By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D) spoke at the commencement for the first cohort of the Maryland Corps Service Year Option, a campaign promise of Moore’s.
(AFRO Photo/Tashi McQueen)
“Keep doing you, keep serving, keep protecting each other. This is going to be a moment that people will remember for generations to come and they are going to remember you,” said Moore to the large cohort of graduates at Camden Yards in Baltimore on July 16. “I want to thank you for being leaders and making your entire state proud.”
The program, which began in 2023, offers recent high school graduates, GED recipients or those with a school completion certificate, an opportunity to get exposed to different career paths and serve their community while earning at least $15 an hour. The first year of this program saw around 240 corps members graduate.
“The work all of us have done was not just to fulfill our duties, but to make a real difference in the lives of those around us,” said Courtnei Wright, Maryland Corps Service Year Option Graduate, to her peers on the sweltering hot day. “I especially want to extend my thanks to Governor Wes Moore and to the state of Maryland for providing us with this opportunity and experience like no other.”
Paul Monteiro, secretary of the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation, emphasized the diversity among the cohort and how they were able to work together despite those differences.
“I am proud to say there are Republicans in this concourse, they’re Democrats in this concourse and they’re independents in this concourse,” said Monteiro. “I’m proud to say that we have almost every jurisdiction in this state in this concourse right now, and over 80 percent of this cohort, started the race and finished it together.”
About 500 people are expected to be in the 2024-2025 cohort. This new cohort will begin on September 11 and conclude in Summer 2025.
Nancy Noriega, an executive assistant at one of the host sites for the members Asian American Center of Frederick, shared that three of the four members at her site will continue with her company after graduating.
“It’s great for us because they know the ins and outs and we’re excited that they want to continue servicing the community,” said Noriega. “We are a nonprofit, and we serve a lot of refugee and immigrant families that come to the U.S. We help them prepare with citizenship services, also English classes. The members that we have played a really big role in helping us reach out to the community, doing outreach with us for the different programs that we have.”
Noriega said her organization had a pleasant overall experience and are looking forward to welcoming the next group of cohort members in September.
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