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ARHU Recommends: Summer 2025 Faculty & Staff Media Picks

Looking for your next great read, watch or listen this summer?

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Art History and Archaeology

A Future in Conservation

At UMD, graduating senior Lylah Messinger restored a 2,500-year-old Etruscan vase. Now she’s headed to graduate school in London.

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Communication

From Fan to Force in Sports Media

Graduating senior Connor Perkins leverages creativity, drive and a love of sports to carve his path in digital content creation.

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What interests you?

learning about...

a career in...

Whatever your interests and aspirations, ARHU is committed to providing the knowledge, skills and opportunities all our students need to write their own stories and chart their own paths.

"In ARHU, you’re learning about how people interact with the world and each other. My goal is to build things that people are going to use. Just technology knowledge can only go so far. You have to understand how people are going to use them to be truly successful."

Ozzie Fallick '14, Software Engineer, Google
Linguistics

"Cross-cultural communication is one of the most important skills that I learned at ARHU, and I use it to engage and inform the community in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean about our events, exchanges and any other information that supports our key policy priorities in the region. ARHU gave me the tools to understand why in diplomacy, it’s as much about what you say as how you say it."

Krystle Norman '08, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Spanish and Portuguese

"I had always loved art, but I never knew you could make a career out of it until I studied abroad in Rome. There, I took a full course load of art courses and learned all about the factors of being an art professional. It was life-changing. Now I feel lucky that I’m doing something that I’m so passionate about."

Laura Sheridan Raiffe '09, Regional Account Manager, Christie's Fine Arts
Art History and Archaeology

"One of the most important things I got out of my ARHU experience is my ability to parse arguments, think critically and see multiple sides of an issue. Being in law school, it’s important to do that—it’s a skill I use every day. Not a class goes by, not a case gets read that this skill doesn’t come into play."

AJ Clayborne '13, Student, Harvard Law School
English

GRAND CHALLENGES

DEMAND FEARLESS IDEAS

The research and creative works of our faculty, students and alumni are setting the agenda for transformative dialogue about the value of the arts and the humanities in the world today.

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Happening at ARHU

Rachel Jessee ‘22 always knew she wanted to work in politics—but it was her history degree from ARHU that gave her the skills to thrive on Capitol Hill. Today, she’s working in operations for a Democratic congresswoman, drawing on the critical thinking, research and communication skills she honed in college. Read her story at the link in bio.
On Friday, UMD faculty, area teachers, community educators, organizers and more gathered at the University of Maryland for the third annual Maryland Humanities Summer Institute, hosted by the Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities, directed by Quincy T. Mills. This year’s theme—“Teaching to Transgress”—was inspired by the work of bell hooks and centered on liberatory teaching practices that honor identity, build community and embrace education as a practice of freedom. Through powerful workshops, rich dialogue and moments of joy and solidarity, participants explored how to imagine—and enact—transformative learning spaces. It was an incredible day, and we’re so grateful to everyone who made it possible. Some snaps from the day: 1. Dean Stephanie Shonekan with Douglass Center graduate assistants—and event organizers—Dominique Garcia, Jessica Rucker and Amber Chevaughn Johnson. 2. Jessica Rucker on bell hooks’ belief that “the classroom remains the most radical space in the academy.” 3. Centering ourselves in order to do the work, with @sankofayoga’s Tamisha Ponder. 4. Educators in deep discussion during a breakout workshop. 5. A slide from high school educator Tony Louis’ workshop. 6. An activity exploring cut-up poems, remixes and poetic computations—and their shared commitment to experimentation and transgression. 7. Group photo at the end of the day—smiles, cheers and inspiration to carry forward. 9. Thank you, bell hooks.
This fall, explore how music tells the story of Puerto Rico—its history, its politics, its people. The Spanish course “SPAN448M: Contemporary Puerto Rican Musicality: From Plena to Bad Bunny” dives deep into the lyrics, performance and cultural context of Puerto Rican music including bomba, plena, danza, salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton and musica independiente. From Ismael Rivera to Bad Bunny, the course traces Puerto Rico’s musical legacy—and asks how sound helps us understand the present moment. 🎶 Open to intermediate and advanced Spanish speakers 📚 Taught by Professor Juan Carlos Quintero-Herencia 📅 Fall 2025 📍 Department of Spanish and Portuguese, UMD Register now!

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