The UMD Circus

Just looking at UMD senior Grace Toohey’s schedule is exhausting.

A double major in journalism and government and politics, the Honors College student spent long Tuesdays and Thursdays in the fall interning at the McClatchy Co. in D.C., on Fridays she gave tours to prospective students as a Maryland Imager, and she squeezed a full course load and extracurriculars into three weekdays.

While her schedule was unique to her, it was also typical: Every student’s experience is shaped, or even transformed, by the faculty and staff members who make UMD run, from the academics who create new courses to the electricians who keep the lights on.

So while Toohey could never be confused with Billy, Dolly, Jeffy or P.J., the kids from Bil Keane’s comic strip “The Family Circus,” her travels around campus on a typical Monday echoed the winding, dotted-line paths the siblings sometimes take through the neighborhood. In many ways, the campus is exactly that.