Varney chosen for leadership award

Michelle Varney, daughter of Mike and Debbie Varney of Houlton and graduate of Houlton High School, has been chosen to receive the Student Leadership Award from Husson College in Bangor.
The following story was written by Brooklyn Famosi, coordinator of student life/resident director at Husson, and was reprinted with permission from the college newspaper, The Husson College Spectator.     Looking around campus, it is not difficult to spot students hard at work. However, one student in particular has stood out to a number of people for her positive contributions to our community and they have had some part in nominating Michelle Varney for our Spotlight Award.
“Michelle is intelligent, friendly, caring and eager to lend a hand to whomever needs one. She has gone beyond the responsibilities of being an RA (Resident Assistant) and yet has done these tasks within the framework of healthy boundaries. She is clearly a student leader who is humble and unassuming. It’s an honor to know her,” says Laurene Collins, director of counseling services at the school.
“Michelle’s obvious intelligence and professionalism helped set a high bar of expectations for others,” says Dean of Students Sharon Wilson-Barker. “Michelle is the kind of RA who I would like to clone! She sets high standards for herself and those she deals with, but she does it respectfully and has such positive relationships with the students on her floor that she is able to accomplish her goals and objectives in what looks to us like relative ease — thought I’m sure it’s not really as easy as she makes it look.”
Michelle Varney is a junior from Houlton and has accomplished much in her first three years at Husson. A recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award, she is proud to admit that studying is a top priority and it shows with her 4.0 GPA that she has maintained her entire post-secondary career! She aims to help others achieve their academic goals as a Physics tutor.
Along with being an academic role model, Michelle is part of many organizations on campus as well. Those of you living in the residence halls might know Michelle as a resident assistant who has created a number of programs, including a fund-raising event in which her floor raised over $150 for MANNA.
Michelle played on the soccer team last year and is on the softball team for a second year in a row. She has been an executive board member on the Organization of Physical Therapy Students since her freshman year.
With all her hard work and busy schedule, Michelle also manages to have a strikingly pleasant personality and motivational persona.
“Every single person who ever mentions her name does so in the most positive manner. Peers respect and like her,” says Greg Fortier, coordinator of student activities.
The college is truly lucky to have a role model like Michelle.