{"id":4776,"date":"2017-04-21T09:49:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T13:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=4776"},"modified":"2025-07-01T13:09:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:09:21","slug":"lizotte-prepares-to-graduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2017\/04\/21\/lizotte-prepares-to-graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Lizotte Prepares to Graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n\u201cMy major goal is to write fiction,\u201d Melissa Lizotte said as to why she chose to attend UMPI as an English major with a concentration in writing. \u201cI wanted to see what I could do as a writer,\u201d she reflected. Currently a senior, she chose to go to UMPI because of the affordability and convenience of a school so close to her home in Presque Isle.<\/p>\n

While attending UMPI Lizotte has been deeply involved in both the University Times and Upcountry. She joined the University Times to learn more about journalism and while being a member of the club she was brought out of her comfort zone and was able to learn many new skills. \u201cIf I could learn to write for a newspaper I would have that as an option for a career,\u201d Lizotte said. \u00a0As for Upcountry, Melissa has thoroughly enjoyed being a co-editor. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten to be co-editor for two years. It taught me what it\u2019s like to edit a literary journal,\u201d Lizotte said. She also expressed thanks for having such a wonderful opportunity. It really taught her the ins and outs of a literary journal and being able to read people\u2019s submissions helped her learn about her own writing and how she could grow as a writer.<\/p>\n

Lizotte refers to Professional Communication and Journalism (PCJ) and Film as her \u201cunofficial minors.\u201d Since she began taking film classes with professor Richard Zuras, who is also the advisor of Upcountry, films and T.V shows have become a favorite hobby. She enjoys directors\u2019 styles and the way films relate to and inform her writing. She especially enjoys HBO shows, specifically \u201cSix Feet Under,\u201d since taking so many film classes she has also developed her appreciation for dark humor.\u00a0\u00a0 “Melissa has done superb work in my film and creative writing classes, and has taken her co-editorship of Upcountry very seriously. She is poised for success in whatever she does due to her immense talents, her positive attitude, and most importantly her shining work ethic. Melissa has been a model student,” Zuras said. Lizotte has especially enjoyed Zuras\u2019 workshop classes saying that they\u2019re very influential and helpful with learning what she can improve in her writing.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jacquelyn Lowman, PCJ professor and advisor of the U Times said \u201cit\u2019s been such a treat and a pleasure working with Melissa over the past three years. I\u2019ve had her in numerous classes and she\u2019s been a mainstay for the U Times.\u201d Lizotte has been writing for the U Times since the spring of her sophomore year which was her first encounter with journalistic writing. \u201cTaking PCJ classes, along with creative writing, has given me some of the best experiences during my time at UMPI,\u201d said Lizotte. \u201cJournalism has a completely different structure than creative writing.\u00a0 With news stories especially, there’s more focus on giving readers the essential information that they need to know about an event or person.\u201d Lizotte has also been a freelance writer for Northeast Publishing since April 2015 focusing mainly on a column called County Faces. County Faces profiles people of Aroostook County and Lizotte is thankful for the opportunity.\u00a0 \u201cI never thought I would get this much professional writing experience as an undergraduate, so I’m thankful that Northeast Publishing has given me the chance to experience what the journalism field is like,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lizotte has been applying for communication and media relations jobs in the area, though her passion will always be fiction. \u201cMagazine freelancing is something that I could see myself continuing as I advance in my career,\u201d Lizotte added about her future plans. No matter what she hopes to always have time for her fiction writing, whether it be part of her job, or something she fills her personal time with. She described herself as stubborn, saying \u201cI don\u2019t like to give up that easy.\u201d She also uses the word passionate in regard to herself, and as soon as you get to know her it\u2019s clear that this passion flows into everything she does. She\u2019s enjoyed UMPI\u2019s small size, describing how she\u2019s gotten to watch fellow classmates grow as students and as people throughout her years here, \u201cI hope they have a similar view,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelissa writes like an angel , but she is much more than that. She is quiet but don\u2019t let that fool you: she has great strength of character, passion and is a born advocate.\u201d Said Dr. Lowman. There\u2019s no doubt that Lizotte\u2019s willpower and positive attitude will take her far in her life after UMPI. As Lizotte prepares to graduate she uses her experiences from her years at UMPI to leave advice for other students, \u201ctake advantage of different opportunities in your major\u2026 get involved in what\u2019s related to what you want to do.\u201d Lizotte said \u201cEnglish majors especially, don\u2019t get discouraged, there are many misconceptions\u2026 Go for it! If that really is your passion you\u2019ll make it work\u2026put all your effort into trying to be a better writer.\u201d After a successful career at UMPI Lizotte prepares to open a new chapter of her promising life in the world of English. Dr. Lowman\u00a0 has this to say, \u201cUMPI will be poorer without Melissa. But it\u2019s time for her to go share her light with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

IDK, it seems like a weird sentence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy major goal is to write fiction,\u201d Melissa Lizotte said as to why she chose to attend UMPI as an English major with a concentration in writing. \u201cI wanted to see what I could do as a writer,\u201d she reflected. Currently a senior, she chose to go to UMPI because of the affordability and convenience […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8853,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776\/revisions\/8853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}