Meet the Senior Marshals
35 Class of 2020 Students Recognized for Achievements
Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle
The senior marshals represent their college and the entire class at commencement. The special virtual ceremony taking place on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic has no processional, but the university still wants to recognize these exceptional students.
Founded in 1991, the Senior Marshal program recognizes graduating seniors at each UMD commencement who demonstrate the highest levels of scholarship, service, extracurricular activity and personal growth.
Students are nominated by faculty, administrators and staff, and are chosen by a committee. The marshals represent their college and the entire class at the ceremony, assisting with the student processional, sitting in the front row and receiving a medallion commemorating their achievements.
The special virtual commencement ceremony taking place on Friday due to the coronavirus pandemic has no processional, of course, but the university still wants to recognize these exceptional students. Here are the senior marshals for Spring 2020:
William Armstrong IV (major: finance) continues the Terp legacy of his mother and uncle, both alums, and was active in the university community as a wing on the rugby team, vice president of social programming on the Senior Council, a teaching assistant for three years and a member of the Hinman CEOs living-learning program. Next year, he will pursue a master’s in finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Vivian Alana Caesar (majors: broadcast journalism and government and politics) is passionate about equity in education and the workplace, especially for students of color. She will spend this summer working for a political communications firm while applying to law school, where she hopes to focus on constitutional law.
Candela Cerpa (major: environmental science and policy, minor: geographical information sciences) is originally from Uruguay and spent her time at the University of Maryland advocating for the Latinx community and undocumented students, and furthering campus and local sustainability. She hopes to pursue a career in natural disaster mitigation and management.
Cayla Cwerner (major: psychology, minors: public leadership and Spanish literature, linguistics, and culture) will begin the Master’s in School Counseling Program at the University of Maryland this fall. She hopes to become a school counselor in an elementary school.
Jacqueline Deprey (majors: computer science and operations management and business analytics) was a Gemstone and QUEST Honors Program mentor who spent her free time hosting Maryland Survivor, engaging prospective students as an ambassador for the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, Department of Computer Science, Gemstone and Robert H. Smith School of Business, leading personal development events for Alpha Omega Epsilon as the sorority’s professional chair, and giving tours of campus through Maryland Images. She is passionate about her work in the Maryland Center for Women in Computing and Student Advisory Board for Inclusion and Diversity.
Juliette Ducasse (major: communication, minor: music performance) was a member of the ODK honor society, brother of the Pi Sigma Epsilon business fraternity, singer in the UMD Concert Choir, alum of the Media, Self and Society program in College Park Scholars and tour guide with Maryland Images. She worked part-time at the Kennedy Center and OBERLAND (an ad agency in New York). Post-graduation, she will move to Chicago for an associate consultant position with Adobe.
Kristen Edwards (major: mechanical engineering) was a member of the University Honors and Global Fellows programs. She served as vice president of external affairs for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, service chair of Theta Tau, on the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Committee and the Women in Engineering Student Advisory Board, a researcher in the Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab, and a sister of Alpha Omicron Pi. She received the Spirit of Maryland Award, the A. James Clark School of Engineering Dean’s Award and the Mechanical Engineering Chairman’s Award. She will pursue a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she will research machine learning and renewable energy to promote a sustainable future.
Megan Gaines (majors: biological sciences and psychology, minor: health, humanities and medicine) was in the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College, worked as a tour guide with Maryland Images, was an Honors ambassador, worked as a teaching assistant for multiple courses, was a team leader with America Counts and volunteered with multiple community partners. She will spend the next year working with the Literacy Lab, an AmeriCorps program in D.C. public schools, then apply to medical school.
Elmer Jonathan Garcia (majors: public policy and communication, minor: law and society) focused at UMD on creating spaces that uplift marginalized identities through his involvement with the School of Public Policy, NAACP and the Department of Resident Life.
William A. Green (biological sciences) has traveled extensively, both growing up and during his time at UMD, including down the West Coast, across the Midwest and soon through the Yukon with two friends and planned low-budget group trips to Puerto Rico and Canada.
Julianne Heberlein (majors: journalism and government and politics) held leadership positions in College Republicans, the Student Government Association, University Health Center Peer Education Program and Senior Council, and was the founder of the Mental Health Student Advisory Board. She will work in political communication after graduation and plans to attend law school later to pursue her dream of becoming an election lawyer.
Samantha Howard (major: aerospace engineering, minor: military studies) participated in many organizations and internships to better herself and her community. She has a private pilot’s license and enjoys flying, traveling to new places and photographing her day-to-day experiences. Upon graduating, she will be commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and begin undergraduate pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.
Simone Hughes (major: education) grew up dreaming of attending Maryland, like her father and sister did. She plans to be a teacher in her native Prince George’s County.
Sanjeev Jariwala (major: information science, minor: general business) was involved with the men’s rowing team, Alpha Phi Omega, Maryland Mauj, Maryland Images and the iSchool. He enjoys traveling, listening to music and attempting to cook. After graduation, he will work at Qualtrics in Provo, Utah.
Alexandra Johnson (major: community health, minor: leadership studies) served as a peer educator, sorority chapter president and on-campus student worker and intern. This fall, she will pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy at Columbia University.
Sasha Kahn (majors: architecture and government and politics) advocated for students within the University Senate and the Student Government Association. He hopes to apply his passion for disability rights advocacy in his future career as a lawyer. He will attend law school this fall.
Sara Kohorst (major: history) was a history tutor for the Academic Achievement Program and worked at RecWell, where she was passionate about lifting weights and empowering other women to challenge themselves. In June, she will begin the UMD College of Education’s one-year master’s certification program to become a high school history teacher.
Elena LeVan (major: psychology) was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and held executive board positions with the Student Government Association, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Dean’s Student Advisory Council, Preventing Sexual Assault, Maryland Discourse and Girl Up, as well as volunteer positions with the College Night program and the Maryland English Institute. She served as the SGA’s director of sexual misconduct prevention, interned with the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault and held a leadership position with Preventing Sexual Assault. LeVan is a Dean’s List student and member of the Justice & Legal Thought Scholars program. Post-graduation, she plans to continue her work in sexual assault prevention.
Maris Medina (majors: journalism and public policy) produced videos for The Diamondback, the award-winning video series “ViewFinder,” the nonprofit Community Change and the School of Public Health. As a visual journalist, she hopes to cover immigration, education policy, climate change and women’s rights. A Filipina immigrant who moved to the United States at 5 years old, she’s driven to amplify the voices of marginalized individuals.
Emil Melia (majors: art history and studio art) was a member of both departmental honors programs, as well as the University Honors program in the Honors College. Their areas of interest include comics history, autobiography and memoir, and gender studies. They look forward to a career in museums, galleries and institutions in hopes of teaching and working to increase accessibility and appreciation of creative practice.
Katherine Miller (majors: public policy and Spanish) was in the Honors Humanities living and learning program, helped run a successful Democratic campaign, held internships with the office of U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and the Environmental Protection Agency, was published in The Washington Post, and launched an organization at UMD to aid families of refugees.
So Eun Moon (major: environmental science and policy), a Korean American who loves the art and study of nature and animals, spent the past two and a half years researching the effects of a pesticide on honey bee physiology. She plans to attend graduate school and research and teach as a professor.
Raymond Nevo (major: public policy) was a university senator, president of the School of Public Policy Social Policy Council, member of the Diversity Equity Belonging task force and a housing policy advocate. He also performed and taught flying trapeze at TSNY-DC.
Rahila Olanrewaju (majors: economics and government and politics, minor: African studies) is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, and passionate about economic development on a global scale. She helped found the Financial Literacy Outreach and Training Program, the African Languages Association and the African studies minor. She will join Deloitte as a strategy and operations business analyst in New York, where she will design solutions to global challenges in business growth, financial inclusion and economic development.
Monica Panepento (majors: music performance and business management) served as vice president of new member education for her sorority, president of the Maryland Music Business Society and section leader for HONR100 with University Honors. She was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and worked for The Clarice as an arts ambassador. She will pursue a career in marketing.
Sara Ramotnik (major: environmental science and policy) will pursue a career in restoring and preserving the Chesapeake Bay. She hopes to find solutions for problems that farmers, watermen and citizens face within the Chesapeake Bay watershed in ways that are more economically and environmentally efficient.
Christine Rhee (major: middle school math and science education, minor: Spanish) was actively involved as a resident assistant, an orientation advisor, a senator in the University Senate and a College of Education ambassador. She also served on the executive board for the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, where she was recognized as the 2020 Leader of the Year. This fall, she will pursue a master’s degree in school counseling at the University of Maryland.
Ariana Riske (majors: operations management and business analytics, and marketing) completed the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program in the Honors College, the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Honors Program and a Strategic Design Fellowship. In addition, she served as co-chair of the Smith School Dean’s Student Advisory Council and as vice president of events for the Smith Undergraduate Student Association. After graduating, she will work as an associate consultant at Bain & Co. in Washington, D.C.
Darian Ruffin (majors: psychology and criminology, and criminal justice) is a lifelong Prince George’s County resident and first-generation college student who caught the Terp spirit when attending summer camps at UMD in elementary school. She will pursue a master’s degree in forensic psychology in hopes of a career using psychological knowledge in regard to criminal acts and their impacts.
Marie Sinnicki (majors: secondary education, English) participated in intramural sports, volunteered with research projects, joined the College of Education Senate Steering Committee, and interned as a student ambassador with the College of Education. She plans to teach English in Maryland public schools at the secondary level and to install in her students a belief of self-respect, a motivation for self-growth and a love for English language arts.
Doron Tadmor (major: international business and operations management, minors: Spanish and technology entrepreneurship) was deeply involved in the Student Government Association, Omicron Delta Kappa and the QUEST Honors Program. He will pursue a master’s degree in international management at Imperial College London to help him achieve his goal of improving economic inclusion of rural and indigenous populations in Latin America.
Tram-Anh Tran (major: operations management and business analytics, minor: law and society) was part of the University Honors program within the Honors College and a resident assistant in Hagerstown Hall for four years. She was highly active in the Vietnamese Student Association, where she held positions as treasurer and executive vice president. She plans to attend law school and work as a human rights lawyer.
Miguel Turcios (major: psychology) is a first-generation college student whose parents originate from El Salvador. He was a member of the Incentive Awards Program, where he grew as an individual, connected deeply with others and gave back to his community. He is passionate about medicine, psychology, research and personal growth.
Andi Wenck (major: broadcast journalism, minor: leadership studies) was a goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team, an intern with Maryland Athletics, WUSA9 and D.C. United’s video production teams, and donated her time, energy and passion to the surrounding community, too. She will pursue an MBA in experience design at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Amanda Sue Hobgood Wilmot (major: aerospace engineering, minor: international engineering) was a member of the entrepreneurship and innovation, engineering and aerospace engineering honors programs. She was an engineering senator, the Sigma Gamma Tau National Aerospace Honor Society Initiation officer and the Design, Build, Fly subteam lead. She was also the Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics outreach chair, in FLEXUS and in Research Instruction Service and Entrepreneurship (RISE) and a study abroad teaching fellow.
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