Golshan Jalali, gjalali@umd.edu
The University of Maryland’s (UMD) Office of Community Engagement (OCE) will sponsor the lighting up of the Memorial Chapel with red illuminating lights on the evenings of May 22-24 to celebrate UMD students' graduation.
The office will also help turn the chapel blue from May 29-31 in honor of high school seniors in Prince George's County, whose graduation will be held virtually on May 30 and 31.
With graduation being virtual, this is a unique gesture to celebrate UMD and PGCPS grads with an iconic UMD monument.
Anna Lee, owner of Stripe 3 Adidas and active member of the College Park community, reached out to OCE with the idea of lighting up the chapel so that seniors and their families had a physical representation of their accomplishment.
“We are in this together. By illuminating the chapel, we want to support students and provide hope as they begin a new journey,” said Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, director of the Office of Community Engagement. “Although they finished the semester under challenging circumstances, they remain in solidarity.”
Graduates are encouraged to capture a photo under the lights while following social distancing guidelines.
