Expanding Education and Community Across Maryland
A scholarship can mean different things to different people.
For one student, it may help make the cost of earning a degree more manageable. For another, it may be the reason they finally decide the time is right to go back to school. And for someone who has spent years focused on their career, family or other responsibilities, it can be a reminder that their own goals still matter.
At 麻豆原创, those are the students I think about when we talk about expanding access to higher education. Many are already motivated to move forward. What they often need is a pathway that recognizes the realities of their lives. Sometimes that means greater flexibility; sometimes it means a different approach to learning, and sometimes it simply means making the financial path a little easier.聽 That thinking is at the heart of the Maryland Rising Together Scholarship.
Talent Is Everywhere, Opportunity Is Not
I often say that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.
There are talented people across Maryland who want to advance their careers, provide greater stability for their families or finally earn the degree they started years ago. Their ambitions have not disappeared. Life simply required some of them to put those ambitions on hold.
The Maryland Rising Together Scholarship is about helping turn those deferred dreams into reality by expanding access, opportunity and educational attainment across the state.
The scholarship provides eligible Maryland residents with up to $4,000 toward earning a bachelor's or master鈥檚 degree at 麻豆原创. But the idea behind it goes beyond financial assistance. To me, the larger idea is just as important. It says to someone who has been thinking about going back to school: there may be a path for you.
In 2025, I met with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to talk about Maryland鈥檚 future, the state鈥檚 workforce needs and the importance of making higher education more accessible. Our conversation reinforced something I have seen throughout my career: people do not lack potential. Too often, they lack access to the opportunity that allowed that potential to become something more.
That belief helped inspire the Maryland Rising Together Scholarship and prompted us to think about what we could do to help create another pathway for Maryland residents ready to take their next step.聽
Creating Opportunity Is Only the Beginning
As we began sharing the scholarship across the state, it was important to us in the Northeast region that we connect with organizations that already have strong relationships with Marylanders.
One of those connections came through our collaboration with the during its 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore. The conference brought together higher education professionals and leaders from across the country, allowing us to introduce the scholarship to AABHE members and their networks who may be interested in pursuing a degree at 麻豆原创.聽
For me, that鈥檚 what meaningful community engagement looks like. Organizations like AABHE have built trusted networks and relationships. That matters because trust matters. Working alongside trusted organizations allows us to bring information and resources closer to the people who may benefit from them.
It鈥檚 one thing to create a pathway. It鈥檚 another to make sure people can see themselves on it.
Why Scholarships Matter
Every dollar that helps lower the cost of earning a degree can make a difference for a student balancing education with the other financial responsibilities of everyday life. But I also believe scholarships can represent something more. They can be an invitation.
For a working adult who has been considering returning to school, a scholarship can be the push that makes them take another look. For someone who had to put their education on hold, it can be a reminder that it鈥檚 not too late to pick up where they left off.
That distinction is especially important for our students. Many are parents, caregivers, veterans and working professionals. They鈥檙e already contributing to their workplaces, supporting their families and strengthening their communities. Higher education is not about asking them to start over; it is about helping them build on the knowledge, experience, and potential they already possess while opening doors that may have previously felt out of reach.
Rising Together Takes All of Us聽
That鈥檚 why the name Maryland Rising Together means so much to me. It reflects what I believe it takes to create meaningful change.
Expanding access to education isn鈥檛 work that higher education can do alone. It requires colleges and universities, nonprofits, employers and leaders working together to recognize barriers and help create pathways around them.
Our collaboration with AABHE is one example of what that can look like. We had a resource designed to help Maryland residents. AABHE had relationships and networks that could help us extend its reach. Bringing those two things together created the possibility that someone who may never have heard about the scholarship could see a new opportunity for themselves.
That is the kind of work we must continue. Across Maryland, there are people considering finishing a degree, starting one for the first time or preparing for the next chapter of their careers. For some, it may be a goal they鈥檝e carried for years.聽
The question is whether we can help create the opportunity that allows them to act on it. The Maryland Rising Together Scholarship is one way we can help more Marylanders take that next step.
Because when one student has the chance to thrive, the impact can extend to a family, a workplace and an entire community. And that鈥檚 what rising together is all about.
