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Winter 2024

Testudo turtle mascot with open arms. Vintage mascot photos in background

Features

January 12, 2024
From Turtlenappings to TikTok Shenanigans, How an Unassuming Reptile Evolved to Represent Terp Spirit
rainbow turtle, turtle with pink and light blue pattern, "Support #TransTerps" pin. "Debilitating Queerness", "they" pin

Features

January 16, 2024
Twenty-five years ago, the LGBTQ+ Equity Center opened to support queer Terps who felt invisible, isolated and harassed. Some of the founders recount its humble start and hard-won victories.
View of low, tan buildings against a large sky. Dessert terrain.

Features

January 12, 2024
American Indians have long been denied fair access to homes, health care, schooling and jobs. For Joseph Kunkel M.Arch. ’09, the mission to change that is personal.
Gold star on red backgroud

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
The Alumni Excellence Awards
McKeldin Mall at sunrise

Parting Shot

January 12, 2024
Testudo Watches Over McKeldin Mall From Perch of Nearly 60 Years
"Testudo II" wheels near stands at football game

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
An ‘Underexposed’ Photo of UMD History
Alex Kin ’08 and Sarah Tostanoski ’09 on wedding day

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Alums Celebrate Wedding at Homecoming Tailgate
Cheese board with M in middle; Kara McGrath inset portrait

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
5 Tips for Making a Board Bursting With Flavor and Color
Zebrafish stamp

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Image Chosen by Postal Service Opened New Avenues to Treat Brain Diseases
Bonnie Bernstein portrait and "She Got Game: Inspiring Women, Inspired by Sports" illustration

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Sports Journalist’s Podcast Links Women’s Success in Careers to Experiences on the Field and Court
John Kelly at desk

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Departing Washington Post Columnist Shares 20 Years of Family Tales, Reader Favorites
three people sit on stage at PROGRESS launch

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Initiative to Offer Research, Solutions to National Crisis
group installs Mesonet tower

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Maryland Mesonet to Provide Early Weather Warning in a Changing Climate
adult and baby bald eagles in nest

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Bald Eagle Expert Joins Legendary Explorers Club Honorees
Arlington House perched atop Arlington National Cemetery

Explorations

January 12, 2024
At Robert E. Lee’s Former Residence, Researcher Opens Door to Overlooked Legacies

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

10s

Gregg Hill ’19

Gregg Hill ’19 joined the Carolinas-based law firm Robinson Bradshaw. He graduated from the Howard University School of Law as a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. At UMD, he was treasurer of its National Society of Collegiate Scholars chapter.…
Tiffany Casey headshot

10s

Tiffany Casey ’14

Tiffany Casey ’14 was selected for the American Public Transportation Association’s Leadership Class of 2024. Casey is the director of performance improvement at the Memphis Area Transit Authority in Tennessee.

90s

Brian Doheny ’92

Brian Doheny ’92 was named chief operating officer at Lucet, a provider of behavioral health solutions and services to commercial health plans, government agencies and other sponsors of care. He was most recently vice president of Medicare trend and…

Passings

Patricia “Pat” Yeager ‘78

Patricia “Pat” Yeager ‘78 died on Sept. 12, 2023, at age 88. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Yeager and her husband, Richard “Dick” Yeager, moved to Bowie, Md., in 1963, where they raised their five children. Yeager later graduated from UMD with a…
Seema Verma headshot

90s

Seema Verma ’93

Seema Verma ’93 was named senior vice president and general manager, life sciences at Oracle. Most recently, Verma served as a senior advisor to private equity firms Cressy and Co. and TPG. Prior to those roles, she was administrator of the Centers for…
Lorraine Antoinette Alt headshot

Passings

Lorraine Antoinette Alt ’74

Lorraine Antoinette Alt ’74 died on Sept. 6, 2023, in Palm Coast, Fla., at age 87. She was born in Nanticoke, Pa., and met her husband at a high school dance in Philadelphia. A few years after their marriage, the couple relocated to Kensington, Md.,…
McKayla Kelly headshot

20s

McKayla Kelly ’20

McKayla Kelly ’20 joined Choptank Community Health System’s Fassett Magee Medical and Cambridge Dental Center as a physician assistant. She received her Master of Health Science degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Vanessa Smith headshot

00s

Vanessa Smith MBA ’04

Vanessa Smith MBA ’04 was appointed chair of Teach for America-Greater Philadelphia after serving on its advisory board for the past three years. She is president of ServiceNow.org and in 2021 was named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by…