High-schieving students to lead classmates into UMD Commencement 2024
Sixty-two graduating University of Maryland students have been named 2024 senior marshals in recognition of their outstanding scholarship, service to the campus community, extracurricular involvement and personal growth.
They will carry banners representing their schools and colleges into the university’s main commencement ceremony on May 20, accompanied by Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, director of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, and Robert Infantino, associate dean of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, who oversee the marshals program.
Four College of Information Studies students were selected to be part of this prestigious group:
Toluwalope Justinah Bashua (majors: computer science, information science; minor: technology entrepreneurship and corporate innovation) is a first-generation Nigerian student and served on the Student Government Association for three years and as a student employee in two campus departments. She was also a part of Code: Black, African Students Association, Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, The Pride, the Adele H. Stamp Student Union’s Student Employee Advisory Board and more. She looks forward to pursuing a master’s degree at UMD.
Nusirat Afolashade Fahm (major: information science; minor: innovation and entrepreneurship) contributed to student organizations, including as programming director and chief of staff for the African Student Association, vice president of Code: Black and organizer for Technica’s brand and diversity and inclusion teams. She interned at NBCUniversal within the global IT procurement and media operations teams, and at Microsoft as a customer success manager. After graduation, Fahm will rejoin Microsoft as a customer success account manager.
Palrika Kasondra (majors: finance, information science; certificate: leadership studies) served as vice president of finance for the South Asian Student Association and worked as an accounts manager at the Student Organization Resource Center’s finance department. She also interned at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Giant Food.
Ogechukwu Odidika (majors: psychology, information science; minor: humanities, health and medicine), a second-generation Nigerian student, was active in the African Student Association, Charles R. Drew Pre-Health Society and Maryland Mentor Corps. She was part of College Park Scholars’ Global Public Health program and served as a resource specialist at the Student Organization Resource Center. Passionate about mental health and making a positive impact, she will pursue a career as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Click here to see the full list of 2024 senior marshals and the original article published by Maryland Today on May 15, 2024.