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Meet Tess McRae

INDS Spring 2022 Graduate Highlight Series

B.A. INDS: Civic Renewal and Creative Expression
Humanities Scholar
Kaplan Scholar
Magna Cum Laude


Degree Mentors

  • David Hoffman, Center for Democracy and Civic Life 
  • Romy Hübler, Center for Democracy and Civic Life 
  • Lia Purpura, English
  • Steven McAlpine, Individualized Study
Why did you choose to major in INDS?
I made the choice to switch to INDS during my junior year after feeling increasingly constricted in my pre-defined major. I was studying English on the Communication & Technology track, analyzing the rhetorical objectives of various kinds of "texts" (i.e. genres of communication). In the gateway courses for the major, my peers, instructors, and I explored a broad array of texts including board games, poems, and music... but as we progressed into upper-level classes, we focused predominantly on the texts of scholarly books and papers. The rhetorical study of multimedia texts (and, notably, art) was something that deeply fascinated me, and I was distressed to be moving away from it when it was the thing that had drawn me to the track in the first place. In addition, I felt like my academics were insufficiently aligned with my growing sense of purpose in community engagement work, which I was exploring through extracurricular activities. When I shared with each of them that my frustration was reaching a breaking point, David Hoffman, Romy Hübler, and Lia Purpura—dear supervisors and professors of mine who went on to become my degree mentors—recommended that I consider the INDS program, so I signed up for INDS 330: Ways of Knowing. My instructors and peers seemed to be asking the right questions: challenging our conceptions of studenthood and academia as a whole; encouraging us to leap off of paved paths and "claim our education." I learned quickly and profoundly that the unique exploration I wanted to take was not only possible but within reach. Once I discovered that the winged sandals of agency had been on my feet all along, there was no going back. I took flight as an INDS major... and I have only continued to soar.


What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?
During my time as a UMBC undergraduate student, I have blossomed into a facilitator and designer of spaces in which people gain awareness of the roles they can and do play in fostering a thriving democracy at any scale and in any setting. Following my graduation in May 2022, I intend to continue co-creating an ethos of agency, self confidence, and communion felt deeply by people around the world. I hope to be able to do this work in ways that allow me to indulge and draw from my identity as a poet, visual artist, musician, and aspiring theater-maker. I can see myself facilitating creative expression workshops and programs for community groups and/or working as an organizer to help create a collaborative piece of art such as a literary magazine or a performance piece. 

EXTRACURRICULAR
I am a founding staff member of UMBC's Center for Democracy and Civic Life; I started my internship in 2018 and was named senior intern in 2020. Through my work with the Center, I have presented at Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) National Meetings every year since 2019. I also serve as a co-chair of the University System of Maryland's Student Civic Leaders Committee, which I joined in 2020 when it was created, and I have been a coach multiple times with STRiVE, UMBC's leadership for social impact program. Artwork that I have created for Center initiatives has been featured in exhibitions at OCA Mocha and UMBC's 2021 University Retreat, and it is currently on display on the second floor of The Commons.

Outside of my work with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, I have gotten involved in various student organizations, jobs, and volunteer opportunities on campus. I worked with UMBC's Student Government Association (SGA) for a year and a half on the Election Board and the Communications Department, eventually becoming Director of Communications for the spring 2019 semester, and with Commonvision for a year and a half as a graphic designer. In addition, I was the founding secretary of the student organization Retriever Poets; a Study Abroad Ambassador with the Education Abroad Office; and a peer facilitator with the Introduction to an Honors University (IHU) program.

For more information on Tess's INDS journey please click here:

Posted: April 12, 2022, 9:55 AM