February’s First Friday Art Walk started on the quiet second floor of the Center for Innovative Learning on the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus. Everyone viewed featured artist Owen Smith’s art and talked in hushed voices. Despite the quiet, the room had excitement buzzing throughout the air. There were pieces on display that one wouldn’t expect to see on the Reed Art Gallery walls. One consisted of a large collection of different scissors entitled “A Morphological Study of Potential Terrorist Acts.” Another was a collection of different variations of “Starry Night” by Van Gough that Smith bought from many different artists online.
Author: University Times
A Belly Laugh Kind of Night
The atmosphere in Wieden Auditorium on Feb. 3 was full of excitement. Roughly 100 people gathered in the auditorium to watch Josh Johnson, a stand-up comedian from Fort Worth, Texas, perform. Despite bad weather and the campus being closed from 3 p.m. onward, Johnson made it safely to UMPI and was eagerly waiting to perform.
Behind the College of Arts and Sciences
For about a year, Pamela Easler has been a part of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. She does many different things to help it run smoothly. Her job is not one specific task. It is several and not always the same every day. Everything she does keeps her very busy. This ranges anywhere from keeping track of budget spending to helping other people accomplish their duties. “I provide administrative support for full-time and adjunct faculty.” She does all of this while maintaining close relationships with the faculty. This includes 23 full-time and (depending on the class schedule) around 30 adjunct faculty.
Have You Met the Seniors Achieving Greater Education?
March is almost here. Soon the senior citizens, the “grandparents,” will arrive in droves. They have been coming onto the campus at this time of year for almost two decades.
Continue reading “Have You Met the Seniors Achieving Greater Education?”
A Hero Among Us
When we are walking through the University of Maine Presque Isle campus, there is a hero among us: Saint the service dog. Dr. Jacqui Lowman, known as Dr. J. to her students, has had Saint since August of 2010. Dr. J. was born with health and physical challenges caused in part by her spina bifida. Saint is her first service dog. When asked why this was she said, “I always thought that other people needed a service dog more than I do. That one day it would be bad enough that I would need a service dog. When I asked my doctor when that day would come she said, “‘Birth.’” On that day Dr. J. learned that a service dog could be of use to her now, that she needed one and that she had deserved one from the moment she was born.
Emergency Preparedness Is Everyone’s Job
Do you remember the ice storm of ’98? If you were living in New England at the time, it was an event that is pretty difficult to forget. This natural disaster left most Mainers without power for weeks. The storm also cost millions of dollars in clean-up and repair to damaged homes and businesses. For the short term, the storm taught many Mainers just how unprepared they were to weather such a storm. It has been 20 years and the ice storm is just a memory but it could quickly become the present. Are Mainers prepared?
Find a Slice of Pizza, Find a Slice of Home
Located on U.S. Route 1 in Monticello, Maine, is a small convenience store that sells everything you might possibly need in a pinch including groceries, household supplies and gasoline. It also has a large variety of takeout options including pizzas, subs, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, French fries, onion rings and so much more. To many, the Monticello Country Store looks like any small town store. But to the people of Monticello, the store is much more than that.
Continue reading “Find a Slice of Pizza, Find a Slice of Home”
Life as a Fast Food Crew Member
Some people think that working in fast food is an easy job. One of the reasons is that workers get paid minimum wage. In reality, most fast food jobs are actually really difficult and stressful. People may think of it as “getting paid $7.50 an hour to flip burgers,” but it’s so much more than that.
An Author’s Story
His name is Daniel Wayne Corey III and he is a writer. He stands seemingly beaten down but with a determination in his eyes in a room that seems to transport you to a world of fantasy. Starting from the beginning he tells his story. It all started when his sixth grade teacher placed a picture at the end of the classroom each week and had the class write a story about it. He ended up liking it and continued to write despite being made fun of and laughed at by everyone including his family. “After that I read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ which gave me even more inspiration to write.”
Stabilization Funds to Close $2.3M Deficit
Swift action from UMPI’s president and faculty helped soften a blow to the campus’s pocketbook. Thanks to an increase in student enrollment and help from the University of Maine System, UMPI is back on track to a stabilized budget.
Continue reading “Stabilization Funds to Close $2.3M Deficit”