{"id":15676,"date":"2025-12-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15676"},"modified":"2025-12-12T10:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:53:19","slug":"completing-the-metamorphosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/completing-the-metamorphosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Completing the Metamorphosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lloyd Dunbar, of Owings Mills, Maryland, is one of 229 students receiving their degrees during the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 28th Winter Commencement on Saturday, Dec. 13th.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ask Lloyd Dunbar<\/strong> how he describes his time at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and the graduating senior has a unique metaphor that explains it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like the life cycle of a butterfly,\u201d said Dunbar, a general studies major from Owings Mills, Maryland. \u201cYou start off as a caterpillar, trying to fit in; then you start to build your cocoon, which is when you find your support system and take in all of the knowledge you\u2019ve received. Then, the time eventually comes where you break out of that cocoon and spread your wings and become something beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunbar, one of 229 students receiving their degrees during UMES\u2019 28th<\/sup> Winter Commencement on Dec. 13, came to campus in the Fall of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during this time that his metamorphosis began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I first started on campus, I was shy and closed off,\u201d he said. \u201cI spent the first few months locked in my room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his interactions with the Residence Life staff in Wicomico Hall, he learned more about what UMES has to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was able to incorporate myself into the different clubs and organizations on campus while also learning how to network with my professors and other campus leaders,\u201d he said. \u201cThat and the transition back to in-person courses were some of the biggest adjustments that I needed to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was through those changes that Dunbar was able to make a name for himself. During his tenure at UMES, he has been Mr. Maroon and Gray, served as a member of the Student Government Association, and was a student worker in the Office of Alumni Relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunbar said these experiences helped him understand the importance of making a lasting impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I learned is that it\u2019s never how you start, but how you finish,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are things that are going to happen, but it\u2019s life. How you handle those things and how you grow from those things is what truly matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a pivot to general studies from his initial plan of being a biology major, Dunbar is now headed to the Maryland State Police Academy, something which was necessitated by another life transformation \u2013 a new daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Dunbar readies for his UMES graduation \u2013 his high school graduation was postponed due to COVID \u2013 he was able to truly reflect on how his journey at UMES transformed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a pretty big moment for a lot of reasons,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve met a lot of people who changed my life for the better and who have become my greatest supporters. They made me somebody that I can look into the mirror and be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask Lloyd Dunbar how he describes his time at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and the graduating senior has a unique metaphor that explains it. \u201cIt was like the life cycle of a butterfly,\u201d said Dunbar, a general studies major from Owings Mills, Maryland. \u201cYou start off as a caterpillar, trying to fit in;…Read more Completing the Metamorphosis<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":15675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-15676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15676"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=15676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}