The University of Maryland recently named Maryland Delegate Jazz M. Lewis as its director of state government relations. As director, Lewis will serve as the university’s primary liaison to state and local officials, working closely with senior leadership, faculty and campus partners to advance UMD’s priorities.Lewis is a two-time graduate of the University of Maryland, earning a Bachelor of Arts in government and politics and a Master of Public Policy degree. As an undergraduate, he participated in College Park Scholars’ Public Leadership Program, an experience he credits with launching his career in public service.

Prince George's County native Jazz Lewis came to the University of Maryland as a freshman only sure of one thing. He wanted to serve. College Park Scholars ended up being the perfect home for the future Maryland state legislator, now serving in the Maryland House of Delegates as Majority Whip, allowing him to challenge himself academically but also expand his vision of what service could look like.An email invitation in late spring from College Park Scholars' Executive Director Marilee Lindemann for Lewis to return to the place where he learned about himself was accepted eagerly.

With the announcement of the 2025 First Year Book as The Constitution of the United States, College Park Scholars set a course to make one of the nation's founding documents spring to life. What better way than a day trip to the place where the document was signed!Many of our Scholars had not visited the City of Brotherly Love before or were very young on their first trips to Philadelphia. Now armed with some understanding of the founding of the United States, they were eager to dig in.  "I have never been to Philadelphia before and I want to learn more about a city that is so important in American history," said JaeMin Thurman, a Life Sciences Scholar. "I also want to continue to build relationships with other Scholars students."

Students from Data Justice were among many College Park Scholars programs participating in the 2025 edition of Good Neighbor Day throughout the city of College Park and surrounding areas.

Many transformative practices that University of Maryland College of Education researchers, including College Park Scholars' coordinator for student engagement Dr. Ashley Ogwo, have uncovered in a study of how higher education institutions are facilitating success for their Black, Latine, Indigenous and low-income students.

A College Park Scholars alum has been tabbed one of the University of Maryland's top graduating seniors. Senior Anna Karan, a Psychology major who received her Scholars citation from Public Leadership, was one of 18 students selected as a 2025-26 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar. The program, established through a generous gift from the late publisher Philip Merrill, recognizes the achievements of the students and the mentors who profoundly impacted their academic success.

University of Maryland students gathered in Hoff Theater to attend a film screening and panel about the hidden dangers of microplastics on Wednesday evening.The Student Government Association, Sustainable Ocean Alliance and Maryland’s Sierra Club organized the event. Attendees watched “Plastic People,” a documentary chronicling the history of plastic materials and how they evolved to become a part of daily life.Public Leadership Scholars alum Alicia Barnett, SGA's sustainability director, spoke about the importance of the event and how students can get involved with environmental sustainability through campus organizations.

When the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business ceremonially opened the Enterprise Mobility Foundation Career Boutique and Wellness Room on Sept. 9, 2025, it marked a collaboration between Smith’s Office of Career Services (OCS) and the College Park BSE Scholars to provide, in part, students with a full service including free professional attire for interviews, job fairs and new career opportunities.