Getting through Finals with Dogs & Desserts

Claudia Donnelly, a program manager in the undergraduate program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, writes about how undergraduate students are getting through final exam week with a little help from College Park Scholars.

It is a well-known fact that furry friends to cuddle and warm cookies to eat help calm the angst of finals week. And that is why students in the College Park Scholars community were comforted and their spirits were raised when several four-legged members from the National Capital Therapy Dogs Club visited in the early afternoon of Tuesday, May 16, 2017 – and dozens of still-warm Insomniac Cookies awaited them in Cambridge Hall.

There are 77 freshmen in the College Park Scholars (CPS) Business, Society and the Economy (BSE) program and they were preparing for the next day’s BMGT110 exam. I also brought in my German Shepherd dog, Bear, who loves friendly attention. I spent the afternoon encouraging the freshmen to finish their academic year with high grades – and making sure Bear stayed away from the cookies.

Mark Wellman, a clinical professor at Smith and director of the BSE Program, teaches the first required course for the BSE freshmen, BMGT289B, How Do Innovators Think? BSE will welcome 80 freshmen in August 2017 – all of whom will live in Cambridge Hall.

College Park Scholars is a by-invitation-only program that provides intellectual challenge and vibrant community for engaged and academically talented freshmen and sophomores. The Business, Society and the Economy program is sponsored by the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Learn more about BSE.