News
Scholars Turn 'Shower Power' Colloquium Project Into Real-Life Sustainability Push
In the Environment, Technology and Economy (ETE) Scholars program, the second-semester colloquium is largely devoted to the “Connections” Project. Teams of four to six students propose an idea to enhance sustainability on campus or in the community. They research an idea, propose how best to achieve it and implement one aspect of the proposal by the end of the semester.
A Scholar Takes a Cross-Cultural Venture into Science, Technology and Society
My first experience with Ecuador was in the winter of 2017. That was when I traveled there with Science, Technology and Society (STS) Assistant Director Matt Aruch and 16 other University of Maryland (UMD) students as a part of the STS-led short-term study abroad course, “Education, Technology and Society: Ecuador in Context.” I had originally found out about this opportunity during Admitted Students Open House when I was a senior in high school, and it had served as one of the many reasons I decided to join STS. I knew that I wanted to visit a Spanish-speaking country to sharpen my six years of school-acquired Spanish language and to experience the natural beauty of South America in an authentic and memorable way.
How Scholars Makes a Big School Feel Smaller
When students arrive at the University of Maryland (UMD), many feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the campus and its population. That’s why College Park Scholars works so hard to make a big school feel smaller. We do this by hosting events, encouraging discussions and connecting students with faculty and staff from day one—in other words, by building community. “Having a cohesive group of people interested in one idea ... is very powerful, and that’s one of the reasons why the Scholars living–learning experience is so special,” explains Cydnee Jordan, a sophomore public policy major and Justice and Legal Thought Scholar.
Life Sciences Scholar Writes Bill to Promote Organ Donation Education
Organ donation was not something of particular concern to Shani Kamberi a few years ago. She recalls watching a 15-minute video on it during her driver’s education class one summer, but the issue didn’t really click. Then came her senior year in high school. That was when Jonathan Bos, Kamberi’s AP English Literature teacher at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., spoke to the class about organ donation. He had a personal story to tell, having received a heart transplant in 1999.