Arts

College Park Scholars has been coordinating an annual theme for each of the past few years. It’s a chance for students across our community to come together to engage in a shared intellectual experience. Whether it’s trash—our theme from the 2015–2016 academic year—power or something else, we take on a complex, multifaceted problem, work to understand its causes and impacts, and discuss how we might address it with thoughtfulness and creativity. The annual theme and related programming afford us the opportunity to realize on a grand scale an idea that shapes everything we do in Scholars: We learn better when we learn together.

College Park Scholars is grieving over the loss of Marybeth Drechsler Sharp, who died June 5, 2018, after an 18-month battle with breast cancer. She was a longtime graduate assistant on the Scholars central staff who made contributions to the program both professionally and personally. “If a College Park Scholar is supposed to connect the heart of a strong community with the intellect of academic inquiry, Marybeth showed us what a Scholar could be,” says Scholars Associate Director Dave Eubanks, who worked with Drechsler Sharp. “That was clear to me from my first weeks with Scholars and has been a foundational part of how I have thought about our programs ever since.”

College Park Scholars mourns Ira Berlin, who died June 5, 2018, in Washington. Berlin was a celebrated historian and scholar on slavery who, as dean for undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, helped found College Park Scholars in 1993. The intent was to combine the best of academic and student affairs into a singular living­–learning program for high-achieving students.

When Anthony Sartori was a freshman at the University of Maryland (UMD), he recognized the need for a community-wide revitalization of care—something that would connect students with themselves and with others. “I came to college lacking self-care strategies,” Sartori says. “No one taught me how to properly take care of myself or what I need to do when I’m feeling overwhelmed.” So, the Life Sciences Scholar began having conversations with other College Park Scholars students, as well as Scholars Assistant Director Ben Parks. He realized that many others felt the same, and were interested in providing and facilitating self-care opportunities for their peers.

Last month, College Park Scholars Executive Director Marilee Lindemann was inducted into the Sigma Circle of ODK. She was asked to speak on her leadership philosophy at the induction ceremony. The following is an edited version of her remarks:

When Hope Goodman was considering where to attend college four years ago, she was enticed by the opportunity to be in the inaugural class of Justice and Legal Thought (JLT) Scholars at the University of Maryland. “The opportunity to take part in a brand-new program and provide constructive feedback for the classes that follow was incredibly enticing,” Goodman says, “because I knew that I could get involved on campus in a meaningful way immediately.” That desire to make a difference, combined with her ambition, has since set Goodman apart as a leader on the University of Maryland campus and in College Park Scholars. This month, she will be walking the stage as part of the first graduating class of JLT Scholars.