‘Always Expect the Unexpected’

Yesterday's Winter 2020 Commencement ceremony celebrated the perseverance of more than 3,400 August and December graduates, with speakers both applauding their achievements amid the global pandemic, stressful election and national reckoning with racial injustice and admiring how they had strengthened their sense of community.

“This virus has not, cannot take our sense of connectedness,” University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines told nearly 6,000 people watching online in a ceremony he presided over for the first time as president. Meanwhile, it was UMD’s second such virtual ceremony, following Spring Commencement in May.

Student speaker Luke Teresi ’20 explained the university’s importance to his understanding of diversity, inclusion and belonging. Adopted as a baby from South Korea, Teresi was raised by an Italian family in New Jersey, where he sometimes felt out of place and misunderstood.

“When I transferred to the University of Maryland, I started to notice everything around me with a new lens,” said Teresi, who at Maryland founded the Cross-Cultural Adoption Organization, which encourages adoptees and allies to talk about transracial issues. “I began feeling like I fit in more, but I was not entirely sure why. I realized that the diversity in the classroom and on campus helped reassure me in a way that I previously did not know existed.”

Gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes ’02 gave the commencement address, telling graduates and their families about the ways in which pain can be transformative. After an excruciating fall in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Dawes said, she “had to rethink and shape my character and mold myself into the person I needed to be so I could reach my full potential.”

With the pandemic continuing—but hope on the horizon as vaccine distribution ramps up around the U.S. and the world—Dawes encouraged the Class of 2020 to take this difficult time to “find out what’s most important in our lives.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan added that students should reflect on their resilience through adversity and feel tremendous pride. “I hope this moment in our history serves as a reminder to all of you to always expect the unexpected, and don’t get thrown off-course when obstacles appear from out of nowhere,” he said.

The university invited graduates and their families to share their Commencement photos using the #UMDgrad hashtag. Below, see a selection of them  as well as of portraits shot by staff photographer Stephanie S. Cordle.

Adriana Sanders earned a bachelor of arts degree in women’s studies, an accomplishment she’s proud of during such a tumultuous time in the world. Her favorite Maryland memory was her transfer student orientation. “I was so nervous but excited to become a Terp. That was the best welcome to set the tone for the rest of my college career at UMD.”
@adrianaksanders via Instagram

Afnan Abdella majored in information science with a specialization in data science. She was a member of UMD’s Muslim Student Association.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland

Madison Maguire, a mechanical engineering major, was also a midfielder on the women’s field hockey team, earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and second-team All-American honors in 2019. “I loved wearing Maryland colors on the pitch!
via Instagram @madison_maguire

Yasantha Perera completed his MBA while continuing work at the General Services Administration. “I will continue to serve the public sector and help the federal government capture savings in real estate management,” he said. He also looks forward to traveling internationally again post-pandemic.
via Instagram @atehkatie

Dana Hashem designed her own major through the Individual Studies program—translational molecular and cognitive neuroscience— and minored in innovation and entrepreneurship en route to conducting research and attending medical school. She also founded the Nu Rho Psi honors society.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland

Garrett Hines, kinesiology, minored in business and served as president of the Delta Phi chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity.
via Instagram @ghines_3

Aitana Garrison, a theatre major, enjoyed hosting open mic night for Kreativity Diversity Troupe, a student performance group that writes and performs original works. She's proud to have completed her degree after a two-year break, and looks forward to becoming a project manager with International Responder Systems while pursuing her project management certification and building her resume as a stage manager and producer.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland

Trey Miller received the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s Larry Reich Award, given annually to a M.C.P. student who has shown initiative and leadership in an area of urban revitalization or economic development.
via Instagram trey_0706

David Boutin majored in electrical engineering and minored in technology entrepreneurship and Spanish. He helped start UMD's first Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers junior chapter at Wheaton High School in Montgomery County, and was active in Theta Tau (the professional co-ed engineering fraternity), Omicron Delta Kappa, Terps Racing, Clark School Ambassadors, LSAMP, STEM Student Leadership Board and Hinman CEOs. He plans to join Accenture in Arlington, Va., as a technology analyst.
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle/University of Maryland