The sound of laughter and giggles echoed across several classrooms at the University of Maryland School of Public Health as students played charades, drawing scenarios from a jar.

Public health and psychology student Olohitare "Abby" Abaku, ’26, spent her summer at the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UMD-IHC) examining possible links between food deserts and diabetes among Maryland residents.

Are you wondering how to get connected at SPH? Whether it's your first year and you're looking to make new connections, your last year and you want to go out strong, or you just want to hang out, enjoy free food and win prizes, Welcome Week has an event for everyone! 

This summer’s Juneteenth celebrations in the historic African American community of Sandy Spring were lively, musical and rich with storytelling from residents descended from formerly enslaved Black people who gained freedom within one of Maryland’s oldest Quaker communities. 

After Zaila Avant-garde correctly spelled “Murraya” to win the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, the confetti had barely finished raining down on stage before the scholarship offers started pouring in.

Most came from universities in the eighth-grader’s home state of Louisiana, but not all. University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines reached out to her on social media to offer his congratulations and a full ride to UMD. “We hope you’ll bring your ‘Murraya’ win to Maryland!”

This summer, Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts brought her research on nature, physical activity and health equity directly to the community with a new summer camp aiming to get high schoolers into green spaces in Buffalo, NY.

When freshmen arrive at the University of Maryland (UMD), they’re placed in orientation classes designed to ease the transition into college life. But transfer students, many of whom come from two-year colleges and have already earned associate’s degrees, are often navigating a new campus, major requirements and social systems alone. 

Biostatistics plays a vital and growing role in the field of public health, providing the analytical foundation for understanding health trends and making evidence-based decisions. As the volume and complexity of health data increases, especially in this new age of artificial intelligence (AI), there is a critical need for biostatistical expertise.

Dr. Samantha Snyder, Ph.D. ’25, has always been interested in human movement. With a freshly minted doctorate in kinesiology from the School of Public Health, Snyder is wasting no time, already applying her diverse skills to make a difference for people with knee osteoarthritis, a common and painful condition. 

This May, Hannah Altberger became the first ever graduate of a social data science major on the public health track. 

“Getting to pioneer the major was so cool,” Altberger said. “I just happened to be the first one to graduate with this degree, and I think that is such an honor.”