---
title: "What It Takes: Running the Stamp Student Union"
date: 2022-03-16T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/what-it-takes-running-the-stamp-student-union"
section: Articles
---
# What It Takes: Running the Stamp Student Union

*March 16, 2022* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> UMD’s Student Life Hub Welcomes 14,000 People Each Day to Eat, Play and Meet—All Thanks to Its Small Army of Full-Time and Student Employees

*Food Court 01292020 SC 4948 1920x1080 — It takes 90 full-time and 500 student employees to keep the Adele H. Stamp Student Union running each day, giving the University of Maryland community a place to grab coffee, gather for events, celebrate cultural traditions and more.*

From career fairs to cultural festivals, early-morning coffee lines to late-night bowling and billiards, the Adele H. Stamp Student Union is the center of campus life at the University of Maryland. And somebody has to drizzle the caramel on the Starbucks macchiato or sanitize the bowling shoes.

Nearly a third of the campus population streams through its doors each day to buy books, grab a burger or attend a student group meeting, all under the omnipresent eye of Director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, who has worked at the student union since 1987.

“People gather here for celebrations and through challenging times,” she said. “I think it’s critically important the students can bring their whole selves here and find that sense of home and community.”

Guenzler-Stevens and Associate Director of Operations Nicole Miskimon, who oversee 90 full-time and 500 student employees at the Stamp, talked to Maryland Today about the day-to-day hustle and bustle, the challenges of COVID and the thrill of having people back in the building.

**Guenzler-Stevens:** I get here around 7 a.m. on school days, when the building opens, and Dining Services workers are starting to sell breakfast. Around 8:30 is when you get the coffee rush—you can really see the rhythm of classes when the line is the longest. Our lunch crowd is the biggest of the day, from 11 to 2. Around 6 or 7 p.m. we get a lot of student groups. Last night when I left, there were two groups in the Prince George’s Room and the Atrium, both dancing. There was a SEE event in the Grand Ballroom, a movie playing at Hoff Theater and other student groups meeting on the second floor. Weekends can go pretty late with social activities until we close at 2 a.m.

**Miskimon:** Our building managers and student employees at the information desk, event and guest services—they’re the ones who do all the hands-on work of unlocking doors and making sure rooms are being set up for events. Students are the reason we are here, and they also do the work to keep us going, especially during the evenings and weekends.

They’ve been incredibly resilient and patient as their responsibilities have shifted these last couple of years. They’ve volunteered to help with line management when COVID-19 testing has gotten busy, helped the University Health Center hand out at-home test kits and are managing mask storage and distribution. Though they’re not always treated the kindest when encouraging folks to follow campus guidelines, they continue to support the campus and Stamp to keep this as a safe place for our community to gather.


*University Book Center*



**Sidebar note:**

**Stamp by the Numbers**

- 300,000 square feet
- 10 dining options
- 800+ clubs and organizations using the Student Involvement Suite
- 8 bowling lanes and 10 billiards tables in Terp Zone





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Student Life](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-life), [What It Takes](https://today.umd.edu/topic/what-it-takes)


**Units:** [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs)