Page 16 - Port of Baltimore - December 2021

[14] The Port of Baltimore ■ December 2021
Community Corner
Pitching In at the Port of Baltimore — If you’re involved in community events, we’d love to highlight you! Email tina.irgang@todaymediacustom.com
Port Partnerships 101: Colleges &
Universities Are Valued Port Partners
The Port of Baltimore is fortunate to be located in a region that is also home to many prestigious colleges and universities. Collaboration with these institutions of higher education not only brings new ideas to the Port, but also exposes students to careers and professions they may never have known existed. Educational partnerships like these are a win-win for all, helping to cultivate the next generation of Port professionals.
“I’ve learned over the years from some professionals that they knew nothing about jobs in the maritime industry when they were younger and stumbled into their port-related careers,” said Katrina Jones, Acting Program Manager for Education and Stakeholder Engagement at the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA). “That’s why
I think it’s so important to share with the next generation that there are many different fields for careers here at the Port of Baltimore and in this region.”
HERE IS A LOOK AT THREE SUCCESSFUL COLLEGIATE PARTNERSHIPS.
such as wildlife education, nature walks and kayaking. Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, a member of the HCL chapter, also joined the fun.
“Our hope is that this connection to Masonville Cove will help provide CSU students with connectivity to environmental careers and career pathways,” said MDOT MPA consultant and The Links, Inc. member Dr. Mamie Parker, who serves as co-chair of the The Links’ national STEMREADY committee.
2 Morgan State University
MDOT MPA partnered with another Baltimore-based HBCU, Morgan State University, to analyze the use of space in and around Masonville Cove and propose ideas that could help make the site more accessible to the residents of the nearby neighborhoods of Westport, Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.
Morgan State University (MSU) School of Architecture and Planning graduate students are working with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)
“The challenge is how to make places like Masonville Cove more accessible without jeopardizing the intrinsic qualities that make them memorable and distinctive. Students and faculty alike look forward to working with the Cove’s diverse partners and community advisors
to strike the right balance,” said
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Landscape
1 Coppin State University
Located in the northwest section of the City of Baltimore, Coppin State University (CSU) is a historically black college and university (HBCU). Baltimore is also home to the Harbor City Chapter of The Links, Incorporated (HCL), one of the oldest African-American nonprofit and non-partisan community service organizations.
HCL’s WildSTEM program
helps young people become active agents for positive change in their communities, and HCL members have served as mentors to CSU students for years. What better place to get involved than at Masonville Cove? Once an environmental brownfield site, now Masonville Cove is the nation’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership.
“Our chapter saw WildSTEM
as a unique opportunity to help the Harbor City Links Scholars — students from Coppin State University who
–
to study and propose ways to increase visitation and maximize the functionality of outdoor learning space at Masonville Cove.
– Chesapeake Bay Laboratory
National Urban Wildlife Conservation Day celebration at Masonville Cove.
PHOTO BY MAMIE PARKER/ECOLOGIX GROUP, INC.
the chapter mentors throughout
the year — better understand the environmental challenges facing not only our community but the world,” said Savonne Ferguson, President of HCL.
Masonville Cove’s recent National Urban Wildlife Conservation Day was the perfect place to volunteer and network. As a lead volunteer group, the HCL Scholars facilitated activities