December 16, 2005 Laurel, Maryland

President Michael Wood wrapped his arms around three stacked plastic boxes. He waited until the bedroom door opened and a student popped out his head.

“Here’s a gift for you. Good luck on your finals. Hopefully, this will help you out,” Wood said as he handed off the shoebox-sized package to the student and a second box to his roommate who laid in bed, just waking up from his nap.

Like semesters pass, students living on campus received Finals Survival Kits on Monday, Dec. 9, the first day of a week of final exams. Unlike previous years, the kits were specially delivered by Wood, who visited each of the campus’s apartments and delivered the gifts to as many students as were around.

Every student received a gift. Some received the boxes, filled with candy, snacks and study aids. The boxes were purchased for $10 by family members or college staff as gifts to their student workers. Bags containing candy and snacks were given to all the remaining students.

First-year student Travis Walker, from Baltimore, was tinkering with his computer when Wood gave him his kit – a gift of encouragement from Walker’s mother.

“I’m really surprised,” said Walker, a computer engineering major, as he looked through the box. “I just finished one exam, and I have four left. Everything in here looks really good.”

For several years the Alumni Advisory Board has sponsored the survival kits for students. The kits are made and delivered every semester with the help of alumni donations.

“Our alumni were there once,” said Joy Johnson, director of advancement and alumni relations. “They remember the long study hours and hard work that they did to make it through their finals. This is their way of letting students know that they are being thought of, and it gives students encouragement as they make it through the stressful times.”