Thousands of students at Maine college and university campuses around the state took part in commencement ceremonies Saturday.
All of the University of Maine System campuses celebrated their students, totaling 6,175 who were eligible to receive their degrees or certificates. There were 2,800 at the University of Maine alone, and 1,635 at the University of Southern Maine, which are the two largest campuses.
USM celebrated its 144th commencement in Portland. University President Jacqueline Edmondson made remarks and there were addresses by student speaker Hamido Hassan, who is a clinical mental health major, and featured speaker Tom Caron, a well-known sportscaster with New England Sports Network, member of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame and a native of Lewiston. The school also conferred an honorary degree to Lyndel J. “Joe” Wishcamper, who has owned or developed more than 15,000 units of affordable housing across the country.
The University of Maine at Augusta graduated more than 550 students and featured Grace Leavitt, president of the Maine Education Association as the commencement speaker. The school also awarded the following: the Kathleen Dexter Distinguished Student Award to Allison Winship of Hodgdon who earned a Bachelor of Science in veterinary technology and was the student speaker; Distinguished Alumni to Rhonda DeContie, magistrate judge and clerk of courts of the Penobscot Nation Judicial System; Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
To Wendy Alt, executive director of the MELMAC Education Foundation, member of the Maine State Board of Education and a former legislator; Emeritus of Biological Sciences to Bob Klose, who is a marine biologist; and Emeritus of Music to Richard (Rick) Nelson, guitarist and composer and head of the Sonic Arts and Composition Concentration at UMA.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle celebrated its 115th commencement Saturday with Cathie Pelletier, author and County native, delivering the address. She and David McCrea, former state representative, educator and UMPI alumnus, received Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees.
The University of Maine at Fort Kent held its 142nd commencement ceremony Saturday at the school’s Sports Center. Kathryn Olmstead, a writer who lives in Caribou and who has a long history with the university. She was Associate Professor Emerita of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine, served 25 years on their journalism faculty, the last six as associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The University of Maine at Farmington held its commencement ceremony off campus Saturday at the outdoor Narrow Gauge Amphitheater behind Narrow Gauge Cinemas in downtown Farmington. Best-selling Maine author Monica Wood was the commencement speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Maine Maritime Academy in Castine held its 81st commencement on Saturday too, with U.S. Sen. Angus King as the keynote speaker.
