UMUC Names Local Residents First Orkand Scholars

Media Contact
Andrea C. Martino, APR
UMUC
301-985-7779
amartino@umuc.edu

Two University of Maryland University College (UMUC) students have been named the university’s first Orkand Scholars. Ann M. Casey, Ferndale, Md., and Jennifer K. Tibbs, Frederick, Md., have each received scholarships to complete their education at UMUC.

UMUC students who have completed a minimum of 90 credits toward their undergraduate degrees, have achieved academic excellence with a minimum grade-point average of 3.75 out of a possible 4.0, and have demonstrated financial need, may qualify to receive the Orkand scholarships.

Casey, 56, is pursuing a degree in computer studies at UMUC. She attended Anne Arundel Community College before transferring to the university. Casey, who expects to graduate next spring, took UMUC courses both online and in traditional classrooms at Anne Arundel Community College.

Casey says that her education at UMUC has benefited her in her work as co-owner of The Parcel Place, a mail and packaging store in the White Marsh area of Baltimore County.

Tibbs, 40, is studying psychology at UMUC, and like Casey, Tibbs is also a community college transfer student. Tibbs attended both Frederick Community College and Montgomery College before enrolling at UMUC. She attends UMUC full-time, taking courses primarily online, while raising four children. Tibbs hopes to pursue a master’s degree in social work at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, after completing her bachelor’s degree at UMUC.

Both Casey and Tibbs attended Maryland community colleges which are among the university’s nine Alliance partners. The UMUC-community college Alliance partnerships enable two-year- college students to transfer credits seamlessly from those institutions to UMUC in addition to receiving other benefits, including dual admission to UMUC and the community college, access to the University System of Maryland library, tutoring, writing assistance, and career counseling.

“I am just delighted that we have awarded our first Orkand Scholars UMUC scholarships and that these Orkand Scholars are community college transfer students,” said Mary Ellen Hrutka, dean of UMUC’s School of Undergraduate Studies. “Students from Maryland community colleges are among the best prepared and most successful students at UMUC. They play an important role as models for other students.”

For more information about the Orkand Scholars program or UMUC’s community college Alliance programs, visit the university’s Web site, www.umuc.edu, or call (800) 888-UMUC (8682).