Children fish for foam turtles in the McKeldin Mall fountain during Maryland Day on April 27, 2019. The Mckeldin Mall hosts one of the five neighborhoods, Terp Town Center, during the day and features many educational booths for visitors to explore (Photo by Casey Gannon).
By Casey Gannon
On Saturday, April 27, the University of Maryland held its 21st annual Maryland Day. The purpose of the day is to celebrate College Park and the university. Students have the opportunity to share their school and departments have an opportunity to display research and projects they’ve been working on.
Maryland Day occupies the entire campus. There were five different neighborhoods: AG Day Avenue, Art and Design Place, Science and Tech Way, Sports and Rec Row, and Terp Town Center. Terp Town Center was at the heart of campus at McKeldin Mall. Visitors started their day here to take campus tours, learn about the different colleges and receive free merchandise.
Besides educational and interactive neighborhoods, many of the athletic teams had games. The football team hosted their Red-White Spring Game, and both men’s and women’s lacrosse had home games.
Sara Wiatrak, a freshman journalism and government and politics double major, did not have many expectations for Maryland Day but was excited to experience it.
“It looked fun,” Wiatrak said. “I didn’t see much advertising on it, but my friend said ‘let’s go get free stuff!’”
One of the most popular attractions this year was the plant giveaway outside of the Plant Science building. Wiatrak was on a mission to find these plants at the start of her day.
“My friend really wants to get plants outside of the Plant Science building, so we’re going to find some plants to take home hopefully,” Wiatrak said.
One of the more noticeable aspects of this year’s Maryland Day was the weather, as it was extremely windy. Carly Boden, a junior bioengineering major, and Seth Eisenberg, a junior chemistry major, compared it to previous Maryland Days.
“It’s a bit windy” Boden said. “Other years have been more rainy, more sunny, but it’s fun, lots of the same activities, but it’s still fun to go to the same activities every year.”
Eisenberg emphasized that Maryland Day was a great way to get some free merchandise from the university. Both juniors were looking forward to the rock climbing wall and ropes course later in the day.
Aside from students, this is a very popular event for alumni to attend. Maryland Day is very family friendly and welcoming to alumni who want to visit their alma mater. Marcus Watson, a 2016 graduate and civil engineering major, came with his sister, who is transfering to the University of Maryland in the fall.
“I just wanted to go around, show her the campus, meet up with some old professors,” Watson said.
While many University of Maryland students attend the campus-wide event, the event gives visiting alumni the chance to see how the university has changed since they graduated.
“My entire time at Maryland, I didn’t go to Maryland Day,” Watson said. “So it’s kind of weird the only times I went was when I was not a student.”
Watson shared that it was nice to take a walk down memory lane. He appreciated the school very much and how much it has allowed him to succeed in his current career.
“I feel like my experience at Maryland was very comprehensive,” Watson. “I gained a lot of skills that I currently use in my career.”
The tradition of Maryland Day allows students and alumni to celebrate their school and remind them why they picked this institution to continue their studies.
“Without Maryland I wouldn’t be where I am right now in my career,” Watson said. “I’m really grateful for the staff, the faculty and the people and the support system that exist here for students.”