The School of Public Health held its annual Dean’s Recognition Ceremony on April 30. The virtual event served to showcase and honor members of the school’s community with the Distinguished Terrapin Award and the inaugural Early Career Award. 

Last week, the University of Maryland School of Public Health virtually inducted 23 members into the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. Inductees included students, faculty, alumni and this year's honorary inductee, Dr. Carlton Green, the director of diversity training and education in the University of Maryland Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Near the end of each academic year, School of Public Health faculty, staff, students, families and friends look forward to honoring our outstanding students through the SPH Convocation.

Congratulations to Kirsten Peterman, a Master of Arts in Kinesiology student studying Cognitive Motor Neuroscience, for her second place finish in the Public Health Research Day Poster Presentation. Her poster is titled "Will There Be a Season? The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxiety Within NCAA Student-Athletes and Non-Athlete University Students."

Congratulations to Anna Posbergh, a kinesiology doctoral student in the physical cultural studies group who is advised by Dr. Shannon Jette, for receiving the American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Fellowship! Posbergh's research interests include sex testing, the ethics of policy, and women in sports. 

Congratulations to Dr. David Andrews for receiving a 2021 Graduate Mentor of the Year Award from the Graduate School. Recipients of this award are selected based on student nominations.  As outlined on The Graduate School website, "The Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award serves the dual purposes of recognizing outstanding mentoring provided by individual faculty and of reminding the university community of the importance of mentoring to graduate studies."

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have experienced varying degrees of depression or anxiety related to the challenges of this unusual and trying time. 

Yet some people have weathered the stressors better than others. What factors predicted better mental health during the pandemic and what can this teach us about protecting against depression and anxiety during other difficult times? 

Over 24 hours on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, the University of Maryland School of Public Health community came together virtually to support our research initiatives, scholarships and educational programs. 278 donors—alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students—gave a total of $220,724, an increase of more than 137 percent from the previous year. That placed the School of Public Health at #2 on the leaderboard after Athletics for most funds raised during Giving Day.

During Summer 2020, May 2021 graduate Lily Centra interned at Hanger Clinic: Orthotics and Prosthetics’ Manhattan, New York, location. She was able to shadow Certified Prosthetist John Rheinstein and his colleagues. During her time at the clinic, she was exposed to a variety of patients with upper limb prostheses, lower limb prostheses and orthotics. Centra was also able to learn a plethora of prosthetic fabrication and modification techniques. 

Nature has several benefits that impact a person’s overall well-being, according to a new research article, NatureRx@UMD: A Review for Pursuing Green Space as a Health and Wellness Resource for the Body, Mind, and Soul.