Remembering Dr. Angela Grant, former PROMISE Peer Mentor (Math, UMCP)

Today, we honor and remember our dear friend and sister, Dr. Angela Grant. Angela was part of the first cohort of PROMISE Peer Mentors from the University of Maryland College Park. Angela was a mathematician and was on the faculty at Northwestern University.

Memorial Services for Dr. Angela E. Grant will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 40 Coral Ave., Glendale, Ohio 45246. Family Hour at 10:30a.m. Memorial Service begins at 12:00p.m. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Dr. Angela E. Grant Memorial Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 84481, Pearland, TX 77584. Please keep the family in your prayers.

Here are some of our PROMISE memories in pictures. Angela had a smile and a kind word for everyone. She was an inspiration and she will be missed!

The pictures above show Angela as a doctoral student. She is shown above at SREB conferences, the PROMISE Summer Success Institute (she even came back as a speaker once she received her Ph.D.), and the PROMISE Community Building Retreat during the days when we used to take the long bus rides to Coolfont in West Virginia.



Here is the article from the Daily Northwestern Newspaper at Northwestern University, 9/22/10:

Mathematics professor loses battle with cancer
Professor of Mathematics and Weinberg adviser Angela Grant died of cancer Monday in her Cincinnati home. Grant, who has taught at Northwestern since 2005, sent an e-mail to advisees over the summer, informing them that she would not be returning to NU in the fall for health reasons.
"I love my job and my students," she wrote. "I know you will go on to do great things. I'll certainly be at your graduation in spirit!"

Weinberg senior Catherine Kennedy, one of Grant's advisees, described the professor as "always warm and friendly and very personal." Grant was known for her sense of humor and her enthusiasm for both mathematics and the Cincinnati Bengals. The date of the memorial service will be announced soon.



When Angela participated on panels and gave advice to her then fellow graduate students, she would always emphasize the importance of not being isolated. A strong proponent of connecting with people from different cultural backgrounds, she would encourage students to socialize with people from other ethnicities, experience different genres of music, and learn about other traditions. She LOVED math! She was a great student, a wonderful alum, and a fantastic person. She will be missed!

In memory of UMBC Physics Professor, Dr. Wallace McMillan

It was shocking to read the UMBC Announcement regarding the passing of UMBC Physics Professor, Dr. Wallace McMillan.  http://umbcinsightsweekly.wordpress.com/03/22/passing-of-wallace-mcmillan//2010

Dr. McMillan supported PROMISE and graduate student professional development activities through regular and enthusiastic participation in the Summer Horizons program, and as an excellent panelist for the "When Faculty Say X, They Really Mean Y" annual seminar series.  Dr. McMillan was the Graduate Program Director for Atmospheric Physics, and as such, showed genuine interest for students' success.
http://physics.umbc.edu/bios/mcmillan/index.php



Dr. McMillan will be remembered for his kindness and collegiality; he will be missed! 
-PROMISEstaff

In Memory of Arthur W. Elder, Father of Charlotte Elder (UMBC PROMISE)

Arthur W. Elder II, father of PROMISE member Charlotte Elder (UMBC,
Clinical Psychology) lost his battle with lung cancer on December 17,
2009. Charlotte is also a Meyerhoff Fellow and a member of the Dissertation House.

Charlotte's father was a UMBC alum and great supporter of all up and
coming PhDs so he will be greatly missed by family and friends.


(Contributed by Frances D. Carter, UMBC PROMISE Peer Mentor, Physics & Public Policy)

In Memory Of...

My loving mother, Emma Lee Smith, who passed in April 1974. I wish you were here to share my sadness, my joys, and my many successes.

My missing father, J.C. Jackson, who passed in October 1999. I just found you, but God said it was time to go. I wish you were here to share in my sadness, my joys, and my successes.

Melissa LaToya Browning
PROMISE Protege' 2009

In loving memory of Sekai Ayinde Williams

In loving memory of Sekai Ayinde Williams.

Sunrise 10-8-93

Sunset 6-10-09

"Tell them not to treat foster kids like this.

Tell them not to take kids from their mothers who love them.

Tell them not to treat kids bad just because they have disabilities.

It hurts their feelings."

Son of Asha-Lateef Williams

(PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMCP)

In memory ...

As I learned about the passing of the son of one of our PROMISE members, I began to think about the loved ones of so many of our grad students and team members who have passed away since the major programs of PROMISE began in 2003. 

This post is dedicated to them. They loved, they continue to be loved, and they continue to inspire.  These are the names that I can think of at the moment. Others are free to add in.

* Jessica Soto Perez (left, 1977-2004), one of our own grad students, in our first cohort of PROMISE Peer Mentors (UMBC) http://www.umbc.edu/promise/jessica.html



* Gloria Reynoso, the mother of Gloria Anglon, UMCP PROMISE Coordinator


* Joshua Wheagar (the one who came to prepare the way) Mosley, the son of Dr. Sylvester and Korto Mosley (Sly, former PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMBC)


* The brother of Dr. Johnetta Davis (PROMISE Co-PI, UMCP)


* Professor Philip J. Rutledge, the father of Dr. Janet Rutledge (PROMISE Co-PI, UMBC)
http://www.iun.edu/~newsnw/pg/2007/070201_rutledge.shtml


* Jesse Oyd Harris, Jr., the father of Dr. Robin Smiles (former PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMCP)


* The grandmother of Adrienne Starks (PROMISE student, UMBC)


* The father of Yvette Williams (PROMISE student, UMBC)


* Gladys Franco de Ordóñez , the mother of Patti Ordóñez-Rozo (PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMBC)


* Julia Mae Major, the mother of David L. Major (PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMCP)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=77389809494


And most recently, the young man who inspired this post, Sekai Ayinde Williams, the son of Asha-Lateef Williams (PROMISE Peer Mentor, UMCP). Sekai means: "Full of Laughter" and Ayinde means "We prayed for him."