This post will talk about two events I attended: UMD’s hackathon (BitCamp) and the ‘So You’re Thinking of Applying to Grad School…Workshop & Panel for STEM Students’.
Part 1: BitCamp
This is UMD’s flagship 36 hour hackathon that took place in the XFINITY center. Bitcamp is a hackathon that values participant experience and mentorship over competitiveness and points. Participants are encouraged to come to have fun with their friends, learn something new, eat s’mores, and have a generally awesome time. This year they divided participants into 3 teams that would compete in the Campfire games for a chance to win prizes.
Bitcamp is a heavily sponsored event. In addition to this, several companies came to the hackathon to showcase their employment opportunities. Bitcamp also handles your meals for 36 hours.
Part 2: ‘So You’re Thinking of Applying to Grad School…Workshop & Panel for STEM Students’
The University Career Center at CMNS and guest panellists from CMNS graduate programs invited students to learn more about the steps you should take to pursue graduate programs in the life, environmental, and natural sciences fields. The event included a workshop with recommendations from UMD Faculty member Dr. John Merck, who has served on admissions committees for graduate programs and was followed by a panel in which UMD graduate students shared more information on their experiences in STEM programs after undergrad. STEM Terps attending this panel can expect to walk away with an understanding of the steps to take as they research, evaluate, and apply for graduate programs in their areas of interest.
I thought there wouldn’t be many people attending the workshop, but I was wrong. Most of the students were juniors but there were quite a few sophomores as well.
