After years of hard work, it all comes down to a final commencement ceremony. But what memories these May graduates at the University of Maryland will take with them: the excitement of campus life, new friends and great teachers, attending performances at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center not to mention cheering on the Terps at Byrd Stadium, Cole Fieldhouse and the new Comcast Center. They'll also take with them the sadness of September 11 and a tornado that killed two fellow students.
The main commencement ceremony is planned for Thursday evening, May 22 at the Comcast Center. More than 5700 students are expected to receive bachelor and advanced degrees. Individual schools and departments will hold their own ceremonies Friday, May 23 at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.
The traditional procession of students and faculty during the campus-wide ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to observe the procession.
5762 students are expected to receive degrees, including 4284 undergraduates, 1265 master's degree candidates and 213 Ph.Ds. The most popular undergraduate majors include criminology and criminal justice, communication, computer science, psychology and government and politics. The masters of business and management topped the most popular master's degree while electrical engineering was the most popular Ph.D. degree, followed by music.
The commencement's featured speaker will be Franklin Raines. He is the chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae, the world's largest non-bank financial services company. Raines is the first African American to head a Fortune 500 corporation. Raines will be named an Honorary Doctor of Public Service during the commencement ceremony.
The university will confer an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Leonard Slatkin, the internationally known Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra. The NSO will be in residency at the university's School of Music next year. Slatkin will also be the featured speaker at the School of Music's graduation ceremony on May 23.
Rebecca Hoffberg will be the student commencement speaker. Graduating summa cum laude with two degrees and a host of academic honors, the 22-year-old Baltimore native says she will remember Maryland as "a big university" that soon became a "community within a community" for her.
Hoffberg was part of the Gemstone living-learning community while at Maryland. She also traveled to Europe, Australia and New Zealand and participated in the Oxford Abroad program. In fact, she will now head for the United Kingdom to complete a year-long masters program at the London School of Economics and Political Science. After that, she says her plans include law school and a possible career as an advocate for special needs or underprivileged children.
University medallist Allison Bigelow is a young woman "with character" as one of her English professors wrote. The award is given to the graduating senior who best exemplifies academic distinction, extraordinary character and extracurricular contributions to the campus or public communities. It is the highest honor the university bestows on a graduating senior and includes a gold medal and cash prize.
During her four years at Maryland, Bigelow earned straight A's and two bachelor's degrees in English and Spanish. She has won numerous awards, was named one of five Dean's Senior Scholars in the College of Arts and Humanities and was invited to membership in Phi Beta Kappa as a junior.
Outside the classroom, she spent 10 to 15 hours a week with "Beyond These Walls," a nonprofit organization that works with families in nearby Langley Park who do not speak English as their primary language. After graduation, Bigelow plans to teach English to corporate professionals in Chile before heading back to graduate school.
The Class of 2003 will donate an official University of Maryland Seal as its special gift to the university. It will hang at the new Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center set for construction this June near Byrd Stadium.
Free parking will be available on campus to all Thursday night and Friday. There will be free shuttle bus service from the College Park Metro stop to the Comcast Center Thursday night and Friday, and from the parking lots to all graduation sites across campus throughout the day on Friday. For more information, check the UM Shuttle web page at http://www.inform.umd.edu/shuttle/.
For more information about commencement ceremonies at the University of Maryland, visit http://www.urhome.umd.edu/commencement/.
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