UMaine Student Wins Mitchell Peace Scholarship

University of Maine sophomore Terri Bastarache of Gorham, Maine, is the recipient of the prestigious George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarship and will receive a full scholarship to spend the 2013 spring semester at University College Cork in Ireland.

The scholarship honors the 1998 Northern Ireland peace accord brokered by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The scholarship is an agreement between Maine and Ireland for a university-level student exchange.

Bastarache, who is pursuing a double major in business management and communication, and was a Mitchell Scholar in high school, is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and a tri-chair for Colleges Against Cancer and a Relay for Life volunteer. She is a Team Maine student ambassador, tour guide and telecounselor, and is active with softball and volleyball intramurals at UMaine. As an Alternative Spring Break participant, she plans to lead next year a winter trip to work with disabled and homeless veterans.

Bastarache chose double majors in business management and communication because both will benefit her social and professional plans for the future, she says. Those plans include possibly managing a non-profit organization, such as the Dream Factory or the American Cancer Society, or even opening a coffee shop.

“I love working with people, so I want to find a career where I can work with people every day,” she says.

Bastarache selected UMaine after applying to 11 schools and visiting most of them. UMaine, she says, was “the only college I visited where I felt at home and got that tingly feeling. The campus was so welcoming, everyone says ‘hi’ when you walk by, and students will wait just to hold open a door for you. For me, it just felt right and I always follow my gut instincts.”

Her semester in Ireland will be her first visit to the British Isles, although she has traveled outside the United States, when she lived a short while in Romania as a child.
“This will be my first time to the U.K. and to Ireland and I can’t wait,” Bastarache says.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756