10-13-2024 Education - Flipbook - Page 7
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 13, 2024 7
Accommodate new programs, from page 1
with other people, and get that co-curricular
educational experience where they're learning
about themselves as well as about their content
in their classes,” says Chandler Sagal, student
leadership and program specialist at Harford
Community College.
As a two-year college without residential
facilities, students would leave between classes
or just pass time without much socialization.
Leadership wanted the Owl’s Nest to be a popular place for students to congregate, and after
adding nine recreational games, they found the
effort quite successful. What used to host on
average five to 10 students, now sees a population of up to 75 at a time.
“We got a multisport simulator that includes
a golf simulator. We got a digital pinball machine
with over 30 games. We got an arcade machine
with over 4,500 games, mini basketball hoops,
an air hockey table, ping pong, shuffleboard,
a pool table and the foosball table,” Sagal adds.
High top tables spread around the center
enable students to eat food from the Globe
Café, located next door and watch games being
played. They also enjoy music that is piped into
the center throughout the day.
“Part of it is understanding the co-curricular experience and how facilities can be reimagined and reinvented to make students feel
more connected, make them feel a part of the
community,” Sagal adds. “We’re a community
college and the sense of belonging is huge here,
and this gives them an opportunity to…enjoy
their time on campus and step away from their
studies for a little bit to relax.”
At the University of Maryland Eastern
Shore (UMES), a new school of pharmacy and
health professions building opened in 2023, the
first phase of a project that aims to bring physical therapy, physician assistant, kinesiology,
rehabilitation, pharmacy and pharmaceutical
sciences programs to one area of campus.
The first phase, specifically designed for
pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, currently provides operational space for the other
programs. The second phase, which will house
the other programs including the future veterinary medicine program, has not yet begun
construction.
“The pharmacy program started in 2010
and was split across six buildings across campus,” notes Sean Vasaitis, Ph.D., dean of the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore school of
pharmacy and health professions. “It’s necessary
to have all of the functions in one space to be
efficient and to meet accreditation standards.”
The new space allows for collaboration
amongst the different programs. “The other
part of this is that we want to have more
interprofessional activities and education with
the other health professions programs, ideally
moving towards a place where we can have a
lot of exchange between the students in different areas,” Vasaitis explains. “They can learn
from each other; they can study together; and
really find a living space for all of our health
professions.”
The building comprises 120,000 square feet
on three floors, with cutting edge research
laboratories with top-of-the-line equipment, a
vivarium, intensive care unit (ICU) and birthing simulation rooms, mock community and
hospital pharmacy rooms, and clinical examination rooms. There are classrooms, a large
auditorium, a computer lab and problem-based
learning rooms throughout the building for
small group work.
“It's a much-needed improvement for the
environment here and being that the simulation equipment is very cutting edge, I rarely see
equipment of this caliber available for students,”
Vasaitis says. “It'll be a very big help for student
learning.”
UMES, Vasaitis notes, is the only HBCU
(historically black colleges and universities) in
the country to offer an accelerated three-year
pharmacy program. It is considered an access
school, offering programs for first-generation
one week to pick their items up. Students who
take classes online can also request gift cards.
Last year, 700 students requested food lockers on CCBC’s Essex, Dundalk and Catonsville
campuses, and Hagan-Rhodes says that the
school aims to expand the program to its Owings
Mills campus soon.
It’s no surprise that the Commons dining
hall at Salisbury University is one of the busiest buildings on campus. In fact, according to
George Oakley, Salisbury University’s dining
services director, over 4,000 students visit the
Commons each day, providing a captive audience to deliver more than just great food.
Starting last fall, Salisbury partnered with
the Art League of Ocean City to bring the exhibit
“Stigma Highlighted: Portraits of Recovery” to
the university’s Commons dining hall. The display featured paintings of 12 residents of the
Delmarva Peninsula recovering from addiction,
painted by local artists, with QR codes linked to
videos of the subjects telling their own stories of
addiction and recovery.
“The director of the Art League reached out
to us, and since the Commons is a high traffic
area, it made sense to have the exhibit there. As
a liberal arts school, we are dedicated to promoting the arts and exposing our students to the arts
in various ways,” Oakley says. He adds that the
exhibit on addiction and recovery received a lot
of buzz on campus.
This academic year, the partnership continued with a display of artwork by Salisbury
alumni that originally hung at the Art League’s
gallery in nearby Worcester County.
“It’s a great opportunity to enjoy local art,
especially for those students who are not majoring in the arts,” Oakley says.
The college of business at Coppin State University took occupancy last fall in a new, multi-story building.
The building provides a variety of areas
that serve as learning laboratories for students,
with ample opportunities for instruction, networking and support. The classrooms throughout the building are non-traditional, with the
opportunity for faculty members to innovatively reconfigure the space to include breakout
and focus areas to meet the needs of the class.
There is a board room for meetings and presentations, equipped with a separate observation room, and other intentioned spaces like
breakout rooms for small groups and spaces for
privacy and confidential consultation. Larger,
open areas, including an outdoor atrium and
courtyard, host receptions and meetings for
large groups.
In addition, the center for career excellence
assists students with finding internships and
job placements, as well as areas of professional
development like resume building, interviewing
skills, dressing for success and networking.
In August, Harford Community College
opened its Owl’s Nest in the student center,
providing a break from studying and a place to
spend time between classes.
“The student center is a space that's
designed to make students feel comfortable and
help them to have a space where they can come
and decompress, eat some food, and interact
Food for thought, from page 5
long had food pantries, the new student lockers
allow students to anonymously access food and
other essentials when it’s convenient for them,
which is especially beneficial for students taking
evening classes.
“Also, the anonymous nature of the food
lockers helps erase the stigma or shame that
some students may feel by asking for help.
People arrive at life with different privileges and
circumstances, and we want to stress that you are
no less valuable of a person just because you are
hungry,” she says.
Dell-Hagan explains that access to the food
lockers is easy. Students fill out a form that asks
what types of items that they need – snacks,
breakfast items, basic items to make a meal at
home, personal hygiene or school supplies. After
their request is fulfilled, students receive a locker
location and unique access code, and they have
New programs, new opportunities, from page 1
Salisbury University’s new engineering physics major gives students the opportunity to fast track their ways into careers in aerospace and nanotechnology.
from the Sellinger School of Business, they can gain
a competitive edge in the job market and save time
and money while they do it. Plus, earning a master's
degree from Sellinger can open doors to higher-level
positions, a larger professional network and increased
earning potential.”
Scully explains that another motivation for the
development of the program was to give liberal arts
students the opportunity to pursue an undergraduate
degree of their choosing but also complement it with
a business degree, which can be a great pathway to a
diverse career. “We’re really focusing on making a college education as accessible and practical as possible.”
“When the students start the graduate program,
they have a leg up,” adds Patricia Tarrant, M.B.A.,
assistant dean of graduate programs. Students have
the opportunity to meet with business leaders, do
company site visits, receive career coaching and more.
“When they leave Loyola, they’re ready for the business world,” says Tarrant.
Anna O’Neill graduated Summa Cum Laude from
her undergraduate program in 2021 and will earn her
master's in accounting in spring or fall of 2025.
“The 3+1 program attracted me mainly because
of its ability to fast track me toward achieving my professional and personal goals,” says O’Neill. “Although
I do greatly value education and the opportunity it
provides, I did not want to be in school for five years
straight while trying to start my career. Instead, the
3+1 program allowed me to obtain my undergraduate degree in three years and start working full time
at a firm while doing my master’s program virtually.
Another attraction was the accounting department
staff at Loyola, as they supported and pushed me to be
successful as I could.”
O’Neill goes on to say that the highlights of the
program have been the opportunity to mold her college plan into what best fitted her needs and desires,
starting her career earlier and saving a year's worth
of tuition.
O’Neill’s immediate short-term goal is to become
a Certified Public Accountant and to fully immerse
herself into the accounting industry to make strong
professional connections. “My long-term career goal
is to be on the boards of non-profit organizations
within my community so that I provide them with my
knowledge and expertise on financial matters.”
Tarah Sipos received her undergraduate degree in
2021 and her master’s in 2022. She’s currently a senior
associate with a national public accounting firm.
“Going into college, my objective was to major
in a field that had job security and opportunity for
growth,” says Sipos. “After doing my research and
speaking with Dr. Krahel (JP Krahel, Ph.D., accounting department chair), I knew accounting would be
the right fit for me. Since working full-time, that still
holds true.”
Sipos said that she chose the program because she
was eager to get out into the “real world.” “I was ready
to experience working in accounting. I am the type of
person that learns by doing, so being able to complete
150 credits to be CPA-eligible in four years was at the
top of my priorities.”
Sipos plans to grow into leadership roles within
her company and to be able to make a lasting impact
on the Baltimore community through community
service initiatives. “I look forward to continue to
support the many nonprofit organizations in the
Baltimore area,” she says.
students with additional support.
“We're here to help people to change their
lives,” Vasaitis says. “Having modern facilities
is very important to us because it allows us to
give people that are coming from disadvantaged
areas the best chances to move forward and to
really make more out of their lives. We have
great programs. We want them to continue to
be great.”
Tailored for success, from page 2
Experiential learning is a key in UMD's sports management program.
Maryland student Vinay Kumar is completing an internship with Maryland Athletics
this semester. “I’ve gained valuable exposure
to the daily operations of a sports medicine
department and developed skills in evaluating,
treating and rehabilitating student-athletes,” he
says. “These experiences will be highly transferable to future opportunities in the field.”
Through its hands-on learning and professional connections, the sports management
program reflects the University of Maryland’s
commitment to preparing students for lasting
career success in a competitive industry.
Preparing students for thriving careers
By focusing on career readiness and tailored
solutions, programs at Carroll Community
College, Towson University and the University
of Maryland are equipping students with the
knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
This shift signals a broader trend toward more
responsive, adaptable and student-centered
learning models across the state. These initiatives are not only helping students today
but also shaping the future of education in
Maryland, positioning the state’s colleges as
leaders in preparing students for evolving
workforce demands.
Mentoring trend, from previous page
“International Education Week is taking
place from November 18-22,” says Ewhe.
“We are hoping to host a food festival, which
celebrates the many cultures represented on
campus, as well as a culture show, which
brings together our graduate and undergraduate populations.”
This year’s 54 ISO members will get
hands-on experience with event planning
and execution as well as communication
to the Notre Dame community. Mueller
says, “We normally market the organization through peer-to-peer interaction at the
beginning of the semester. Now that the
school is co-ed, we have another avenue for
recruitment. The program really took off last
year and it can only get better. The group
creates a welcoming community for every
culture and background.”
At University of Maryland’s college of
agricultural and natural resources (AGNR),
peer mentors are paid student employees
who help undergraduate students navigate
the various majors, requirements and potential career paths – just showing them the
ropes. Heather Buchanan, program manager
for student services at the AGNR, says, “The
students in these majors are the ones who
get things done. They are well-versed and
engaged students.”
The college offers seven undergraduate
degree-granting departments/units with nine
majors and 32 concentration options. There
is also a non-degree certificate unit with nine
2-year certificate options. Who wouldn’t
need a mentor to guide them through that?
Those who have mastered the options
are the peer mentors. Each of the units has
at least one peer mentor representative. To
become a peer mentor, the student must
have completed 24-30 credits, which equates
to sophomore year. Students are required
to maintain a 3.0 grade point average, but
Buchanan says most have a 3.5 or better
GPA. “They are actively involved in their
major and know how to manage their time.”
Both the mentor and mentee benefit from
the activities. According to Buchanan, “The
freshman student gets the upperclassman
know-how, and the sophomore or junior has
a student to emulate.”
Buchanan says one of the challenges the
group encounters is actually getting students
to use the resources. She estimates that about
25 to 30% of the student population take
advantage of the peer mentors. “We reach
out to 100 percent of the incoming freshman and transfer students, and the mentors
visit the freshman classes every semester.”
Students will now be seeing the program on
social media, because the college has created
a marketing plan for that platform.
If Gen Z has anything to do with it, all
of these innovative mentoring programs will
continue to flourish.
