Smith Day Goes Virtual

Maryland Smith Terps came together, virtually, this week to celebrate being part of the Smith community during the fourth annual Smith Day.

On Thursday, students, faculty, staff and alumni from College Park, Smith’s regional campuses and around the world tuned in virtually for the daylong festivities.

“Today is a day we all come together to celebrate the entire Maryland Smith community,” said interim dean Ritu Agarwal in a video aired during the event. “Whether you are sharing how you’re #UMDSmithProud on social media or participating in the many virtual activities, I encourage you to show why you’re proud to be a Smith Terp.”

This year, attendees showed their Smith pride by taking part in various activities throughout the day like the virtual stay-at-home scavenger hunt, an ice cream demo with Maryland Dairy and even rubbing Testudo’s virtual nose.

Organizers were keen to capture the spirit of Smith Day, even in an all-virtual environment, said Mark Forrest, program director in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and create an event that everyone could enjoy.

“We created a schedule that caters to every constituency of the Smith School. Whether you are a student, alumnus or part of our faculty and staff, there’s something everyone can do to celebrate,” Forrest said. “We tried to do things that incorporated the reality of living at home, but also giving people that live connection that we’ve been missing since the start of the pandemic.”

The photo mosaic was among the most popular features, he said. Participants uploaded photos of themselves or their favorite Smith memories and tagged the school in their posts on Twitter with #UMDSmithProud, which they can continue to do through Sunday, Nov. 15.

“It’s something that was really easy for people to participate in and extremely convenient for those with busy schedules because they could do it at any point in the day,” Forrest said.

In the evening, current students took part in the Ask Alumni event co-sponsored by Maryland Smith’s Center for Global Business and the QUEST Honors Program. About 20 alumni from seven select industries discussed their career paths with students who pre-registered for the event.

The event came to a close with the Smith Day game night, where teams competed in a virtual game of Family Feud.

Forrest encourages everyone to continue supporting each other even after Smith Day and said he hopes that people provide feedback and share what they want to see for next year’s event as Smith Day celebrates its five-year anniversary.

“I’d like to shout out the entire Smith community for celebrating each other because Smith Day is a celebration of all things Smith,” said Forrest.

“Whether you’re a student, faculty member, staff member or alumnus, please keep reaching out because we want this day to be about you.”