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A significant number of Scholars alumni will be serving as Senior Marshals at the University of Maryland commencement this Friday, May 21, 2021. Senior Marshals are graduating seniors who display the highest levels of scholarship, service, extracurricular activity and personal growth.

For most University of Maryland (UMD) students, the end of the spring semester heralds the start of finals. But for sophomores in College Park Scholars, for the past 24 years, this time of year has signified Academic Showcase. The event, one of the largest exhibitions of undergraduate student learning on campus each year, typically involves more than 600 Scholars sophomores presenting on their capstone projects to fellow students, faculty, parents and other members of the UMD community.

Several Scholars alumni were named to the Maryland Medallion Society during the 40th Annual University of Maryland Student Leadership Awards this month. The Medallion Society is a prestigious group consisting of 20 of the brightest student leaders at the university:

Rebecca Basena Kampi. PHOTO: Sade Ayinde College Park Scholars has announced a new scholarship, the Rebecca Basena Kampi Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

In 2017, College Park Scholars welcomed more than 800 freshmen to what would become its 24th citation class, the Scholars Class of 2019. All who successfully completed the requirements of their Scholars program received their official Scholars citation. But there were some that went above and beyond the expectations, leaving a lasting impact on the community. On Oct. 18, 2019, Scholars honored these extraordinary students at its annual Citation Awards. Those recognized included 24 juniors—two from each program—chosen by their program directors for outstanding achievement and 24 for outstanding citizenship.

Katie Bemb hadn’t intended on becoming a Terp. As a high school senior, she applied to the University of Maryland (UMD) regular decision but was strongly considering another university in the Washington, DC, metro area. That inclination began to change after her best friend—who had applied early action to UMD—got accepted into College Park Scholars. Students who apply early action are automatically considered for the living–learning program. “Once my friend told me about Scholars, I started to look more into it,” Bemb says. “And once I read more about the different Scholars programs, I started to get excited about UMD. When I read the description for Public Leadership Scholars, I felt like I was meant to be in the program.”