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College Park, Md. - Most people use Google Street View to find their way. Dr.

When rising junior Om Desai, a public health science major in the School of Public Health and humanities, health, and medicine minor, applied for the xFoundry’s Xperience cohort last-minute this past fall semester, he didn’t think much of it.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In a head-to-head comparison of masks worn by people with active COVID-19, the inexpensive “duckbill” N95 came out on top, stopping 98% of COVID-19 particles in the breath of infected people from escaping into the air. Led by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health (SPH), results showed other masks also performed well, blocking at least 70% of viral particles from escaping from the source – an infected person’s exhaled breath.

Just before the start of her freshman year, in the heart of the pandemic, Marina Costa ‘24 lost her father to cancer. Last month, she graduated with a University Honors Citation and a spot in George Washington University’s MPH program with a concentration in infectious disease epidemiology.

The School of Public Health is so proud of our graduating class of 2024, many of whom began their college education during a global pandemic. First on Monday, May 20, 2024 – unfortunately postponed due a power outage – and then on May 21, students, family, and friends convened in the Xfinity Center to send off this resilient, tenacious class of students to go forth and do good in the world.

With an unwavering dedication to global health equity and social justice, the journey of Sarika Walia, B.S. '21, MPH '22, from the University of Maryland (UMD) to international arenas exemplifies the transformative power of education and passion. Walia's story began at the School of Public Health (SPH), where she pursued a BS+MPH through the accelerated program in Health Equity. Within the nurturing environment of SPH, Walia's passion for global health ignited.