Moore promotes start of pilot year for Md. service year program

In a pep rally-like event at the University of Maryland, College Park that featured a college band, school cheerleaders and impassioned remarks about the power of public service, Gov. Wes Moore on Friday promoted the launch of the “pilot year” for what he has said is a first–in-the-nation state-government-sponsored service option for recent high school graduates.

The governor, administration officials and UMD President Darryll Pines heaped praise on the 280 members that comprise the program’s first cohort and highlighted the role that public service has played in shaping their own professional development.

“I felt needed. I felt relevant. I felt like I mattered,” Moore said of his exposure to service after his mother sent him to military school in his early teens.

State officials hope the program, seen as an alternative to pursuing a college education or career and technical training immediately after finishing high school, will channel young people into public service, strengthen the pipeline of workers for state and local governments and expand the state’s service opportunities.

The governor said the launch of the program, which was one of his central campaign promises, also provided a bright spot on a trying day that began with he and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller attending funerals for public servants who died in recent days — Baltimore firefighter Rodney Pitts III, who died in the line of duty last week, and Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, who was shot to death in his driveway last week.

Lt. Dillon Rinaldo, a firefighter also injured in the fire that killed Pitts, died from his injuries days later.

Program participants, most but not all of whom have been partnered with the organization, business or agency that will host them, completed orientation and introductory training and events during the past week.

Charles Richardson Jr., a 19-year-old from Riverdale, will be helping military personnel returning from deployment during his time with the UMD-based Center for Social Value Creation.

Richardson, whose mother told him to apply for the program, was a junior ROTC member in high school and has high respect for those who serve in the military. He wanted to help those returning from deployment, saying they’re an underserved community.

“I have no prior experience in a setting like that,” Richardson said to reporters before the governor’s event began. “It’ll definitely give me a lot of opportunities to network, meet the right people and hopefully grow and be able to move on.”

The service year option is available to Maryland residents ages 18 to 21 who’ve received a high school diploma or completion certificate, or who’ve earned a GED certificate in the state.

Program members will work at least 30 hours per week and make no less than $15 per hour while receiving job training and professional development from the organization for which they’re working.

Those who complete the nine-month program will also be eligible for $6,000 toward tuition or as a stipend.

Two program participants will be starting Monday at Sunflower Bakery, a nonprofit organization in Rockville that provides workforce development training to young people with learning differences.

“We’re lean and mean. They’re gonna get a taste of our entire organization,” Executive Director Jody Tick said to reporters following the governor’s event.

In addition to working for a working bakery, the two service year members at Sunflower Bakery will gain experience with professional development, fundraising and administrative skills, Tick said.

Joining Tick to speak to reporters were Alex Núñez, senior vice president of governmental, regulatory and external affairs for BGE and state Del. Dana Stein, a Baltimore County Democrat who is also the executive director of the Baltimore nonprofit Civic Works, which offers job and skills training and community service.

More than 100 employers, including nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses, public agencies and schools, applied to host program participants.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office was unable to provide a complete list of the organizations and agencies that will be hosting participants, saying that the names of all host partners will be released when all service year members have received their match.

The inaugural cohort also includes members of the Maryland Corps Program, established in 2016 to provide paid service opportunities to help high school graduates transition to postsecondary education or the workforce.

When Moore signed the service year option into law in April, the Maryland Corps Program still hadn’t made it off the ground.

Lawmakers restructured Maryland Corps in 2022 under Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, but the program didn’t receive any funding.

The Maryland Corps Program isn’t limited to recent high school graduates of a certain age, and the state is expected to prioritize people from historically marginalized communities who want to work in public and community service.

Maryland Corps members will have most of the same responsibilities and benefits as participants in the service year program, including at least $15 hourly pay and $6,000 for tuition or as a cash stipend upon completion, though they won’t be required to work at least 30 hours per week.