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American Studies

After a Life-Changing Accident, Brian Cooperman ’26 Found a New Path Through American Studies

The graduating senior focused his honors thesis on disability access and is planning for a future in advocacy law.

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College of Arts and Humanities, English

Sydney Mitchell ’26 Reflects on Her Storytelling Journey at Maryland

From reading poetry on stage to researching the region’s jazz scene, the English major explored storytelling through writing, music and research.

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The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

What Can Science Fiction Teach Us About AI?

Alexis Lothian developed the 300-level course “Artificial Intelligence Otherwise” with support from a seed grant from the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland.

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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

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Happening at ARHU

What an incredible week celebrating our ARHU graduates! Thank you to everyone who attended the ARHU undergraduate and graduate ceremonies and supported our remarkable students. In the words of Dean Stephanie Shonekan, we hope you “carry forward the values of this college—the college with a heart. That you cultivate empathy, embrace creativity and pursue meaningful futures. And that, in all that you do, you lead with love and yes, follow your dreams.” Congratulations, ARHU graduates! Check out the photo galleries from the undergraduate and graduate ceremonies at our link in bio. 📷: Taneen Momeni and Lisa Helfert
“And maybe you’re asking: what good is a step after all this? Well, a step is the difference between beginning and not, and sometimes beginning makes all the difference. A step qualifies as ‘further along.’ A step can sometimes determine how and when you meet your partners in creativity, and in life. A step is what might make you apply for that job out of town, or apply for that loan to start your own business. A step is how you put words on the page, or press your brush to the canvas, or ask the unaskable questions about the unquestionable questionable norms, rejigger the human condition as we know it, or at least attempt to. Just a step. A step is all it takes to tell the world you are here.” How lucky we were to have ARHU alum and New York Times #1 bestselling author Jason Reynolds as our commencement speaker this year! Watch an excerpt or the full video of his phenomenal keynote address at the ARHU collegewide ceremony held on May 19. ARHU graduates, we will be cheering you on with each step you take! To view the full speech, click at the link in bio.
After Brian Cooperman returned to class after a traumatic car accident in early 2023, he found a new sense of purpose in his majors in American studies and anthropology. Amid those months of medical appointments and rehab, his classes gave him space to explore bigger questions about systems of care and the ways institutions respond to people in moments of vulnerability and disability. “I was learning how to look at systems and break them apart and do something with that,” said Cooperman, who graduates this week. “It was extremely valuable.” His honors thesis, an 82-page ethnographic study, focused on disability in higher education. Through interviews with students and faculty, policy analysis, field observations and personal reflection, he examined how disabled students navigate institutional systems and accommodations on college campuses. The project brought together ideas and methods from both of his majors while deepening his interest in advocacy and public policy. This fall, Cooperman will attend the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in Baltimore, where he hopes to pursue disability access or tenant advocacy law, to ultimately become an advocate for marginalized people. Read more about Brian and his journey at UMD at the link in our bio.

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