May 12 - University of Maryland Eastern Shore

INSIGHTS
DIVISION of ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
SCHOOL of THE ARTS AND PROFESSIONS
Department of English and Modern Languages
Volume 19
Issue 4
May 2012
EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENCE
English Education Major Named Department’s Outstanding Student
The annual UMES Honors
Convocation is an opportunity to
salute the University’s best and
brightest. The event traditionally
features a celebration of one
student from each academic
department for his or her scholarly
accomplishments.
This year, Joscelyne Swift, an
English Education major, was
selected as the Department of
English and Modern Languages’
most outstanding student.
Ms. Swift
Photo by Jim Glovier
Ms. Swift is a Somerset
County, Maryland, native
with a cumulative grade
point average of 3.9. She is
a relatively new arrival on
campus, transferring from
Old Dominion University
in Virginia early in 2011.
Ms. Swift plans to remain
on the Eastern Shore
following graduation; her
long term goal is to serve as
a local reading specialist.
The recent convocation—the university’s
59th annual— provided a behind-thescenes
opportunity for students from
Hawk Radio, the student radio station
supervised by the English department.
Seniors Corey Alexander and Shakita
Allmond volunteered to assist the staff of
the Richard A. Henson Honors Program.
They gained valuable field experience
recording interviews with program
participants and attendees which will be
used for promotional and archival
purposes.
ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE
English Majors Attend D.C. Conference to Discuss Global Issues
Both UMES and its Department of English
and Modern Languages were well
represented recently at a conference
sponsored by Americans for Informed
Democracy in Washington, D.C.
Senior English majors Randall Hill and
Jacquez Jefferson were joined by
sophomore English Education major
Jeremy Whichard at the 2012: Challenge
Accepted Conference held in mid-April on
the campus of George Washington
University. The event was described by its
organizers as a discussion of the biggest
global challenges facing the millennial
generation including security, jobs, climate
change, justice, and hunger.
The students weren’t sent by the
University—they decided to attend on
their own initiative after Mr. Jefferson’s
linguistics professor,
Barbara Seabrook,
mentioned the conference
in class. “It’s never a
waste of instructional time
to make announcements
and encourage students to
take advantage of these
opportunities,” Dr.
Seabrook said.
The students are glad she
did. “The conference was
a priceless experience,”
Mr. Jefferson said. “I witnessed...concern
for something other than America and
Americans. It opened my eyes to a
completely different realm of thought.”
While the UMES participants noted there
were students from many prestigious
Mr. Hill (L) and Mr. Jefferson
universities
represented at the
conference, they
saw only a few
people of color
engaged in the
discussions.
“It would have been
great to have other
HBCUs in
attendance, but I
firmly believe that
Randall, Jacquez,
and I held our own and represented them
well,” Mr. Whichard said.
Mr. Hill came away with this advice for
his fellow students. “First of all, register
to vote. Then, be able to make an
informed decision,” he said.
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TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
Drama Society Performs Dinner Theater Retrospective
Long hours and hard work paid off again
this year as Drama Society Director Della
Dameron-Johnson and her student crew
presented another stellar evening of
musical theater for Dinner Theater 2012.
More than a dozen English majors were
joined by numerous campus colleagues
on stage and behind-the-scenes for Do
You Remember: A Musical Revue. The
two acts,
featuring
more than
30 songs
from prior
dinner
theaters,
were tied
together
Preparations begin well
before show time.
by a script
written by
Dr.
Dameron-
Johnson.
The cast
spent the
evening
reminiscing
about their
favorite
songs from
shows
staged since
Jennifer Locust mans the
audio booth.
2001. That included crowd-pleasers from
Motown N More, Blues N BBQ, The Wiz,
The Mikado, The Color Purple and other
past productions.
Do You Remember included several
rousing gospel tunes which featured
members of the University’s Gospel Choir,
which is also under the direction of Dr.
Dameron-Johnson.
While the English
department is most
proud of the
theater portion of
dinner theater—
the dinner is
equally renowned.
Students enrolled
in the University’s
Hotel-Restaurant
Management Aja Meadows sings the
Program prepare a title song from Purlie.
feast of culinary
creations. This
year’s meal featured some two dozen
salad, appetizer, and entrée items, but the
audience seemed most energized at
intermission when they selected treats
from a dessert buffet of more than 15
different items.
WORD PLAY: Commonyms
Commonyms are words that have something in common, so they share a
semantic property.
Example: fur trench rain
What do the words FUR, TRENCH and RAIN have in common?
Answer: The semantic property they share is that they are all kinds of coats.
Use your lexical competence to determine what semantic property each of the
following sets of commonyms share.
1. A Ball – A Fish – A Cold
2. A Ball – A Salad – A Coin
3. Fog – A Jack – A Body Builder
4. A Bell – Mouth – A Shoe
5. Seventeen – Time – People
6. A Bottle – A Baseball Player – A Mushroom
7. A Cork – A Question – A Balloon
8. A Tug of War – The Nightly News – A Boat
9. A Basketball Court – A Highway – A Bowling Alley
10. A Hockey Game – A Restaurant – A Bank (Answers: Page 6)
Visit the website www.lumosity.com to improve your brain health and performance,
and to enhance memory, attention, and creativity. You can build your own
personalized Brain Training Program on this website.
Visit www.wuzzlesandpuzzles.com for more than 1100 FREE printable puzzles to
test your brain.
Word Play, provided by Dr. Barbara Seabrook, is an Insights monthly feature
which explores the creative use of language.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Senior English Education major
Ashley Bell is one of seven
UMES students selected as a
Maryland “Teacher of Promise.”
The program is designed to
identify teacher candidates with
superior academic records
statewide and partner them with
award-winning veteran mentor
teachers during the transition
period between college senior and
classroom teacher.
Participation in the program also
included a daylong conference
where Ms. Bell and her colleagues
heard 2011 National Teacher of
the Year Michelle Shearer deliver
the keynote address: “Teaching,
Learning, and the Power of the
Human Factor.”
Ms. Bell is a member of the
UMES Honors Program and
Sigma Tau Delta, an international
English honor society. She also
serves as a tutor in the University
Writing Center.
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WRITING CENTER ANTICIPATION
New Director Assumes Responsibility in September
By Assistant Professor Terry Smith
As I’m sure most of you have heard, I will
be Director of the University Writing
Center next fall, and I’m really looking
forward to it. Dean Cooledge, who has
done a wonderful job of developing
UMES’ writing center since he founded it
four years ago, is excited about returning
to his literary research. And I, who
directed the writing center at Salisbury
University for four years and at Wor-Wic
Community College for five years, am
excited about returning to this rewarding
part of my career. Even though my new
responsibilities don’t start until next fall,
recently I’ve been enthusiastically engaged
in several writing center activities.
On March 31, I drove to Shippensburg
University early in the morning to present
at the Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers
Association (MAWCA) Conference for the
third consecutive year. My presentation,
“Changing the Way Writing Center Tutors
Perceive Rhetorical Effectiveness:
Training English-Major Tutors to Tutor
COMPARING
NOTES
Technical Writing,” was
well received. Further, I
had the chance to renew
relationships with people
I hadn’t seen since last
year’s conference and
others I hadn’t seen in
even longer. One of
them was the conference
keynote speaker, Ben
Rafoth.
I had no idea until I
arrived at the conference
that Dr. Rafoth would be
the keynote speaker, and
it was a delightful discovery.
In addition to being the director of the
writing center at Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, Ben is an internationally
known and respected writing center
scholar. I am currently in the process of
reviewing one of his several books on
writing centers for The Writing Lab
Newsletter, and Ben was a member of my
comprehensive exam committee for
CAUGHT
DOING GOOD
Dr. Rafoth (L) and Dr. Smith
Photo provided by Dr. Smith
Composition Theory
with a question on
writing centers. But
the best part is still to
come.
As Ben and I talked, I
discovered that he
was going to be one
of the leaders of the
International Writing
Center Association
Summer Institute
2012. I really wanted
to attend since I knew
it would be an
opportunity to immerse myself in the
latest and the best in writing center
scholarship and practice, but I knew I
could not afford the $950 tuition.
However, I applied for and received a
full scholarship, so I’ll be spending July
29-August 3 at Seven Springs in
Western Pennsylvania, studying with the
leading scholars on writing centers. I
plan to return to UMES full of great
ideas for our writing center!
HAPPY
CUSTOMERS
Spanish language
professor Nydia
Gregory traveled to
Winston Salem State
University in North
Carolina recently.
Her primary purpose
was to accompany
her daughter on a
campus tour, but she
also visited the Dr. Gregory
HBCU’s Department
of English and Foreign Languages.
She learned that all of the school’s foreign
language instruction takes place in a lab,
which is similar to Dr. Gregory’s use of
UMES’ Foreign Language Instructional
Center for her classes. “It validated what I
do,” she said.
Dr. Gregory acknowledges that Winston
Salem’s larger lab size was desirable.
English staff member Pat Jones-Bailey
was one of six candidates considered for
the University’s sixth annual “Caught
Doing Good” award. The nominees were
honored at the recent 2012 Leadership
Luncheon. Crystal Purnell from the
Center for Access and Academic Success
was selected as the award winner, but Ms.
Jones-Bailey can still be caught doing
good in the English department office.
President Mortimer Neufville and Ms.
Jones-Bailey
Photo by Jim Glovier
A group of students met recently to
discuss the radio and television activities
supported on campus by the U.S.
Department of Education’s Title III
program. Among other things, those
federal dollars established the student
radio station, fund the video production
unit Discover UMES, pay for a faculty
member to teach communication courses,
and support other staff members related
to those activities.
Twice a year an “external evaluator”
travels to UMES to gauge the merit of
those federal expenditures. Last month
the evaluator, Sam Gough, asked to meet
with students who participate in
communication activities.
Corey Alexander, Akouba Marina Anoh,
Melissa Lindsay, Jennifer Locust, and
Brandon Shoats told Mr. Gough they are
well served by the federal expenditures.
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INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
Embrace Diversity: Study Foreign Language and Culture
By Associate Professor Carole Champagne
The Maryland International Consortium,
which I was invited to join, met for the
first time on April 19 in Annapolis.
Maryland Secretary of State John P.
McDonough welcomed delegates from
Sister Cities throughout the state. Governor
O’Malley has strengthened cultural and
economic ties with cities in Brazil, China,
Japan, and Mexico in the past few years.
Sister city and state agreements are gaining
strength with St. Petersburg and the
Leningrad Region of Russia. Estonian
delegates reinforced their strong linkages
with Maryland and the consortium.
The Secretary of State encouraged
collaboration and resource sharing between
associations throughout the state. As a
member of the board of directors of the
Sister Cities Association of Salisbury/
Wicomico County, I support the mission of
the association. We promote international
exchanges that create enduring bonds
through cultural awareness and
understanding, economic development, and
all levels of education.
The association is co-hosting the
Celebrating the Beauty of Diversity
Conference with the Wicomico County
Board of Education. The diversity
conference will
appropriately be held on
May 5 (Cinco de Mayo).
Participants will discuss
current issues related to
multicultural and diverse
students. We hope to
improve the educational
opportunities of ESOL
students (English
Speakers of Other
Languages). All members
of the local community
are invited to the
conference at Prince
Elementary School on
Cinco de Mayo, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Northeast Conference on the Teaching
of Foreign Languages celebrated the
diversity of our educational communities
in the Mid-Atlantic as well as Northeast
region of the country. The conference was
held in Baltimore from April 20 through
24. A variety of sessions offered cultural
and pedagogical topics related to languages
from Latin and Italian to Russian and
Japanese. Films, workshops, and
networking sessions filled my schedule.
Opportunities for study abroad are
increasing, despite the weak economy.
Students majoring in all degree programs
are encouraged to study abroad.
LITERATURE COMES ALIVE
Students Hear From Award Winning Author
Dr. Champagne (fourth from right)
poses with members of the Estonian
delegation and others at the Sister
Cities meeting.
Photo provided by Dr. Champagne
International
education will enrich
your academic as well
as your cultural
competencies. I have
served as the
Benjamin A. Gilman
International
Scholarship Study
Abroad Certifying
Advisor since 2011.
Students who receive
Pell Grants are
eligible to receive up
to $8,000 to study
abroad for a year or
$4,000 to $5,000 to
study abroad for a summer or semester.
Several UMES students submitted
excellent applications this year. On May
11, I will serve on the National Selection
Committee with the Gilman Foundation
in Houston. We will review applications
from college students throughout the
United States. Students may apply for
the October 2012 deadline if they plan to
study abroad in 2013.
The world of possibilities awaits
students who step beyond the familiar
and learn second (or third, or fourth…)
languages. Browse study abroad
opportunities at the portal to global
studies at http://www.iiepassport.org/.
The printed page collided with reality for a
group of students enrolled in Amy
Hagenrater-Gooding’s Special Topics in
Literature class (ENGL345) this semester.
Dr. Hagenrater-Gooding
envisioned a course which
would study literature that
changed the world and examine
how the world has changed
literature. Among the books on
the reading list: The Jungle, The
Catcher in the Rye, Black Like
Me, and the poignant and
powerful Vietnam War
remembrance The Things They
Dr. Hagenrater-
Gooding
Carried by Tim O’Brien.
Her selection of O’Brien’s book
was fortuitous. It’s a National
Endowment for the
Arts “Big Read”
selection for 2012.
Because many local
residents are
participating in the
“Big Read,” Mr.
O’Brien was invited to discuss
his book in nearby Berlin,
Maryland.
Five UMES students—LaBasha
Alexander, Brittany David,
McKenzie Davis, Meghin
Seldon, and Lauren Tatum—
attended the lecture with Dr.
Hagenrater-Gooding.
Ms. Alexander was
particularly struck by the
author’s recounting of his
experiences as a Vietnam
veteran. “Living in the USA,
you never really think about the whole
aspect of war. You only give your
attention to the side in which it affects
you, but in all honesty, we are all fighting
for something,” she said. “We all want
freedom, no matter the cost.”
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A SUMMER OF LEARNING
Language Lab Offers Unique Opportunity
Registration is open for The Summer
Language Experience at UMES July 16-
27. High school and home school students
entering grades 9 through 12 will study
either Arabic or Chinese in an intensive,
non-residential program designed to
provide beginners with an introduction to
the language as well as cultural
understanding.
Students will study Modern Standard
Arabic with Dr. Mohamed Tirab or
Mandarin Chinese with Ms. Susan Yin for
six hours each day over 10 weekdays in
UMES’ state-of-the-art Foreign Language
Instructional Center (FLIC) classroom.
The fee for either of the two-week
programs is $280; financial assistance is
available. All materials are included.
“This is a great opportunity for motivated
students who want to make the most of
Sometimes people who speak softly make
the loudest noise. Two UMES English
majors ended their athletic seasons with
national honors; both are quietly
unassuming about their accomplishments.
Senior Adobi Agbasi rejected 108 shots in
29 basketball games to finish third in the
nation in blocked shots per game,
averaging 3.72 blocks per contest. She
told the local daily newspaper when it
reported her accomplishment, “I was just
really happy to tell my family about it.
They were so
happy for me.”
Ms. Agbasi’s
stellar defensive
play also earned
her a new school
record for
blocked shots.
She finished her
career with 239
blocks,
surpassing the
previous UMES Ms. Agbasi
record by eight.
their summer by
learning a new
language,” said
Tammy Gharbi,
FLIC Acting
Coordinator. “It
would take nearly
15 weeks in a
traditional high
school schedule to
accomplish the 60 Ms. Gharbi
hours of
instruction offered in The Summer
Language Experience.”
FLIC is a Title III Activity that promotes
foreign language instruction for UMES,
the community, and K-12 educators.
Visit www.umes.edu/FLIC for more
information or call 410-651-6543.
NOTICED NATIONALLY
English Majors Make Their Mark
Meanwhile,
junior sprinter
Andre Walsh
was one of only
two Hawks
from the indoor
track team to
qualify for the
NCAA Division
One
Championships.
He returned
from the Mr. Walsh
event in Photos by Mark Sutton
Nampa,
Idaho, as a Second-Team All-American
in the 200-meter dash.
Mr. Walsh’s accomplishment was also
featured prominently on the front page
of The Daily Times sports section. The
Jamaican native told the newspaper’s
reporter he hopes his exposure at the
national competition this year will help
him be prepared to do even better next
year.
SPRINGFEST 2012
Hawk Radio DJs Candace Sewell (L)
and Sean Irwin get set to kick off a
remote show in the midst of the
Springfest festivities. They were the
first shift in a series of student hosts
who entertained visitors with music
and conversation throughout the
afternoon.
YOU’RE INVITED!
WHAT:
A Cinco de Mayo fiesta with
UMES Spanish language
students
WHERE:
Room 2147 in the Student
Services Center
WHEN:
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Wednesday, May 9
SPANISH FOR HEALTH
CARE
PROFESSIONALS
MAY 22, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
UMES FOREIGN LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTIONAL CENTER
COURSE FEE: $149
All materials included
Questions?
Call 410-651-6543 or email
FLIC @ umes.edu
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FINANCIAL LITERACY
English Major Links Finances to Retention
English major
Lawrence Banton is
on a mission to make
sure UMES students
are financially literate.
As a member of a
newly formed group
of peer educators, he
presents programs to
Mr. Banton
help students
understand how a
mountain of college loans will influence
their future. He also offers information
about balancing a checkbook, managing a
credit card, and looking for scholarships
and grants as an alternative to loans.
The program is called FLIPS—Financial
Literacy is Paramount for Success—and
it’s part of UMES’ multi-faceted focus
on improving retention rates.
Money problems force many students to
leave college; Mr. Banton believes FLIPS
will help to change that. He was invited
to the annual HBCU Conference on
Retention held recently in Ocean City to
share some of the innovative strategies
the FLIPS crew has developed to spread
its message.
While there is still room for
improvement, the English department
was pleased to learn recently that its
successful freshman retention rate of
73.3% from 2010 to 2011 places it in the
top ten of 32 academic programs campus
wide.
CREATIVE COMPETITION
English Major Wins at the “Ultimate Cypher”
Delaware native
and junior English
major Kyla Bibbins
won a recent
campus rap
competition dubbed
the “Ultimate
Cypher.” The event
was organized by
Hawk Radio, the
student managed
radio station.
Ms. Bibbins
There were guest
artists who
performed music, poetry, and rap, but the
competition element of the evening
featured a group of UMES students who
were selected through a prior audition
process.
After an initial performance, a panel of
judges selected three finalists. During the
second round, the audience chose Ms.
Bibbins as the winner of a $50 prize.
The event also had a public service
message. Hawk Radio partnered with a
national nonprofit called Life Beat. The
group uses
the power
of the
music
industry to
spread
public
awareness
in the
fight
against
H.I.V. and
AIDS.
Jasmine Walden (L) and Kayla
Washington greet guests with
free condoms.
ALUMNI UPDATE
Brittany Peterson, Class of 2011, is
currently interning at Hot97, a hip hop
radio station in New York City, as part
of her master’s program at Morgan
State University.
Christina Taylor, Class of 2009, has
just started a new job as a technical
director and studio technician at
WMDT TV, the ABC affiliate in
Salisbury, Maryland.
Jessica Taylor, who earned her English
degree in 2010 and was a student
employee in the department, is an
account executive in D.C. at MAYA
Advertising and Communication, a
multicultural ad agency that specializes
in minority marketing. She wants the
English faculty and staff to know she is
no longer allergic to being on time!
WORD PLAY ANSWERS
FROM PAGE TWO:
1. They are caught.
2. They are tossed.
3. They lift.
4. They have tongues.
5. They are magazines.
6. They have caps.
7. They are popped.
8. They have anchors.
9. They have lanes.
10. They have checks.
CORRECTION: Last month we
reported that during spring break David
Johnson was a presenter at an assessment
conference at Stevenson University. That
was his plan, but Dr. Johnson spent the
time at Peninsula Regional Medical Center
instead. Fully recovered from an
unexpected health problem, he returned to
the classroom almost immediately.
Insights is written and edited, except as noted, by communications instructor Marilyn
Buerkle. Technical associate Eric Hammond is responsible for desktop publishing.
Copy is proofread by composition instructor Sandy Johnston. Photos are by Marilyn
Buerkle, except as noted. If you have information you would like to appear in this
publication, contact our editor at 410-651-8349 or email her at mlbuerkle@umes.edu.
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