September 2017

Students at the University of Maine at Presque Isle collaborated with TAMC’s Aroostook Health Center in Mars Hill on a unique writing project that took them out of the classroom. Three students from Dr. Deborah Hodgkins’ Creative Nonfiction Workshop course—Virginia White, Megan King, and Melissa Lizotte—travelled to TAMC’s long-term care facility to interview patients about their life experiences so they could write biographical profile stories based on the interviews. The students then returned to Mars Hill to present their finished profiles to the patients they interviewed. The patients expressed gratitude for the hard work that the students put into their biographical profiles. TAMC officials also appreciated the time and effort that went into this project.

The UMPI Relay Team held its annual garage sale and this year’s event was a great successful. The 2017 garage sale was the biggest one the group has had, both for items received and money collected, and they raised a grand total of $2,177.25. The team would like to thank everyone who donated items. Please think of them if you are doing some cleaning and have items that you can put aside for the sale next year.

The Team’s second event was a LuLaRoe Fundraiser. Paige Doody, an UMPI alumna, sells the popular clothing and has a portable trailer that she brought to campus on Aug. 23 for some “Back to School Shopping for Adults!” She brought plenty of inventory and also had some new styles on hand. Door prizes were also given out. Doody donated a percentage of the profits to the team and an additional $300 was raised.

UMPI and Taco Bell hosted local hometown favorite Ryan Gartley, with two of his friends in tow, for a fundraising comedy show to benefit future renovations to the Auditorium in Wieden Hall. Ryan Gartley & Friends featured County native Ryan Gartley, Riley Hamel—a newcomer to the comedy scene, and Kyle Crawford, a blue collar comic who has performed in shows all over New England as well as for troops in the South Pacific. Both Gartley and Crawford have been featured on the internationally syndicated talk show The Steve Katsos Show.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle celebrated Constitution Day by partnering with WUPI 92.1 FM on a radio project on Monday, Sept. 18. Students, faculty, staff, and community members were invited to observe Constitution Day by reading small sections of the U.S. Constitution and sharing what the Constitution meant to them. Their words were recorded and edited into a short Constitution Day radio piece to air on WUPI. Pocket–sized printed copies of the U.S. Constitution were distributed during the event as well.

Seniors Achieving Greater Education [SAGE] hosted its 20^th Anniversary Fall Kick-off event on Friday, Sept. 8 in the Campus Center. SAGE is a special program of the University of Maine at Presque Isle that serves local residents over 50 and believes in “learning for life.” At the kick-off, the founding members were recognized and a performance of the brand new SAGE song, written by Gary Bowden, was performed. The SAGE fall session will run between Sept. 26 and mid-November. Membership in SAGE is $22 per session or $43 for both fall and spring sessions.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Red Cross Club hosted the campus’ annual fall blood drive on Sept. 20. Members of the campus and community were invited to participate in this free event. Since 1987, UMPI has collected more than 5,100 pints of blood through blood drives that are done in the spring, summer and fall.

The Rotary Club of Houlton held its annual dinner to close out the 2016-17 fiscal year on June 19th.  During this event, many awards and recognitions were presented.  One such award was the 2016-17 President’s Award. Club President, Matthew Nightingale, honored the Literacy Committee, which is co-chaired by Rotarians Otis Smith, Linda Faucher (Librarian, Cary Library), and Tracy Rockwell (Director, Houlton Higher Education Center).  Other members include Rotarians Joyce Fitzpatrick, Paul Callnan, and Craig Bean; Literacy Specialist for Houlton’s Southside School, Janet Murakami; and HHEC’s Professional Advisor, Jean Henderson.
In addition to being recognized for their work supporting family literacy in Southern Aroostook County, the committee was also presented with a $1,500 donation for the purchase of additional children’s books.  Books are distributed to children for their reading enjoyment, specifically focusing on the periods when school is not in session, like summer or over the December break.  HHEC’s students, faculty, and staff have passed out more than 1,200 books during Houlton’s Annual Light Parade and during the Summer Book Swap program over the last two years.

UMPI is looking for alumni and friends in the central Aroostook County area to be a host for the University’s Community Connections program. This new program matches hosts and new UMPI students together. As a host, you will share your love of the area and your UMPI experience, spending a couple of hours each month with your student over dinner, attending a basketball game, etc. This is an opportunity for you to be able to help students new to the area become acclimated to “The County” and to college life. This is not a live-in program. For more details and to sign up, please contact Becky Stepp, UMPI Alumni Board, Community Connections Coordinator, at umpi-alumni@maine.edu.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Houlton Higher Education Center took part in soap box racing as they co-sponsored a car in the annual Northern Maine Soap Box Derby race in June at Houlton’s Community Park. Frank Thompson, UMPI Assistant Professor of Psychology, assisted in refurbishing the UMPI/HHEC car and Meysha Dahlk, from Monticello, drove the car. The car is now on display in the Campus Store.

UMPI student Bonnie Corey presented a talk at the Future Arctic-Bryophytes and Lichens conference on the research she is participating in with UMPI faculty Judith Roe and Larry Feinstein and UMFK faculty Peter Nelson, entitled Population Genetics of Two Lichen Species on Talus Slopes in Deboullie in Northern Maine. The conference was held in May at Forêt Montmorency and was sponsored by Université Laval, Québec.

As part of Gentile Hall’s Week of Wellness celebration Sept. 25-29 at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, faculty, staff and the public are invited to various events taking place during the week. On Monday, Sept. 25, there will be a fitness orientation on the strength machines in the Fitness Center from 8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. On Tuesday, Sept. 26, everyone can participate in a new fitness class called Fusion. It is a combination of Yoga, Pilates, and Barre in the Campus Center, Room 112 from 12:15 p.m.–1 p.m. Bring your own mat if you want or there will be some available. On Wednesday, Sept. 27, there will be blood pressure screening at Gentile Hall with Kyle St. Peter from 8:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. On Thursday, Sept. 28 there will be a Bosu Ball training clinic at 4 p.m. at Gentile Hall, and on Friday, Sept. 29 there will be a presentation on sleep also presented by Kyle St. Peter at 4 p.m. in the Alumni Room in the Campus Center. FMI on all of these events, please contact Keli Marston at 768-9773 or 768-1202.