Most college students struggle to fight the urge to conk out after a “long day” of two classes. Others consider attending at least half of their 8 a.m. lectures a monumental feat. However, one University of Maryland student is not like her classmates, and thrives on the chaotic college lifestyle; it’s safe to say that she puts the “extra” in extracurriculars.
Senior Jacqueline Deprey is a computer science, operations management and business analytics major and is set to graduate from the university in the spring of 2020.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
Not only will the Rockville, Maryland native have a dual degree under her wing, but she will also be the second person in the university to finish the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) and Gemstone honors programs together.
So how did Deprey find the time to balance seven years’ worth of honors college curriculums during her time here at the University of Maryland?
“I’m very passionate about everything I do, that I don’t want to give anything up, so I kind of find the time and it really has taught me how to hone my time management skills as a result,” said Deprey.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
For Deprey, the phrase “finding time” includes taking an average of 20 credits per semester, which is more than the 16 credits the university permits prior to the start of the first day of classes, according to the university’s academic catalog.
When asked how she was able to survive these large credit loads, Deprey cited her advisor as being very “flexible” and said that she was able to “balance taking the harder computer science classes when I was taking the easier business classes and vice versa.”
Even though this credit load may sound nearly impossible, Deprey said “I’m still able to maintain good school-life balance” and added that she still “finds time to do everything.”
Being a student in two honors programs is an achievement in itself, yet Deprey continues to thrive in these groups and holds titles in several different positions.
She is the financial liaison for her Gemstone team, so Deprey had financial control over her GEMS group, team Augmented Reality Transcription (ART). On Giving Day 2018, Deprey and her team raised $3,800, which is the most amount of money ever raised in a 24 hour period on Launch UMD, a crowdsourcing website for school clubs.
Deprey credited the success of her team’s fundraising efforts to the advertisements they created and the process of “hitting up different alumni donors.”
In addition to being the financial liaison, Deprey is also a teaching assistant for three Gemstone classes, a camp leader for the Gemstone orientation, a Freshman Connect mentor and the class of 2020 cohort representative for the Gemstone honors program.
Deprey is not solely a leader in her honors programs; her light shines brightly outside of the Gemstone and QUEST community.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
She is vice president of Omicron Delta Kappa, which is an exclusive organization that grants membership only to those with services in the five fields of scholarship, athletics, service, communications and the arts. The University of Maryland chapter requires new members to be of junior standing, however, Deprey was in her second year of college when “involvements on campus graciously allowed me to become inducted into the society.” Deprey’s mark on the university is set in stone with her name inscribed on a panel on the scenic ODK fountain on Mckeldin Mall.
Another Greek organization Deprey is involved with is the Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority, where she serves as the professional chair for the group made up of women in engineering. Deprey said her time in AOE is spent “showing sisters how to step up and how to really share [their] voice in these male-dominated spaces.”
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
When she’s not tied up with honor societies, Deprey miraculously finds time to breathe and also participates in several non-academic extracurriculars.
Some of the aforementioned activities are serving as a student representative on the Brendan Iribe Advisory Board for Student Diversity and Inclusion, being the host of Maryland Survivor, being an Honors Ambassador, a Computer Science Ambassador, a Smith School Ambassador, as well as being the previous president for the club table tennis team.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
But wait, there’s more — Deprey is also the Group Tours Committee Head for Maryland Images Campus Tour Guides and organizes visits for around 100,000 visitors. Despite all of the extracurriculars she is involved in, Deprey said Maryland Images has been the most impactful during her college career. “Being a tour guide, and especially going through the training for Images has really shown me the other side of the importance of connecting with other people and the impact you can have,” Deprey said.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey
Even with each and every activity, Deprey has managed to almost complete her dual degree in four years, something that is difficult for average students with only one major.
However, the one activity that seems to be missing from Deprey’s repertoire is one of the most important aspects in a college student’s life: free time. “In my head, my free time is time I want to work and be involved with these organizations, so I kind of count that as my free time even though I know it’s also still being involved.”
Deprey has the revolutionary idea of using her free time in a productive way, rather than spending endless hours scrolling on Instagram or watching Netflix, and this belief might just be the most unbelievable aspect about her.
And yes, she runs marathons, too, cementing her legacy as the “Jacq” of all trades.
Photo by Jacqueline Deprey