A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
November 2019
The energy behind Maryland’s lynching reconciliation panel Delegate Joseline Peña- Melnyk , center, is flanked by admiring audience members following her inspirational talk Nov. 7 about what inspired her to becoming a lynching reconciliation advocate.
A Dominican Republic native who uses her platform as a Maryland lawmaker to be a voice for disenfranchised African-Americans brought her impassioned message of justice and reconciliation to UMES Nov. 7. State Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk delivered a powerful midday lecture that was part pep-talk and challenged her Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts audience to confront head-on the state’s ugly history of lynching.
“Race is a difficult topic to discuss,” Peña-Melnyk said, adding, “we need to have this discussion. We need to honor those lives” of lynching victims. Her remarks resonated with students, faculty, staff and community members; they instinctively rose to their feet in applause and appreciation at the end of her 30-minute presentation. PEÑA-MELNYK I / continued on page 2
INSIDE
Tuskegee Airmen celebrate Veterans’ Day 2019 at UMES Page 2
Md. Lynching Commission cont. Tuskegee cont.
Page 3 Halloween
UMES’ Chief of Staff talks engineering
Veterans’ Day 2019 was a red-letter day for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Actually, “Red Tail” day is more accurate. Two charter members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, including an Eastern Shore native, visited campus to share wisdom and insights from their experiences as patriotpioneers in the mid-20th century when blacks struggled for the right to serve on the front lines in the nation’s military. Col. Charles E. McGee, at age 99 the oldest (documented original) Tuskegee Airman, was joined by Dr. Harry Quinton as the featured TUSKEGEE / continued on page 2
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1890 Scholars
Page 5 Page 6 Fred Engh
STEM Night 2019
IPC Student Chapter
Veteran’s Banquet
Page 7 Page 8 Pies for FUN-ds Black Box
Chef Andrés Visits USG
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Faculty News HFPP of the Month
Page 10 Hawk Hysteria
Page 11 Page 12 Athletics
MEAC
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The Key / November 2019
Circling the Oval
TUSKEGEE / continued from cover red tails for identification purposes, symbolism speakers at a 90-minute program paying tribute that endures today. McGee and engine mechanic to their military service. Quinton, born in nearby Salisbury, sported fireMcGee, who lives in Bethesda, is among the engine red hopsack sports jackets adorned with nation’s most celebrated 20th service medals and ribbons century military pilots; he flew during their UMES appearance. 409 combat missions in three While McGee went on to a wars – World War II, Korea and 30-year career in the military, Vietnam. retiring in 1973, Quinton According to his daughter, served in the old U.S. Army Air McGee relishes speaking at Corps for three years. events organized specifically When a teen in the for youth. The Nov. 11 event audience asked about their in UMES’ 510-seat Student most rewarding memory as Services Center theatre was just Tuskegee Airmen, Quinton such an occasion. didn’t mince words. “I enjoy meeting and “My discharge,” he talking to young people,” said, later explaining the Col. Charles E. McGee McGee said. “It’s so important discrimination he experienced to have them understand what we went through to as an enlisted man stationed in Augusta, Ga., defend our country.” where he saw prisoners of war receiving better “And …,” McGee said with a twinkle in his treatment and benefits at the post exchange than eye, “it keeps me out of a rocking chair.” did he and his peers. McGee flew 136 combat missions in World “I’ve never forgotten that,” Quinton said, “I War II planes piloted by blacks and painted with never will.”
PEÑA-MELNYK / continued from cover
Dr. Marshall F. Stevenson Jr., dean of UMES’ School of Education, Social Science & The Arts, invited PeñaMelnyk to visit Princess Anne to share why she drafted legislation this year the state General Assembly adopted to create the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What the gathering heard was a story of an eight-year-old girl who came to America with her single mother and quickly developed the tenacity to overcome hardships while embracing empathy for the downtrodden. A passion to help others led to a career in law, and for the past 13 years as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties. Peña-Melnyk, who described herself as Afro-Latina, said the recent national movement to acknowledge the role lynching played in American history inspired her to speak out about Maryland’s past – and the lack of justice addressing those crimes. “I love being a voice for the community,” she said, pacing energetically back and forth in the Fitzgerald center orchestra pit as well as up and down the center aisles. Before she spoke, Stevenson arranged for a showing of a 17-minute mini-documentary on the state’s last known lynching, produced by the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project.
Fitted with a wireless microphone, the softspoken McGee credited four “pillars” he strove to live up to be successful; be perceptive, prepared, ready-to-perform and persevere. “You’re the future of the country,” said McGee, who was an Eagle Scout. Quinton offered a sobering perspective on his military experience. “If we had refused to go, that would have set our race back a hundred years,” he said. “We’re making progress, but we didn’t get there, yet.” The Airmen’s appearance doubled as a celebration; McGee turns 100 on Dec. 7 and seven days later, Quinton will be 94. The audience serenaded them with “Happy Birthday,” and then an encore. “He’s my hero,” Quinton said of McGee. “Always has been.” The visit by McGee and Quinton was arranged by Young Elites of the Eastern Shore West-to-East Coast Aviation Network, a non-profit educational program for Somerset County youth between the ages of eight-and-18 based at UMES that emphasizes careers in math, engineering, technology and science.
“The Lynching of George Armwood” is about a man murdered in 1933 by mob rule in Princess Anne and features interviews with some of Armwood’s relatives and historians telling the story that played out in graphic detail in newspapers. No one was prosecuted for committing the crime. “Every time I watch it,” PeñaMelnyk said at the start of her presentation, “I get angry.” “We have to take our anger,” she said, “and turn it into something positive, something constructive.” “We need to acknowledge it,” she said. Over the next three years, the reconciliation commission will conduct hearings and research across the state with the goal of crafting an accurate accounting of all the unlawful lynchings that occurred in Maryland. Where that work will lead is unclear, but Peña-Melnyk noted the law empowers the state attorney general with subpoena power – an important investigative and law enforcement tool. UMES will have a role in helping shape the commission’s findings. President Heidi M. Anderson appointed Stevenson to represent the university on the panel, which has a designated seat for a historian from each of Maryland’s four historically black institutions. “I had a wonderful time,” she said a she exited the Fitzgerald theater. Her first visit to UMES “was very energizing.”
Student Stories
The Key / November 2019
Halloween in Princess Anne The 2019 edition of Princess Anne’s Halloween on Main Street took temporary leave
of its traditional venue – Somerset Avenue downtown – to avoid the ominous threat of inclement weather. Young goblins, ghosts, princesses and Super Heroes showed off their costumes instead at the Greenwood Elementary School, where a cadre of UMES student-volunteers infused the event with just the right amount of Hawk Pride energy. A ghoulishly good time was had by all, we think.
Mock talks engineering with UMES frosh
Dr. Robert Mock, UMES President Heidi M. Anderson’s chief of staff, was the guest speaker in October at a first-year experience class of engineering students that also attracted seniors. Mock’s undergraduate degree is in industrial engineering, and he discussed how that led to jobs with Illinois Tool Works and Pepsi before settling on higher education administration as a career choice. According to department chairman Yuanwei Jin, “students were excited by the … direct engagement with university leadership.” The engineering and aviation sciences department organizes the seminar to help freshmen transition from high school to college and expose them to different fields of study of engineering as well as career paths in the profession.
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School Scholars
The Key / November 2019
Meet UMES’ Trio of USDA
Scholars
Three UMES undergraduates, Jailynn Britt, James Pinkney and Tyler Reid, have been named 2019 USDA/1890 Scholars. Each have received full scholarships to the university that include books, professional development and employment with the federal government during the summer. All three were influenced to pick UMES as a result of their participation, while in high school, in the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Pre-College Initiative Program promoted across the state by the university’s Karl Binns Jr. Jailynn Britt is a sophomore from Brandywine, Md. majoring in general agriculture with a concentration in agriculture studies. “The first time I … heard about agriculture was in my high school’s environmental academy,” Britt said. “From there, I joined Future Farmers of America (FFA) and (Jr.) MANRRS to broaden my views on agriculture.” Those organizations enabled her to be a Bayer AgAmbassador, participate in U.S. Department of Agriculture’s AgDiscovery, be a Borlaug scholar and attend the World Food Prize conference in Des Moines, Iowa. As a UMES student, she recently traveled to Milan, Italy for the Seeds & Chips Global Food Innovation Summit. “These are just a few opportunities and experiences being in agriculture have given me,” she said. “Now that I am an 1890 National Scholar, I will only have more insightful and exciting experiences that will develop me as an individual and advance me into my dream career.” “I loved how the university had a general agriculture program, which is a hard major to come by,” she said. “I also knew it was an 1890 land-grant college specifically for agriculture.” Her industry partner for her scholarship is APHIS Veterinary Services. This past summer, she was a counselor for the USDA AgDiscovery program. The learning won’t stop after graduation. Britt intends to continue her education, pursuing a masters and a doctorate. Her career goal is to be employed with the USDA. James Pinkney is a junior from Clinton, Md. majoring in environmental science with a concentration
Jailynn Britt
James Pinkney
Tyler Reid
in chemistry. Participation in the annual Jr. MANRRS’ Leadership Institute at UMES and “all the amazing opportunities and connections” made the university his college choice. “I knew UMES was the right school for me because it aligned with my interests, and I built advocacy here before I was even a student,” Pinkney said. “I always had my eye on the USDA and the work that they do. Being able to have internships around agricultural and environmental science and in USDA labs was the icing on the cake.” Pinkney is partnered with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for his scholarship. He recently completed a summer internship in an ARS crops pathology lab in Davis, Calif., where he worked alongside a group of researchers and other undergraduates. The research focus was on the characterization and diversity of California agrobacterium strains and their effect on growing walnuts. “If it was not for my MANRRS advisers and mentors (and) … some professors continuing to push me and providing access to this opportunity …,” he said. “I would not have had the chance to be involved in the things I currently have going for me.” Tyler Reid is a sophomore from Prince George’s County majoring in agricultural studies. At Gwynn Park High School, she was a part of the environmental studies academy and a member and officer of the school’s FFA chapter. Like Pinkney, she also attended the Jr. MANRRS Leadership Institute several times, making UMES a comfortable college choice. “I came to UMES because I wanted to be able to graduate with my undergraduate degree with little or no debt,” Reid said. “I had also formed a support system here through Karl Binns, Lisa Purnell, Stephon Fitzpatrick and Dr. Kimberly Braxton. I knew I would have people around me that would push me to succeed and help me accomplish my goals.” Her sponsoring agency is the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. This past summer she was a Wallace Carver Fellow under the World Food Prize interning with the USDA in the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement in Washington, D.C.
School News
The Key / November 2019
1963 (Maryland State College) alumnus Fred Engh visited campus in mid-October, when he spoke with a gathering of UMES student-athletes and offered advice about putting sports in perspective and preparing for life after the cheering stops. Engh also stopped by the bookstore, where a paperback he recently published about his experience as a student at a historically black institution is on sale. He writes warmly about his friendship with football star, the late Bob Taylor.
IPC Student Chapter formed at UMES
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore this fall became the first IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries student chapter in Maryland. The trade association, founded in 1957, aims to standardize the assembly and production requirements of electronic equipment and assemblies. “UMES had the most students to join at an initial interest meeting than any other institution thus far,” said Aaron Birney, an IPC representative. Chapter requirements include attending two industry events, attending 50% of IPC student chapter events and being enrolled in at least two online courses per year. “This is a great opportunity for UMES students to learn about current industry standards, network with industry professionals, and apply these industry standards into their current coursework,” chapter advisor Joel Tomlinson said. Photo: UMES Department of Technology
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School News
The Key / November 2019
STEM Night 2019
The atrium of UMES’ Engineering & Aviation Science Complex was the host site Nov. 6 for the 5th annual Maryland STEM Festival staged by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension / 4-H program. The popular event included hands-on exhibits featuring robotics, 3-D printing, electronics demonstrations, flight simulators and live birds of prey. UMES students and faculty and invited guest exhibitors geared presentations to students in grades K-through-12.
(Left to right) James Fegely, Nasir Lone, and Joey Berger experiment at the popular robotics station.
Chelsie Howard, seated, tries her hand at UMES’ flight simulator as instructor Dr. Xavier Henry coaches her on using the high-tech tool.
Salute-to-veterans Banquet A capacity crowd filled UMES’ Henson Center ballroom for a salute-toveterans banquet Nov. 8 co-sponsored by the university and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce. UMES hospitality-tourism management students planned, prepared and served the gourmet meal. (Above clockwise) UMES alumni Jesse Cottman Smith (1950) and Bill Dennis (1970) Senior Craig Thomas, event general manager Junior Kylah Cheeves of Brandywine Sophomore Paul Kerner of Annapolis & junior Jalen Jameson-Johnson of Washington, DC Senior Paris Johnson, event assistant gen. mgr. of Bowie
(Left-to-right) Desiree Terrell Nelson, her brother Montana White, Richard Warren III and his father, UMES alum Richard Warren Jr., Maryland’s former state Teacher of the Year, demonstrate launch angles of straw rockets.
School News
Pies for FUN-ds The Herman Franklin Paraprofessional program’s Resident Assistants and Student Directors held their “Pie a Paraprofessional” fundraiser November 7 in the Student Services Center Rotunda, where students were eager to dish out their support. The event netted $155 towards RA’s and SD’s graduation expenses. Area Directors were also a target at the event. “It was a successful event. People who showed up to support the event had a lot of fun,” says Paraprofessional Coordinator and Area Director Serena Studivant. Clockwise top left: Student Director Rykarra Hill is pied for the cause. Freshman Jayden Williams pieing Student Director Regina Martin. Anthony Mccray pies area Director Serena Studivant while Graduate Assistant Zachary Castell watches.
Fireflies, by playwright Donja R. Love, fits the mission of Black
Box in that it is theater to talk about. Issues of infidelity, abortion, sexual identity, alcoholism, abuse and the search for personal happiness are set against the backdrop of the 1960s’ civil rights movement. There is a rich complexity of character that Tysheria Spruill and Charles Brown bring forward beautifully – a very powerful play.
The Key / November 2019
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The Key / November 2019
School News
‘I am just a cook’ Ernest Boger, Sherrie Tennesse & José Andrés
It’s not every day a chef with a rock star résumé stops by your kitchen to talk shop and samples your mother’s recipe for empanadas. But that’s what Mario A. Sep and his classmates experienced when World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés visited the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s hospitality and tourism management program at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville. “I remember helping my mom (fix meals) since I was … 8-years-old,” Sep said in an interview with a WJLA TV reporter. “So, for me, making this dish for him is very, very great. I feel very happy.” Ever the diplomat, the Spaniard took a bite and told Sep: “It’s very smart to say ‘it’s my mom’s recipe,’ because nobody will ever say there’s anything wrong with it.” The banter elicited laughs and smiles in a day full of them where Andrés was celebrated by aspiring chefs, educators and civic leaders at the institution in suburban Washington, D.C. Andrés appearance at UMES’ satellite program at Shady Grove was more than a year in the making, thanks to chef instructor Susan Callahan’s perseverance. Callahan and Andrés have known one another for a quarter century, dating back to when both worked in downtown Washington at eateries on E Street; he at Jaleo and she at the D.C. Central Kitchen. “He was generous with his time (then), and brought his staff to work on our kitchen as volunteers and help in training,” Callahan said. “We became friends. I have followed his career … watching him rocket into super stardom.” Callahan took her students to Frederick Community College in February 2018 to hear him speak and decided “he needed to come and meet (UMES) students” she teaches. “I wanted students to hear him say what I have known for a long time,” she said. “To be successful, you need to make more than money. You need to be a global citizen. You need to care about the person next to you and the people on the other side of the globe.” Andrés embodies “global citizen,” known not only for his popular, trendy restaurants and business savvy, but for humanitarian efforts to feed the
hungry and downtrodden. He’s was the driving force behind a mobile kitchen that fed thousands of displaced Puerto Ricans when Hurricane Maria destroyed much of that U.S. territory in 2017. When Hurricane Dorian this fall wreaked the same devastation on the Bahamas, Andrés and his army of volunteers were there, too, to provide meals. “José is a very busy man,” Callahan said. “We were concerned when he went to the Bahamas for emergency relief that our visit might be delayed.” He made his way to UMES’ Marriott Teaching Kitchen, where he met with Callahan’ culinary students, greeting each one and sampling some of their food while answering questions. “How were you able to balance family life and professional life,” asked Kara Yanez, the mother of a 2-year-old daughter. “It is one of the biggest challenges we have,” Andrés said. “I think any job has its challenges, but I think our industry has the challenge bigger than anybody.” Yanez told a WJLA reporter after chatting with Andrés “It gives me a little more encouragement that I can make this work with my family and my career choices.” Callahan said, “He inspired our students, and I was thrilled to be in his orbit.” Callahan most admires Andrés for his “kindness and humility.” After all these years, she said, he responds to compliments and accolades with “I am just a cook.” Details in this report include information generated by WJLA TV (Washington, D.C.) and the media relations office of the Universities at Shady Grove, which also provided the photographs.
School News
UMES’ Dang makes another Top Marylander list
The Key / November 2019
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Herman Franklin Paraprofessional (HFPP) of the Month
Senior Ayanna Agee is a Resident Assistant in University Terrace. Ayanna is very creative with her bulletin boards and programming and always willing to assist others. Q: Hometown? UMES’s Dr. Yen Dang has been selected a 2019 Leading Women award winner by The Daily Record newspaper. The Leading Women awards honor 50 women who are 40 years of age or younger for accomplishments they have made so far in their careers. A panel of previous Top 100 Women and Leading Women winners selected the 2019 honorees based on their professional experience, community involvement and commitment to inspiring change. Earlier this year, the Baltimore publication also named Dang one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, a recognition program it has sponsored annually since 1996 to “recognize outstanding achievements by women demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring.” Dang, an associate professor of pharmacy practice who was born in Vietnam, also serves as the UMES School of Pharmacy’s Director of Global Health. She has traveled widely in that role alongside pharmacy students on mission trips organized to extend public health services to impoverished citizens of less prosperous countries. The Record launched the Leading Women awards in 2010 to identify the next generation of Maryland’s women leaders. Nominees for Leading Women were asked to complete an application that outlined their education and career history; examples of mentoring, career-related officer and board memberships in professional, business or trade organizations; volunteer involvement in civic and nonprofit organizations; awards and honors; professional accomplishments; and commitment to inspiring change in their organization or the community. The 2019 Leading Women awards will be presented Dec. 2 at a reception and dinner starting at the Westin hotel in Annapolis.
A: Upper Marlboro, MD Q: Major? A: Criminal Justice Q: What song do you play to pump you up for the day? A: Joss Stone, Girl They Won’t Believe It Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? A: Bali, Indonesia Q: Describe the impact of your time at UMES and being a part of the HFPP? A: I’m a firm believer of my platform, “Home Is Where the Heart Is”. UMES is truly my home. One of the best decisions I’ve made was coming here. HFPP was my family before I was even officially in HFPP. Being a part of such a profound organization has opened many opportunities for me and I couldn’t be more grateful.
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Hawk Hysteria
The Key / November 2019
UMES celebrates the start of NCAA basketball season each fall with Hawk Hysteria, when student-athletes and their peers gather in the Hytche Athletic Center on an October Friday for an evening of music, dance moves, showmanship, a mascot birthday “party” – all mixed in with intra-squad scrimmaging to give Hawk faithful a glimpse of the 2019-20 campaign now underway. Upcoming home games are listed at www.easternshorehawks.com.
2019
Photos courtesy of the UMES athletics department.
(Right) Men’s basketball team members psych up themselves during Hawk Hysteria intros. (Below) Hector Cime, Mr. UMES, whoops it up at Hawk Hysteria 2019.
HH3 ready to take flight. (Below) Cheerleader Capt. Zion Brinson, a junior, tosses free merch to the crowd.
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Marlon Adams (left), stares down Ahmad (Below) Portia Sydnor (left) looks off Dayona Godwin.
Jamaya Blanks flashes some unique dance
Jamaya Blanks flashes some unique dance moves.
Athletics
The Key / November 2019
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Torres tested & tuned in by international competition When UMES junior Paulina Torres was about nine years old, her parents took her to a get-together with friends involved in the local bowling circuit in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The friends suggested Paulina come along to the youth bowling league on Saturday mornings. Her parents said “Okay! Let’s … see if she likes it or not,’” recalled Torres, who played volleyball and swam competitively. As those two interests eventually faded, her introduction to bowling started a lifelong relationship with the lanes. “I went to the bowling alley that day and I fell in love,” she said. By age 12, Torres made Team Puerto Rico. After several more years honing her talent, she ended up at UMES, where she quietly has become a leader of one of the NCAA’s perennial powers. When we recruited Paulina we knew … she was destined for great things,” coach Kayla Bandy said. The bowlers in the program “all mesh really well, and Paulina is an integral puzzle piece to kind of bring it all together. Her work ethic is unmatched, so (it) rubs off on her teammates and makes good things happen.” UMES was the final stop on Torres’ college-visit tour. Luckily, the Hawks had Kristie Lopez, one of Torres’ Puerto Rican national teammates on the roster at the time. “Kristie came here and I saw everything she did here and thought, ‘that’s a good school,’” Torres said. “I felt like this was the perfect place for me for these four years.” Torres arrived in Princess Anne with extensive international competition experience. She bowled for Team Puerto Rico at a Pan American Bowling Federation (PABCOM) tournament in 2013 and earned multiple medals at the Central American Games from 2014-17.
“When the season started, bowling and school together were hard,” Torres said, “but [Coach Bandy] helped us all with study hours and bowling.” By second semester, she realized UMES was the right choice and “that everything was going well. Bowling and school were going well.” That confidence translated to more success internationally when the collegiate bowling season ended. In 2018, Torres bowled a perfect 300 game at the PABCON Women’s Doubles Championships. The next summer, she finished runner-up in the singles competition at the PABCON Youth Championships and helped lead Team Puerto Rico to a silver medal. “For me, team events are … the main goal, and we won that one,” she said. “I’m glad we did. It was an amazing experience, and I wouldn’t change that moment for anything.” Torres’ success overseas has brought glory to Puerto Rico while also staying in top bowling condition during the summer months between collegiate seasons. That extra experience, coupled with a commendable work ethic, enabled Torres to have a breakout campaign as a sophomore a year ago. She earned MEAC Bowler of the Week honors after making the Hawk Classic All-Tournament Team, and played a key role in UMES’ march to a MEAC championship and NCAA Tournament semifinal run. With another bowling season underway, Torres believes she is primed to step into a leadership role as the Hawks aim for back-to-back MEAC titles and an elusive fourth NCAA championship. “When I came here, Danielle [August] and Brigitte [Jacobs] were our leaders, and now Brigitte is a senior, so I need to follow in their role,” Torres said. “I need to learn at lot from them (about) how to talk to” teammates at “the right moment. And I hope I do a great job with them.”
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Congratulations to the UMES 2019 women’s cross country team, which placed second in a 10-team field at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s championship meet Oct. 25 in Dover. Freshman Aurelia Jepkorir (third from the right) led the Lady Hawks, finishing second among 66 runners from the 10 participating schools. The UMES men’s team finished 3rd in a six-team meet.
The Key / November 2019
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