{"id":7352,"date":"2022-11-29T09:48:13","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T14:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=7352"},"modified":"2025-08-13T19:51:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T23:51:46","slug":"honoring-the-hearts-that-make-up-aroostook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2022\/11\/29\/honoring-the-hearts-that-make-up-aroostook\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring the Hearts That Make Up Aroostook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

  Remember when…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For homecoming, the University of Maine at Presque Isle held activities for students and community members to come together to celebrate our love for the county. One special three-part event on Wednesday, Sept. 21, captured the heart of Aroostook through the written words of active community supporters who were guest speakers for the evening. All guest speakers spoke of their admiration for the county and the work of guest speaker Ray Gauvin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ray is a Vietnam War veteran and author of a new memoir. \u201cAs did many of my fellow Vietnam veterans, I fought more than one war. My assignment in Saigon. The aftermath of Agent Orange. And finally, there was \u2018Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,\u2019\u201d Ray said. Ray was diagnosed with severe and chronic PTSD. Only PTSD was not the first recognized title. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until Vietnam and its aftermath that the term and its understanding turned into what we know today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,\u201d he said. In the Civil War, it was called a Soldier’s Heart. In World War I it changed to the name Shell Shock. And then to Combat Detained in World War II. \u201cOut of all those terms, only Soldier\u2019s Heart would remind us of the human beings who fought for their country. That is where I got the name of the memoir, \u2018A Soldier\u2019s Heart: The 3 Wars of Vietnam,\u2019\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Kathryn Olmstead, the first speaker of the event, is a former journalist and editor for the Aroostook Republican and for \u201cEchoes Magazine.\u201d Although she had grown up elsewhere, Kathryn\u2019s career at the Aroostook Republican and her curiosity as to why many people choose to return to the county led her to Presque Isle to write the recurring column \u201cThey Came Back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cEach story was different. But several common themes emerged in the interviews. People came back to Aroostook County for the pace of life, the beauty, the nature and most of all the people,\u201d Kathryn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       \u201cThe workforce is shrinking and the future of this place is at risk. It must be nurtured and that is why we are here today. Ray\u2019s fantastic idea for keeping the best of Aroostook young people right here was the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative program, which prepares them for a future and gives them reasons and opportunities to stay here in a place they call home,\u201d Kathryn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

     The life work and community support of Ray and his wife Sandy are highly visible throughout the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The auditorium in Wieden Hall will be named in honor of Ray and Sandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Ray and Sandy are founders of the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative. Ray used his work ethic and his background in business to develop his nonprofits. \u201cIt started with a scholarship program for Presque Isle High School students 20 years ago. The success of the scholarships inspired a goal to expand the program to every high school in the county. More than 270 students have received approximately $200,000 in scholarship assistance,\u201d Kathryn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       \u201cThe opportunity to work side by side and support Ray and Sandy through the founding of the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative that will benefit the future and continue to grow was an honor,\u201d Jason Parent, executive director\/ CEO of the Aroostook County Action Program, said. \u201cRay\u2019s memoir is a story reflecting the people of Aroostook County. We are here tonight to celebrate Ray\u2019s memoir.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cA Soldiers Heart: The 3 Wars of Vietnam,\u201d provides background on Ray\u2019s life that helps to explain his determination. \u201cIt begins with Ray\u2019s struggles as a French-speaking child with undiagnosed dyslexia. And it ends with the revelations that emerged when he discovers that the demons that had been plaguing him for years were the severe effects of PTSD,\u201d Kathryn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Even in front of a crowd of admirers, Ray remained modest about his life\u2019s work. \u201cEvery soldier of war has their own story to tell. This is only one and it\u2019s mine,\u201d he said. For Ray, he is only giving back to a county that has given him something invaluable. \u201cI\u2019ve figured out why Aroostook County is such a special place. It is the sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a>
The cover of Ray’s memoir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Megan Waceken<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Remember when… For homecoming, the University of Maine at Presque Isle held activities for students and community members to come together to celebrate our love for the county. One special three-part event on Wednesday, Sept. 21, captured the heart of Aroostook through the written words of active community supporters who were guest speakers for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"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-7352","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\/7352","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\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8110,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7352\/revisions\/8110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}