On a recent cool Friday afternoon just south of campus, a group of students from UMD’s College Park Scholars and College of Arts and Humanities came together to usher in spring with a timely volunteer project. 

A few years ago, Vasanthi Shanmuganandam struggled to keep up with her studies. She had just given birth and was taking prerequisite courses in pursuit of a doctorate.

In October 2025, early-career researchers and doctoral students from U21 member institutions and a policy leader convened in Dublin for the biannual Universitas 21 Health Research Exchange (U21HREx) symposium. Chaired by Dr. Negin Fouladi of the University of Maryland (UMD), the U21HREx network brings together participants from UMD, the University of Birmingham and University College Dublin as a growing global community of practice.

At the end of his father’s life in 2020, Taha Nasir found himself spending unending hours in the hospital surrounded by the complexity of the healthcare system. That difficult time shaped a new career goal for Nasir: to work on improving healthcare systems by joining his two passions, business and health, into a career in healthcare management.

Jodi Hammer, director of the University Career Center at the School of Public Health, has decades of wisdom when it comes to supporting students in their career journeys. Whether you’re a freshman just starting out or a senior looking at career options, follow Hammer’s five recommendations below to get you closer to the job you seek.

For Susan Topping, pursuing a master’s degree was a long-held dream – but only a dream. She didn't think she could afford it while she and her wife tried to save for their children’s education. Topping also worried that pursuing this degree would simply pull her attention away from her family. 

Charles “Peewee” Hall III pauses, a pair of buzzing clippers in one hand, his other tilting his customer’s head to the correct angle. 

“It’s just a good idea,” he shrugs. “I want to make sure the youth, the adults and especially the parents who sit in this chair and get their hair cut, get the message about cannabis.” 

About 5,000 miles from the University of Maryland, across the North Atlantic Ocean, Ella Sanvee, a first-generation student getting her master’s degree in health policy and evaluation, spent her summer in Ghana studying the cost effectiveness of two treatment regimens of breast cancer chemotherapy. 

It’s about this time of the semester when the stresses of college life can get overwhelming. Whether you’re a freshman transitioning away from home, a senior juggling studies and internships or any student navigating life’s stressors, this class is for you.

On a crisp Sunday morning in October, children came running through the doors of a gym in the University of Maryland's School of Public Health (SPH). Others stood more hesitantly before volunteers guided them inside hand in hand, and still others pushed themselves forward in their wheelchairs.