Academic Excellence

Baltimore is a hotbed of cybersecurity jobs, with more than 13,000 job postings last October alone, according to a report funded by the Abell Foundation. "This growth has created an urgent need for qualified individuals to fill current job openings and to develop the skilled workforce necessary to address the expected dramatic job growth in the future," says the report, announced Thursday. The region's job openings put it behind only Palo Alto and San Francisco, both in California, among eight regions commonly thought of as cybersecurity powerhouses, according to the report.

Millersville resident gets $1,000 scholarshipA Millersville resident was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal benefit society.Anne Stevenson, who plans to attend Loyola College in Baltimore this fall, was chosen for her academic excellence, church and community involvement and leadership.The scholarships are awarded to selected undergraduate students who are Lutheran Brotherhood members.Ms. Stevenson was one of 640 recipients selected from more than 2,600 applicants for the national award.

Not many people know about the Hodson Trust. Yet this foundation has given over $53 million to four private Maryland colleges, including nearly $3 million this month to Washington College in Chestertown, Hood College in Frederick, St. John's College in Annapolis and the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.St. John's received $358,124.41; the other three got $855,767.66. What will that buy? Money for what eventually will be a $5 million minority scholarship fund at each school; money for an endowment for academic excellence; graduate fellowships in the humanities; oncology research; special loan and scholarship programs.

The Towson University Alumni Association Board of Directors supports President Maravene Loeschke and her commitment to advance our alma mater's focus on student success and academic excellence. Since Ms. Loeschke's arrival, Towson alumni have witnessed countless examples of her enthusiasm and devotion to Towson University. Her love for students is evident in everything she does. Dr. Loeschke's leadership - transparent, compassionate, inclusive and decisive - has served her well in making difficult, sometimes heart-wrenching decisions.

There also is a huge difference in psychological, physiological and sociological development between the needs of middle schoolers and adults ("Roland Park parents push for middle-school recess," Sept. 23). Developmentally we know that middle schoolers are beginning to show characteristics of young adult development - yet importantly they are still children in many ways. I taught middle school for years. One of the places the balance between young adult characteristics and appropriate child like behavior was clearly on display was the middle school dances.

The Calvert School, a private day school with a nationally recognized homeschooling curriculum, will welcome a new headmaster in July, the school announced Thursday. Andrew Holmgren, currently the head of the Middle School at Collegiate School in New York City, will become the North Baltimore school's seventh headmaster. He will replace Andrew Martire, who has been headmaster of the Calvert School since 2004. Martire had accepted the job of Head of School at the Kinkaid School in Houston.

AACC student wins Disney job After weeks of rallying for votes, an Anne Arundel Community College student is heading to Disneyland on Saturday to be a parade performer. As part of CareerBuilder.com and Disney Parks' Dream "Job" online search, Heather Harris, 19, of Edgewater will join four other people as they live out their dream jobs for a day at the resort and amusement park in California. The popular search generated nearly 1 million votes nationwide. Harris, a graduate of Suitland High School, will play a role in Disney's "High School Musical Pep Rally" parade.

THE UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY: The dean's list for fall semester at The University of Findlay has been announced and Nicole Williams, of Fallston, made the list with a 4.0 grade point average. She is a physical therapy major. MCDANIEL COLLEGE: Sophomore Adrian Rowe of Edgewood performs in "Intimate Portraits," an original ensemble-devised work. Free and open to the public, performances are Wednesday, April 17 through Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m., in WMC Alumni Hall at McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster.

The student: Blake Collins, 11 School: Harper's Choice Middle School The achievement: The Carson Scholars Fund, co-founded by best-selling author Dr. Benjamin Carson, honored Blake this year with a scholarship for academic excellence and community service. He was one of six Howard County residents to receive the award. Blake reports that last year he earned straight A's in the second, third and fourth quarters and mostly B's the first quarter. Why the grades went up: "They gave us more work.

Faye Pappalardo and R. Delaine Hobbs will present diplomas to 258 graduates of Carroll Community College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Western Maryland College in the Physical Education Learning Center. Pappalardo, the college president, will welcome students, parents and faculty and staff members. Hobbs, chairman of the Carroll Community College board of trustees, will greet students. The commencement address will be delivered by Michael L. Oster, president of BB&T Baltimore Metro Region.