Fredette accepts offer, fellowship to attend Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
NEWPORT and LAMOINE — Kenneth Fredette grew up in the geographically and economically isolated town of Danforth. His family, at times, survived on food stamps — albeit, traveling to another town to buy food due to the embarrassment of using them to feed the family. He graduated with his 24 classmates from East Grand High School in Danforth, Washington County, as its valedictorian. Staying in Downeast Maine, he traveled to the University of Maine at Machias to get his undergraduate degree, the first in his family to graduate from college.
Submitted photo
DREAM COME TRUE — Danforth native Ken Fredette is pictured here with his wife Cynthia, left, son Colby, Sen. Olympia Snowe and his daughter Morgan.
A love of government and politics found Fredette staffing presidential campaigns, campaigns for Maine’s governor, congressional campaigns, the recent referendum on the Passamaquoddy Tribe‘s effort to place a racino in Washington County, and ultimately, his own run for the State Senate in Hancock County.
Over the years, he continued his education graduating from the Ed Muskie School for Public Service at USM, and, finally, the University of Maine School of Law.
“This spring I took a negotiating class at Harvard Law School and thought, ‘I might as well apply to the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the worst they can do is say ‘no,’” said Fredette. “Much to my surprise, I got accepted!”
Fredette has since accepted an offer from Harvard‘s John F. Kennedy School of Government and an accompanying $55,000 Fellowship to cover the full cost of tuition along with a $10,000 stipend.
Fredette has been practicing law in a small, rural, Maine town, in Newport. Ken is also a Major in the Maine Air National Guard working as a Judge Advocate General at Headquarters in Augusta.
He is married to Cynthia, a first grade school teacher at Newport Elementary School, and they have two children, Morgan (age 13) and Colby (age 9).
