Article by Freelancer Nina Branwell
The University of Maryland brought back in-person Maryland Day festivities on April 30 after holding events virtually since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maryland Day is a public event celebrating the university’s history, academics and campus life across five different areas of campus — Sports and recreation, agriculture, college information, STEM and art.
Junior Kassidy Jacobs set up shop to talk about the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences as part of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council.
“I hope people learn more about BSOS, we have a lot of cool events and different majors within it… and maybe get them to attend more of our events and learn more about our majors. And just all the cool things that our students are doing,” Jacobs said.
The booths for Maryland Day 2022 centered around the colleges in the area, designated as TerpTown Center. This was where the public could explore different majors, schools and colleges, and take campus tours.
In general, Maryland Day is geared towards voyaging the campus — An event the school used to advertise “a world of learning, discovery and exploration.”
“This [event] gives a chance for people to form communities and go to the things that they’re most passionate about,” Jacobs said.
Other students used the time to volunteer around campus, supporting the welfare of the surrounding community.
“I’ll be at Ritchie Coliseum for Terps Against Hunger Maryland Day Service… and then after I finished that I was just going to explore the activities at Maryland and see what they have going on,” junior Kashobi O’Bau said. “I think it’s going to make it extra fun and extra special”.
Terps Against Hunger is a student led organization that donates food for families in the D.C. metropolitan area through meal packing. The food goes to pantries, food banks and homeless shelters.
“I hope to just be a part of something greater…I thought it would be a really good opportunity,” O’Bau said.
O’Bau planned to spend her day exploring the grounds as part of her first in-person Maryland Day since the pandemic.
“I feel like it’s a lot of fun when you actually don’t know what’s gonna happen and just go in the moment because there’s lots of activities and lots of things to do for Maryland Day,” O’Bau said.
Overall, The University of Maryland’s School of Public Health anticipated large crowds for Maryland Day 2022.
“I think that we always have a good turnout,” Chief of Staff and Diversity and Equity Officer Erin McClure said “I think that the events that we hold are presented in a way that are in plain language, so that you know everybody has an understanding of them and are relatable, and fun.” .
Maryland Day also brought new tabling experiences for the School of Public Health calling for more interaction between the school and the public.
“To visually see everybody else enjoying themselves and are here you know all of the senses that exist around the engagement and the enthusiasm that’s going on. That’s definitely different in person,” McClure said.