University of Maryland Commencement May 22, 2020
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University of Maryland Commencemenmay 22, 2020 Table of Contents CONGRATULATIONS BACHELOR’S DEGREES From the President 1 Agriculture and Natural Resources, From the Alumni Association President 2 College of 24 Architecture, Planning and SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Preservation, School of 25 Graduating Student Speaker 4 Arts and Humanities, College of 25 University Medalists 5 Behavioral and Social Sciences, Honorary Degree Recipients 7 College of 29 Commencement Speaker 9 Business, Robert H. Smith School of 35 Computer, Mathematical, and DOCTORAL DEGREES 10 Natural Sciences, College of 42 Education, College of 48 MASTER’S DEGREES 15 Engineering, A. James Clark School of 49 Graduate Certificates 22 Information Studies, College of 52 Journalism, Philip Merrill College of 53 Public Health, School of 54 Public Policy, School of 56 THE “DO GOOD” CAMPUS Undergraduate Studies 56 Certificate Programs 56 The University of Maryland commits to becoming HONORS COLLEGE, CITATION AND a global leader in advancing social innovation, NOTATION PROGRAMS, AND ACADEMIC AND SPECIAL AWARDS philanthropy and nonprofit leadership with its Do Honors College 57 Good Campus. CIVICUS 59 College Park Scholars 59 Beyond the Classroom 62 Our Do Good Campus effort amplifies the power of Federal Fellows 62 Terps as agents of social innovation and supports First-Year Innovation and Research Experience 62 the university’s mission of service. We’re working to Global Communities 63 ensure all University of Maryland students graduate Global Fellows 63 equipped and motivated to do good in their careers, Hinman CEOs 63 Immigration and Migration Studies 63 their communities and the world. Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House 63 Language House 63 Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate We: Achievement Program 64 · Created the Do Good Institute to serve as the Program for Undergraduate campus hub of social impact and innovation; Language Science Ambassadors in Research 64 · Developed a Do Good Challenge and Do Good QUEST 64 Accelerator to scale up the impact of student Departmental Honors 64 Athletic Certificates 65 projects and ventures; Merrill Scholars 65 · Cultivate new research on philanthropy, civic National Honor Societies 65 engagement and nonprofits; ROTC 67 Special Awards 67 · Expand opportunities for students to learn about and practice giving back. SPECIAL RECOGNITION University Officials 68 Commencement Planning Group 69 Our Do Good campus will lead to a Do Good world. For more information, visit dogood.umd.edu. SPRING COMMENCEMENT / MAY 22, 2020 Dear University of Maryland graduate, Congratulations on your graduation! The conferral of your degree today is a milestone achievement that brings great pride to your family, friends and the University of Maryland. We all have much to celebrate today. Though the global public health crisis makes necessary a virtual ceremony, it cannot detract from the significance of this cherished moment as you commence a new phase in your life’s journey. Your time on campus has been an opportunity to learn and grow intellectually, professionally, socially and personally. The faculty, staff and administration of the university are confident that you will make a difference in the world. We are a better institution because you were here and of what you have accomplished, in and outside the classroom. Today I’m “graduating” as well, though it has taken me 10 years to do so. I feel as if I’m a member of the Class of 2020. I, too, share your mixture of accomplishment and sadness that accompanies the closing of a chapter. It makes today’s commencement all the more meaningful to me. The university is an intergenerational family, consisting of those who came before, those who are here today and those who will come tomorrow. Now you join our alumni, over 377,000 strong. Please stay in touch with your alma mater, the “mother who nourishes.” And remember: Once a Terp, always a Terp. My very best wishes to your family and friends. I bid you Godspeed as you commence the next chapter of your lives. Sincerely, Wallace D. Loh, President 2020 Spring Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 1 On behalf of the University of Maryland Alumni Association, congratulations on your graduation! I want to welcome you into our family of more than 377,000 Terps. The world has changed so much since March, something you have experienced firsthand. You and your graduating class have been put to the test, and you’ve passed with flying colors. You are now officially a graduate of the University of Maryland, and I want to take the opportunity to make you a promise: Your Alumni Association is going to be here for you. As our gift to you, please enjoy one free year of membership in the Alumni Association, after which I encourage you to make a commitment to your alma mater by becoming a lifetime member. By becoming a Terp for life, you will leave your own legacy and show your support for the University of Maryland. Your Alumni Association and your membership will help you stay in touch with friends you made on campus, prepare you for your career through networking and professional development, and keep you informed about alumni and campus news. It is my wish that as alumni, you will wear our colors proudly and continue to demonstrate to the world the high-quality education Maryland provides. In turn, Maryland will continue to educate the country’s brightest students, pursue cutting-edge research, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, explore the arts and defend our athletics titles. As a student, and now as a graduate, you will always be a Terp and always have a home at Maryland at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center—be sure to visit us when you come back to campus in the years ahead. Now go forth with the strength of your Maryland degree, and remember that your Alumni Association is here to help you stay active, stay informed, stay connected and stay fearless. Go Terps! Jim Spencer ’90 President, Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors 2 2020 Spring Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 2020 Spring Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 3 Speaker Biographies CITRUPA GOPAL STUDENT SPEAKER Citrupa Gopal had never been to the United participated in experiments and forged States before coming to the University of strong relationships with faculty. A BioFIRE Maryland, but for someone who wanted to Summer Research fellow, Gopal did fieldwork dedicate her life to research, the only choice evaluating bacteria in the tributaries of the for college was to try something completely Chesapeake Bay, and later learned about different. stalk-eyed fly husbandry, chromosomal drive “There’s a certain joy to discovering and genotyping, and investigated the insect’s things for myself,” she says. “Even in day-to- expression of immune-response genes. day life.” In addition, Gopal took part in an Growing up in Hyderabad in the south Alternative Breaks program planting trees of India, Gopal was always interested in on farms to help prevent runoff, tutored fifth studying the sciences. While universities graders at Carole Highlands Elementary closer to home offered good options in School in Takoma Park and was a teaching engineering and medicine, it was UMD—and assistant for an introductory microbiology its First-Year Innovation and Research lab course. Experience (FIRE) program—that had the Gopal plans to return to India and then immediate, hands-on opportunities in apply to graduate school programs in the biology that Gopal was seeking. United States, Canada or Europe. She is “I thought, ‘Why not take the plunge?’” she interested in pursuing a doctorate to become a says of the 8,000-mile journey to College Park. “full-fledged researcher” and possibly teach. Gopal is graduating with a bachelor’s In whatever direction she takes, Gopal degree in biological sciences, earning a remains committed to trying new things and 3.9 GPA and Dean’s List honors for every following new ideas. semester. She also received the Office of “Sometimes they don’t work, sometimes Multi-Ethnic Student Education’s Award for they do,” she says. “The exhilaration and Academic Excellence all four years. pride that I experience when things finally The research experience lived up to do work out is something I want to keep her expectations as well, as she actively experiencing.” 4 2020 Spring Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND MICHAEL NASTAC UNIVERSITY MEDALIST The path Michael Nastac set off on while of Oxford. “He is clever, quick on the uptake, watching Carl Sagan’s television series “Cosmos” industrious, independent, communicative, as a child has taken him through some of the articulate (and) extremely well educated.” most prestigious laboratories in the world and Nastac is graduating with a double degree led him to the cusp of a bright career in physics. in physics and mathematics and a 3.99 GPA. “Michael is brilliant, driven, friendly, He won a poster prize at the 2019 Sherwood charming, collaborative, and yet also Fusion Theory Conference; gave talks at the appropriately competitive,” says physics Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the Professor William Dorland. “Clearly, he isn’t University of Oxford and the 12th Plasma the traditional ‘student leader’ type. He is a Kinetics Working Meeting at the Wolfgang scientific leader, already establishing himself Pauli Institute in Vienna, Austria; and is first as a world-class intellectual force.” author of an upcoming publication in the A Banneker/Key Scholar and Honors Journal of Plasma Physics. College student from Pittsburgh, Nastac came Next year, Nastac will be a Clarendon