New ‘Image,’ Name for UMD’s Tour Guides

FORTY YEARS AGO, all it took to become a University of Maryland tour guide was a reasonably clean Terps T-shirt, a love for the red, black and gold, and the ability to walk backward while talking.

Over time, the process to become a Maryland Imager required another kind of balancing act: auditioning, doing a multipart interview and memorizing dozens of fun facts while weaving in personal anecdotes.

UMD’s most visible ambassadors took another step toward professionalism in December by adopting a new name and standardized uniforms. They’re now Terp Guides—a change spurred by its members becoming student employees, rather than volunteers—and they can be spotted across campus waving (and wearing) a little Maryland flag-bearing Testudo (shown below) on their matching sweatshirts and gear.

As Terp Guides step forward into a new era, take a stroll through UMD tour guide history:

When Hill joined, Terps were reeling from basketball star Len Bias’ recent death. Other big changes included the leadership transition from Chancellor John Slaughter to President Brit Kirwan and overcrowding that led to enrollment cuts of 10%.

Favorite fun fact: Engineering building Glenn L. Martin Hall had two parts, and the old portion was designed like a slide ruler while the new part was designed to look like a calculator.

Standout memory: “We would give people a 3x5 card for them to take 30 seconds and describe the tour,” Hill says. “They were looking for something like, ‘bubbly and informative,’ but one time someone wrote: ‘Between 5’6 and 5’9, blonde!’”

Both transplanted New Englanders, the tour partners bragged about plentiful computer labs and the powerhouse Terps men’s basketball team under Coach Gary Williams.

Favorite fun fact: Kermit was created by Jim Henson ’60 as a student by cutting up his mother’s felt coat.

Tour guide perk: Given a UMD letter opener as a parting gift, Levine says, “I remember thinking at the time—and I think my face showed it—’What was I going to do with this thing?’ Twenty-six years later, I use that same exact letter opener almost every single day!”

Roomies for all four years and “Dynamic Duo” winner at Maryland Images’ annual awards, Berglund and Sunder joined Maryland Images as freshmen and never looked back.

Favorite fun fact: The Hootie and the Blowfish video for “Only Wanna Be With You” was shot on campus in 1994, so Berglund and Sunder sang the song during their audition.

Standout memory: “Our rain boots would get holes in the back of the heels because we walked backward the whole time, and tours were held rain or shine,” says Sunder.

“Maryland Images was like our co-ed fraternity on campus,” says Evans. “We did everything together. It was our family.”

Favorite fun fact: Queen Elizabeth II attended her first and only American football game at UMD.

Standout memory: “Students would ask about internships, athletics. But one mom asked me, ‘Is ‘Sex Week’ a week where there’s just a big orgy on campus?’” (In fact, it’s a week about sex education and health.)