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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.

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).

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.

After interning with the Department of Justice his junior year, Science, Technology and Society alumnus John Rookard applied for a position with the Justice Department the summer before his senior year. Rookard realized that there were post-grad professional opportunities for him at the Justice Department after speaking with the human resources manager at his internship. He applied for one of these positions August 2016, and received an offer in March of this year.

On Feb. 19, a group of seven College Park Scholars presented in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center for the first-ever ScholarsNEXT event. ScholarsNEXT is a student-run event that provides students with an opportunity to share their ideas about solving real-world problems. Presenters had to register for a class, which met every other week for an hour. Sponsored by the UMD SGA and the Office of Undergraduate Studies, Ananth Srivatsan was able to make his dream a reality in founding this event. “These students are incredibly talented, and they have some, frankly, brilliant ideas,” Srivatsan, a Science, Technology and Society Scholar, said before introducing the first speaker, Public Leadership Scholar Aaron Pludwinski.