{"id":15392,"date":"2024-12-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15392"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:53:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T00:53:52","slug":"a-polished-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/a-polished-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"A polished Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ayanna Zenzel-Rushing, a digital media studies major from Baltimore, graduates with her degree after five semesters at UMES.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There are times when a name can be more than a name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, it can take on a life of its own. Just ask University of Maryland Eastern Shore student Ayanna Zenzele-Rushing<\/strong>, who faculty and students alike know by her moniker \u201cGem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a nickname I fostered that reflects my personality,\u201d Zenzele-Rushing said. \u201cI\u2019m a Gemini and I love gemstones. I shortened it to Gem and it just kind of stuck after that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zenzele-Rushing also made her own impact during her five-semester journey on campus, which concludes as one of 202 students confirmed for their degrees during UMES\u2019 Winter Commencement on Dec. 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Baltimore native\u2019s path to UMES was a unique one as she came to Princess Anne following a gap year. Prior to attending college, Zenzele-Rushing received a liberal arts associate degree at Bard High School Early College, priming her for an accelerated experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That experience included being a tutor, being inducted into the exclusive Phi Kappa Phi honor society, and pursuing her passion for storytelling as a digital media studies major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zenzele-Rushing said her penchant for storytelling was fostered through her theater background that began at the age of five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoy conveying stories, especially stories of black and marginalized communities, that aren\u2019t portrayed as much in the media or are portrayed as a monolith,\u201d she said. \u201cThis experience allowed me to learn so many new things, like editing and screenwriting, to strengthen skills that will allow me to make an impact within the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the curtain closes on her time at UMES, Zenzele-Rushing has mixed emotions about her abbreviated stint in Princess Anne but is appreciative of what she was able to achieve in that window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bittersweet because it feels like I could be here longer but I know that UMES has more than prepared me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is different not having the full four years, but it\u2019s been a transformative experience and I\u2019m more than grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zenzele-Rushing, who aspires to become a filmmaker, added that her time at UMES has allowed her to make a name for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what you make of it,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve met really genuine people – faculty and students alike – who really care and help you better yourself. It\u2019s been a transformative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are times when a name can be more than a name. Sometimes, it can take on a life of its own. Just ask University of Maryland Eastern Shore student Ayanna Zenzele-Rushing, who faculty and students alike know by her moniker \u201cGem.\u201d \u201cIt was a nickname I fostered that reflects my personality,\u201d Zenzele-Rushing said. \u201cI\u2019m…Read more A polished Gem<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":15383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-15392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15392"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=15392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}