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Marlen Cruz has taken on many roles in her scant 20-some years. First-generation American. First-generation college student. And: a commuter student. “My parents live five minutes away from campus. They were like, ‘There’s no way you’re living on campus,’” she relays, laughing. A public health science major who was in the Media, Self and Society Scholars program, Cruz says she was unhappy at first to not live on campus. “But then I realized, I liked going home and seeing my parents,” she says. The oldest of three, she is also close to her siblings and says commuting from home allowed her to keep tabs on them.

More than 20 years ago, a University of Maryland sophomore created a Scholars-wide charity softball tournament for his Scholars practicum project. His project has since grown and evolved into the Scholars Cup, a year-round fundraising competition for charity. Every fall, each Scholars program selects a charity based on individual program theme or student interest. It then fundraises for that organization for the remainder of the year. Students can earn points through service projects and community events, which builds community and incentivizes involvement throughout the year. These efforts culminate with the spring charity softball—now kickball—tournament.

Washing your hands is serious business—something that the students at the University of Maryland’s Center for Young Children are learning hands-on. “Our kids wash their hands all the time,” says Director Mona Leigh Guha, of the center’s 3- to 6-year-old students. The state requires certain handwashing protocols in licensed preschools, and frankly, it’s good practice. Handwashing with soap is widely recognized as one of the easiest and most effective ways of preventing disease. “Handwashing is the best vaccine,” observes Elisabeth Maring, director of the Global Public Health (GPH) Scholars program. GPH is sponsored by the School of Public Health.

Throughout my childhood, I remember waiting in long lines in the cold with my parents at my local middle school on Election Day. My parents are immigrants; my dad is from El Salvador, and my mom is from the Ukraine. The right to vote wasn’t really something that was represented well in either of their countries. So when they became U.S. citizens, being able to vote was really important to them. For them, it was meaningful to be able to vote every Election Day and to know that every vote counted.

More than a thousand College Park Scholars arrived on campus in fall 2016, the largest freshman class in Scholars history. This citation class went on to make an impact across the community, including raising a record-setting $19,315 for charities in the Scholars Cup competition. On Friday, Sept. 24, College Park Scholars celebrated this class with our annual Citation Awards Ceremony. The Scholars Citation Awards celebrates those select citation earners who have enriched the life of our community by putting Scholars values into action. Four students from each of the 12 programs were recognized with Outstanding Achievement and Outstanding Citizenship Awards (two for each category for each program).

It’s a perennial back-to-school query from teachers: What did you do on your summer vacation? When we asked some of our Scholars students and alumni, they had a lot to tell us… and not surprisingly, they made the most of their summer break. Now that students have settled in on campus and the semester is a few weeks in, we highlight some of our impressive Scholars accomplishments from over the summer. Amit and Erin Koppel Year: Sophomore (Amit), Senior (Erin)