Your Guide to First Look Fair Land

Cultural Candy Cane Forest
College Park Curry brings traditional South Asian dishes to Maryland through weekly workshops that teach members how to cook, eat and appreciate traditional food through cooking lessons and educational outreach.

The Sign Language Club, UMD’s premier sign language organization, aims to teach, normalize and integrate sign language into the campus community. Members meet biweekly to practice new signs, play games and learn about the deaf community. Several times a year the club travels to D.C. to visit Gallaudet University, the primary university for deaf and hard of hearing students.

“It’s an environment where everybody feels included, everybody feels welcome and they’re excited and interested to learn something new,” said club President Hannah Eisenfeld.

SweetArts Sea
The Swing Dance Club brings partner dancing to Stamp to allow students to learn the Lindy Hop and West Coast Swing. Club members and drop-ins are welcome at free weekly lessons under the direction of professional instructors.

Club President Forrest Milner discovered the group at the First Look Fair during his freshman year. “The Swing Club was something I could put on my calendar and go do, and I made friends,” he said. “It was really, really valuable to me.”

Terrapin Record Label offers students interested in music production, artist management and composition professional music industry experience right in College Park. At weekly meetings, members brainstorm, record and bond over their shared love for music through the creation of albums and collaboration with other clubs and artists. Sarah Zhu, a contributing artist and TRL member for two years, describes the club as a talented and ambitious group of tight-knit creators.

“We would love to provide resources for you, whether you’re artists or just want to practice certain skills,” Zhu said. “I think we’re a resource as well as open to new ideas, too.”

Smartie Slopes (Academic groups)
Code: Black promotes diversity in the computer science field. It hosts speakers from alums and companies such as Geico and Duolingo, and themed networking events, like gingerbread competitions and trivia nights, to foster a sense of community among members and form connections.

If you have a passion for engineering and rocketry, take off this fall with the Terrapin Rocket Team. The club welcomes new members from any discipline to design, build and launch high-powered rockets and prepare for competitions to represent the Terps—it won an international contest this spring with a 12-foot model named Honu.

Sports, Spice, and Everything Nice
123 I Like to Ski was cofounded by Harrison Offenberg three years ago as the first non-competitive skiing club on campus. Now it has over 350 members.

“We’re also open to anyone, whether you’ve been skiing your whole life or you just want to learn how to ski,” said Offenberg, now the president. This year, the club is headed to Mont-Tremblant in Quebec over winter break and plans several other day trips.

D.U.N.K., or Dedicated Undergrads Nurturing Kids, is an after-school basketball program sponsored by UMD’s Do Good Institute. Club members travel to Prince George’s County schools to model good sportsmanship, strong leadership and healthy habits for local students. The club’s programming includes basketball drills, scrimmages, athletic conditional and presentations on healthy lifestyle tips.