Wes Moore speaking to Maryland Corps and Service Year cohort at Camden Yards. Photo by Elijah Pittman
One will go to the military, another will continue his education and a third plans to continue on with an organization that works to combat the poverty-to-prison pipeline.
They were just some of the 231 members who were among the inaugural class of Maryland Corps and Service Year Option graduates who were applauded Tuesday at their commencement ceremony.
“Y’all can have a sense of pride, because generations from now when you see people doing their service years all over the state, y’all can look back and say it started with us,” said Gov. Wes Moore (D) at the event held in Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The programs were among the first priorities of the Moore administration.
The Service Year Option is a first-of-its-kind program that allows recent high school graduates between ages 18 and 21 to complete a year of service at over 100 businesses, agencies, and organizations across the state. It was merged with Maryland Corps, a 2016 program that is open to people of all ages and provides them with vocational training as well.