External Validation as a Woman of Color

By Carrington Cline Positionality Statement: This post is written by Carrington Cline, a junior and student staff intern at the Women’s Center. This blog post articulates my encounters with the media’s portrayals of Black women, as it relates to the internal and external pressures that pushed me towards an unwavering focus on academic and career…

Reflection: A Form of Action

By Abby Claytor Our progress will depend on strong foundational concepts grounded in being self-reflective, deliberate, and evaluative. Taking time to develop and strengthen our foundations—individually and institutionally—is essential, no matter how progressive or rudimentary we may be in our thinking and actions. Jane Larsson, Executive Director, CIS What started as a quest for me…

Navigating my Identity as a Pakistani-American

By Tanzila Malik Growing up as a second-generation Pakistani-American, I never had a strong connection to my culture. My dad’s family immigrated to Nebraska from Pakistan in the early 1970s when he was just a year old. My mom lived in Pakistan until the age of eight. Then she moved to England, and then later…

Cancel Culture Anxiety

By Ash Acuña When I first joined the team at the Women’s Center, one of the very first things we covered were Brave Space guidelines. The three core tenets of Brave Spaces—challenge yourself, respect others, cultivate community—invite curiosity, learning, and safety to improve. Brave Spaces, at times, feel like a replacement for what educational spaces…

Celebrating Returning Adult Learners and Their Unique Journeys

A post curated by the Women's Center's Program Coordinator, Jane DeHitta At the end of every semester, the Women's Center hosts a Graduation + End of the Year celebration for all of the Scholars + Affiliates in the Returning Adult Learners Program. (Read on to see a list of our graduating RAL Scholars) This event…

Navigating Through Relationships

Image description: Rachael smiling while standing in front of a UMBC building. She is wearing a brown, long-sleeved top. Positionality statement: This post is written by Rachael Joslow, a third-year and student staff at the Women’s Center. In addition to my experience growing up as an only child with a single mom, this blog will…

Exploring Artificial Reproductive Technologies

Positionally statement: This post is written by Audrey Gatewood. I am a senior in the UMBC School of Social Work, completing my field placement at the Women’s Center. I’m writing this blog as a result of learning about reproductive technologies in my personal life, with the belief that other people may be interested too. I…

Transness & Masculinity

Image description: shows student, Ruby smiling next to building. Positionality statement: This post is written by Ruby Millen, a second-year at UMBC studying Anthropology and Art History. I am a transmasculine person and use he/they/it pronouns. At the Women’s Center, I facilitate Spectrum which is a discussion group for members who identify as trans, genderqueer,…

“No Surprises”: Intimacy Coordinators on Film and Theater Sets, and What They Mean For All of Us

CONTENT WARNING: This blog post contains mentions of sexual violence and uses language and examples that could be upsetting. Please read with discretion.  Potentiality Statement: My name is Audrey Gatewood, and I am a senior-year Social Work student at UMBC, and field intern at the Women’s Center. In this blog I am writing about the…

A Further Reflection on Adoption and Ambiguous Loss

Image description: [Photo shows Rachael dressed in black attire, one of the Women's Center interns, smiling in front of one of the UMBC buildings.] Content Note: This post is written by Rachael Joslow, a third-year student at UMBC. I am a transracial adoptee adopted from Vietnam who grew up in Georgia for most of my…