College Pathways Through Play: Ocean Bowl Games Debuts at USG

Whoops of joy and shouts of encouragement echoed throughout the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering building as more than 100 middle schoolers converged for the first-ever Ocean Bowl Games. Over two days, they competed in brain games, playground challenges, STEM stations, and an e-sports tournament. STEAM Your Dreams, the host and youth nonprofit organization that blends STEM education and e-sports gaming, broadcast the tournament live on its YouTube channel.

While laughter and excitement were front and center, behind the scenes was a clear purpose: introducing youth to higher education. Faculty members from UMB’s School of Nursing, UMD’s Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering program, University of Baltimore’s Integrated Design program, and UMD’s Fermentation Science program participated and gave youth a glimpse of degree offerings available on the USG campus.

Ocean Bowl Games marks a new addition to USG’s initiative to expose youth to local college pathways and inspire the next generation to achieve a college degree.