Quelcome: Fall Welcome Fest & Resource Fair

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025

3:00-6:00pm

Stamp Student Union Grand Ballroom

Quelcome is a long-running program of the LGBTQ+ Equity Center, in collaboration with the office of Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy (MICA) and the Department of Resident Life. It serves as an inclusive welcome for students, faculty, and staff of all gender identities and sexual orientations, and is a great way to have fun, meet new people, and learn about inclusive community resources, departments, and organizations on campus... and yeah, the swag is pretty great, too. We look forward to seeing you at this year's welcome fest and resource fair!

Stay tuned for event registration and tabling registration.

President Darryl Pines and Vice-President Georgina Dodge welcoming a smiling community member at the Quelcome program President pines is wearing a black suit and a red Maryland tie and sharking hands with a staff member wearing a white and colorful patterned shirt. They are both smiling. And Dr. Dodge is wearing a floral patterned dress. — President Pines and VP Dodge welcome a staff member at Quelcome.

Staff greet campus community members. They are smiling and handing out programmers to students checking in at the program. — Checking in at Quelcome 2024.

A Quelcome attendee holding up a colorful fan and smiling while other attendees browse the resource tables in the background. — Community members enjoying Quelcome.

Provost Rice posing for a photo with College of Educations staff members. The three are smiling for another camera. — Provost Rice tabling with College of Education Terps at Quelcome.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Quelcome is an opportunity for every corner of campus to demonstrate support and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people. Whether you run a small unit that serves a very specific population or are a campus-wide organization that boasts hundreds of members, your participation will serve as a visible representation of your organization, office, or department's work towards inclusion. Different from your typical Pride festival, here we center our commitment to making sure that each Terp belongs. At Quelcome, the UMD community shares resources and community-building opportunities (such as student organizations and faculty/staff collectives and departments) that exist at the university to promote academic, cultural, social, systemic, and interpersonal LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Among many other descriptors, Quelcome is a festival-style celebration, a community meet-up, and a "welcome and welcome back to campus" for LGBTQ+, and all, students, faculty, and staff. Participants will engage in a variety of activities and receive a formal Quelcome from the LGBTQ+ Equity Center, MICA, and UMD leaders. A variety of bites and sips will be served, and the community is encouraged to enjoy the entire event, have a chance to win prizes, and get the scoop on LGBTQ+ life at UMD.

In past years, tablers have shared information, given away swag, and generally served as a friendly and welcoming face. LGBTQ+ specific organizations and collectives often provide information about how their organization serves or supports LGBTQ+ people at UMD and the surrounding community. If you need help planning for your table, please reach out to lgbtq@umd.edu and we would be happy to help you plan.