influenced you to pursue a career in fashion and entrepreneurship?

A: My grandmother actually influenced me to pursue a career in fashion. She always wanted me to just be this star and beam of light and dress the part as well. She definitely had a big influence on that. Entrepreneurship just came with my career; it kind of landed in my lap.

Q: Describe UMES’ role in your career.

A: UMES played a big role. Going there was extremely significant to me. It gave me that time to transition from a kid to an adult and it also gave me that sense of being able to work with other people from different backgrounds and cultures. I actually started on social media because of a fellow Hawk who I met in the computer lab. She pretty much told me that I should start a YouTube channel and that’s exactly what I did and here we are nine years later.

Outlaw receives applause after debuting her new brand of custom designs at Paris Fashion Week 2022.

Octavia Outlaw (’16) earned her bachelor’s degree in human ecology (fashion merchandising) at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She is a social media content creator and the owner of Glamazontay Apparel Studio, an online store. The Hurlock, Md. native recently debuted her new brand of custom designs during Paris Fashion Week 2022 earlier this month, which she will officially release in April. Outlaw is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Q: Name three things you gained from your student experience at UMES. A: Three things I gained from my student experience at UMES was how to network, hands on experience, and leadership. I still am in touch with many people that I’ve met at UMES. We still communicate and share information with each other about things that we are predominantly knowledgeable about within our fields. I learned hands on experience of how to physically do things and work in my field. Last but not least, I learned leadership because I was never a person to take charge, but at UMES I was able to soar as a leader and take the initiative, not be afraid to excel over others.

Q: What advice do you have for someone looking to pursue a career in fashion and entrepreneurship?

A: Advice I have to someone looking to pursue a career in fashion and entrepreneurship is definitely stay true to yourself. Even if something seems as though it’s not going to work, just continue to never give up.

Find alternative ways of trying to make what you want to happen and believe in yourself. It only takes one person to believe in themselves for their dream to come true. You don’t need others to believe what you already know is within you. By staying true to yourself, you have no choice but to win.

Photos: Jules Roques and Carissa Gould Models are wearing Outlaw’s designs on the runway.

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THE KEY / MARCH 2022

women’s history month

Meet Yahshikiah Hughes Q: What was your professional goal?

A: When I enrolled in UMES my goal was to work for the NBA as a marketing executive.

It has since changed, and I aspire to continue impacting the field of higher education, providing students with the tools and education needed to thrive in both their careers and life.

Q: What or who influenced you to pursue a career in education and leadership?

A: As a resident assistant, I quickly learned that I loved helping first generation students on their journey of learning and becoming the best version of themselves while getting acclimated with their new environment and all the challenges it may bring.

Yahshikiah Hughes (’05) earned her bachelor’s degree in business (marketing) and her masters of education degree in community counseling (’10) from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The Philadelphia native is currently the Assistant Dean for Student & Corporate Engagement in Delaware State University’s College of Business.

She is the founder of Cultivate Wholeness, a firm that specializes in self-development and emotional wellness. Through one-onone coaching, a membership community, workshops, and her books, she teaches individuals effective tools and strategies to improve and grow the relationships with their emotions, mind, and themselves to intentionally create and live a purposeful life.

Hughes is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. While at UMES, she was a member of the American Marketing Association, a resident assistant, a student director, and Senior Class President.

Q:How did you arrive at the current stage of your career?

A: I believe that I am currently in this place in my career due to several factors including my education, leadership skills, innovation, appetite for learning, selfawareness, emotional intelligence and all the incredible mentors who have sown into me.

Yahshikiah Hughes was a speaker for TEDxDover

2021 where the theme was “Equity.”

Q: Describe UMES’ role in your career.

A: It was PIVOTAL! From the extensive student leadership opportunities and training to me serving as a Residence Life area director immediately after graduation. UMES was pivotal in my journey in education specifically higher education and leadership. It was my training ground, and allowed me to be an advocate, inform change and provide a meaningful educational experience for students outside of the classroom. UMES has aided tremendously in my extensive career supporting the mission of student success and higher education.

Q: Name three things you gained from your student experience at UMES. A: So much…. but I would say that I gained more understanding of myself, lifelong friendships, and leadership skills.

Q: What advice do you have for current and future Hawks?

A: Remember your WHY! Your reason for making the decision to attend college and change the trajectory of your life is so important on this journey. Advocate for yourself, enjoy the moment, challenge your comfort levels, and be open to change. HAWK PRIDE…..

Photos: Yahshikiah Hughes

faculty news

UMES students compete against HBCU peers in business challenge event

Seven students represented UMES earlier this month in the 5th annual HBCU Battle of the Brains, described as “a national academic championship and experiential diversity recruiting showcase.”

Team UMES and mentor Dr. Victoria Volkis traveled to Austin, Texas to compete against nearly 50 teams from other historically Black institutions in a business challenge competition for $50,000 in prize money. It was a first for UMES; Fisk University won the event.

Participants had 24 hours to tackle a business challenge developing a solution that incorporates design, policy, business and STEM components, said Volkis, a UMES chemistry professor. Teams, she said, were judged on their analysis and solution to the business problem along with their presentation and their performance during a Q&A session.

UMES’ team secured $2,500 from sponsors to help defray travel expenses, Volkis said. To prepare for the competition, students studied companies sponsoring the competition; the National Football League (the title sponsor), Dell Technologies, VMWare, Amazon, Thrivent, ESPN, Charles Schwab, Intel, CrowdStrike, eBay, Walmart, Expedia Group, Electronic Arts Square, HEB, the Home Depot, Tesla, Apple, Squarespace, JPMorgan, Chase, Nordstrom and the Major League Baseball Association.

UMES students received training in technology transfer, business plans, advertising, marketing, statistics and other aspects designed to complement the team’s knowledge in STEM disciplines, Volkis said.

THE KEY / MARCH 2022

UMES’ new Chief of Police named

Carlos Kelly, a law enforcement officer with 27 years of experience in policing and public safety, is the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s new chief of the campus police department.

Kelly, a Philadelphia native, previously served as Grambling (La.) State University police chief.

In an announcement circulated to the UMES community, the Division of Administrative Affairs noted Kelly has extensive knowledge of modern police practices and methods concerning investigation, patrol, crime prevention and service delivery standards.

During his two years at Grambling, he implemented policies and strategies that reduced domestic violence cases through preventative programming as well as improved service delivery.

His experience includes serving as an investigator, a district commander, an emergency manager and a community relations specialist.

Prior to Grambling, the father of three was a lieutenant commander for the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. He also worked for the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s police department, one of the nation’s largest, and for Cheyney University of Pennsylvania a 25-minute drive west of his hometown.

Kelly is also the owner and operator of Carlos Kelly Consulting Group, which provides expertise in law enforcement / police organizational development and functions, policy and programmatic technical advice.

Kelly will take over the leadership position from interim chief Mark Tyler, who was named in 2016 to replace Ernest Leatherbury Jr. when he resigned to take a job with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

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THE KEY / MARCH 2022

spelling bee

‘Luck is the residue of hard work …’

8th grader’s perseverance made him the 2022 lower Eastern Shore’s spelling bee champ

The first word Jeffrey Hsia was challenged to spell at the 2022 Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee was ‘lucky.’

It proved a harbinger of good things to come.

Jeffrey, an eighth grader at Bennett Middle School in Salisbury, won the competition and earned an automatic invitation to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee the week of Memorial Day. He won the event spelling ‘likelihood’ correctly. All told, he nailed 13 words on his way to winning the keepsake medallion awarded to the winner.

“I was very happy, and so proud,” Jeffrey said.

Ariana Miah of Pemberton Elementary School, also in Salisbury, was the runner-up.

It was the second time Jeffrey qualified for the competition sponsored by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. In 2019, he represented Fruitland Intermediate School.

Bennett Middle, Jeffrey said, held its school-level bee a week prior to the event at UMES, so he estimated he had five days to study the word guide each regional bee qualifier receives.

At home, Jeffrey and his family also speak Mandarin. His father, Victor, said as a young child spelling was a challenge for Jeffrey.

“We are very proud of him,” his father said. “He works very hard.”

Jeffrey said he was motivated “to learn to spell new words correctly so I can do a good job on writing (school) papers.”

“I’m meticulous about using correct words, he said.

At Bennett Middle, Jeffrey performs with the school band and orchestra; he plays violin, “some trombone” and base.

Spelling bees are a solo act, however, and Jeffrey acknowledged having sweaty palms as the bee got underway. He said he calmed himself by focusing on spelling the words his fellow competitors were presented.

Eventually, only Jeffrey and Ariana were left sitting on the stage of the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts.

They went back and forth for six rounds before Ariana misspelled ‘pattypan,’ and Jeffrey was poised to win the event.

When word pronouncer Marilyn Buerkle said ‘likelihood,’ Jeffrey confided he was confident he knew how to spell it and drew on his routine of not blurting out a response. He calmly executed the spelling to perfection and staked claim to being the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland’s best speller in 2022.

Headline inspired by baseball executive Branch Rickey and author Paul M. Muchinsky

Prior to the start of the spring semester, a delegation from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development led by Secretary Kenneth C. Holt visited UMES to learn more about how the agency can tap into the university as a resource.

Holt, media consultant Bob Scanlon, Mark Mack Fitzhugh, the Cambridge Community Engagement Center project coordinator, and agency chief of staff Robyne Chaconas listen to media instructor Marilyn Buerkle explain how UMES utilizes hardware and studio space to teach broadcasting skills.

Bill Brophy, far right, UMES’ digital media production coordinator, explains how the university utilizes a mock TV studio for broadcast training to Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development staffers, including Secretary Kenneth C. Holt, who is standing near the wall.

athletics

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Optimism abounds in rebound season Hawks’ hoopsters showed spunk coming off pandemic hiatus The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s return to the hardwood following a year-long hiatus from intercollegiate basketball competition caused by the pandemic left both teams with optimism to build on.

The women’s team finished the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule with a 7-win 7-loss record (12-18 overall) and a satisfying firstround post-season tournament victory over in-state rival Coppin State before falling to champion Howard University in the semi-finals.

The Lady Hawks final win of the ’21-22 season was powered by sophomore Zamara Haynes’ (#11) career-high 25 points. After scoring another 18 points in the loss to Howard, Haynes earned all-tournament team honors, the lone Hawk to do so.

The men’s team tallied a 6-win 8-loss MEAC slate during the (11-16) regular season that included non-conference wins over Lehigh and Mt. St. Mary’s.

Three earned all-conference honors: junior Da’Shawn Phillip (#5) (3rd team All-MEAC); senior Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. (#22) (MEAC AllDefensive team) and freshman Chace Davis (#2) (MEAC All-Rookie team).

Phillip was the lone Hawk to start every game this past season. He was named to the conference All-Rookie team after the 2019-20 season.

The Baltimore native led the Hawks in minutes played, steals, assists and total points after taking over the ball handling duties this year. His steals (1.7) and assists (3.2) per game numbers were also good enough to be in the top 10 in the conference in both categories.

Phillip scored in double figures on 12 occasions this season including his career high of 16 points twice, at Lehigh and against Delaware State.

He had a career-high eight rebounds versus Norfolk State and a careerhigh eight assists against Coppin State.

“Shawn has truly earned this all-conference selection,” coach Jason Crafton said. “His willingness to take over at point guard this year shows

his commitment to winning.”

Pollard transferred to Princess Anne two years ago from Eastern Arizona. He averaged a double-double in junior college and became one of MEAC’s top rebounders and defenders. He led the Hawks in rebounding and blocks and was fourth in the MEAC in rebounds per game and eighth in blocks per game.

Pollard averaged 1.4 steals per game as well and was the only player in the conference to be in the top 10 in both steals and blocks per game.

“Nate (was) our glue-guy defensively and he led our team every night in deflections,” Crafton said. “His defensive activity sparked transition opportunities and our team thrived off of his energy.

Davis also played in every game this past season. As the first player off the bench, he averaged an impressive 8 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 84% from the free-throw line, the third highest percentage in the MEAC. He started nine conference games, scoring in double figures in five.

Earning regular-season honors for the women was Ariana Seawell (#21), who emerged as the team’s best player during conference play.

Seawell, one of two freshmen on the roster, was named to the MEAC All-Rookie squad as well as 3rd Team All-MEAC. Seawell averaged 9.1 points and 6.1 rebounds during conference play including double-doubles against Norfolk State and North Carolina Central. She scored a career-high 20 points in a win at Howard. She finished the regular season No. 2 on the all-time single-season field goal percentage list at 57.9%.

“The thing about her is she is a far greater person than a basketball player,” coach Fred Batchelor said. “Her spirit is unique. It is gentle and she is very self-aware and self-confident and probably one of the most special souls I have ever been around. To watch her grow and develop has been great.”

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Show your Hawk Pride by voting for UMES in Home Depot’s “Retool Your School” Campus Improvement Grant Program. Every vote counts. Voting ends on March 27.

To vote, visit https://retoolyourschool.com/vote/.

The Key / March 2022

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