A spotlight on a scholarship fund that encourages students to combine social science knowledge with technical and design skills
Tracye Turner, co-owner and executive vice president of Optimal Solutions Group, has a deep connection to the University of Maryland College of Information (INFO). “I have worked with INFO graduate and undergraduate interns and graduates, participated in challenges, served on the iLead Advisory Council, and sponsored HCIL annual symposiums,” she says. Part of that connection involves philanthropy. Along with her husband, Dr. Mark Turner, they fund the Turner Family Optimal Social Solutions Endowed Scholarship for INFO and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) students.
Their decision to fund an endowed scholarship was driven by their observation that a multidisciplinary education is impactful. She notes, “We could see that some type of multidisciplinary incentive would encourage students to combine social science knowledge with technical and design skills.”
Tracye’s philanthropic spirit is personal. Her grandmother journeyed from Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, with just a coat and two dresses to her name. A full scholarship to attend college shaped the trajectory of her life, setting the course for subsequent generations, including Tracye’s father, who became a dentist.
“I save every letter [from scholarship recipients] because I know what a difference having a scholarship can make,” she says. “I’ve also worked with some of our scholarship recipients, and I know they are going to be OK.”
Seeing Them Through
Tasnim Ullah, a current student who will graduate in May 2025 with a double major in bioengineering and information science, received the scholarship last year. “Because I’m a double major, I have to take a lot of classes,” she says. “This scholarship has helped me take that money and take all those winter and summer classes and be on track to graduate on time, and that’s going to be really helpful to making sure I get a job after I graduate and not having to push it forward.”
Ullah is actively involved in the Gemstone Honors Program, a prestigious four-year research initiative. Ullah’s group is exploring the effects of the menstrual cycle on the digestive system. The research delves into different phases of the menstrual cycle, examining changes in hormone levels, such as estrogen and progesterone, and how these variations impact digestive transit time, which is the duration it takes to digest food.
“We are currently doing ongoing research,” she says. “We are working with our mentor, using a device he created, and we’re letting people actually try it out. We’re gathering that data to analyze and see any similarities between different people and what their symptoms were, their transit time during different phases of the menstrual cycle.”
Because of the scholarship, she is “able to really spend a lot more time on my research project and really delve deeper into it.”
A significant part of this experience is the opportunity to network with professionals in the field. Ullah says, “We were able to go to conferences. We just went to one in May, which was in DC, which was really cool. It allowed us to network with other doctors and students, and learn more about their research.” This networking is crucial for understanding the broader landscape of women’s health research and recognizing the areas that require further investigation.
The work being done by Ullah and her group is not only contributing to scientific understanding but also emphasizing the critical need for research in women’s health. “We are learning how much of women’s health needs to be researched into and what other people are doing to help with women’s health,” she says.
Allison Li, a current student set to graduate in May 2025, has also been awarded the prestigious scholarship. Li is pursuing studies in criminology and information science, disciplines that marry her interests in understanding societal issues and utilizing technology for problem-solving. This academic year, Li is serving on the BSOS Dean Student Advisory Council as a social data science representative.
Reflecting on the impact of the scholarship, Li says, “I would definitely say the scholarship helped a lot in terms of monetary expenses. I also would say this is the first technology information-related scholarship that I’ve ever gotten. It kind of proves to me that there is a place in the field that I eventually want to see myself in.”
The path to applying for the scholarship was heavily influenced by one of her mentors, INFO Assistant Research Scientist C. Scott Dempwolf. “He played a really big role in getting me to understand how technology relates to problem-solving and how we’re able to use the technical background that we develop in these courses to solve social science issues,” she says.
Li’s admiration and respect for Dempwolf were evident when she invited him to the award ceremony. During the event, she discovered an interesting connection—Dempwolf had previously conducted research with the Turner family. “I feel like this scholarship really brought everything back to full circle,” Li says.