And if Eric Zollars, Mark Tyler, Brian and Ryan Turner, Simone Stalling, Jamie Smith, Meredith Exler, and Randy Albright are an indication of what the futre holds, the future is very goods hands, indeed.

UMBC's newest students--more than 1,000 who enrolled this past fall--are among the most diverse and distinguished group ever. By nearly any measure--test scores, academic achievements, commitments to serving others--they are outstanding. The top quartile of the Class of 2000 has a combined SAT average of 1366 and includes 16 students with perfect math or verbal scores and over 150 valedictorians and salutatorians.

The students profiled here are freshmen and sophomores who will be graduating as we enter the next century. As members of the Class of 2000 (and the Class of 1999) they will become UMBC's next generation of alumni: artists and performers, journalists and teachers, doctors and scientists, and business and political leaders.By most accounts, they look ahead with great hope and anticipation, ready and eager to take their place in a world that grows more challenging by the day. They also bring a determination to set high goals and achieve them--and ample evidence of exceptional accomplishments at an early age.

And if Eric Zollars, Mark Tyler, Brian and Ryan Turner, Simone Stalling, Jamie Smith, Meredith Exler, and Randy Albright are any indication of what the future holds, the future is in very good hands, indeed.