Students in the Spotlight

  • Alper Kiziltas, Doctoral Student in Forest Resources, Receives Scholarship from the Society of Plastics Engineers

    Posted October 15, 2012

    Forest Resources Doctoral student Alper Kiziltas received a scholarship from the Society of Plastics Engineers’ Automotive and Composites Division for his plans to study the potential use of natural fillers to make automotive plastics. Kiziltas plans to explore the use of fillers such as wood flour, hemp and flax as replacements for materials like glass and carbon fibers in thermoplastics. Kiziltas conducts his research at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center and if he “is able to prove that thermoplastics with natural fillers can stand up to the stresses of higher heats without degrading, they could replace some materials used in ‘under-the-hood applications.’… the commonly held belief is that natural materials could be used only in thermoplastics with a low melting point, but his early research has shown otherwise.” Kiziltas will report on his research to the Society of Plastic Engineers in September of 2013. To read the Bangor Daily New article on Kiziltas, please click here. 

  • Kara Janes, Master of Social Work Student, Receives Best "Reality Check" Award from Family Caregiver Alliance

    Posted October 9, 2012

    Kara Janes, a Master of Social Work student, recently received the best “Reality Check” reward from Family Caregiver Alliance, a non-profit in San Francisco, for her experience spending 10 days at a nursing home in order to, “build empathy for her clients and enrich her clinical understanding of the long-term care environment.” The story of her time at the nursing home was also featured in the Bangor Daily News and in Silverwire, the newsletter of the UMaine Center on Aging. Kara’s experience was coordinated and evaluated through the “Learning and Living” project at the University of New England. Developed in 2006, the “Learning by Living” project places students in long-term care settings in order to develop their empathy, self-knowledge and clinical skills. Janes received a “diagnosis” of stroke, fully embraced her diagnosis, ate a pureed diet, and was assisted with her activities of daily living throughout her stay. She said of the experience, “The Kara Janes that entered Lakewood is not the Kara Janes that left Lakewood. I was truly blessed with the opportunity to be stripped away of everything. To be a nothing and a nobody. I had the good fortune to receive this life-altering event. While battling so many emotions I was gently led by such kind souls on a journey I will never forget. I know this journey has had not only an impact on my personal life but also on my social work. I can only hope that I will be able to guide others with a gentle soul and golden heart in order for them to discover their strengths and kind souls.” To read the Bangor Daily News story please go here.  

  • Robin Barstow, Master of Social Work Student, is United Way's Featured Volunteer May 2012

    Posted October 9, 2012

    University of Maine Master of Social Work student Robin Barstow was United Way’s Featured Volunteer for the month of May in 2012. She is a member of United Way of Eastern Maine’s Mentor, Tutor, Reader Drive. United Way described Robin as one of their “finest volunteers” and “one of our top partners in the community working to prevent substance abuse.” As part of her Social Work program Barstow interned at Greater Old Town Communities That Care tutoring middle school students. Barstow says that “the research has found that the presence of ‘one caring adult’ is enough to have a profoundly positive effect upon a child who is facing a multitude of other risk factors.” The Mentor, Tutor, Reader Drive is a group of volunteers who work with children to help them make good decisions through the mentoring and tutoring process. Barstow also said about her experience, “A very effective general protective intervention is tutoring and the bond children form with a caring adult. Just as emotionally traumatic events can tear apart the fabric of individual psyches and families, emotions can also act as powerful catalysts for healing. In my experience, positive words and good role models have great power to elevate us all to what we really want.” For more information about this, please click here. 

  • Master of Arts in English Student, Brad Beauregard, Named Winner of Glimmer Train Stories January Competition

    Posted September 26, 2012 

    Brad Beauregard, Master of Arts in English student, has been named winner of the national Glimmer Train Stories January Competition for his short story “What’s Kept.” Glimmer Train Stories is described as, “One of the most respected short-story journals in print” and is a quarterly magazine that receives nearly 40,000 submissions per year. Beauregard, originally from Skowhegan, ME, is pursuing a concentration in creative writing and has also received an Abby Sargent Neese Scholarship in Creative Writing and a Steve Grady Award for fiction. For more information, please go here.  

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