University of Maryland Comdemecem bern 20,c 2020emen § SUMMA CUM LAUDE / † MAGNA CUM LAUDE / * CUM LAUDE / VETERAN 2020 Winter Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND I Table of Contents CONGRATULATIONS BACHELOR’S DEGREES From the President 1 August 22 From the Alumni Association President 2 Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of 22 Architecture, Planning and Preservation, SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES School of 22 Graduating Student Speaker 4 Arts and Humanities, College of 22 Commencement Speaker 5 Behavioral and Social Sciences, College of 23 Business, Robert H. Smith School of 24 DOCTORAL DEGREES Computer, Mathematical, and Natural August 6 Sciences, College of 24 December 11 Education, College of 24 Engineering, A. James Clark School of 24 MASTER’S DEGREES Information Studies, College of 24 August 14 Journalism, Philip Merrill College of 25 Graduate Certificates 16 Public Health, School of 25 December 17 Undergraduate Studies 25 Graduate Certificates 21 Certificate Programs 25 December 25 Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of 25 Architecture, Planning and Preservation, School of 25 THE “DO GOOD” CAMPUS Arts and Humanities, College of 26 Behavioral and Social Sciences, College of 27 Business, Robert H. Smith School of 29 The University of Maryland commits to becoming Computer, Mathematical, and Natural a global leader in advancing social innovation, Sciences, College of 30 Education, College of 32 philanthropy and nonprofit leadership with its Do Engineering, A. James Clark School of 32 Good Campus. Information Studies, College of 33 Journalism, Philip Merrill College of 33 Public Health, School of 34 Our Do Good Campus effort amplifies the power of Public Policy, School of 34 Terps as agents of social innovation and supports Undergraduate Studies 35 Certificate Programs 35 the university’s mission of service. We’re working to ensure all University of Maryland students graduate HONORS COLLEGE, CITATION AND NOTATION equipped and motivated to do good in their careers, PROGRAMS, AND ACADEMIC AWARDS Honors College 35 their communities and the world. Civicus 35 College Park Scholars 35 Federal Fellows 36 We: First-Year Innovation and Research · Created the Do Good Institute to serve as the Experience 36 campus hub of social impact and innovation; Global Communities 36 Global Fellows 36 · Developed a Do Good Challenge and Do Good Hinman CEOs 36 Accelerator to scale up the impact of student Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House 36 Language House 36 projects and ventures; Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate · Cultivate new research on philanthropy, civic Achievement Program 36 engagement and nonprofits; QUEST 36 Departmental Honors 36 · Expand opportunities for students to learn about Athletic Certificates 37 and practice giving back. Merrill Scholars 37 National Honor Societies 37 ROTC 37 Our Do Good campus will lead to a Do Good world. SPECIAL RECOGNITION Senior Marshals 38 For more information, visit dogood.umd.edu. University Officials 38 Commencement Planning Group 39 WINTER COMMENCEMENT / DECEMBER 20, 2020 Dear Class of 2020, Congratulations! The conferral of your degree is a milestone achievement that brings great pride to your family, friends and the University of Maryland. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means your graduation will be a virtual ceremony, we celebrate the occasion with as much excitement and enthusiasm as ever. Amidst the challenges of the past year, your time at Maryland has been marked by great intellectual and personal accomplishments as well as positive contributions to our community and beyond. The faculty, staff and administration of the university are confident that you are prepared to continue on a path of excellence. Now is the time to make your mark in addressing the grand challenges of our time, from COVID-19 and racial injustice to climate change and voter access. Along the way, take heart in your new family of Terp alumni, over 388,000 strong. We are all connected by our love for this university and our dedication to using our knowledge and experiences to better serve our neighbors and our world. My very best wishes to your family and friends. Good luck and stay TerrapinSTRONG! Sincerely, Darryll J. Pines President, University of Maryland Glenn L. Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering 2020 Winter 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 388,000 Terps. The world has changed so much in the past year, 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, because we are fearlessly committed to your success. 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, University of Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors 2 2020 Winter Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 2020 Winter Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 3 Speaker Biographies LUKE TERESI STUDENT SPEAKER Growing up in suburban New Jersey, Luke community by helping to enact legislation Teresi thought that someday he would be a that protects equal rights. doctor. College was expected for him and his “I honestly never thought I would be on a predominantly white, upper-middle-class high track for politics. How is one opinion going to school peers, and the challenges of politics matter?” he says. “But I can be a person who and poverty seemed distant. legitimately makes a difference.” But as he grew and matured at the A founder of the UMD chapter of the Sigma University of Maryland—and started grap- Tau Gamma social fraternity, Teresi was also a pling with his identity as the son of a teenage member of the Multi-Ethnic Student Education South Korean woman adopted in his infancy Academic Excellence Society and the Psi Chi from an orphanage by Italian Americans— Psychology National Honor Society. Teresi began to see a whole different world His proudest accomplishment, however, of challenges for people born into circum- was co-founding the Cross-Cultural Adoptees stances outside their control. Organization, for students who have been “I’m fortunate enough to have a family adopted across races and cultures. The group that adopted me,” he says. “Because of that, was a critical support for Teresi as he delved I had opportunities that people with less into his own identities and the assumptions money don’t have.” people can make about someone based on Graduating with a degree in psychology appearances—and what society considers a and a 3.84 GPA, Teresi is applying to law “true” American. school and hopes to one day enter elected “That was really the first time my eyes politics. He wants to focus on issues such as were opened to an identity crisis I didn’t even economic development, affordable housing know I was going through,” he says. “If people and access to education, examining how and can unite behind the fact that everyone is dif- why racism can be embedded in the building ferent, that could be a great step in the right blocks of opportunity, and give back to his direction.” 4 2020 Winter Commencement / UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND DOMINIQUE DAWES ’02 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER Dominique Dawes is best known for her tre- title in 1994. The only other gymnast to have mendous success as a gymnast, competing completed this feat was Simone Biles in 2019. and winning team medals in three Olympic After retiring from the sport, Dawes games, becoming the only American gym- became a motivational speaker and has nast to do so, and earning a permanent place addressed hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame. on passion, leadership, teamwork, health, Dawes, a 2002 graduate of the University fitness and wellness. She spent time on of Maryland, is remembered by fans around Broadway performing in the musical “Grease,” the world as part of the gold medal-winning was the first national spokesperson for the “Magnificent Seven” at the 1996 Atlanta Girl Scouts of the USA, served as president of Games, where she also won a bronze medal the Women’s Sports Foundation, and covered in the floor exercise—the first female African Olympic games as an analyst and broad- American gymnast to win an individual caster for Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports. medal. She earned a bronze medal with the Dawes was co-chair of the President’s U.S.