 |
Being guided around the greenhouse complex on tour. |
To me, the University of Maryland has always been the penultimate “flagship” state school. What better college to attend if you want the “traditional” college experience – complete with giant lecture halls, football, tailgates, and a campus that takes half an hour to cross. When compared with my own school, quiet and secluded St. Mary’s College of Maryland, UMD is an entirely different beast. However, I never expected just how much I would enjoy the brief time I spent in College Park. From our morning trainings to the tour around campus and even our internship luncheon, I had a really wonderful time and am looking forward to my next visit to the University.
Our visit to UMD began early Wednesday morning, when, after surviving rush hour on the beltway, I arrived at the College Park Marriott hotel, conveniently located right on campus. Once there, I had the opportunity to meet and connect with my fellow interns before we headed out for a day of training and tours. Immediately, I was struck by the size of campus compared to St. Mary’s; there is just so much going on at College Park. There is an academic department for pretty much any discipline one could be interested in, and multiple buildings for each. Not to mention, the large and well-equipped research facilities, like the greenhouses and aquaponics labs we toured. In this way, the University of Maryland definitely has the leg up when compared to St. Mary’s. If it is scientific research you are interested in, then College Park is certainly the place to be! My absolute favorite place we visited was the Research Greenhouse Complex. As a big gardener and plant lover, I wish we had something like that at St. Mary’s.
What I do not wish, however, is that St. Mary’s was anywhere near the size of UMD. Without my fellow interns who knew their way around campus, I am certain I would have gotten lost. Likewise, the idea of driving from one side of campus to the other is just crazy to me; at St. Mary’s even the most far-flung townhouses are merely a ten-minute walk away from the main academic buildings. With size comes infrastructure maintenance as well, and the Purple Line construction right through the heart of campus created headaches and traffic that I am glad St. Mary’s lacks. Similarly, though we do only have one option for on-campus dining, I have never worried that I would get lost on campus!
All things considered; I greatly enjoyed my visit to UMD at College Park. From the quantity and quality of research being conducted, to the state-of-the-art facilities available for that research, there are definite advantages to the University of Maryland style of education. However, what our campus visit made me realize most of all was just how much I miss my quiet home by the river, and that I greatly look forward to returning to St. Mary’s this Fall.
 |
Green roof at UMD |
 |
A greenhouse growth chamber at UMD |
 |
Looking down at the campus farm from the green roof |
Comments
Post a Comment