An Undergraduate Experience of Growth and Gratitude

When Gregory Rosario ’24 enrolled at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business as a first-generation college student, he understood that his success would serve as a testament to those who supported him along the way.

Rosario, a finance and information systems double-degree earner at Smith, currently serves as a Bloomberg Industry Group finance associate, leveraging his expansive educational foundation in a rotational program that sees him working with various teams across the organization, including finance and data analytics.

Born and raised in Baltimore City, Md., Rosario was raised by his mother, who immigrated to the United States from Guatemala, and his father, whose family hails from the Dominican Republic and Peru. 

He credits his parents for teaching him some of his most formative life lessons and intangible values—high work ethic and perseverance. 

“I owe a lot of my success to my parents. They instilled in me the notion of not leaving things half-done,” says Rosario. “Being able to take that with me in pursuing higher education pushed me to make the most of my opportunities at UMD.”

And make the most he did. Rosario began his journey at the Smith School as a Bannker/Key Scholarship recipient, a highly selective merit scholarship awarded to students who have demonstrated significant academic leadership and accomplishments in high school. 

His upbringing, compounded with the opportunity to graduate from college debt-free, drove him to make a difference in the Smith community. He served as the president of the Smith Business Academy, an organization dedicated to empowering male students of color, showcasing his commitment to his peers.

“Serving in that role meant a lot to me because of the organization’s mission of building each other up and sharing resources to achieve social, professional and academic success,” says Rosario. “We wanted to be present in the community and continue ensuring everyone felt like they had a place within the Smith School.” 

Rosario’s efforts in and out of the classroom were recognized in November 2023 when he was named a 2023-2024 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar. The award highlights the importance of mentorship with $1,500 scholarships, each given in the K-12 teacher’s name to another student from their school district who will attend UMD the next academic year. 

Rosario celebrated his selection with Matthew Adelberg, his high school art teacher from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and Zeinab Karake, clinical professor of Information Systems in the Department of Operations and Information Technology and Associate Dean for Culture and Community at the Smith School, who he says helped “open his eyes to the intersection of business and technology.”

Reflecting on his four years at UMD, two words immediately come to mind for Rosario—growth and gratitude. The growth, he says, stems from the opportunities to learn and lead. The latter extends to the people who made sacrifices and invested in his success, including his parents, teachers and peers, to name a few.

Now, as a full-fledged professional, he plans on honoring those contributions the way he was taught—by working hard and being there for others.

“It's necessary for one’s success to have people in your corner who are supporting you and giving you the opportunity to grow and be yourself,” says Rosario. “Being part of an environment where people are willing to go above and beyond means everything.”