Maine Perspective Front Page
Outstanding Graduating Students
College of Education and Human Development
The College of Education and Human Development Outstanding Student is Jamie Connor of Otis, a child development and family relations major with a minor in psychology. Connor attended the Beech Hill School and graduated from eighth grade as the only girl in a class of seven students. At Ellsworth High School, she graduated third in her class of 107, which distinguished her as First Honor Essayist at graduation. Connor enrolled at UMaine in 1994. She has made Dean's List every semester, is a member of Kappa Omicron Nu, and is graduating with a 3.84 GPA. Throughout her years at UMaine, Connor worked at the Child Development Learning Center. She did her student teaching with kindergarten students in Winterport and at the Learning Center. Connor has applied for graduate school at UMaine and plans to get her master's in literacy. Connor is the third member of her family to graduate from the University of Maine; her sister, Kellie Blackmer, received an associate degree in dental hygiene in 1991, and brother Steve, who graduated last year with a double major in international affairs and German, is currently teaching English for an international corporation in Japan. At UMaine, Connor met her husband-to-be, Matthew Johnson of Winterport, a mechanical engineering major. They plan to be married next summer.
College of Business, Public Policy and Health
Wendy Eckert, currently residing in Orono, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Business, Public Policy and Health. Eckert, a business major with a concentration in management, is graduating with a 3.99 GPA. Entering Miami U of Ohio immediately after high school, she enrolled at UMaine after a hiatus of 16 years. During this time, she and her former husband purchased a yacht charter business in Florida that they operated for eight years before selling it and sailing north to Maine with their two children. Eckert obtained a real estate license and operated two part-time businesses to finance her education. She says the biggest challenge in returning to higher education was juggling work and her responsibilities as student and single mom. As a former business owner, Eckert related much of her practical experience to the classroom. she says she recognized mistakes (made as a young entrepreneur), and ways she could have done things better. Eckert says some of her most memorable experiences occurred during a month in Kenya last year as one of 17 students from throughout the country participating in Friend's World, a program of global education for social change, affiliated with Long Island University. her observations in Kenya, particularly the cultural barriers that deny women equal opportunity and the negative impacts of uncontrolled economic development, significantly influenced Eckert's goals. She is exploring career opportunities in economic development, especially those that empower women. This includes management of nonprofit programs. While Eckert says she would again like to own a business one day, her aspirations are to give back by using her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to affect positive change somewhere.
College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Jennifer Fuller of West Paris is the recipient of the Bickford Prize, presented annually to the College's most outstanding student. While in school, Fuller, a human nutrition major, has worked as a laboratory assistant to Mary Ellen Camire, chair of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Two of the research projects she worked on through this position - using blueberry puree as a fat replacement, and surveying the participants of a local food pantry - will be presented at the 1998 annual meetings of the Institute of Food Technologists, and the Society for Nutrition Education, respectively. Through the honors program, she conducted research for an undergraduate thesis investigating how support networks influence infant feeding method decisions. She has submitted the abstract for this research for presentation at the 1998 annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association. Fuller has participated in several campus organizations, including Alpha Zeta professional honor society, Kappa Omicron Nu honor society, and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. As president of the Nutrition Club, she has transformed the organization into a vital student group and has motivated other students to work in the community to improve nutrition awareness. She also serves as the chair for the dean's student advisory committee for the College. Following graduation, she will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue a master's degree in public health and complete a dietetic internship, a necessary step to becoming a registered dietitian. Her goal is to use her education and experience in the field of maternal and infant nutrition as a public health dietitian.
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Scott Labby of Orono is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. After dropping out of high school during his junior year in 1989, Labby moved around the northeastern United States for a few years, ending up in Orono in 1992. Having earned a GED during this time, Labby enrolled in two UMaine CED courses (Astronomy 109 and Anthropology 101) in fall 1994. He was admitted to UMaine in January 1995 and will graduate with a history major and an anthropology minor. In addition to his outstanding work in the classroom while at UMaine, Labby has developed a tutoring and mentoring program for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and has worked as the director of the Bangor office of the Maine People's Alliance, a job that has allowed him to work with individuals and groups who share his interest in and passion for grassroots political organization and action. A Maine Campus columnist and avid reader who picked up the works of Stephen King at age 9, Labby has been offered admission to six of the country's most prestigious law schools and will enroll at Yale University Law School this fall. He has received a highly competitive Truman Scholarship to assist his pursuit of graduate education.
College of Engineering
Richard Mason of Industry is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Engineering. Mason attended Gorham High School where he was recognized as the top industrial arts student for three consecutive years. At the University of Southern Maine, he pursued a bachelor's degree in industrial arts. Three days before the start of his last semester in 1987, Mason was offered a full-time teaching position at Livermore Falls High School. That semester, he fulfilled his student teaching requirement by teaching six classes a day as the only industrial arts teacher in the school. The following year, he received the school's outstanding teaching award. Mason, who also teaches adult education classes and is a professional furniture maker, taught at Livermore High for eight years before joining the UMaine community to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering technology. Since 1996, he has been a Pulp and Paper Scholarship recipient. Mason also is a Holmes Scholar, and has been active in the student/professional societies of PIMA and TAPPI. He served as secretary and is now vice president of ASME, and is president of ASHRAE. Mason interned at International Paper in Jay last summer. After graduation, he will work full-time for International paper as a project engineer, and hopes one day to be a paper machine superintendent. He leaves UMaine with a GPA of 4.0.
Division of Lifelong Learning
Ann Soule of Greenbush is the recipient of the 1998 Outstanding Achievement Award for Lifelong Learning. The Award honors an undergraduate student who has demonstrated outstanding achievement academically and in enhancing the quality of life for the community and others. Soule is a senior majoring in human development and family relations. She enrolled in the Liberal Studies Program of University College of Bangor in 1986 as a part-time student, transferring to the University of Maine in her sophomore year. She expects to graduate in August. Soule has been a full-time UMaine employee since 1985. She worked first for Dining Services, then joined the support staff of the College of Education. She has been a secretary in the Center for Adult Learning and Literacy since 1993. Beginning in 1994, Soule became a member of the Support Staff Committee of the Women's Resource Center. The Committee laid the groundwork for establishment of the Classified Employees Advisory Council (CEAC) in 1996. Soule now serves on CEAC and the President's Council on Women. Such opportunities for leadership, both in the University community and in the classroom, have been empowering, says Soule. The experience has helped her to more effectively advocate for peers "who don't feel they have a voice" and has given her the confidence to address issues which are seen as more controversial.