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Activism, travel abound at St. Mary's
LATEST ON THIS STORYRelated Topics: ST. MARY'S CITY, Md.
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. (Map, News) - Many misconceptions are floating around about St. Mary’s College of Maryland on the St. Mary’s River in Southern Maryland.
For starters, some think it’s an all-girls Catholic school.
In fact, St. Mary’s is the state’s smallest public school, and it has been Maryland’s designated honors college since 1992. That means it attracts some of the region’s top students while remaining accessible to a diverse group of Marylanders.
“Liberal arts colleges [are usually] a bubble,” said recent graduate Erica Katherine Schuetz, 21. “But St. Mary’s has a different kind of diversity that I valued so much as a student.”
Shane Hall, 19, a junior, said the college has the reputation of a hippie, party-school, a tag he says is outdated.
“We have a laid-back campus,” he said. “But we do have a lot of work.”
Caring for the environment is important at St. Mary’s, and last spring students approved an initiative for the school to purchase renewable energy credits in an effort to neutralize the college’s carbon output. Remarkably, students voted to increase their own fees to pay for the initiative.
“We were shocked,” said Hall, one of the student leaders who pushed St. Mary’s to go green. “We didn’t think people would really want to pay any more money. It showed that our students do care about global warming and the environment.”
Another common thread for St. Mary’s students is the itch to travel. About 52 percent of students study abroad, said Jane Margaret O’Brien, the school’s president.
“I think [traveling] is a growing thing at St. Mary’s. I met an amazing number of people there who are just adventurers,” said Schuetz, who traveled to Thailand, Austria and Germany as an undergraduate.
Hall agrees, saying he caught the travel bug after visiting Costa Rica and Chile. He plans to study in Africa next year.
“It’s the most fun, and there’s nothing more essential to understanding the rest of the world than traveling,” he said.
O’Brien said St. Mary’s goal is that within three years all students will have at least one abroad experience before they graduate.
mmcilroy@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
8:44 AM MST on Fri., May. 23, 2008 re: "For many women, this school is a perfect fit"
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10:19 AM MST on Sun., Mar. 23, 2008
re: "Be in demand; become a nurse"
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7:54 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 5, 2007
re: "Be in demand; become a nurse"
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7:53 PM MST on Mon., Nov. 5, 2007
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11:52 AM MST on Mon., Nov. 5, 2007
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2:53 PM MST on Sun., Oct. 28, 2007
re: "Promises aside, read the contract"
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1:19 PM MST on Mon., Oct. 22, 2007
re: "Join up, go to war, get a degree"
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6:15 PM MST on Mon., Oct. 15, 2007
re: "Loyola teaches with outside service"
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5:53 AM MST on Mon., Sep. 10, 2007
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6:00 AM MST on Mon., Jul. 9, 2007
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2:29 PM MST on Mon., Jun. 4, 2007
re: "McDaniel College: Real-world learning"
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2:12 PM MST on Mon., May. 21, 2007
re: "Campus growth is Coppin’s focus"
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9:58 AM MST on Mon., May. 21, 2007
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10:10 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 23, 2007
re: "Love to read? This college is for you"
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Examiner Reader said:
The institution is a fraud. They treat employees unfairly and they have forgotten the roots of the institution- the undergraduate women and the communal attitude. The school has become driven by profit and has turn into an old boys club. Higher-ups chum it up with each other while "lesser" staff are walked all over. The students enjoy their time, but with limited resources and budget- the school is having a hard time providing for their campus members.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
my question is at the end of your statement you said that you don't want the most quilfied nurse to take care of you. why that just don't make sense. I just retired from the military and am looking to become a nurse and if I was some old person laying bed I would like to know that there was someone that was well quilified to take care of me. thank you for your time in reading this note
4 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The Maryland State Board of Nursing should let LPN's do the MD degrees not just BSN on line... The Associates On-line degree program is only 12-18 months long to complete, compared to 18-24 months for the MD. And it costs half as much to acquire....Some of our dedicated nurses are moving to other states to complete MD programs. Many don't come back to Maryland to work.I like it that way. And I promise not to delete anyone else's comment ever again
177 agree | 188 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The Maryland State Board of Nursing should let LPN's do the MD degrees not just BSN on line... The Associates On-line degree program is only 12-18 months long to complete, compared to 18-24 months for the MD. And it costs half as much to acquire....Some of our dedicated nurses are moving to other states to complete MD programs. Many don't come back to Maryland to work.I like it that way. And I promise not to delete anyone else's comment ever again
185 agree | 188 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The Maryland State Board of Nursing should let LPN's do the RN Associates degrees not just BSN on line... The Associates On-line degree program is only 12-18 months long to complete. Compared to 18-24 months for BSN. And it costs half as much to acquire....Some of our dedicated nurses are moving to other states to complete programs. Many don't come back to Maryland to work.
177 agree | 183 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
If the military truly wanted to have potential recruits understand the enlistment contract it would simply reduce the entire bogus contract to the following infamous 40 words from Section C, Paragraph 9: "Laws and regulations that govern military personnel may change without notice to me. Such changes may affect my status, pay, allowances, benefits, and responsibilities as a member of the Armed Forces regardless of the provisions of this enlistment/reenlistment document." - Pat Elder
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Don said:
I tried to join up they told me I was too old. I'm 64 I think I'll file papers for age discrimination.
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Examiner Reader said:
Any plans in the works to overthrow the Vatican again or is that something you can't talk about?
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Diversity? said:
What diversity? The article talks only about blacks.
353 agree | 210 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Great article...My 2 kids went there and it was the best 8 yrs anyone could ask for. Both have since gone on to great jobs and both value their days at SMCM.
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Examiner Reader said:
Glad to see you acknowledge McDaniel College. I am a grad ( Class of "61 ) and a Trustee--and very proud to be both. George Varga
476 agree | 304 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Over the last 20 years or more "Baltimore City School System," has been under the microscope of Judge Garbish (Special Education). Morgan, Johns Hopkin, Coppin, all have had opportunities as research institutions to address this major educational problem and the poverty rate, un-employment, single mothers crime. Coppin has had its misfortunes, and attracted low quality of instructors whom are not concerned with the social economical, educational, problems that plague the Urban Inner City youth. Poverty is a key element in Baltimore City. Politicians does not give a hoot of the demographics nor the incidents of poverty across the city. The fourth count census 2000 is a clear in measuring how people live. African Americans are left out of the loop "Johns Hopkins are the main architect to disenfranchise the poor, disadvantaged. They are the major research institution in Maryland from all indications the African American community is ignored by the major players.
263 agree | 310 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Coppin State should be proud that it focuses on academics and not sports. Who cares if the baseball team lost 44 games in a year. The students who earn a degree will have more power than any hitter on a baseball diamond.
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Examiner Reader said:
Excellent and informative series that parents and students can use to decide on a Maryland college or university. Thanks!
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