College Success Scholars was the first thing I knew about at Maryland. I came in not knowing what a bachelor’s degree was, what I wanted to study, or even how to get a degree. All I knew was that I wanted to succeed and work as hard as I could to be the first in my family to get a college degree. Through CSS, I not only was able to learn about how to succeed in college, but most importantly, make friends in order for my experience to not be as daunting. Through Dr. Lester’s unconditional mentorship and support, even when I did not have a dollar for textbooks, I double majored, minored, came out with a full-time job and in the evenings am in the Public Policy Master’s Program. I like to measure my success not by what I have been able to acquire through my education, but the number of lives I am now able to serve as an example for, as well as the students I now mentor based on my past experiences. Thank you CSS and Dr. Lester for believing in me.
Juan Roa
Minor in International
Development and
Conflict Management
2016 MPP Candidate
Education Policy and
International Development
University of Maryland,
School of Public Policy
Head of Development
and Communications
Spanish Education
Development (SED)
Center, Washington, DC
My name is Lucas Gonzalez-Rey, and I’m currently a sophomore studying Information Systems and Operations Management & Business Analytics at the Smith Business School. Last summer, I had the opportunity to work as a social media and videography intern for the Capitol Hoops Summer League. The Capitol Hoops Summer League is an offseason basketball league consisting of high school teams ...READ MORE »
My name is Nene Narh-Mensah, I’m a senior studying journalism and public policy. This past summer I interned at Maryland Matters, a state politics and policy publication. I covered justice and health equity while there. I also contributed to their coverage of the elections this year. The semester before, I had been searching for an internship that could count for internship ...READ MORE »
What it is, what it do?! This is Aaron Wright, a senior CSS brother and Journalism major at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. For this blog post, I want to discuss my time as an intern at The Baltimore Banner. During the summer, I wrote stories and news articles for this startup news publication. I worked with some of ...READ MORE »
My name is Caio Moreira Goolsby, and I’m a Sophomore studying Astronomy and Government and Politics at the University of Maryland with the CSS program. As the pandemic hit in 2020, I watched the outsized impact that supply chain shut-downs, pandemic restrictions, and service industry closures had on my local immigrant community. My resume, which had been floating around my ...READ MORE »
My name is Matteo Patzy and I am currently a Senior and studying mechanical engineering. When I was searching for internships for the summer of 2021, I found a position that interested me. I decided to apply, and managed to perform well in two interviews, thanks to my experiences and the professional practice that I have had in CSS. I ...READ MORE »
My name is Maxwell Morris and I am currently a senior at the iSchool. This summer, I was an intern at Optum within UnitedHealth Group. The internship was both a very rewarding experience and a great way for me to learn real-world skills that I have not been able to get in a classroom setting. Over the course of ten weeks, ...READ MORE »
Hello CSS Family,
My name is Andrew Day, and I am currently a senior majoring in Information Science. This past summer, I had the pleasure of participating in a Supervised Internship that focused on Data Analytics. This opportunity is offered through the UMD iSchool and is listed as INST389. This class was extremely rewarding and allowed me to gain invaluable internship ...READ MORE »
My name is Graham Hyde and I am currently a junior (part of the 2018 CSS cohort). My initial plan for the summer of 2020 was to return to my previous internship as a research intern for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division. However, the unexpected pandemic forced my internship to shut down Due to CSS’s strong communal nature, ...READ MORE »
My name is Justyn Alexander, and I am a senior majoring in Operations Management and Business Analytics & Information Systems. This past summer, I interned for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Inspector General. I had a great experience despite it being virtual and for the government. I know for some people, a job at a government agency is like ...READ MORE »
My name is Isaiah Duncan and I am a Senior graduating in May 2021. I interned at Microsoft during the summer of 2020. My internship at Microsoft helped me to develop many skills, exposed me to new technologies, and has prepared me for my post-grad professional life. My internship lasted for twelve weeks. During it, I was involved with the Linux ...READ MORE »