UMW Presents a Palette of Pandemic-Era Arts
Soon after the University of Mary Washington Chamber Choir performed live in the James Farmer Hall atrium last March, UMW went totally online, and singing was deemed a “super-spreader” activity.
Last fall, UMW Choirs sang together again – virtually – performing In Te Domine Speravi. The new piece by composer Sarah McDonald focuses on isolation, sickness and loneliness, forming an acrostic spelling the word “quarantine.”
“Our students said it was a very real expression of how they were feeling,” said Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities Christopher Ryder.
With the arts a more critical part of our lives now than ever, the Mary Washington departments of theatre, art and music have spent the last year discovering fresh ways to create, collaborate and learn while socially distanced. New technologies and classes, private lessons and virtual visits by professional artists take center stage as UMW moves forward with early-stage plans for a state-of-the-art theatre complex and an update to Pollard, Melchers and duPont halls. Read more.
UMW Presents a Palette of Pandemic-Era Arts
Mary Washington Trio Brews Guinness World Record Opportunity

When Mary Washington alum Ray Parrish ’91, now co-owner of Fredericksburg’s Maltese Brewing Company, decided to set the Guinness World Record for the spiciest beer, he turned to his alma mater for help. Now UMW Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sarah Smith ’12 and junior biochemistry major Valerie Ebenki are trying to determine the heat content of Maltese’s Signal One 2.0 beer, a pineapple IPA infused with 500 Carolina Reaper chilies, the world’s hottest pepper. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
As children, Ray Parrish ’91 and his brother were obsessed with the Guinness Book of World Records, devouring the new, hardbound volume they unwrapped each Christmas morning. It was a lifelong dream, Parrish said, to see their own names among the recordholders.
Fast-forward to last Christmas, when Parrish, now co-owner of the firefighter-founded Maltese Brewing Company in Fredericksburg, decided to look up the world record for spiciest beer. When he found none, he contacted Guinness – started in the early 1950s by Guinness Breweries – about establishing one.
That set off a chain reaction with Parrish, a former physics major at Mary Washington, reaching out to his alma mater, where he connected with another alum, Sarah Smith ’12. Now a visiting professor in the recently merged Department of Chemistry and Physics, Smith looped in junior biochemistry major Valerie Ebenki.
The trio’s quest? To determine the heat content of Maltese’s Signal One 2.0 beer, a pineapple IPA infused with 500 Carolina Reaper chilies, the world’s hottest pepper. The professor and student both said they came to Mary Washington for precisely these kinds of experiences – not necessarily attempts at world records, but high-impact learning opportunities where faculty and students work closely on endeavors.
“Being able to participate in real world research, proposed by an alum who is now working in the local community, is a fantastic opportunity,” said Ebenki, who’s applying skills from Smith’s analytical chemistry courses – literature searches, data collection, results interpretation – to this project. Read more.
Students Stand Together for MLK Day of Service
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. often appears on social media around the anniversary of the civil rights leader’s birth.

“I wanted to share a message that everyone can relate to, and hopefully, it will speak out to people in need of a little encouragement,” said sophomore Grayson Collins, who spent UMW’s MLK Day of Service chalking Campus Walk with positive messages. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
Charlotte Russell, a first-year student at the University of Mary Washington, reflected upon those words, which were also emblazoned on the back of her T-shirt, as she participated in UMW’s MLK Day of Service on Saturday.
“Service is such an important part of Dr. King’s legacy because it honors his life and teachings,” said Russell, who shared her own messages of encouragement with her peers through chalk drawings on Campus Walk. “Volunteering brings together people from diverse backgrounds with the common goal of helping the community.”
Typically held the last weekend in January, the annual celebration was rescheduled because of inclement weather. But neither the threat of rain this weekend nor ongoing precautions due to COVID-19 could dampen the spirit of service shown by dozens of UMW students. They spent the day – organized by UMW’s Center for Community Engagement (CCE), the student-run Community Outreach and Resources (COAR) and the James Farmer Multicultural Center – engaging in socially distanced volunteering opportunities on campus and in the Fredericksburg community. Read more.
Alumni Trio Adapts to Teaching in Madrid, Pandemic Style

Mary Washington alumna Cara Wissinger ’19 is among several UMW graduates who moved to Madrid to teach after studying abroad in Spain while in college.
When quarantine began in March 2020, Chloe Morton ’19 decided to improvise, creating virtual scavenger hunts to engage her middle and high school-aged students.
It’s a typical assignment in the age of COVID-19. But she also had to add English subtitles. After all, she is teaching in Spain.
One third of each graduating class at the University of Mary Washington studies abroad, so it’s no wonder that some decide to move overseas after graduation. Three 2019 alums – Morton, Thomas Peterson and Cara Wissinger – are among several Mary Washington graduates who have moved to Madrid to teach after participating in UMW’s study abroad program with Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao during college.
Teaching abroad in a global pandemic is no easy task. Here – in a Q&A – these recent UMW graduates share how they’re navigating life in a foreign country, thanks to skills they honed and support they received at Mary Washington. Read more.