A Crowning achievement

Miss UMES Sydney Carr takes the stage at Miss Maryland pageant

It’s been a whirlwind senior year for Sydney Carr.

The construction management major officially began her reign as Miss UMES in October, which followed an appearance at the 37th Competition of Black Queens a month prior.

By partaking in the pomp of the ceremonies, the two experiences prepared her for something unexpected. Unbeknownst to her, she was being primed for a spot in the Miss Maryland Pageant.

“It was a crazy story,” she said. “I got a notification that my application was approved in September, but I didn’t know anything about the pageant and I didn’t do the application myself. I was very confused about where the application came from and I didn’t find out until months later that a friend of mine filled out the application.”

For Carr, who represented Clinton, Md. in the competition, preparation for the March 31 – April 2 event held in Bethesda was “a growth experience.”

“It was completely stressful but definitely rewarding,” she said. “Coming from the Hall of Fame pageant, I used what I did there, to learn and build myself back up from there to compete at such a higher level. It allowed me to find out that I enjoy pageants now.”

From her first day there, Carr, who finished in the Top 22 in the competition that included more than 100 hopefuls, was busy with interviews and rehearsals before moving on to preliminary rounds including the swimsuit and evening gown categories on day two.

Carr said she was enthusiastic about the experience as it gave her confidence.

“I wanted to feel like I belonged there and this was something I was capable of,” she said.

The pageant was another step in Carr’s progression beginning from when she arrived at UMES four years ago and included involvement in the Imperial Court as a freshman.

“Coming into college I didn’t even know what a royal court was … I didn’t even know what an HBCU queen was,” she said.

“So now, to be serving as one after all the years that I have put in, it’s rewarding. It’s been a journey.”

One accomplishment she is proud of is the Imperial Court’s growth and presence on social media. Carr said that making the members relatable to the student body was important.

“Being able to build that audience up over the summer, and increasing interaction and getting students to know the court, what they like, what they do on campus besides having the position is a really big accomplishment in itself,” she said. “Those are things that are all worth it.”

Carr said the crowning achievement was when she and fellow senior Kamahri Valcourt were officially coroneted Miss UMES and Mr. UMES, respectively. It was that moment, she said, that encapsulated their time on campus.

“Being able to look into the crowd and see so many people that had an influence on us throughout the years like our Miss UMES during our freshman year, having Mr. Junior and Mr. Senior there and very proud of us was so amazing,” she said. “Just that moment of having so many people around who supported us was indescribable.”

As her tenures both as Miss UMES and as a student come to an end, Carr is already looking toward the future.

She plans to pursue a career in the construction field as project manager with the goal to create and develop senior living and apartment complexes in order to have greater insight into community impact.

She also has an interest in marketing and starting her own foundation.

Carr is also planning to participate in another pageant this October, representing Miss Black Northeast Ambassador in the Miss Black Ambassador Pageant in Atlanta.

“I’m excited about where it can possibly take me,” she said. “I’m trying to feel out the entire pageant system to see if this is for me.”

National Library Week (April 23-April 29) at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore celebrated the Frederick Douglass Library and it’s staff by bringing the campus community together to inform them about the library’s services and resources and to have some fun. The week’s featured events were a raffle read-in, creative writing workshops, an escape room and the Library Live! writing contest. Students read a book of their choice anywhere in the library and entered a raffle for prizes. The escape room created by Librarian Joseph Bree required solving clues written in call numbers, the use of a black light to read text in invisible ink, a cryptex and more. The Library Live! Event, which included DJ Rob and food, was an open mic forum on the academic oval where students shared their creative writing pieces on the importance of books and libraries. Forty-one students submitted writing pieces that were evaluated by a panel of three judges. Top prize winners were Leandra Allen-Miller (First Place), Keith Ceruti (Second Place- not pictured), Matthew Barwick (Third Place) and Adina Robinson (Crowd Favorite).

Those involved in arranging and executing these events include the Faculty Senate Library Standing Committee members Cynthia Cravens (Chair), Kathryn BarrettGaines, Brian Bergen-Aurand, Marie-Therese Oyalowo, Lily Tsai and Wendy Wang, Kelsie Endicott, Charlene Harris, Bonita Jones, Joseph Bree and Janet

UMES students participate in competition centered on business strategies

A team of students from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore recently used their business acumen and problem-solving skills to compete against fellow students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

This spring, six students took part in the sixth annual “HBCU Battle of the Brains” competition in Austin, Texas. It was the second consecutive year that UMES attended the event, which is sponsored by the National Football League.

The Battle of the Brains is a cross-discipline competition where HBCU teams develop a solution to a complex issue, then pitch that solution in front of judges, as well as a live audience. Nearly 40 HBCUs from across the country were involved.

“It’s a huge way to sell yourself to high-tech businesses and get a lot of scholarships,” said Dr. Victoria Volkis, UMES chemistry professor and team coach. “They all had a chance to share their resumes with companies that could potentially see them as qualified candidates.”

Teams are given 24 hours to develop their plan based on the criteria of analysis, business/technology solutions, presentation, and the question-and-answer portion when addressing judge inquiries.

The top three teams would win institutional scholarships of $50,000, $20,000, and $10,000 for first, second, and third place respectively. Alabama State University took home the grand prize, with Fisk and Norfolk State Universities being awarded second- and third place.

Each team is comprised of five to eight students ranging from various majors including, but not limited to, computer science, marketing, finance, engineering, accounting, and mathematics.

Junior agriculture/pre-vet student MaKaylah Wolfe said she and her teammates prepared for the competition through once-weekly meetings and by simulating the 24hour timeline by staying up and creating a business plan over that period.

As a result of the trial run, the UMES team consisting of Wolfe, Amir Gawish, T’Naisha Addison, Michael Zeray, Anas Bashier, and Ray’Sean Smith, were able to finish their objective of increasing NFL fan engagement before, during, and after games by creating both the business plan and a youth-focused app, with more than five hours to spare.

“During the competition, we had coffee available to us and we kept taking breaks to do that,” Wolfe said regarding how she and her teammates battled exhaustion. “We all had our different roles and that’s something we were able to work out during the demo and that allowed us to get through it pretty fast.”

Wolfe said one of the big takeaways of the event was being able to network with other students in the competition.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I think more people should apply next year and I think a lot of people would benefit from going there. It’s not just for computer science, it’s not just for technology people. It’s for everyone. I think everyone should try to apply and go next year because I am definitely going next year.” in computer science.