Civic Engagement for Social Good

College Park Scholars has been coordinating an annual theme for four years—starting with “Trash: The Problem of Waste in Our Lives and Our World” in the fall of 2015. The annual theme gives our students, who tend to spend most of their Scholars classroom time within their individual programs, an opportunity to interact across programs. We take on a complex, multifaceted problem, work to understand its causes and impacts, and discuss how we might address it. Because each student comes into the discussion with their unique perspectives and the perspectives they’re learning in their respective Scholars program, the annual theme affords students a larger venue in which to make interdisciplinary connections.

When Sophia Burton first entered college, she had little idea what major she wanted to declare, much less what career she wanted to pursue. “I never planned it out this way,” says Burton, who graduated from the University of Maryland (UMD) in 2007 and currently works on migration issues in Germany. “I’m not saying one shouldn’t have a plan, but for me it was never like, ‘I know I want to be an engineer or a lawyer.’” Her lack of a plan, however, was made up for by a passion that even those with clear-cut career aspirations sometimes lack. Family migration history For Burton, that passion was in multiculturalism—particularly the cultural dynamics surrounding migration and international relations.

The following article originally appeared in Maryland Today: We’re scrolling instead of unfolding the paper, barking commands at speakers to play music and now, turning video games from slacker pastime to competitive sport. What better way to navigate this new marketing terrain than Generation Z? FOX Sports University teamed up with College Park Scholars’ Business, Society and the Economy program this semester to develop marketing campaigns for a new gaming-focused joint venture from FOX Sports and social broadcast company Caffeine: Caffeine Studios. The 21 freshman and sophomore participants made their presentations to Caffeine and network executives this week.

College Park Scholars kicked off the spring semester with a February dialogue event for students to share their own personal stories around our annual theme, “Migrations.” Many of the participants, as first- or second-generation Americans, spoke of their connections to their parents’ or grandparents’ cultures through food. They also referenced the emotional impacts their families’ respective migration stories had on their own lives. On March 5, 2019, Scholars hosted our marquee theme event, “MIGRATIONS: Conversations on food, art and cultural fusion.” The Do Good Dialogue was presented in conjunction with The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the Year of Immigration.

My first gig at the University of Maryland was an assistantship to Dr. Thomas Holtz, who at the time was creating the Earth, Life and Time program—the precursor to College Park Scholars’ current Science and Global Change (SGC) program. In the 19 years since, I’ve taken on many other responsibilities, including the director of undergraduate studies for the Department of Geology. But my job with Scholars remains by far my favorite. Upon reflection, the reasons come down to the intellectual freedom I get to craft a genuinely interdisciplinary curriculum and the diversity of impressive students Scholars has brought into my life.

Marlen Cruz has taken on many roles in her scant 20-some years. First-generation American. First-generation college student. And: a commuter student. “My parents live five minutes away from campus. They were like, ‘There’s no way you’re living on campus,’” she relays, laughing. A public health science major who was in the Media, Self and Society Scholars program, Cruz says she was unhappy at first to not live on campus. “But then I realized, I liked going home and seeing my parents,” she says. The oldest of three, she is also close to her siblings and says commuting from home allowed her to keep tabs on them.