NMCC students honored for academics, campus involvement

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – More than 60 Northern Maine Community College students had an opportunity to shine recently as they were recognized in front of family members and college faculty and administrators during the annual Student Honors & Achievement Awards Ceremony. Students were honored for academic excellence, as well as for campus involvement.
“For many of our students, this is the first opportunity for them to receive recognition at this level,” said Bill Egeler, dean of students. “I believe it’s important that we recognize our students for their academic achievements and accomplishments, not only because it is so well deserved, but also because it sets a benchmark for other students. When excellence is noticed and celebrated by the institution, it motivates and raises aspirations for others. We know our students value their education and that they often times have to go through a lot of struggles personally to balance work, family and school, making their success all the more impressive.”
Faculty from each of the college’s academic programs typically pick one senior to recognize with the Academic Achievement Award for their respective programs. This award is based on numerous criteria including overall academic performance, degree of improvement, participation and behavior in the classroom, and more.
Receiving the awards from the arts and sciences department were Wendy Spellman of Hodgdon for the early childhood education program and Elizabeth Jalbert of Caribou for the liberal studies program.
Academic achievement award winners from the business technology department were Amy Gagnon of Presque Isle, accounting information systems; Matthew Dobson of Presque Isle, business administration; Lisa Clark of Garfield Plantation, medical coding and medical office administration; and April Busse of Easton, medical office administration and office assistant.
Recipients of the nursing and allied health department academic achievement awards were Jennifer Tweedie of Blaine and Miranda Wilmot of Houlton, Nursing; Michael DiVito of Woodland, Emergency Medical Services; and Jenni Maynard of East Chapman, Medical Assisting.
Being honored from the trade and technical occupations department were Betsey McPherson of Litchfield, automotive collision repair; Aaron Cyr of Houlton and Samuel Howard of Mercer, automotive technology; Elizan McLean of Presque Isle, computer-aided drafting; Tadd Devoe of Limestone, computer electronics; Gard Castonguay of Leeds, diesel hydraulics technology; Audrey Charette of Smyrna and Tyler Theriault of Caribou, electrical construction and maintenance; Robert Gagnon of Madawaska, plumbing and heating; Matthew Murchison of Perth-Andover, NB, precision metals manufacturing; Ethan Garceau and Nicholas Grover, both of Wiscasset, residential construction; and Matthew Turnbull of New Sweden, welding and metal fabrication.
Lucas Ireland of Mapleton and Alyssa Murchison of Presque Isle each received the Award of Excellence, a cash award established by a donor to recognize two seniors who have demonstrated a high standard of excellence, good judgment, ability to use critical thinking skills when implementing new ideas and demonstrated the highest standards of honesty and integrity while being an inspiration to others.
The Falcon Spirit Award was presented to three students who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help make the NMCC campus a better place for both students and employees. Recipients were Brittany Hewitt and Beth Lint, both of Presque Isle, and Shannon Smart of New Sweden.
Fourteen students were honored with the NMCC Community Service Award for their service to the college by volunteering and contributing their time, energy, and knowledge to help with a variety of activities. Award recipients were Audrey Charette of Smyrna, Aaron Conroy of Presque Isle, Dustin R. Graham and Morgan Svitila of Mapleton, Elizabeth Jalbert and Katherine Wilcox of Caribou, Brock Kingsbury of Bridgewater, Betsey McPherson of Litchfield, Natalia Mowrey of Houlton, Robert Sines of Washburn, Macthew DeWitt of Fort Fairfield, Elizabeth Pelkey of Mattamiscontis Township, Jeff Thuo of Randolph, and Matthew Turnbull of New Sweden.
Also recognized during the evening were NMCC’s Student of the Year, Robert Gagnon of Madawaska, and Janice Scott of Presque Isle, named to the All-Maine Academic Team and Maine’s New Century Scholar. Others honored were 23 students nominated for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges, 14 students who were named Sports Academic All-Stars for maintaining a 3.0 or greater grade point average while playing on one of the college’s sports teams, and several student leaders who serve as officers of the various student organizations.
Lastly, based on a vote by students across campus, welding instructor Sonny Michaud, who will retire at the end of the current academic year, was recognized as Instructor of the Year by the Student Senate.