As National Public Health Week starts Monday, April 6, the School of Public Health is hosting a variety of events focused on community, health and wellness. From creative art displays to cultural fests celebrating the diversity of public health, SPH invites all public health students and faculty as well as the greater campus and local community to participate.

Whether back-flipping over a vault, tumbling through a ring of fire or balancing on a pyramid of people, these spectacular feats take one essential skill and anyone can learn it.

University of Maryland students Ananth Kudaravalli, Maahe Kunvar and Alia Mulbagal placed first in the Innovation Lab at the 2026 Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) annual meeting, held in Virginia in March. 

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.”