May 2017

Upward Bound recognized its graduating high school students during a special ceremony at their UB Saturday event in May. Here, UMPI Upward Bound Bridge class members are recognized. Students apply and are accepted to a program designed to be the bridge from high school to college. Students take a college class (credits transfer to their school of choice), participate in an internship program and a final cultural trip as a capstone to their UB experience.

With entries in the categories of avant-garde, formal wear, casual wear, and children’s wear, the 2nd annual Trash to Fashion Show, hosted by UMPI’s Studio 923 Art Club was a smash hit. The show, complete with a runway to better view the unique fashion pieces, featured the work of nearly a dozen students and community members. The non-traditional fashion show was created to raise awareness of the importance of recycling, how waste impacts the land, and caring for the world we inhabit. Congratulations to all of the participants of this year’s show for their incredibly creative work!

UMPI welcomed a packed house to this year’s Accepted Students Day, which featured a mini volleyball tournament, incredible representation from faculty, students, Athletics and all student services offices, tours from the Campus Center through the CIL and Folsom/Pullen and Gentile, and a great lunch. More than 300 students, parents and friends passed through the campus buildings and grounds and saw a campus community dedicated to their success.  Here’s to the Class of 2021!

Nearly 60 students received awards, scholarships, and other academic honors during this year’s Awards Ceremony. For the complete list of honorees,  please visit umpi.edu/academics/awards-ceremony.

Campus community members cleaned, pruned, raked and swept the facilities and grounds on April 28 in honor of the 3rd Annual UMPI Day. The event gives students, faculty and staff a chance to take pride in the University campus while celebrating spring and the end of the academic year. The morning filled with clean-up projects was followed by the annual UMPI Appreciation BBQ and the Spring Formal where the theme this year was New York, New York.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will be hosting its summer American Red Cross Blood Drive on Tuesday, June 13 from Noon to 5 p.m. in the Campus Center. The blood drive is sponsored by the UMPI Dean of Students Office, Phi Eta Sigma—National Honor Society and the UMPI Red Cross Club. Walk-ins are welcome, both campus and community members, and door prizes will be given away. If donors wish to reserve a time in advance, they should call 1-800-RED-CROSS or sign up online at www.redcrossblood.org. Just click on “Search by Zip Code” and enter 04769. Each year, the campus helps the Red Cross coordinate three blood drives on campus, one in the summer, one in the fall, and one in the spring. Since 1987, nearly 5,100 pints of blood have been collected at UMPI. Volunteers are also needed to assist with the blood drive. This will be the 52^nd and last blood drive that retired Dean of Students Jim Stepp will be coordinating. Anyone interested should email Jim Stepp at jimandbeckystepp@gmail.com.

Congratulations to April Student of the Month Maddy Ireland, who is a senior majoring in Athletic Training. In addition to her own studies, she spends much of her time assisting other students through tutoring in AT and PTA courses, but also in biology, English, history, and basic Spanish. During her senior year, Maddy was promoted to Peer Accommodator, which liaises among Disability Services, faculty, and students to schedule, manage and proctor exams for students with disabilities.

Ireland is president of UMPI’s Athletic Training Organization. She is also a member of the Red Cross Club and Biomedical Club. She designed, organized, and presented a successful State Symposium for all AT students in the State of Maine in Fall 2016, at which she was also a speaker. She is CNA, CPR, and AED certified. Ireland is an exemplary student and employee and a person with high professional integrity. She will be continuing her education at Washburn University, in Topeka, Kansas, in the Diagnostic Sonography Technician Program. Congratulations again, Maddy!

The UMPI Relay for Life team has been working hard to raise funds and would like to remind everyone of the upcoming events. The Aroostook Relay for Life will be happening on June 16 and 17 and the team are still looking for team members. If you are interested in joining, please contact Laurie Boucher at laurie.boucher@maine.edu or Lisa Leduc at lisa.leduc@maine.edu.

The team is still selling raffle tickets for a travel package that is valued over $900 and includes 2 round-trip tickets from PI to Boston on PenAir, luggage, a Kindle Fire, gift certificates and much more. Tickets are 1 for $1, 7 tickets for $5, or 15 tickets for $10. Tickets will be on sale right up until the night of Relay when they will draw the winner. Tickets are available in the Student Financial Services Office.

If you have any returnable bottles that you would like to donate, please contact Laurie and she will come by and get them.

If you would like to buy a luminaria bag or two, please see Laurie or Lisa to pick them up or let them know who you might want them for and they will decorate them for you. They are $10 each and will be placed along the track at Relay in honor of someone who has cancer or in memory of someone who has passed away from this terrible disease.

If you would like to donate to the UMPI Owl Relay for Life Team or a certain team member, you can do it here:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY17NE?team_id=2108409&pg=team&fr_id=80885.

And, last but not least, yes, they will be doing their Annual Relay for Life Garage Sale at Kim-Anne Perkins’ home on July 21 and 22. If you have items you would like to donate, you can drop them off at Kim-Anne’s starting July 17.

The 2017 UMPI Senior Class held a very successful silent auction in April to help raise funds for their Senior Banquet prior to graduation. The hot items were the gift certificates that had been donated and the class raised over $500. They would also like to thank the campus for their support.

William “Bill” J. Lothrop, retired Assistant Professor of Math here at UMPI, recently passed away. Bill started his teaching career at UMPI in 1967, teaching courses such as Algebra-Trigonometry, Principles of Mathematics, and College Mathematics I. He retired from full-time teaching in 2008. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Joan Lothrop, his daughter Carrie Reed, and son Ben. Ben and Carrie have asked that donations in their father’s memory be provided to the University in support of the Mathematics-Science Academic Achievement Scholarship. Please contact Debbie Roark at deborah.roark@maine.edu for further information.

UMPI student Samantha Riding used pictures taken in the “pin-hole” camera room 311E of the UMPI Art Department during March and April for her University Day presentation. This kind of early camera was often referred to as a “camera obscura.” The image is a naturally occurring optical phenomenon when light rays that are reflected off an object pass through a small hole or aperture resulting in an image of that object that is inverted and reversed when those light rays strike the wall behind. This idea was further developed with the introduction of light sensitive paper and glass lenses into the camera we know in the 19^th century.

The Aroostook Youth Tri Club began hosting “Tri” Fridays starting Friday, May 12, from 3 – 5 p.m. This 5-week youth triathlon training class helps participants to prepare for the Aroostook Youth Triathlon being held in June. MSAD #1 is transporting students by bus to UMPI, where they take part in stretching, running, and swimming activities. Included in the $25 cost of the class is training, snacks, coaching, T-shirt and registration for the Youth Triathlon in June. Registration can be completed online at www.msad1.coursestorm.com; space is limited. The Aroostook Youth Triathlon, to be held on June 17, will be open to non-club members at $10 per participant. The deadline to register for the triathlon is June 9. To register or for more information, visit www.aroostookyouthtri.org, or www.facebook.com/aroostookyouthtri.