Executive Council

Graduate Student Association 2015-2016 Executive Board

Jon
Jonathan Graf, President
Program: Applied Mathematics Ph.D.
Hometown: Perry Hall, MD
Previous degrees: B.S. Mathematics, Economics, Towson University and M.A. Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh
Post-UMBC Plans: Academic faculty position in Mathematics

 

 


 Sourabh
Sourabh Arsey, Vice President
Program: M.S. Information Systems
Hometown: Indore, India
Previous degrees: B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering, RGPV Bhopal
Why UMBC? I liked the graduate program in Information Systems and the research work in the area of Data Analytics.
Words I live by: “Take Risks in Your Life If u Win, U Can Lead! If u Lose, U Can Guide!” – Swami Vivekananda

 
Deborah Kadiri, Vice President for External Affairs
Program: M.A. in Texts, Technologies, and Literature
Hometown: Beltsville, MD
Previous degrees: B.A. in English Literature
Why UMBC? I met Dr. Hrabowski and didn’t want to go to any one else’s school after that.
Words I live by: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky (Michael Scott)

 

 


Fernando
Fernando Calderon 
Vargas, Treasurer
Program: Physics, PhD
Hometown: La Paz, Bolivia
Previous degrees: B.S Physics Universidad Mayor de San Andres and M.S. Applied Physics, UMBC

 

 


Dan
Dan Miller, Historian
Program: Atmospheric Physics Ph.D.
Hometown: Oxford, MI
Previous degrees: B.S. Physics, Michigan Tech and M.S. Atmospheric Physics, UMBC
Why UMBC? The Atmospheric Physics program at UMBC has very strong ties with the NASA Goddard community making it the perfect place to pursue a promising future career in atmospheric science.  I wanted to contribute something to our understanding of the earth-climate system and study climate change.
Post-UMBC Plans: Continue to study satellite remote sensing of clouds and aerosols and hopefully play a role in the development of future NASA atmospheric remote sensing systems.
Words I live by: “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom.” ― David Foster Wallace, This Is Water

 



Immediate Past Graduate Student Association 2014 – 2015 Executive Board

DanDan Miller, President
Program: Atmospheric Physics Ph.D.
Hometown: Oxford, MI
Previous degrees: B.S. Physics, Michigan Tech and M.S. Atmospheric Physics, UMBC
Why UMBC? The Atmospheric Physics program at UMBC has very strong ties with the NASA Goddard community making it the perfect place to pursue a promising future career in atmospheric science.  I wanted to contribute something to our understanding of the earth-climate system and study climate change.
Post-UMBC Plans: Continue to study satellite remote sensing of clouds and aerosols and hopefully play a role in the development of future NASA atmospheric remote sensing systems.
Words I live by: “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom.” ― David Foster Wallace, This Is Water

RomyRomy Hübler, Vice President
Degree/Program: Language, Literacy and Culture Doctoral Program
Hometown: Borna, Germany
Previous Degree(s): B.A. Modern Languages and Linguistics; M.A. Intercultural Communication
Why UMBC?: I came to UMBC to finish my undergraduate degree. I enjoyed the university’s supportive environment and the opportunities to co-create my community so much that I decided to pursue my graduate education at UMBC as well.
Words I Live by: “The new always happens against the overwhelming odds of statistical laws and their probability, which for all practical, everyday purposes amounts to certainty; the new therefore always appears in the guise of a miracle.” Hannah Arendt

Jesse

Jesse Fox, Vice President for External Affairs
Program: Ph.D. Molecular and Cell Biology
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Previous Degrees:  BS in Biology from North Carolina A&T State University
Why UMBC?: The supportive nature of the graduate community.
Words I live by: “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.” – Albert Ellis

 

 


 

shams1Md. Shamsuzzaman, Treasurer
Program: Ph.D. Biological Sciences
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangledesh
Previous Degrees:  B.S. & M.S. University of Dhaka
Why UMBC?: Because my wife got admitted here, so I came along.
Words I live by: “With a newborn son; I sleep when I can now.” – Shams

 

 

 

 

 


 

SarahSarah Hansen
Program: M.S. Biological Sciences
Hometown: Deerfield, IL (a Chicago suburb)
Previous Degree(s): 
B.S. in Biological Engineering with a Minor in Education, Cornell University
M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching), Cornell University
Why UMBC?: I was looking for a graduate program in biology in the Baltimore area.  I chose UMBC because of the general high regard for its biology programs, the warm and welcoming atmosphere in the department, and the flexibility of the program.  At the time I started at UMBC, I did not have a specific career path in mind, so choosing a flexible program was important to let me explore my options.  Now that I have zeroed in on my career goal, the administration has been supportive and willing to let me shape my path through the master’s program in a way that will best prepare me for my chosen career.
Post-UMBC Plans:  I am pursuing a career in science writing, where I can help inform the public about current science via the written word.  I would like to write for a publication likeScience News, a research institution like UMBC, or a place that provides the public experiences with science and nature like the National Aquarium.  If I can’t obtain a staff writing position right away, I will freelance.
Words I Live by: “I will find a way or make one.” Jessie Moon Holton, co-founder of the Holton-Arms School, where I taught middle school science for four years before coming to UMBC. 


Prior Years:

2013 – 2014 Executive Board

Doaa
Doaa Rashed, President
Program: Ph.D. Language Literacy & Culture
Hometown: El-Beheira, Egypt
Previous Degree(s): Master of Arts in ISD/ESOL Bilingual & Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as a foreign Language
Why UMBC?: I came to UMBC in 2000 in a professional development training program for teachers, and learned about the ESOL Master Program, so I came back five years later to get a master degree. Post-UMBC Plans: Continue research in the area of teacher identity and retention, and teacher professional development.
Words I Live by: “We live in a culture of domination. What values and habits of being reflect our commitment to freedom?” –-Bell Hooks

Dan Miller
Daniel Miller, Vice President
Program: Atmospheric Physics Ph.D.
Hometown: Oxford, MI
Previous degrees: B.S. Physics, Michigan Tech and M.S. Atmospheric Physics, UMBC
Why UMBC? The Atmospheric Physics program at UMBC has very strong ties with NASA Goddard community making it the perfect place to pursue a promising future career in atmospheric science.
Post-UMBC Plans: Continue to study satellite remote sensing of clouds and aerosols and play a role in the development of future NASA atmospheric remote sensing systems.
Words I live by: “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.” ― David Foster Wallace, This Is Water

Jesse

Jesse Fox, Vice President for External Affairs
Program: Ph.D Molecular and Cell Biology
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Previous Degrees:  BS in Biology from North Carolina A&T State University
Why UMBC?: The supportive nature of the graduate community.
Words I live by: “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.” – Albert Ellis

 

Brittny DavisBrittny Davis, Treasurer
Program: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Hometown:  N/A I was a military child

Previous degree:  B.S. Chemistry (Jackson State University)
Why UMBC?  The diversity and graduate student support brought me here.
Post-UMBC plans: I plan to obtain a post-doctoral position in a Government or Industrial lab. Words I live by:  “The wind from one door closing opens another”

 

 

 

Ian Brown, Historian
Program: Ph.D. Language, Literacy, and Culture
Hometown: Durban, South Africa
Previous Degrees: BA – International Relations; MA in Education – Urban and Diverse Learners
Why UMBC?: Only school with a full interdisciplinary PhD, and therefore the flexibility to mold a particular area of interest. The program also has professors who are leading scholars in their field.
Words I live by: “repeat the actions of your own success to be successful; know your own formula, your own ingredient, what makes you, you” – KRS-One