The “Ripple” Effect

Zach McKay (far left) and Hari Kannan, the first students in the new TerpsEXCEED program, get familiar with campus during an orientation session in August.

participated in theater productions and was even voted “most likely to make you smile.”

“Then it ends—everyone else goes off to college and moves on, except he couldn’t,” says his mother, Kim McKay ’90, communications director at the Maryland Department of Disabilities. Now living in a townhouse in nearby Columbia and working in the service department at a local car dealership, Zach McKay still harbored a dream of attending UMD like his parents and sister Alex McKay ’17, M.S. ’18. It had been reinforced in visits to her dorm and by attending celebrations after she played a central role in the Terps women’s lacrosse team’s 2017 national championship.

The whole family is thrilled at his acceptance into TerpsEXCEED— both at completing their Terp circle and helping to build the foundation of a program they hope leads to careers and personal discovery for others, says Dr. Wendell McKay ’88, an Ellicott City pediatrician and former Maryland cornerback.

“It’s a chance for our family to leave a little bit of a legacy,” he says. “We’re humbled.”

While Zach McKay is leaning toward a career involving athletics, he wants to take a few classes before choosing a focus. Kannan, however, is already set on becoming an advocate for people with disabilities, which he’s preparing for in a first-semester public speaking class.

“Inclusion matters,” he says. “Including people in our community is important for everyone in our community.”—cc

Terps to Build Sustainable Structures Near Burning Man Festival Site

OUT IN THE NORTHWESTERN Nevada desert, amid the rare sights of geysers and pools on arid land untouched by roads, electrical grids or even the most tenuous cellular connection, a group of UMD alums, students and staff members will be building the area’s first permanent structures—with a connection to the land as the top priority.

The centerpiece of “Ripple,” as the team’s project is known, is a geodesic dome that collects and purifies water for surrounding rings of sustainable gardens, and also houses a seed bank and library to preserve native plant species and allow people to take seeds for free. Solar and wind energy both fuel the project.

It was one of the 10 winning proposals submitted to an international design challenge sponsored by two nonprofits: the Land Art Generator Initiative and the Burning Man Project. The two organizations own about 3,800 acres called the Fly Ranch, just west of the site of the annual Burning Man festival, known for its focus on self-sustainability, a gifting economy and some wild outfits.

The team behind Fly Ranch hopes to create an experimental sustainable community—part art installation, part eco-friendly habitations that both thrive off and replenish the land while building a sense of togetherness among guests.

Jacob Mast ’20 and Matt Lagomarsino ’18, who both studied environmental science at UMD, organized some 30 team members—including UMD students, alums and staff—to design and build it in Nevada this fall. “The best part about this has just been working with so many other talented and passionate people,” says Lagomarsino. “It’s a synergy, and soon it will be a synergy among us and the land and other organisms.”—SL