Latest news with #UniversityOfMaryland
Geek Tyrant
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Kermit the Frog Delivers Heartfelt and Inspiring Commencement Speech at University of Maryland — GeekTyrant
Kermit the Frog took the stage at the University of Maryland's 2025 commencement ceremony and gave the graduating class a moment to remember, one that was as heartfelt and inspiring. With that familiar green face and humble wisdom, Kermit reminded the grads that life, like The Muppet Show , is best when shared with the people who truly get you. Why did Kermit give the commencement speech at Maryland? Jim Henson, Kermit's legendary creator, and his wife Jane were both proud University of Maryland alumni—and fans of the Maryland Terrapins. So for Kermit, this wasn't just another speech. It was a homecoming. Kermit told the students: 'Now there is no guarantee that the show is always good or that it'll go off without a hitch or it doesn't have its hecklers. But the show must go on and if you're with your people then you won't have to do it alone. Because life is not a solo act. 'No it's not. It's a big messy delightful ensemble piece especially when you're with your people. These are friends that you might have for your whole life and there will be many others to collect along the way.' He went on to urge kindness and connection over cutthroat competition: 'So as you prepare to take this big leap into real life here's a little advice if you're willing to listen to a frog. Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side because life is better when we leap together … 'Because if I know anything it's important to stay connected to your loved ones, stay connected to your friends, and most of all stay connected to your dreams. No matter how big, no matter how impossible they seem, the truth is dreams are how we figure out where we want to go.' In an age when so many commencement speeches blur together with corporate jargon and polished clichés, Kermit's words felt personal and sincere. That's the Muppet magic. Underneath the felt and googly eyes is a philosophy that's never gone out of style… community matters, dreams matter, and even in the mess, the show must go on. For a graduating class standing on the edge of uncertainty, it turns out one of the most reassuring voices they could hear wasn't a billionaire or politician, it was a frog reminding them to leap together.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
A misplaced MRI found a tumor on her spine. Doctors removed it through her eye in a first-of-its-kind surgery.
Karla Flores was 18 when she started experiencing double vision. She knew something was wrong but struggled to find a diagnosis. Finally, she saw an ophthalmologist who referred her to a neurosurgeon. Flores, then 19, was diagnosed with a chordoma wrapped around her brain stem. Chordomas are incredibly rare — only about 300 are diagnosed per year in the United States, according to the Cleveland Clinic — and they are slow-growing, malignant tumors. The tumor was putting pressure on multiple of Flores' cranial nerves, said Dr. Mohammed Labib, a neurosurgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center who led her treatment. Labib developed a complex surgical plan that required two surgeries to remove the tumor without damaging the delicate nerves. When Flores underwent an MRI the morning of the first surgery, the technician positioned the camera a little lower than necessary. When looking at the scans, Labib realized Flores had a second chordoma. This one was at the top of her spine, at the front of her spinal cord. It was wrapped around her spinal cord and had invaded the vertebrae in her neck, Labib said. "They told me if they hadn't seen it, I could have been paralyzed," Flores told CBS News. The two chordomas. Karla Flores was first diagnosed with a chordoma on her brain stem (the center red mass). She was then diagnosed with a second chordoma on her spinal cord (the lower red mass). University of Maryland Medical Center Despite the startling discovery, Labib decided to go ahead with the procedures to remove Flores' first chordoma. The tumor was successfully removed through a traditional neurosurgery and another procedure that went through Flores' nose. In between the procedures, Labib studied the location of the second tumor. In most cases, he would make an incision in the spine to approach the tumor from the back, but the chordoma's location meant that wasn't an option. Going through Flores' nose again wouldn't give him enough space to operate. One colleague even suggested that there was nothing they could do. "I spoke to colleagues, and one of them said 'You're not gonna cure her from this,' basically, maybe she should be more of a palliative care patient," said Labib. Palliative care refers to making a terminally ill patient comfortable for their last days. "I wasn't very enthusiastic about that," Labib added. Developing a unique surgical plan Labib continued to study Flores' scans and look for ways to reach the second chordoma. While considering approaching it through her nose, he realized the cheekbone between her nose and eye was one of the obstacles blocking him from reaching the tumor. That gave him an idea: What if he approached through the side of Flores' eye? He had done it for a surgery several years prior, but never to remove a spinal tumor. Labib spent weeks practicing the technique, which he called the "third nostril" approach, in UMMC's neurosurgery laboratory. He used cadaver heads and skull models to ensure that he could safely reach and operate on the tumor. He and other members of Flores' team spent weeks working through potential problems, including ensuring that they could create a surgical opening without damaging her eyeball and modifying surgical instruments so they would work for the procedure. An illustration of the approach to Karla Flores' chordoma. The left line shows one of the obstacles presented by a nasal approach. The right line shows the "third nostril" approach Flores' surgeons used. University of Maryland Medical Center After he was confident in the approach, Labib told Flores and her family about the plan. "Her mother cried. Karla was emotional. Her father, he's not an emotional guy, but you could see from his silence he was concerned," Labib remembered. Flores said she trusted Labib and approved the surgery. "I was scared I wasn't going to see my parents again, because you never know what's going to happen when you go inside the surgery," she admitted. In the operating room, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Kalpesh T. Vakharia cut through the membrane that protects the eye inside the lower eyelid and removed the bottom of Flores' eye socket and a portion of her cheekbone. That allowed Labib to reach the operating site. It also left Flores with no external scars, Vakharia said. Once the bones were removed, Labib and head and neck surgeon Dr. Andrea Hebert drilled through Flores' vertebrae to reach the tumor. They dissected it carefully, following the procedure they had developed in the lab. By the time they were done, the chordoma was entirely removed, Labib said. "It was perfect," he said. Once that was done, Vakharia rebuilt Flores' eye socket with a titanium plate and rebuilt her cheek with bone from her hip. The process took about 20 hours, Labib said. "Each step is an accomplishment" The chordoma was removed, but Flores still had more treatment to come. A spinal surgeon stabilized the vertebrae that had been affected during the surgery. Six weeks later, she underwent radiation treatment to ensure there was no cancer in her body. Nearly a year after completing treatment, Flores has no evidence of cancer. The treatment was followed by rehabilitative therapy. Flores, now 20, struggles to move her left eye because of nerve damage from the chordoma, but is continuing to work on it in physical therapy. Karla Flores and her cat, Sushi, in 2025. Karla Flores Flores said that when she is feeling better, she wants to go to school to become a manicurist. She has follow-up appointments at UMMC every few months. Her biggest struggle right now is medical bills: She said she owes about $600,000. A GoFundMe has raised just a few thousand dollars. "I keep reminding myself to take one day at a time and know that each step is an accomplishment. I'm also glad I stood my ground and kept looking for help until I found it," Flores said in an emailed statement. Labib said he hopes the procedure can be used to help operate on other difficult-to-reach tumors. "I think this opens a new corridor for approaching tumors that are in the upper cervical (or high part of the) spine," Labib said. "I think this third nostril approach is a smaller, easier and cleaner approach, and I think it's going to really take on these difficult tumors in front of the spinal cord."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Urbana High graduates 'slay the dragon' to finish high school
In a speech to her Urbana High School graduating classmates on Friday, Kaela Zamora compared completing high school to slaying the final boss of the video game 'Minecraft.' 'It was time to defeat our Ender Dragon, also known as our senior year,' Zamora told Urbana's graduates, all dressed in blue robes with white stoles. The Ender Dragon is an enemy that players can battle in 'Minecraft.' Urbana's graduates, she said, faced many challenges along the way. 'We unveiled our not-so-literal enchanted swords and plunged at this dragon,' she said. 'Slash after slash, we charged, attempting to avoid our worst tendencies: procrastination, cramming until 2 a.m. and scrolling on our phones.' Students in her class came into high school after the COVID-19 pandemic, while being further behind academically and needing to work past social awkwardness, she said. 'Then, somehow, we slayed the dragon, won the battle and successfully — or even just barely — finished high school,' Zamora said. Zamora plans to attend the University of Maryland to study economics. The graduation, held at Knott Arena at Mount St. Mary's University, was the school's 27th annual commencement ceremony, graduate William Knepper said in a speech to the class. Knepper was the class president. There were 475 graduates in the Class of 2025. Luc Lugez and Doyoon Seol played the national anthem on violins. The graduation also featured performances from the school's choir and band. 'Today is more than just a celebration,' graduate Daniel Solomon said in a speech. 'It's a moment that asks us to pause, take a breath and to really look at how far we've come.' High school was about 'stepping into our identity,' said Solomon, who plans to study aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland. 'Be yourself,' Solomon told his fellow graduates. Urbana Principal Donna Clabaugh encouraged her former students to seek the life they desire. 'Up until now, much of what you have done and determined for yourselves has been very limited, and that is what really changes when you leave this ceremony today,' Clabaugh said. 'That is simultaneously amazing and overwhelming, and it is rarely easy.' Graduate Owen Barkley said he felt great after the graduation. Though he will miss hanging out with his friends, he said he is excited for the future. Barkley said he was planning on getting a job in retail, with a goal of attending Frederick Community College and one day becoming a scientist. 'There are a lot of good people at Urbana,' graduate Megan Lawrence said, describing her school experience as good. Now, Lawrence is set to go to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to study elementary education. She said programs at Urbana allowed her to get experience teaching kids, and she wants to continue afterward. Her favorite time in school, she said, in her film studies class. 'I'm going to miss seeing my friends every day,' she said. Tristan Thompson said his favorite part of school was playing basketball. He plans on playing at St. Mary's College of Maryland. He said that 10 years from now, he wants to be 'living in my own house, with my wife, as a millionaire.' He added that he wants to play basketball professionally, too. 'Well, you know how I said Minecraft's end goal was just to defeat the Ender Dragon?' Zamora asked. 'That's just the tip of the iceberg.' Just like the game, she said, high school is about taking agency beyond defeating the final boss.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Oriole seniors take flight at MSD graduation, after year of dreaming big
For the new graduates at the Maryland School for the Deaf, Friday's commencement ceremony was the culmination of a year of big plans and accomplishments. The school's theme for the past year was 'Dream Big.' Class president Truly Austin urged her classmates to make the most of life as they move on from their time in 'this big, beautiful Deaf community' at the school. 'Go out there, enjoy it, and write that story,' Austin said through a sign language interpreter during Friday's ceremony in the school's gymnasium at its Frederick campus. There's a map for everyone's future, and while Friday's ceremony was the end of one part of life's journey, it was the start of another, she said. 'Remember, your map is waiting for you to create,' she said. This year's class had 24 graduates, according to Amy Mowl, the school's director of public relations. Austin, of Mount Airy, was busy during her time at MSD. Along with being the class president and a member of the National Honor Society, she played basketball and volleyball, was on the school's track team, and played softball as a freshman. She will attend the University of Maryland in the fall, and major in psychology. She knows attending college will be a change from what she's used to, but she's excited to face the challenge. 'I want to see what it's like to navigate the hearing world,' she said in an interview as she and her classmates got ready before Friday's ceremony. Tahoe Herzig-Wilcox was another multi-sport star for the Orioles, playing football, basketball, and volleyball, as well as being a member of the National Honor Society and one of the school's Top Scholars. He plans to major in accounting and play volleyball at Gallaudet University in the fall. He was still processing the end of his time at MSD before Friday's ceremony, for which he was one of two student speakers, along with Austin. 'It doesn't feel real. It's kind of surreal right now. It kind of snuck up on us,' he said in an interview through an interpreter. He said his summer would be busy with sports, attending a volleyball camp in Texas and a basketball tournament in Las Vegas. Otherwise, he will just be getting ready for college and working to make extra money, he said. In his speech Friday, Herzig-Wilcox urged his classmates to step outside their comfort zones as they move beyond their days at MSD. They will make mistakes, he said, but they'll never know what they can overcome if they don't try. 'Take the shot. Try the thing that scares you,' he said. Torriah Cunningham had attended the school since she was 4 years old. Cunningham, from Cumberland, said she loved living in the dormitories at the school, and the friends she made there. 'Really, I have a sisterhood with a lot of these girls,' she said through an interpreter. She plans to study early childhood education at Towson University, and wants to teach pre-kindergarten or kindergarten when she graduates. Over the summer, she plans to visit family in Jamaica, as well as work and get ready for college. Graduation is always a bittersweet time, saying goodbye to another class of seniors, John A. Serrano, the school's superintendent, said before the ceremony. 'Graduation never gets old to me. I look forward to it every year,' he said, speaking through an interpreter. At the ceremony, he urged the graduates to think about where they want to be, and how to get to that point. As the year went by, they saw their big dreams grow into accomplishments, he said. But their dreams won't end with Friday's graduation, and they'll need confidence to make their dreams come true, he said. Friday's commencement speaker was John Maucere, an actor and certified deaf interpreter who has appeared on television shows including 'Law & Order,' 'Southland,' and 'Pacific Blue,' and created and portrayed the character SuperDeafy in 'No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie,' among other credits. He urged the graduates to pursue their goals, and accept that mistakes are how to learn in life. 'Your dreams are yours. You're not chasing other people's dreams,' Maucere said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Recent wet weather could lead to increase in mosquito population this summer
The Brief The recent wet weather could lead to even more mosquitoes this year than usual, an expert said. He's urging everyone to dump standing water. WASHINGTON - All that rain we've had lately? You may not like it – but it turns out a certain type of blood-sucking insect does. The backstory "I think this is the perfect storm for breeding mosquitoes," said University of Maryland Professor Emeritus Michael J. Raupp, also known as "The Bug Guy." Raupp said that because of the recent weather, as temperatures rise, the generation time for mosquitoes will shrink, from about two-plus weeks to roughly one week. "That means with all this standing water, it's going to be the perfect conditions for mosquitoes to breed, and with mosquitoes breeding, there's gonna be biting," Raupp explained. "There will be blood, and it will come soon." What you can do As a result, Raupp is urging everyone to dump all the standing water they can find. "I've got a five-gallon pail behind my tool shed. It is full of water," he said. "If I don't drain that thing within the next ten days, there could literally be thousands of mosquitoes breeding in that container." What they're saying As you might imagine, people weren't thrilled to learn that there could be even more mosquitoes than usual this year. "Not good, not happy," said Nancy, who asked not to give her last name. "Mosquitoes are not wonderful. They do carry diseases, and they buzz and they itch and they're no picnic, at a picnic especially."
