On November 16th, 2022—also known as GIS Day in the geography community—30 students and teachers from local high schools joined the Department of Geographical Sciences for a day-long open house event. In support of the department’s recent high school outreach initiative, the event aimed to introduce talented local high school students to the exciting academic and research opportunities in GEOG and to encourage them to apply to the University of Maryland.

The high school students and teachers, hailing primarily from Prince George’s County, arrived at the UMD campus bright and early for a full day of activities starting with a campus tour and lunch at the South Campus Dining Hall. Following a humanitarian mapping activity, they attended an introductory course on natural disasters, taught by Undergraduate Director Keith Yearwood, and a research lightning talk session by GEOG students. Rounding out the day was an ice cream social, a presentation on the UMD admissions process, a student panel Q&A and a trip to the STAMP Student Union.

Students, teachers, and GEOG volunteers ate lunch in the South Campus Dining Hall (left). Students enjoyed ice cream from the MD Dairy following lightning talks (right). 

The open house event came on the heels of the department’s first-ever High School Recognition Banquet, held this past June. Both events are part of a broader departmental effort, led by GEOG Associate Chair George Hurtt, to build strong connections with local high schools to recruit the next generation of geographers at UMD GEOG. Moving forward, the department plans to expand the banquet and open house events to include more students and to develop additional collaborative opportunities with schools and teachers.

The department would like to thank everyone who volunteered or participated in the event, as well as our high school guests for being a part of this new and special program. We are looking forward to our next High School Recognition Banquet in Spring 2023!