A Summer Program for Freshmen Students Lays the Foundation for Success in College—and Builds Community in the Process

By Jennifer Walker

When Marilyn Meyers PhD ’86 began receiving thank-you letters from students in the University of Maryland’s Summer Discovery Program, she saw how important the three-week residential experience is to the freshmen in the C.D. Mote, Jr. Incentive Awards Program (IAP). A program that supports high-achieving students with significant financial need, IAP  provides funding for tuition, room and board, and fees, as well as extensive support services throughout their four years in college. But just as importantly, IAP also helps students feel a sense of belonging with a smaller group of peers within a campus of 40,000-plus students. Many IAP students have shared with Meyers how appreciative they are to have been able to develop these relationships before their first college year officially begins. 

“They really dig deep on their feelings about the Summer Discovery Program and what it means for them,” said Meyers, who spent her career first as a molecular biology researcher then as a clinical psychologist. “For a lot of incoming students, they’ve never been to a big university. It’s overwhelming to them. But they said they made friends and really formed a cohort that [offers] a feeling of being with other people who they can relate to.”  

For three weeks every July, Summer Discovery helps freshmen IAP students get accustomed to coursework, their new classmates and the 1,352-acre UMD campus. This year, students spent their days taking a three-credit leadership course in the mornings then participating in workshops on topics like time management and study skills in the afternoons. They learned where to find vital services on campus and took trips to Washington, D.C., for sightseeing and community service and to attend a production of Beetlejuice and a D.C. United soccer game. 

“Students are so grateful for the experience and feel confident starting the year because they know the campus and what to [anticipate] in terms of professors’ and classroom expectations,” said Jacqueline W. Lee, the director of IAP since its inception in 2000. “They also have a chance to test out their time management skills and to get a sense of what it feels like to live away from home. And far more important, they get introduced to each other and begin to form bonds.” 

One such student is Chloe Moss ’30, a swimmer, saxophonist and recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award in high school. “My point of view coming to this school would definitely be different if I was not in this cohort. I would have felt isolated, like I didn’t know anybody here,” said Moss, who plans to major in kinesiology then get her doctorate in physical therapy. “But [Summer Discovery] really made me feel like I was in a smaller community inside of a bigger community.” 

Joshua “Trey” Anderson ’30, a freshman computer science major and the youngest of eight kids, found a lot of value in the Summer Discovery workshops, particularly the financial wellness workshop. Anderson—who was in the sustainability and business and investment clubs and on the rugby and wrestling teams in high school—also appreciated the Designing Your Future workshop, which brought past IAP members to the campus to be interviewed by the freshmen students. 

But like Moss, Anderson most appreciated the opportunity to make connections with other students. “Perhaps one of the best parts of the program is that we came in with a community,” said Anderson, adding that the freshmen IAP students have a group text chain and will visit each other at work, get dinner together or chat if they see each other on campus. “We are all so close, and we’re always there to help each other.” 

For the last five years, Summer Discovery has been able to make a lasting effect on more than 100 IAP students like Moss and Anderson  because of the generosity of Meyers. “I wanted to support the IAP Summer Discovery program because it promotes connections among the incoming IAP students that will sustain them as a cohort throughout their time at Maryland and beyond,” Meyers says. “These are unbelievable young people, and you know that they’re going to make a difference in the world.”