Maine Perspective Front Page
Commencement 1999
Judy and Beth Round
Mother and daughter Judy and Beth Round began taking classes at UMaine within a semester or two of each other, and now both will receive their degrees during May Commencement.
Their concurrent academic careers began a decade ago.
"We came full circle together," says Beth, "both of us working through our trials and tribulations at the same time. Graduation is a big thing for both of us."
The two women were at very different places in their lives when they started taking classes at UMaine. Judy had joined the University community as a member of the support staff in the Registrar's Office in 1984. She began taking classes part time in 1989 - more than 25 years after completing a year of coursework at Husson College.
An active volunteer, Judy's service to the University community through the years has included chairing the Combined Charitable Appeal Campaign and serving as president of the Professional Employee Advisory Council.
"Until I started taking classes, I just always felt that there was something missing," says Judy, now coordinator of communications and assistant to the dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture. "Working toward a degree enabled me to advance in my career. Taking the first step was the biggest challenge. Like a lot of people who don't go right to college out of high school, I was not as confident in what I could do. It was a decision to take the plunge and know I'm doing it because it's important."
Beth, who had just graduated from high school, took classes full time for three semesters in 1990. Then she left UMaine to attend Pierre's School of Beauty in Portland. In 1994, she returned to the University to study art.
"When I first came back to school, I started by taking classes I would enjoy," says Beth. "One was creative writing with Elaine Ford, who recommended me to be a peer writing tutor. That was a huge turning point for me. I was an art major and would not have stayed in English had it not been for that recommendation. Almost everything I've done since then had something to do with that experience."
Beth is an artist. And she is a writer. These days, she is in non-stop pursuit of "the way to express ideas, images, people, dialogue." Her thesis, a work of fiction under the advisement of Professor of English Constance Hunting, is titled Ironwood. She also works at Puckerbrush Press. This summer, she will work as community service coordinator for Upward Bound on campus.
This May, Beth will receive a master's degree in English. Judy will receive a bachelor's degree in University studies, with a minor in history.
"If kids go off to school, there's the whole experience of them coming home cocky, pretending to know more than their parents," says Beth, a third-generation UMaine grad. "I never had a chance to do that. Instead, I could share my experiences and my Mom knew what I was putting into my coursework and what it all meant."
Judy had enough credits to receive her bachelor's degree in December. Her husband, Michael, insisted that all the family be in Orono for the event, which meant postponing until May. Among those in the audience the day of graduation will be Judy's 16-year-old son, two older children and two grandchildren, and her mother.
"We have a long history with the University - my husband, sister, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law graduated from UMaine, and many family members worked on campus. The University is important to us. We care a lot about it," Judy says.
"I now feel I completed something I started a long time ago."