Celebrating Women’s History Month & Multiracial Heritage Month 2026

Clark School Community,

In March we happily honor both Women’s History Month and Multiracial Heritage Month. These celebrations provide us with 31 days to reflect on the many ways our Clark School women and multiracial community members educate, inspire, and sustain generations of Maryland engineers—and engineering innovations.

The impact of Terp engineers has a ripple effect, positively shaping our campus, field, and world.

• Maryland Engineering (and Flexus living and learning community) alum Rosalie Faith Hrybyk ’13, M.S. ’15 returned in 2025 to the Department of Fire Protection Engineering with nearly 10 years of experience to serve as the assistant clinical professor, a role that allows her to “make connections between students, professors, and industry—for a stronger community and discipline.”
• Chelsea Neumann ’25 (bioengineering) says her multiracial background and being a woman in engineering have given her perspective in her roles as a Fischell Institute and MPower Entrepreneurship Fellow and Women in Engineering (WIE) Program graduate assistant—as she encourages all students to bring their views to the table.
• Tamunobelema “Belema” Olungwe, a sophomore bioengineering major and Clark Scholar feels empowered to help the students in her path as well as her peers. “When I’m around other women engineering students, it never feels like we’re in competition, but in support of each other,” she says.

This Women’s History Month, the Women in Engineering (WIE) Program caps off its 30th year. Since its inception, WIE has ensured that anyone who wants to be an engineer has the opportunity and support to do so. (In fact, while women engineering majors still account for less than half of all majors, undergraduate degrees awarded to women are up 166%, and graduate degrees awarded to women are up 328% since WIE’s beginnings.)

Multiracial Heritage Month invites the UMD community to honor the identities, stories, and histories of mixed-race, multiethnic, and transracial adoptee individuals. The university’s Multiracial Student Union serves the multiracial and multiethnic community across campus and offers the Mosaic Lounge in the Unity Center as a gathering space.

At the Clark School, we know how important it is to find and engage with the community. From affinity groups to competition teams, and from major-affiliated and interdisciplinary organizations to honor societies, Maryland Engineering Student Organizations supports all 50-plus engineering-related student groups to connect and thrive.

The engineering field reaps the benefits of recognizing, celebrating, and supporting our multifaceted community—with more successful and comprehensive solutions to engineering problems as a result. I encourage you to share these and all the stories of our Maryland engineering community members you will find on our digital channels, and participate in campus-wide activities. 

Sincerely,

Samuel Graham, Dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor
Paige E. Smith, Director (she/her/hers)
Tabatha Cuadra Rodriguez, Assistant Director - Retention (she/her)
Jen Kuntz, Assistant Director - Outreach & Recruitment (she/her)
Sam Murillo, Program Coordinator (she/her) 
Women in Engineering Program

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