The Key, March 2021 Edition

March 2021

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

UMES, Salisbury University renew dual-degree partnership in physics & engineering

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Salisbury University have renewed an academic partnership allowing students to earn two undergraduate degrees in four and a half years.

The dual-degree program in physics and engineering will streamline instruction, allowing students to attend Salisbury University for three academic years as physics majors, then transfer to UMES for the remaining year and a half as engineering majors, condensed from the initial two years required.

“This dual degree will allow students to stay local, and attend two top-notch programs with small class sizes and outstanding faculty for a significantly lower cost,” said Dr. Michael Scott, dean of Salisbury’s Henson School of Science and Technology. “With the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field constantly growing, this partnership allows the Eastern Shore to remain a competitive choice for prospective students.”

Upon completion of all Salisbury University requirements, students will graduate early with a Bachelor of Science in physics and, after admission to UMES and completion DUAL-DEGREE / continued on page 2

UMES earns 2021-2022

Military Friendly ® School Designation The University of Maryland Eastern Shore learned in mid-February it has been designated a Military Friendly® School for 2021-2022.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Over 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey with 747 earning the designation.

The 2021- 2022 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community.

Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey response set and government/agency public MILITARY / continued on page 2

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Cover Stories cont.

Page 3

Newman Civic Fellow

Page 4-5

On-site with Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Page 6-7

Women’s History at UMES National Anthem Performance

Page 8-9

Student & Faculty News

Page 10

Golf Program Donation

Page 11 Athlete & Intern

Page 12 Event

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School News

MILITARY / continued from cover

data sources, within a logic based scoring assessment. It measures the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

“As a top 20 doctoral research historically black university, it is imperative we serve and support students of all background,” said Alphonso Garrett Jr., UMES’ director of the Office of Admissions & Recruitment.

“Receiving military friendly status will help veterans and military connected students know they are valued – and supported at UMES.”

2019 alum Emmanuel Grogan in uniform

DUAL-DEGREE / continued from cover

of required credits, a Bachelor of Science in engineering.

“UMES’ engineering program is the only peer-accredited program on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia,” said Dr. Derrek Dunn, dean of UMES’s School of Business and Technology. “So, we are proud to work with SU to ensure there are enough trained engineers to supply the workforce needs of the Delmarva Peninsula.”

“SU has an excellent physics program,” Scott said. “I would strongly recommend physics students who find themselves interested in a career in engineering to consider this opportunity to continue their education in a fraction of the time.”

According to data from the American Institute of Physics, in 2018 Salisbury University graduated the second- highest number of recipients of bachelor’s degrees in physics in Maryland. It has been among the top five in this category for four consecutive years.

UMES offers an ABET-accredited, four-year general engineering degree with four specializations: aerospace, computer, electrical and mechanical.

“The new agreement is a significant improvement over the previous pilot agreement established in 2017,” Dunn said. “Under the previous agreement, Salisbury students would spend two years at UMES to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering.”

The first group of students under the initial agreement to graduate

“Military Friendly ® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data driven standards in our designation process.

This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to consistently evolve and invest in their programs,” said Kayla Lopez, national director of Military Partnerships,Military Friendly ® “Schools (that) achieve designation show true commitment and dedication in their efforts. Our standards assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources, and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the Military Community,” Lopez said.

from UMES with engineering credentials was in the spring 2019, and all have joined the engineering profession, Dunn noted.

“The updated agreement was designed to facilitating an early engagement and advising of students and streamlining the general education credits that transfer,” Dunn said. “Consequently, Salisbury students will start taking a core engineering course at UMES in the spring semester of their third year at Salisbury University, and then transfer to UMES’ engineering program for another three semesters to complete their engineering degrees.”

Students in the dual physics and engineering program also will have the opportunity to apply for a new paid summer internship with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Collaboration between faculties at both institutions in crafting complementary academic agreements dates back to 1990, when they created a rigorous dualdegree program in sociology and social work. That longstanding program since has been followed by two more dual-degree options for undergraduates: environmental science (UMES) and biology (Salisbury University), as well as a cooperative undergraduate/ professional program in chemistry at Salisbury University and UMES’ pharmacy program.

For more information visit the UMES engineering department website at www.umes.edu/engineering/.

School News

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UMES sophomore honored as Newman Civic Fellow Ayotomiwa Fashola, a sophomore in the Richard A. Henson Honors Program, will represent the University of Maryland Eastern Shore during the 2021-22 academic year as a Newman Civic Fellow.

Known around UMES as Tommi, Fashola is among 211 college students from across the country and Mexico who will participate in the year-long program sponsored by Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization.

Participants “are leaders on their campuses who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and internationally,” according to Campus Compact, a national coalition of institutions “committed to the public purposes of higher education.”

Her reaction when she received the news? “Oh, wow!” she recalled thinking.

Fashola is a dean’s list student majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice. She already is looking to toward graduate school to round out a resume that will enable her to become a counselor working with adolescents.

“I would love to be the person I wish I had when I was younger to talk to.” she wrote in a personal statement submitted to program. “I want to be the change of my community, and help people see … there is more good in this world than bad.”

“I believe that may be why my drive is so high for community service and leadership activities,” she wrote, “because if you start small, once you do more they’ll be more people willing to engage with you.”

UMES President Heidi M. Anderson’s nomination letter gleaned from faculty and staff input noted Fashola is “trusted and respected by her peers” and “has risen, through progressively important leadership roles, as a force to combat inequity and a voice to advance conversations that lead to positive change.”

“Ms. Fashola epitomizes excellence by virtue of her academic prowess, leadership, philanthropy and civic engagement,” Anderson wrote. “She is a reliable and respectful young woman who is present, punctual and at all times professional.”

In addition to serving as sophomore class president, Fashola has been a Hawk Ambassador, works as a student assistant in the Office of Residence Life and is the lone student member of the university-wide Food Committee She is also a member of the campus chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and serves on an advisory panel for Men of Distinction, an organization that empowers male students “to advocate for themselves and to partner to promote their personal and professional success.”

Back home in Upper Marlboro, Md., Fashola volunteers as an usher and with the food bank of her church, Tower of Praise.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who the organization describes as a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. Inspired by that legacy, Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors nominate student leaders from their campuses to be named Newman Civic Fellows.

Campus Compact provides Fellows with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Fellows participate in virtual training and networking opportunities to develop the skills and connections they need to create large-scale, positive change.

The fellowship experience culminates with the Annual Convening of Fellows, “which offers intensive skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.”

Ayotomiwa Fashola recognized for commitment to solving public problems

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Women’s History Month

The road to success is under

By Tahja Cropper Like many parts of life over this past year, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 2020 Women’s History Month event was adjusted to be a virtual celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month for 2021. On March 4th, the campus community met on UMES’ Instagram platform for “On-site with Cheryl McKissack Daniel,” a live conversation with the President & CEO of McKissack & McKissack.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel, a Nashville, Tenn. native, earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Howard University and represents the fifth generation of her family’s century-old business (founded in 1905). The 45-minute conversation featuring the leader of the “the oldest minority and woman-owned design and construction firm in the nation” was light-hearted, encouraging and filled with the love found in the community of historically Black colleges and universities.

Daniel shared some of her family history, starting with her enslaved Ashanti ancestor who was taught the trade of making bricks and later freed. “A twisted version of diversity, if you think about it,” she said.

Not initially interested in a career in architecture, Daniel shared how her “course was pretty much charted” by her parents saying, ”My father gave us trains. He never gave us dolls. He gave us drafting equipment. He knew what he was doing.”

“On weekends, we would be in his office tracing documents and walking constructions sites, just learning the lay of the land at a very early age 10, 11, 12. By the time I was ready to go to college, I wanted to be an engineer, but my father wanted my twin sister and (me) to be architects.”

Family Business Her career goal was to work in New York City. She prepared for that before going into her family business by working at large firms that didn’t bear her last name and provided an excellent training ground, which included Turner Construction.

“Going into my family business was my mom calling up my boss and telling my boss ‘Cheryl is quitting today’,” she said bursting with laughter. “‘She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to let her know when I hang up with you. She needs to leave by Friday because she needs to be in Nashville by Saturday so she can start work with me on Monday.’”

“I could not believe my mother did that, but she did,” she said.

Looking back on it she describes this decision as “a little pushy” and “one of the best decisions I allowed my mother to make.”

“She taught me a lot. She is my #1 mentor,” she said about her mother who has a master’s degree in psychology and was running the family business in the early 1980s.

During this time, Daniel learned many lessons that she applies to business today including not judging a book by its cover related to a specific presentation experience early in her career. “I learned that I will speak to anyone at any time about what I’m thinking and the value proposition that I’m bringing to the table.”

“Nothing stops me from giving my elevator pitch to anyone. I don’t care who they are,” she said.

Women’s History Month

construction

(L to R) UMES publications coordinator Tahja Cropper and Cheryl McKissack Daniel in conversation via Instagram.

Daniel opened her New York firm in 1991 and later bought the family firm in 2000. McKissack & McKissack provides construction management, program management and consulting services for various project types throughout the East Coast and the United States.

The firm’s focus is in the infrastructure, transit, healthcare and education sectors.

Achieving Success & Building Wealth Noting her commitment to HBCUs, she referenced an upcoming campaign from the New York Building Congress, an organization that focuses on providing “a unique forum to advance an industrywide agenda focusing on economic and infrastructure investment, job creation and professional exchange. These goals require the dedicated involvement and cooperation of the contractors, architects, engineers, unions, real estate managers, developers and owners who comprise the building community.”

“We’re going to be coming to your university and other HBCUs to get Black and Brown people interested in our field. We’re going to offer internships and we are going to try to get you to come to New York,” she said regarding diversity in the industry as her company is 50% minority.

The Chief Executive Officer had the following advice for the audience: • “Building relationships are key. Never discount building relationships with people. Get your elevator pitch together.”

• “I define my lane. I define who I am. It is so important that you do something that you have a real strong passion around.”

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“On-site with Cheryl McKissack Daniel” yields gems for UMES students and community

Watch the full live conversation, “On-site with Cheryl McKissack Daniel”, on UMES’ Instagram platform (@UMESNews). UMES’ undergraduate programs include construction management/technology and engineering (aerospace, computer, electrical, and mechanical).

• “The road to success is under construction. You have to avoid the potholes of I could, I would, and I should. You got to do. You will see mountains move just because you decide to act. Indecision is the worst place to be. It is paralysis by analysis.”

• “Do not be afraid to fly. Do not be afraid to take risks. Dream outside your limitations.”

Looking ahead, she said she hopes more women and people of color will enter the construction industry. “In 2019, the construction industry revenues were two trillion dollars. In the world, it was five trillion. In 2023, it’s going to be $10 trillion dollars,” she said.

“This is an industry that is growing exponentially. I would say to any young person considering architecture, engineering, or construction that it can build wealth. It can free you so that you can create your own destiny.”

Daniel encouraged entrepreneurship in the Black community citing a recent article she read, “One of the best ways to correct the injustice, the systematic racism that we have dealt with, and the Blackwhite wealth gap is through entrepreneurship,” she said.

“We have to start more businesses. We need more equity as individuals. There is equity out there for us. We create a very healthy ecosystem when we start our own businesses because we tend to hire Black consultants and more Black people. That creates a community that can change the world.”

Alumnus News

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Physician, teacher, ‘Hawk for Life’ Alumna focuses on children’s health & wellness

Dr. Tabitha I. Jones-McKnight is a second-generation UMES alumna who today is a pediatrician in Ohio, where she also teaches the next generation of doctors about to enter a profession forever changed by the COVID19 pandemic.

A working mother, she gravitated to study science as a child. When Jones-McKnight was a teen, her mother received a kidney transplant and that family health challenge set her on a path to study medicine.

“One of the reasons I chose UMES … was the smaller class sizes as compared to some of the larger universities I had visited,” she said.

“Attending the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was an excellent choice … as it gave me the opportunity to learn how to navigate college life as a young adult and coursework.”

“There was also the UMES-University of Maryland (Baltimore) Honors Program for individuals planning to attend medical school,” she said. “I was able to learn from instructors who genuinely cared about the success of students. Professors were always willing to take extra time to review concepts and answer questions whether course related or career related.”

“It is important the school you choose has professors who are invested in your success and offers opportunities that will help you grow professionally.”

“It may not always be easy, but if you put in the work – the time studying in the library when everyone else is on the Yard, going to (faculty) office hours to ask questions, taking advantage of study and review sessions offered by professors for the class – you can achieve all that you imagine and more.”

The pandemic has brought “health disparities” into everyday conversation.

What 2000 alumna, Bachelor of Science in biology, does it look like from the front summa cum laude lines?

Occupation: pediatrician “Some that I have encountered are … infant mortality and safe sleep, asthma and nutrition Parents: Brig. Gen. Walter I. Jones, (ret.)

(UMES 1974) and the late Gloria Leatherbury in minority children. It is important for parents and caregivers to receive the education about Jones safe sleep … before the baby is born, and that Family: Ammon McKnight, husband; those messages continue to be discussed after daughter. Gloria Denise, age 8 the baby comes home. We have to build trust Practices and teaches medicine in Ohio: and understanding of why it is important … for anyone who is going to be caring for a child to • Clinical Assistant Professor of Primary be educated on what a safe sleep environment Care at Ohio University Heritage College of looks like and ensure there is a safe space for Osteopathic Medicine since October 2019; How did UMES prepare you for teaches clinical skills and simulation lab skills an infant to sleep in every environment where they are going to be cared for.” your career? to 1st- and 2nd-year osteopathic medical “Having access to a crib, a bassinet, or a “It provided me with many opportunities, students; pack n’ play is important for a caregiver to have including the opportunity to tutor others in the the means to create a safe sleep environment. sciences. I realized I enjoy teaching and helping • Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University School of Medicine Eliminating those barriers to access is vital.” others learn important concepts, which helps since February 2014; oversees 3rd- year “I have also seen children impacted more me now in my teaching roles. Thanks to the medical students rotating in pediatrics and severely by asthma due to environmental rigorous preparation for scientific presentations teaches a Child Safety Symposium for 3rdtriggers. Minority children may be living in at professional conferences, under the guidance year medical students; public housing, exposed to secondhand smoke of Dr. Kelly Mack, I learned how to prepare for • Pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital that does not necessarily come from inside their scientific presentations and lectures.” since February 2014; sees children ages birth unit, which can contribute to asthma flares and “As a physician, I communicate with to 21 years of age for preventive medicine exacerbations. Many parents do not have the caregivers and parents of children I see (daily). visits/wellness checks and sick visits. option or finances to relocate – or seek other All of the interactions I had at UMES helped to housing to reduce exposure to these triggers.” lay the foundation for the many roles I have “Minority children (also) have been today.” disproportionately affected by being overweight and obesity, which has its What would you tell high school students early beginnings in infancy. Nutritionally, infants are often started on baby foods too early, offered juices too early and in excess, and are less likely to weighing their higher education options?

“Choosing a historically black institution was a great experience for be fed mother’s milk for long.”

“More education is needed in many communities on the benefits of me. I not only gained knowledge and skills essential to what I do today, I also have been able to maintain some of the friendships and acquaintances consuming mother’s milk or human milk, along with environmental and community efforts to support families who want to.” formed while at the University.”

UMES News

In Memoriam The University of Maryland Eastern Shore recognizes and expresses gratitude for the late Dr. Brenda Wade‘s commitment to excellence. Dr. Wade grew up on the campus and attended Somerset Junior-Senior High School, now Kiah Hall. In 1970, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in education from the Notre Dame of Maryland University. As an adult, she enthusiastically served in a variety of roles at UMES including Reading Specialist, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education, Director of The Weekend University, Director of the (Henson) Honors Program (1983), Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of The School of Arts and Profession (1995) until her retirement in 2008. The UMES community mourns the loss of a leader of her stature after her recent passing in November 2020.

“Oh say can you sing...”

Sopranos Julia DeHuarte (top row, 3rd from left) and Dana Majors, (top row, 2nd from right) were among performers in the 105 Voices of History, an allstar chorus of students from historically black institutions who joined the U.S. Navy Band in a virtual performance of the Star-Spangled Banner, March 3, 2021, the 90th anniversary of the song being designated by federal law as the national anthem.

Under the supervision of UMES choral director Christy Taylor, Majors and DeHuerte recorded separate solos on-stage at the Fitzgerald arts center in January using special audio software that “syncs up” with iPhone video, which they submitted to the all-star chorus producer.

DeHuarte graduates this May with a Music Jazz and Popular Music Performance degree and Majors, a junior, is pursuing the same credential.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0uNmd10L-A

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8 The Key / March 2021

School News

Newly minted American

UMES physical therapy student achieves U.S. citizenship Jan. 6, 2021 will go down in American history as the day democracy faced one of its stiffest challenges when citizens angry about 2020’s presidential election results stormed the Capitol.

Akanni Salako, a third-year student in UMES’ physical therapy program, was ineligible to vote for president this past November, but earned that right Jan. 5 – the day he took and passed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ civics test.

A two decade-plus journey was over.

“It felt like I could start my life,” he said.

Salako, 28, emigrated from Nigeria with his parents when he was four.

“The average person who met me didn’t know I’m an immigrant,” he said.

He grew up in the suburbs of Bowie, Md. in Prince George’s County.

“There were a lot of things I couldn’t do,” he said. “Like driving. I didn’t have the proper paperwork.

In the back of my mind, it always felt like there was something looming over my head.”

After graduating from Virginia Union University in 2016, he took a year off – unsure what he wanted to do next. During that year, he became a certified personal trainer and started his own business, Salako Fitness.

He also turned his attention to studying for the Graduate Record Examination and finding the best fit for his desire to parlay his interest in fitness into a career.

UMES emerged as his choice because it “is a good value … and there’s more of

a clinical application to what we’re learning.”

In the back of Salako’s mind was the Obama administration’s executive order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals immigration policy. “It changed my life and started the transition to becoming a citizen,” he said.

He said he has encountered those who believe immigrants “make trouble, steal our jobs. They’re just trying to find a livelihood – trying to make something of themselves.”

As he studied to pass the citizenship test this past fall, he kept reminding himself that “being an immigrant … doesn’t make me any less important. I have things I can contribute if given the opportunity.”

“There are a lot of questions you know

the average American doesn’t know,” he said. “I studied for three days; it was easy.

The way I study, I have a method down.”

Salako’s clinical rotations have included a stint at an acute care hospital, where he worked with patients who had orthopedic and neurological challenges as well as those who suffered strokes and traumatic brain injuries.

“He’s been an excellent addition to our program,” said Michelle Sanfilippo, an assistant professor who serves as UMES’ clinical education, adding that he “is the student who constantly assisted classmates when they needed assistance with hands-on content in the acute care course during the 2019 summer semester.”

Classmate Evann Slaughter said, “he’s always there if you need him, but also works so hard for his business. It’s a wonder how he manages to fit everything in.”

Long-term, Salako’s goal is to be a selfemployed physical therapist, combining the training he’s received as a UMES graduate student with what he’s learned being a personal trainer.

“Now, there’s nothing that can stop what I’m trying do now,” he said.

Faculty News

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Two UMES faculty members recognized with 2021 USM honors

Dr. Hoai-An Truong Two University of Maryland Eastern Shore professors are among 16 peer educators across the state being honored by the University System of Maryland as recipients of the 2021 Regents’ Faculty Awards.

The awards are the highest honor presented by the board to exemplary faculty members. They honor excellence in: Teaching; Public Service; Mentoring; Excellence in Scholarship, Research or Creative Activity. Dr. Hoai-An Truong, a professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, was recognized in the public service category while Dr. Kausik Das, an associate professor of physics in the Department of Natural Sciences, was chosen in the scholarship, research or creative activity category.

Institutional faculty nominating committees make recommendations to the institutional presidents, who review nominations and supporting material and forward recommendations to system Chancellor Jay A. Perman. The Regents Faculty Review Committee makes the final recommendations.

Truong joined the UMES faculty in June

Dr. Kausik Das

2012 and “has worked as a Fellow at the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, acting as on outreach ambassador. At the state level, he serves on Governor Hogan’s Advisory Committee on Minority Health. At the national level, he has chaired committees for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and American Public Health Association. Internationally, he has created opportunities for his students to provide care for patients in Haiti, Vietnam and South Africa.

Das has secured $1.4 million in extramural funding and is known for involving undergraduate students—many from underrepresented minority groups— in his research, writing and presentations.

His research includes work on nano fluidics (study of manipulating fluids in extremely small spaces), efforts to create on-chip graphene-based nano-inductors and work on light-activated resistive switches. In collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and assisted by students, he built a payload that flew a zerogravity parabolic flight to collect data that will be valuable in future space missions. He became a UMES faculty member in February

2014.

Perman and Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden will recognize the winners as part of the scheduled Zoom meeting of the full board April 16.

“We look forward to recognizing these outstanding faculty members next month,” Chair Gooden said. “As always, it is a pleasure to celebrate their commitment and achievements with the individual institutions throughout the USM.” “It’s an honor to recognize these faculty members, whose impact on their students is so profound. And while these awards recognize years of dedication, we know that the past 12 months have involved extraordinary challenges unique to COVID,” Chancellor Perman said. “Systemwide, our faculty have worked hard to maintain instructional quality under circumstances none of us wanted, and I’m grateful for that. But the efforts of these honorees are especially impressive and contribute so much to the USM’s resilience and strength.”

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

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PGA News

‘Executive course’

DC-area businessmen establish golf management scholarship Two Washington-area businessmen have established a new scholarship fund for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s PGA-certified golf management program. They are now enlisting their African-American golfing companions to join this effort.

The Pro-Duffers Golf Association’s philanthropic arm partnered with a family-run foundation to make an initial $20,000 donation toward a five-year commitment of $100,000. The university already has identified a current undergraduate who will benefit from this fund right away.

Dickie S. Carter and Calvin C. LaRoche, self-described Dickie S. Carter golf enthusiasts, were the catalysts behind making a gift in support of UMES’ academic program that produces students who will graduate into careers at major golf courses and golfrelated industries. ”We are grateful the Pro-Duffers and Mr. Dickie Carter have taken an interest in helping UMES educate future PGA Calvin C. LaRoche Professionals,” golf management program director Billy Dillon said. “Their generous gift and five-year commitment to the program will allow some

students who could not otherwise afford college to pursue their dream of working in the golf industry as productive members of the PGA of America.”

UMES is the nation’s lone historically black institution with PGA of America accreditation that enables it to offer the highly specialized instruction. Golf management is under the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where graduates receive a broad scope of training in what it takes to run successful restaurants, hotels, resorts and related businesses.

“We believe this (gift) will be a way of advancing diversity in the game of golf,” said LaRoche, who heads the D.C. Pro-Duffers Foundation’s scholarship committee.

Carter, a member of Bethesda Md.’s renowned Congressional Country Club, said “when I travel the world … almost every (golf) club I go into. there’s an absence of people of color.”

Carter, who operates a chemical transportation company, is a mentor at an all-male public high school in Washington for teens of color, where he befriended Colby Powell, a student interested in golf. Carter helped to secure an internship for Powell at his golf club.

Powell enrolled at UMES to study golf management after Carter urged him to consider it as his college option.

Powell’s decision also inspired Carter. Why not reach across the Chesapeake Bay and provide UMES with resources to recruit students like Powell with a scholarship fund?

In the early summer of 2020, Carter started talking up the idea among his golfing buddies. He challenged the 90-member Pro-Duffers group to commit to raising $50,000 and pledged his family foundation would match it.

The Pro-Duffers/Carter Foundation Golf Management Scholarship Fund was created. “A preference will be given to traditionally underrepresented students from the Washington, D.C. area,” the memorandum of understanding establishing the fund says.

In addition to being a social golf group, Pro-Duffers hold fundraising tournaments to support scholarships for junior-level and college students. The group’s motto: “showing commitment to social, civic and charitable activities using golf as the vehicle.”

The UMES scholarship, Carter and LaRoche said, represents a new frontier because it will support students working toward a degree with a unique graduation pre-requisite – satisfying a playing performance standard good enough to earn a PGA membership card.

“We’re looking at it not just as giving money, but having the (UMES) students participating in our events,” said LaRoche, a past president of the Pro-Duffers club. “The exposure they are going to get to our members is priceless.”

Carter said he believes “collectively, we can be mentors. What we envision – this network we have – will catch fire.”

Athletics

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Coping with COVID’s ‘high cheese’ UMES senior’s resilience leads to a unique internship The COVID19 pandemic threw a curveball at UMES senior Nasya Goodman’s plans to finish her undergraduate studies in a timely fashion and move on to the next phase of life.

A southpaw pitcher on the Hawks’ softball team whose repertoire includes a curveball, Goodman found an unlikely on-ramp back to a career path that now goes through the Bronx and leads to Bridgewater, N.J. Goodman is scheduled to graduate May 14, when she’ll accept a degree in hospitality and tourism management with highest honors. The following day, she starts a post-graduate internship with the Somerset Patriots, the New York Yankees’ new Double A affiliate.

Yes, those Yankees. The same baseball club Goodman grew up rooting for in Willingboro, N.J. “Oh, my goodness,” she said. “I’ve been a Yankees’ fan my whole life.”

Goodman will be working under the head chef for Homeplate Hospitality and Catering as a culinary intern. No hot dogs or apple pie, peanuts or Crackerjacks on menus Goodman will be working from.

Instead, she’ll play a key role in preparing meals – including Kosher – for players, coaches and season-ticket holders who pay for premium amenities as well as for the stadium’s picnic and catering areas. Like many professional sports teams, the Yankees assign a dietitian to guide nutritional food choices for players they are developing on their payroll.

Goodman said she hopes someday to open her own Italian restaurant – her maternal great, great grandparents emigrated from Sicily. An interim step, she said, is attending a culinary school in – where else – Manhattan, hopefully after the 2022 collegiate softball season.

An internship she set up for the (first) summer of COVID19 fell

through when the pandemic forced businesses to close, so she suddenly had an unwanted hole in her pre-graduation resume.

Goodman returned to Princess Anne for her senior year to find that UMES chose to forego intercollegiate sports competition for the 202021 academic year. There was, however, a silver lining.

The NCAA granted athletes affected by the pandemic an extra year of eligibility, which Goodman opted to exercise. She also turned her attention to finding an internship she hopes will help after she leaves Princess Anne.

Research produced a lead during winter break on a rare East Coast opportunity in the culinary field. It turned out to be 60 miles from where she grew up.

Homeplate Hospitality and Catering told her she was among seven applicants competing to work alongside the team’s chef. The Patriots’ offer came in January – before the team announced publicly it was joining the Yankees’ farm system.

“I’m excited but also nervous,” Goodman said. “I had an internship before COVID happened and when it ended up not having that experience, it was a big disappointment.”

Serving as president of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, has kept her busy, as has participating in other student activities and being allowed to participate in softball workouts in the Tawes gym.

“All these things I’m a part of … I’ve tried get the most out of my college experience,” she said.

The Patriots’ website says the team “will host 60 home games at TD Bank Ballpark from May 4th through Sunday, September 19th.” So she’ll miss the first few games as UMES’ spring 2021 semester comes to a close.

“My schedule will be ‘non’ 9-to-5,” she said. “There are more home games than away games.”

The Key / March 2021

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