Welcome to Scholars

Liam Driver ’27 shouted in excitement as he picked up a shard of rock out of orange clay and ironstone on an exposed gray hillside.As his classmates gathered around him, he held out his hand, revealing a sliver of bone in the center of his palm. “That blueish part is what gave it away” as a fossil, he said.It might have been part of a now-extinct species of lungfish 115 million years ago that, per its name, could also breathe outside of the water. It’s one of many animals and plants that once thrived in a lush early Cretaceous waterway that’s now an unassuming excavation site, tucked away at the end of a long drive of warehouses and office buildings in Laurel, Md.

Sara Tatum '18, a Science, Technology and Society alum, was one of three outstanding teachers in the area who the University of Maryland's College of Education recognized in a daylong blitz during national Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5-9); it did the same last year, and is making this an annual tradition.Waving pom-poms and blasting the Maryland Victory Song, representatives from the University of Maryland College of Education and the life-size Testudo mascot had come to surprise her at Bladensburg High School, where she teaches. math, with balloons, a bag of College of Education-branded swag, and a $1,000 check—along with their gratitude.

The Maryland Medallion Society is a community of students who have shown exceptional leadership and integrity. These students are also the finalists for the University’s top two prestigious awards: the University of Maryland Model Citizenship Prize and the Wilson H. Elkins Award.This year, several College Park Scholars alumni were finalists for the top two awards – Jhennifer Celestino Alva (Global Public Health), Lily Fleischmann (Public Leadership), Sarang Han (Science and Global Change), Erika Holdren (International Studies), Abigail Manga (Public Leadership), and Kaitlyn Zhou (Public Leadership).

Three University of Maryland sophomores, including a College Park Scholar, are recipients of 2025 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarships, one of the nation’s highest honors for exceptional students in STEM fields.The scholarships provide up to $19,000 in financial support, professional development opportunities and a paid summer internship at any NOAA facility across the U.S. With this year’s recipients, UMD’s total number of Hollings Scholars since 2008 rises to 49.

Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) is a nationally recognized leadership honor society.  The Sigma Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society annually recognizes the Top Ten Freshmen of the University of Maryland. 

Civic Engagement Across the Curriculum at UMD (CEAC at UMD), a pilot professional development program, supported 12 instructors, including several College Park Scholars program directors and staff, from seven schools and colleges as they integrated community-focused strategies and experiences into more than 20 courses serving over 1,000 students, in disciplines as varied as art, kinesiology and sociology, during the fall and spring semesters. College Park Scholars in the CEAC at UMD 2024-25 Cohort: