“Baltimore is going through a reconstruction, or a revival,” Taho said. “There’s nothing like going down to Fed Hill, grabbing a beer with your buddies and being able to catch an Orioles game in the same day. I think that weekend getaway is perfect for any new grad, and they would love to work there for that reason.”

Baltimore has made a name for itself as a city for young graduates to become financially stable, enjoy a lively social scene and find housing within their budget, while holding a position in their field of study, whether it be tech, health care or cybersecurity.

Recent college graduates have an easier time finding jobs in Baltimore than in most other U.S. metropolitan cities, according to a new study from ADP ranking cities by three characteristics: annual wages, hiring rates and affordability based on anonymized payroll data of more than 140,000 people aged 20-29 at more than 27,000 U.S. employers from January 2019 to April 2025.

Baltimore,  including Columbia and Towson, ranked No. 3 on a list of best U.S. cities for recent college graduates to find jobs. For recent college graduates looking for a job, Baltimore offers an annual wage estimate of $52,267 and a hiring rate of 3.5%. The top city, Raleigh, North Carolina, had an annual wage estimate of $55,580 and a hiring rate of 4.2%.

Kimberly Clark, executive vice president of Baltimore Development Corporation, attributes Baltimore’s higher-than-average hire rate to the area’s strong college town network, with the Johns Hopkins University, , University of Baltimore and Morgan State University being located in and around the city.

ADP credited Baltimore’s high hiring rate and annual wage estimate to Hopkins, both the university and hospital, and the University of Maryland Medical System for providing jobs in science, engineering, health care, technology and mathematics as well as research opportunities for recent graduates.

In ADP’s similar study on the college graduate job market from last year, analyzing the same data from January 2019 to April 2024, Baltimore ranked No. 2, with a higher annual wage estimate of $52,000 and a lower hiring rate of 3.4%.

Taho works for Capital One as a cyber technical associate near Towson. Originally from Prince George’s County, he previously worked for Textron Systems, a technology company specializing in defense and space near Towson, after he graduated. Textron offered him the job before he officially received his diploma from Maryland.

He cited big players in the aerospace, tech and defense industries in and around Baltimore, like Northrop Grumman in Linthicum Heights and Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, as a “no-brainer” choices for anyone looking to work in the tech industry. Baltimore is already building on its reputation as a tech hub, seeking $70 million in funding last year.

“There are core sectors in the industry that Baltimore is a hub for that make it very attractive for recent up-and-coming professionals,” he said. “I wanted to stay close to home and get the chance to work for at least a well-known organization while not having to relocate.”

The entertainment, restaurants and nightlife that Baltimore provides also play an important role in attracting college graduates from other states and encouraging local graduates to stay, Clark said.

“Young people love Baltimore because there is so much to do here,” Clark said. “The lifestyle is what Baltimore has to offer. There’s lots to do. They can see concerts every Thursday at the First Thursday festival and then go play kickball with a Volo group after work.”

Nicole Marano, vice president of student success  for the University of Baltimore, said many of University of Baltimore’s graduates stay for the lifestyle Baltimore has to offer, such as the nightlife in Fells Point, the variety of restaurants across the city and numerous music festivals, and end up working for the university. Students also  feel comfort living near Hopkins for its career opportunities and its medical pedigree in case they are injured or sick.

“Students like the city’s size and, that there are so many opportunities for higher education and the benefits of having access to world-class medical institutions,” Marano said.

Graduates are hired to work in student admissions and build their administrative skills while encouraging others to learn and work in Baltimore. Other University of Baltimore students segue from the undergraduate and graduate law programs into the School of Law, going on to practice in the area.

“Oftentimes [graduates] like the vibrancy of the city, particularly Midtown because of the different restaurants, nightlife and that neighborhood feel you get near Mount Vernon,” Marano said. “Graduates from our school tend to end up in particular programs scattered across the institution in admission and institutional advancement in particular.”

Erick Rivadeneria, a University of Maryland 2025 graduate, moved to Arlington, Virginia, to work at Privia Health as a growth strategy and analytics coordinator. Also from Prince George’s County, Rivadeneria chose to move to Virginia because the job with Privia appealed more to him than one offered to him in Maryland, partially because of its salary.

“It was less so of a want to move to Virginia and more so that those were how the options leveled out for me,” Rivadeneria said. “There are different elements that come into that, such as income and where I could see my career going with this position.”

Although he is confident in the route he chose as a first-generation college graduate working in health care, Rivadeneria said the cost of living in Arlington is much higher than what he was used to in Maryland. According to the ADP study, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC metroplex has a higher annual wage estimate than the Baltimore metroplex but less affordability and a lower hiring rate.

As someone who frequently visited Baltimore growing up, Taho said he didn’t let the city’s history of a high homicide rate, which has dropped within the last year, deter him.

“It’s true that in certain pockets, you can make a wrong turn and end up in a sketchy neighborhood,” Taho said. “That’s changing.”

After rattling off many of the entertaining reasons to stay in Baltimore like going to Ravens games, grabbing a beer with friends in Federal Hill before catching an Orioles game and visiting the Inner Harbor, Taho said he chose to stick to the Baltimore area when looking for a job due to its variety of fields related to his major, information science.

“The cost of living was a huge factor,” he said. “You can rent a decent house in Baltimore for under $2,000. If you find that in New York, LA or even D.C., there’s a catch. I can come out here, make $80,000 a year and live comfortably as a single new grad right out of school able to pay all of my loans and still have a little bit of fun.”

Another boon for recent graduates is the cost of living in Baltimore compared with when he looked at bigger cities like New York. The ADP study highlighted New York as having high wages with a low hiring rate and a low rate of affordability.

Have a news tip? Contact Chevall Pryce at cpryce@baltsun.com.

Magothy River Association member Bob Moyer said he went out to photograph a particularly large pistachio tide on Cattail Creek in October, and was so overwhelmed by the sulfur smell that he collapsed to his hands and knees and had to crawl off the pier.

Pistachio tides occur when bacteria in the river produce hydrogen sulfide, which depletes the oxygen in the water and creates a rotten smell. The bacteria produce a bright green color, which is where the name comes from.

Working with the river association, Johns Hopkins University is researching the bacterial booms in Cattail and Old Man creeks this summer to identify where and when they occur. Pistachio tides usually develop between August and October, and Hopkins started collecting water samples in early July to get ahead of the blooms.

Paul Spadaro, president of the Magothy River Association, is concerned about people breathing in the sulfur, especially on Cattail Creek, where recreational activity often takes place. Without any monitoring or warning system, kayakers may paddle into a pistachio tide.

“I do think people need to know that when you smell that sewer gas, it’s time to move away,” Spadaro said.

Part of Hopkins’ research this summer is to determine if there is a danger to wildlife or humans. Sulfur bacteria are naturally occurring, but stormwater and fertilizer runoff entering the creek can increase the pervasiveness of these bacteria by depleting oxygen.

In October, Spadaro said 380 fish in the Town Neck region of Cattail Creek were found dead during the pistachio tides. In September, a bloom in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor killed 24,000 fish. The Department of Natural Resources deploys continuous monitoring of these blooms in the Inner Harbor.

“It’s the sulfur bacteria’s appetite for oxygen that makes it dangerous to fish, crabs, eels, and other aquatic life that need dissolved oxygen to breathe,” said DNR program manager Cathy Wazniak.

However, Wazniak said that without long-term data on pistachio tides in the Chesapeake Bay, she could not say whether any trends exist.

“We’re in here for the pistachio tides, because they’re kind of falling under the radar,” said Sarah Preheim, an associate professor at Hopkins who is leading the research project.

Hopkins received a $312,000 grant in 2024 from the National Science Foundation to research microbial processes in the Chesapeake Bay. About $2,000 is going toward pistachio tide research on the Magothy River.

Preheim said rising overall temperatures and nutrient pollution contribute to pistachio tides because warmer water holds less oxygen, based on monitoring data from the Inner Harbor in the past decade.

Moyer, a Berrywood resident, hopes Preheim’s research will help educate residents about the blooms and encourage them to rethink where the rainwater on their property goes. In the Berrywood neighborhood, storm drains open right into the creek.

He says homeowners should fertilize their lawns late in the fall, if at all, when colder water holds more oxygen and is less susceptible to the damage caused by the fertilizer chemicals. He also wants more waterfront residents to consider putting native plants as a buffer between their lawn and the creek.

Preheim said she is focusing this summer on collecting water samples to help determine what environmental factors are causing the blooms, so that next year she can create a predictive model to help warn people when these pistachio tides might occur.

One possibility is to provide sulfur measuring strips to citizen scientists, such as those at the river association, so they can test the water themselves for sulfur levels.

“The people need to know if it’s really toxic,” Spadaro said.

Have a news tip? Contact Tori Newby at tnewby@baltsun.com.

The Maryland Transit Administration announced updates to its fare policy Thursday, which went into effect Sunday for local buses, the light rail, the Metro SubwayLink and the Mobility and Call-a-Ride programs, which both serve people with disabilities.

Changes include:

• Children 12 and under may use public transit for free. Before Sunday, free rides were only offered to those 6 years old and under.
• Baltimore City Public Schools students can use their student passes at any time.
• Private school students are now included in the All Access Student Transit Pass, a discounted public transit package previously only available to those enrolled in local colleges and universities.
• The transfer window for users of the CharmPass mobile ticketing app has been expanded from 90 to 120 minutes.
• A $5 surcharge takes effect for light rail riders without a ticket during fare inspection who subsequently purchase one via CharmPass.
• Single-use, prepaid student tickets will be eliminated.
• Maryland Transit Administration tokens will be offered to schools at $15 for a 10-pack. Deposited in fareboxes, one token can be used for a single trip; two can be used for a day pass, according to the transit administration’s updated fare tariff.
• Schools and some nonprofits may now request complimentary tickets under limited circumstances.
• A low-income fare program is being introduced.

The changes were made after a 30-day public comment period following public hearings that the administration held in mid-June.

Barbara Weathers, 65, lives in West Baltimore and uses public buses as her main form of transportation. She said the bus service in Baltimore is good but that she’s concerned about an increased number of children and students on public transportation with the new policy changes.

Weathers said BCPS students crowd the buses before and after school and are often disrespectful to other city residents. She added that she’d love to see these students have their own bus or for older people like herself to have their own separate transportation in and around the city.

Thirty-four-year-old Alexander Harden, who lives in Cherry Hill and works as a bouncer at a local restaurant and bar, said the bus service is “amazing” in Baltimore. He said he hopes to see upgrades to the buses and more SubwayLink options in the future but is generally satisfied with the public transit opportunities Baltimore has now.

“I’ve been basically catching the bus my whole life,” he said on the bus Sunday. “I’ve never had any issues.”

Harden said he thinks it’s a good start for the transit administration to be helping out some of the community with these policy updates but that there’s more work to be done “all around.” He said lowering fares for college and high school students creates great opportunities for them.

“Increasing transit access benefits riders and is critical to the economic prosperity of our entire region,” Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold said in a news release. “These changes are another example of our efforts to support the next generation of transit riders.”

These changes are part of the transit administration’s fall 2025 annual service plan, which aims to increase access and equity and improve reliability and travel times. Three service change plans take place each year in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between bus operators union Local 1300, with the next service change to take place this winter.

“MTA is constantly monitoring reliability, traffic congestion, and ridership,” the service plan states, “and will continue to make minor adjustments to service to adjust for continually changing ridership and traffic conditions.”

Have a news tip? Contact K. Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com.

Over the last three years, Zamora has grown accustomed to shooting hoops while wearing her dark blue service uniform, swarmed by youngsters from the Boys and Girls Club of Lummi Nation, a Native American tribe in northwestern Washington State.

Zamora, a native of Salinas, California, who’s preparing to start her final year at the academy, has volunteered to mentor kids during each of her one-week spring breaks.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve done at the Naval Academy and even just generally,” Zamora said of her three trips to the Lummi Nation. “They take our [hats] and run away or I give them the anchors that decorate my uniform. Just to foster that relationship is really important.”

Zamora is part of the Midshipmen Action Group (MAG), a volunteer service organization created in 1992. But the group’s impact extends beyond a spring trip to assist children from Native American tribes in STEM education.

Through MAG, hundreds of midshipmen volunteer their time in Anne Arundel County and Annapolis yearly, amassing more than 14,400 hours across 29 volunteer projects during the 2024-25 academic year.

Areas of service include environmental stewardship, veteran and convalescent assistance, donations and youth mentorship; 835 midshipmen volunteered a combined 1,783 times at 119 different events during the last school year.

“It is just an incredible amount of service,” said Commander Kyle Bandermann, who provides the group logistical support as its officer representative. “Our moniker is that ‘Service to the nation begins with service to the community.’ And that is what they’re choosing, that is what they’re prioritizing.”

Mids for Kids

MAG is most active during the middle twelve weeks of each semester. Midshipmen, led by a group of about 50 seniors — or first-class midshipmen — dedicate hundreds of hours to environmental care through nature cleanups, snow shoveling in Annapolis, planting trees and general landscaping for people in need.

To support veterans, MAG works with groups that organize memorial trips and ceremonies.

The flagship program, Mids for Kids, works with about 10 Anne Arundel County Public Schools to put volunteers in classrooms.

Zamora volunteers at Walter S. Mills-Parole Elementary in Annapolis, assisting kindergartners and fifth graders with their studies.

MAG members also volunteer at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank’s warehouse, where they sort and box food for distribution, among several other projects. Over their 15-year partnership with the food bank, MAG has donated more than 400,000 pounds of food.

“MAG members demonstrate a deep commitment to service and community,” Anne Arundel County Food Bank CEO Leah Paley said. “We are lucky to have them in our corner.”

MAG is the largest extracurricular activity at the Naval Academy. While midshipmen are required to compete in athletics, there is no requirement for service-related activities.

“There’s no sense that people think midshipmen need to do more for their country, yet they are,” Bandermann said.

The Princeton Review ranks the U.S. Naval Academy number one in “Town-Gown Relations,” an analysis of a university’s relationship with its surrounding population. Elizabeth Wrightson, the academy’s director of media relations, credits that success to MAG.

There are nine other clubs at the academy that volunteer for various activities, like the Catholic Midshipmen Club, Latin American Studies Club and Black Studies Club. In total, 2,334 midshipmen volunteered on 189 different events, culminating in 16,943 total service hours from the 2024-2025 academic year.

MAG made up more than 85% of the entire university’s service hours.

“So many projects and so little time,” Bandermann said of midshipmen choosing to participate in area service projects. “The mids have an incredible amount to do here. There’s the task of making it through to the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and just matriculating through this university. And this is what they are choosing to spend their time on.”

Zamora will travel to Washington for the fourth time next spring. She says she’s compelled to return year after year because she comes from a similar background as students at the Lummi Nation, one with minimal exposure to STEM.

“I’ve developed such a passion for STEM and research,” Zamora said. “I think it’s so wonderful to be able to spark that with little kids.”

Have a news tip? Contact James Matheson at jmatheson@baltsun.com, 443-842-2344 or on X @jamesmatheson__

As artificial intelligence technology becomes part of daily life, adolescents are turning to chatbots for advice, guidance and conversation. The appeal is clear: Chatbots are patient, never judgmental, supportive and always available.

That worries experts who say the booming AI industry is largely unregulated and that many parents have no idea about how their kids are using AI tools or the extent of personal information they are sharing with chatbots.

New research shows more than 70% of American teenagers have used AI companions and more than half converse with them regularly. The study by Common Sense Media focused on “AI companions,” like Character. AI, Nomi and Replika, which it defines as “digital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want,” versus AI assistants or tools like ChatGPT, though it notes they can be used the same way.

It’s important that parents understand the technology. Experts suggest some things parents can do to help protect their kids:

— Start a conversation, without judgment, says Michael Robb, head researcher at Common Sense Media. Approach your teen with curiosity and basic questions: “Have you heard of AI companions?” “Do you use apps that talk to you like a friend?” Listen and understand what appeals to your teen before being dismissive or saying you’re worried about it.

— Help teens recognize that AI companions are programmed to be agreeable and validating. Explain that’s not how real relationships work and that real friends with their own points of view can help navigate difficult situations in ways that AI companions cannot.

“One of the things that’s really concerning is not only what’s happening on screen but how much time it’s taking kids away from relationships in real life,” says Mitch Prinstein, chief of psychology at the American Psychological Association. “We need to teach kids that this is a form of entertainment. It’s not real, and it’s really important they distinguish it from reality and should not have it replace relationships in your actual life.”

The APA recently put out a health advisory on AI and adolescent well-being, and tips for parents.

— Parents should watch for signs of unhealthy attachments.

“If your teen is preferring AI interactions over real relationships or spending hours talking to AI companions, or showing that they are becoming emotionally distressed when separated from them — those are patterns that suggest AI companions might be replacing rather than complementing human connection,” Robb says.

— Parents can set rules about AI use, just like they do for screen time and social media. Have discussions about when and how AI tools can and cannot be used. Many AI companions are designed for adult use and can mimic romantic, intimate and role-playing scenarios.

While AI companions may feel supportive, children should understand the tools are not equipped to handle a real crisis or provide genuine mental health support. If kids are struggling with depression, anxiety, loneliness, an eating disorder or other mental health challenges, they need human support — whether it is family, friends or a mental health professional.

— Get informed. The more parents know about AI, the better. “I don’t think people quite get what AI can do, how many teens are using it and why it’s starting to get a little scary,” says Prinstein, one of many experts calling for regulations to ensure safety guardrails for children. “A lot of us throw our hands up and say, ‘I don’t know what this is!’ This sounds crazy!’ Unfortunately, that tells kids if you have a problem with this, don’t come to me because I am going to diminish it and belittle it.”

Older teenagers have advice, too, for parents and kids. Banning AI tools is not a solution because the technology is becoming ubiquitous, says Ganesh Nair, 18.

“Trying not to use AI is like trying to not use social media today. It is too ingrained in everything we do,” says Nair, who is trying to step back from using AI companions after seeing them affect real-life friendships in his high school. “The best way you can try to regulate it is to embrace being challenged.”

“Anything that is difficult, AI can make easy. But that is a problem,” says Nair. “Actively seek out challenges, whether academic or personal. If you fall for the idea that easier is better, then you are the most vulnerable to being absorbed into this newly artificial world.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

No question is too small when Kayla Chege, a high school student in Kansas, is using artificial intelligence.

The 15-year-old asks ChatGPT for guidance on back-to-school shopping, makeup colors, low-calorie choices at Smoothie King, plus ideas for her Sweet 16 and her younger sister’s birthday party.

The sophomore honors student makes a point not to have chatbots do her homework and tries to limit her interactions to mundane questions. But in interviews with The Associated Press and a new study, teenagers say they are increasingly interacting with AI as if it were a companion, capable of providing advice and friendship.

“Everyone uses AI for everything now. It’s really taking over,” said Chege, who wonders how AI tools will affect her generation. “I think kids use AI to get out of thinking.”

For the past couple of years, concerns about cheating at school have dominated the conversation around kids and AI. But artificial intelligence is playing a much larger role in many of their lives. AI, teens say, has become a go-to source for personal advice, emotional support, everyday decision-making and problem-solving.

‘AI is always available. It never gets bored with you’

More than 70% of teens have used AI companions and half use them regularly, according to a new study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using screens and digital media sensibly.

The study defines AI companions as platforms designed to serve as “digital friends,” like Character. AI or Replika, which can be customized with specific traits or personalities and can offer emotional support, companionship and conversations that can feel human-like. But popular sites like ChatGPT and Claude, which mainly answer questions, are being used in the same way, the researchers say.

As the technology rapidly gets more sophisticated, teenagers and experts worry about AI’s potential to redefine human relationships and exacerbate crises of loneliness and youth mental health.

“AI is always available. It never gets bored with you. It’s never judgmental,” says Ganesh Nair, an 18-year-old in Arkansas. “When you’re talking to AI, you are always right. You’re always interesting. You are always emotionally justified.”

All that used to be appealing, but as Nair heads to college this fall, he wants to step back from using AI. Nair got spooked after a high school friend who relied on an “AI companion” for heart-to-heart conversations with his girlfriend later had the chatbot write the breakup text ending his two-year relationship.

“That felt a little bit dystopian, that a computer generated the end to a real relationship,” said Nair. “It’s almost like we are allowing computers to replace our relationships with people.”

How many teens are using AI? New study stuns researchers

In the Common Sense Media survey, 31% of teens said their conversations with AI companions were “as satisfying or more satisfying” than talking with real friends. Even though half of teens said they distrust AI’s advice, 33% had discussed serious or important issues with AI instead of real people.

Those findings are worrisome, says Michael Robb, the study’s lead author and head researcher at Common Sense, and should send a warning to parents, teachers and policymakers. The now-booming and largely unregulated AI industry is becoming as integrated with adolescence as smartphones and social media are.

“It’s eye-opening,” said Robb. “When we set out to do this survey, we had no understanding of how many kids are actually using AI companions.” The study polled more than 1,000 teens nationwide in April and May.

Adolescence is a critical time for developing identity, social skills and independence, Robb said, and AI companions should complement — not replace — real-world interactions.

“If teens are developing social skills on AI platforms where they are constantly being validated, not being challenged, not learning to read social cues or understand somebody else’s perspective, they are not going to be adequately prepared in the real world,” he said.

The nonprofit analyzed several popular AI companions in a “ risk assessment,” finding ineffective age restrictions and that the platforms can produce sexual material, give dangerous advice and offer harmful content. The group recommends that minors not use AI companions.

A concerning trend to teens and adults alike

Researchers and educators worry about the cognitive costs for youth who rely heavily on AI, especially in their creativity, critical thinking and social skills. The potential dangers of children forming relationships with chatbots gained national attention last year when a 14-year-old Florida boy died by suicide after developing an emotional attachment to a Character. AI chatbot.

“Parents really have no idea this is happening,” said Eva Telzer, a psychology and neuroscience professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “All of us are struck by how quickly this blew up.” Telzer is leading multiple studies on youth and AI, a new research area with limited data.

Telzer’s research has found that children as young as 8 are using generative AI and also found that teens are using AI to explore their sexuality and for companionship. In focus groups, Telzer found that one of the top apps teens frequent is SpicyChat AI, a free role-playing app intended for adults.

Many teens also say they use chatbots to write emails or messages to strike the right tone in sensitive situations.

“One of the concerns that comes up is that they no longer have trust in themselves to make a decision,” said Telzer. “They need feedback from AI before feeling like they can check off the box that an idea is OK or not.”

Arkansas teen Bruce Perry, 17, says he relates to that and relies on AI tools to craft outlines and proofread essays for his English class.

“If you tell me to plan out an essay, I would think of going to ChatGPT before getting out a pencil,” Perry said. He uses AI daily and has asked chatbots for advice in social situations, to help him decide what to wear and to write emails to teachers, saying AI articulates his thoughts faster.

Perry says he feels fortunate that AI companions were not around when he was younger.

“I’m worried that kids could get lost in this,” Perry said. “I could see a kid that grows up with AI not seeing a reason to go to the park or try to make a friend.”

Other teens agree, saying the issues with AI and its effect on children’s mental health are different from those of social media.

“Social media complemented the need people have to be seen, to be known, to meet new people,” Nair said. “I think AI complements another need that runs a lot deeper — our need for attachment and our need to feel emotions. It feeds off of that.”

“It’s the new addiction,” Nair added. “That’s how I see it.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

NEW YORK (AP) — After five years of working long nights as a truck driver, Julius Mosley wanted a change. He found driving unfulfilling, and his teenage son needed him to spend more time at home.

So Mosley took a job as a customer service representative at a telecommunications company near his home. The employee benefits included being able to take job-related classes for free. He decided he wanted to study leadership so he could learn about managing teams and helping people become the best versions of themselves.

His company, Spectrum, paid for a 10-week front-line manager certificate program that Mosley went on to complete. Then it covered the tuition cost for a bachelor’s degree in leadership and organization studies that he’s currently pursuing. The company also promoted him to a management position while he took college courses online.

“It’s completely changed the course of my life,” Mosley said about the education benefit, which took care of his tuition up front instead of requiring him to pay and seek later reimbursement. “It’s truly a blessing to be able to do this.”

As higher education costs have grown to heights many U.S. residents find unattainable or illogical, some adults are looking to their employers for help defraying the expense of college and professional credentials. Nearly half of public and private employers have a tuition reimbursement program for employees, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM.

Many employers that provide tuition assistance reimburse staff members up to $5,250 per year because that amount is tax-deductible, said Amy Dufrane, CEO of the Human Resource Certification Institute, which offers credentials to HR professionals.

Some companies offer more, including Bank of America, which provides tuition assistance of up to $7,500 annually, and Spectrum which, in addition to its prepaid tuition program, reimburses employees earning master’s degrees or enrolled in classes that fall outside the scope of its prepaid program up to $10,000 per year.

“For companies who are looking to attract Generation Z and Millennials, it’s a great way to bring them in because they’re keenly interested in how companies are investing in them and the benefits that are available,” said Dufrane.

Because many college graduates start jobs after accumulating student loan debt, about 8% of employers also offer help with student loan repayment, according to James Atkinson, vice president of thought leadership at SHRM.

If continuing education feels out of reach financially or seems incompatible with job demands, experts say there are ways to explore the possibility, either by by making the case to your employer or seeking a position at a place that provides education benefits.

A pay-it-forward model

In traditional tuition reimbursement programs, employees lay out thousands of dollars to pay for tuition, books and fees at the start of a semester, and usually must complete the course with a passing grade before a company would kick in its contribution.

That means employees would often wait four to six months before being reimbursed, which only works for more affluent workers, said Paul Marchand, chief human resources officer at Spectrum.

“The person that can afford to put it on their credit card and sit with $3- or $4- or $5,000 of expenses due back to them and not be concerned about that cost, that is not our average worker,” Marchand said. “Our average worker is making $25, $28, $30 bucks an hour, maybe having a second job, maybe a single parent with kids, … and they’re important workers for us, and we want to help develop them and grow their careers.”

Spectrum launched a program that lets employees sign up for an array of certificates or college courses while paying nothing themselves. The eligible courses and where to take them came from Guild, a Denver company that works with employers on workforce development and tuition assistance.

Walmart offers a similar benefit to its front-line associates, who can enroll in college or certain classes without ever seeing an invoice, according to company spokesperson Jimmy Carter. The benefit also extends to family members of the employees, he said.

Help with loan repayment

As recent college graduates have struggled with debts from college, some employers have added student loan repayment programs as well as tuition assistance.

Morgan Woods, 29, a training analyst at semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries, graduated from college with a $20,000 debt load. Her employer is paying $125 per month toward her student loans, a sum that will increase over time.

Woods now expects to pay off her loans four years earlier than she anticipated doing on her own and hopes it will improve her options as she explores buying a house.

“The fact that I’m now ahead of where I thought I would be a little over a year ago is very nice to see,” she said.

Making the case

Not all employers offer education benefits, and when they do, they’re not always widely publicized. To find out if your employer offers such benefits, ask a manager or a human resources representative.

Show how a course or training directly relates to your role and how it would help you do your job more effectively, Dufrane advised. Even if there’s no formal tuition reimbursement program, your employer might have a training or professional development budget.

“If you’re taking on a stretch role or entering a new industry, you can advocate for training as part of your offer. Say something like, ‘I’d like to take a course to help me get up to speed in this area.’ In my experience, that shows initiative and employers often respect it,” Dufrane said.

You can also approach your boss and say, “I want to move up and I want to invest in myself. What recommendations do you have for me?” Dufrane added.

Finding the time

Fitting in classes, study sessions and paper writing can be daunting when holding down a full-time job, but there are ways to make it work.

Rene Sotolongo, a cybersecurity analyst at the Human Resource Certification Institute, earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity using tuition reimbursement benefits from his employer. To manage his time, he switched to working Monday through Thursday, studied on weeknights and dedicated Friday through Sunday to other schoolwork.

“Without the tuition reimbursement or the organization’s flexibility, there’s no way that I would be able to” earn advanced degrees, said Sotolongo, who is now pursuing a PhD with assistance from HRCI. “It’s rewarding in every aspect.”

Providing flexibility shows commitment to employees, Dufrane said. “You’ve got to be flexible around learning because people have parents they’re taking care of and kids they’re taking care of, and going home at night isn’t always the best time to be writing a paper,” she said.

Fitting in schoolwork while also meeting the needs of a son, a fiancee, a full-time job and a puppy has been challenging for Mosley, but it also provided a way to model studious behavior for his son.

“Instead of me just telling him he needs to do his, now he’s seeing me doing schoolwork, so that actually helped out with him wanting to do his work more,” Mosley said. “We actually take time to sit down together some days to work on our homework, so it’s been a life-changing situation.”

Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well

Born in Cincinnati, he was the son of William Seurkamp, a police officer, and his wife, Angie Elizabeth. As a high school student, he worked at Putnick’s hardware store and picked up skills in home repair, mechanics and construction. He attended Miami University in Ohio and earned a degree from SUNY Empire State in Rochester.

In 1959, he joined the Air Force and was stationed in Colorado and New Jersey. As an aircraft mechanic, he was assigned to Florida during the April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.

After leaving the military, he joined Xerox Corporation in Cincinnati. He worked his way up from service technician to management and held posts with the firm in Boston; Greenwich, Connecticut; and Rochester, New York.

He became Xerox’s manager of industrial relations and multinational customer service strategy. Mr. Seurkamp received the Xerox President’s Award.

He met his future wife, Mary Pat Reuwer, on a date arranged by friends.

“I suggested a lunch because I thought it would not take up too much time. Then, three hours later, we were still talking,” she said.

After retiring from Xerox, Mr. Seurkamp achieved a lifetime dream: to buy and run a marina. He owned and operated the East Bluff Harbor Marina on one of the Finger Lakes, Keuka Lake, in upstate New York.

“It was a lot of work for him,” his wife said. “He turned the marina around and wound up storing more than 300 boats over the winter.” Mr. Seurkamp also raced hydroplane craft and had earlier raced stock cars.

After his wife was named president of what is now Notre Dame of Maryland University in 1997, he became a presence at university events. They lived in Roland Park, and he assisted with her duties at home receptions and gatherings.

“So much of fundraising is about cultivating friendships, and that involves both partners,” his wife said. “People found Bob charming. I’d walk into a room and people would ask, ‘Where’s Bob?'”

Mr. Seurkamp also traveled with his wife to the Franz Mayer studio in Munich, Germany, to inspect work when the 19th-century stained-glass windows from the school’s Marikle Chapel of the Annunciation were restored.

“Bob’s commitment to his faith, his steadfast dedication to the Church’s mission in Baltimore and to Catholic education are truly commendable,” said Archbishop William Lori in a statement. “Mary Pat is a true pioneer in Catholic education, and Bob’s unwavering support of her work and accomplishments was evident in all that he did.”

After moving to Baltimore, Mr. Seurkamp started a consulting business in labor relations and strategic planning. He was also named executive director of the Maryland Governor’s Workforce Investment Board by Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

He collected Early American pottery, amassing a collection of more than 200 pitchers and teaching a course about this era of pottery-making. He and his wife later bought a home in Middle River on Sue Creek, which he rebuilt from the studs up. The residence housed his collection of American saltware and spongeware pottery pitchers.

Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Marikle Chapel of the Annunciation, Theresa Hall, on the campus of Notre Dame of Maryland University at 4701 N. Charles St.

Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Mary Pat Reuwer Seurkamp; two daughters, Kris Seurkamp Knauf, of Rochester, and Alison Brooke Pierce, of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania; a son, Robert Everett Seurkamp, of Halethorpe; and three sisters, Beverly Desmarais and Sharon Hunter, both of Clearwater, Florida, and Debi Gerbus of Cincinnati. His first wife, Joan Everett Seurkamp, died in 1972.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at jacques.kelly@baltsun.com and 410-332-6570.

Hopkins Press executive director Barbara Kline Pope shared these plans in an email to the publisher’s authors, as well as a summary of its rationale.

Chief among the reasons for this move was to increase the exposure of the work published by Hopkins Press, which Pope said would be “the best way to continue to engage with readers.”

She also said the publisher is concerned about AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude potentially scraping pirated content, and believes licensing work published by Hopkins is an effective way to ensure that work is used in a way that supports its authors and the press.

“Licensing our books to AI platforms helps authors’ work remain visible and influential as readers increasingly use generative AI for research and discovery,” Pope wrote in a statement shared with The Baltimore Sun.

“By partnering directly with these platforms, we hope to establish guardrails on how content is used and ensure that authors receive proper attribution.”

In her message, Pope added that authors published by Hopkins Press could opt out of licensing their work to be used by AI models, giving authors until Aug. 31 to do so.

According to its website, Hopkins Press publishes 110 journals and 150 new books each year, and maintains a backlist of more than 3,000 titles.

Have a news tip? Contact Mathew Schumer at mschumer@baltsun.com, 443-890-7423 and on X as @mmmschumer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy, and other programs.

President Donald Trump’s administration had suspended more than $6 billion in funding on July 1, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.

The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release the money. Congress had appropriated the money in a bill signed this year by Trump.

Last week, the Education Department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.

The Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week, the Education Department said.

Republican senators pressed the Trump administration to release the money

A group of 10 Republican senators on July 16 sent a letter imploring the administration to allow the frozen education money to be sent to states, saying the withheld money supported programs and services that are critical to local communities.

“The programs are ones that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Friday. She pointed to after-school and summer programs that allow parents to work while their children learn and classes that help adults gain new skills — contributing to local economies.

In withholding the funds, the Office of Management and Budget had said some of the programs supported a “ radical leftwing agenda. ”

“We share your concern,” the GOP senators had written. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”

School superintendents had warned they would have to eliminate academic services without the money. On Friday, AASA, an association of superintendents, thanked members of Congress for pressing to release the money.

Grants supported camps and other programs for working families

In Harford County, Maryland, some of the withheld federal money made up more than half the budget for the district’s annual summer camp for kids learning English. The money helps the district hire certified teachers to staff the camp, incorporating learning into children’s play for four weeks during the summer. The program helps kids keep their English and academic momentum over the summer.

The district serves roughly 1,100 students who are non-native English speakers. Many of them are born in the U.S. to parents who came to the area seeking job opportunities, often in the restaurants and warehouses that have popped up in the past decades in the region northeast of Baltimore. During the school year, the soon-to-be-released federal money pays for tutors for kids learning English.

On Thursday, more than 350 children filled the second floor of Bel Air High School for the second-to-last day of summer camp. Young learners crowded around an alphabet wheel, jostling with each other to push each letter button as they thought of foods starting with letters from A to Z.

Middle school students watched a robotics team demonstration, and a few sheepishly raised their hands when asked if they would be interested in joining. High school student volunteers, some of whom had been campers learning English themselves not many years ago, helped the youngest children with art projects.

The uncertainty around the funding was an unnecessary distraction for schools, said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa.

“Instead of spending the last many weeks figuring out how to improve after-school options and get our kids’ reading and math scores up, because of President Trump, communities across the country have been forced to spend their time cutting back on tutoring options and sorting out how many teachers they will have to lay off,” Murray said.

The grants that were under review included $2 billion for teachers’ professional development and efforts to reduce class size; $1 billion for academic enrichment grants, often used for science and math education and accelerated learning; $890 million for students who are learning English; $376 million to educate the children of migrant workers; and $715 million to teach adults how to read.

It added up to millions of dollars for the nation’s largest school districts. Data available from the Census for three of the grant programs — teacher development, academic enrichment, and bilingual education — shows the Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, received $62 million in the 2022-23 school year. Philadelphia’s school district got $28 million, while Miami’s got over $24 million.

Smaller districts got more modest amounts, but they still would have represented sizable gaps in their budgets. For example, schools in Burlington, Vermont; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; and Norristown, Pennsylvania, each got more than $300 per student from the same three grant programs.

Associated Press writer Sharon Lurye in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.