Four UMaine students awarded Killam Fellowships

Four University of Maine students have received Killam Fellowships to help fund their studies at
various Canadian institutions of higher learning during the 25-26 academic year.

The Killam Fellowships Program provides undergraduate students in Canada and the U.S. with
opportunities to spend a semester or full academic year in the other country as exchange students.
Recipients receive a $6,000 stipend per semester, an allowance to offset health insurance costs, and a
grant of up to $800 for an educational field trip. The Killam Fellowship operates under Fulbright
Canada and provides students with academic and cultural connections with the Canadian Fulbright
community. UMaine students awarded the Killam Fellowship enroll for one or two semesters at one
of the participating Canadian universities.

The four UMaine students who received a Killam Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year are:

• Blake Getchell, Anthropology – University of Prince Edward Island
• Hannah Peak, Anthropology – University of Ottawa
• Autumn Perley, Microbiology, Maine Top Scholar – McMaster University
• Carly Philbrook, Secondary Education and Honors, Maine Top Scholar – Memorial University of Newfoundland

The support offered by the Killam Fellowship opens up a world of opportunities for students who
have always wanted to expand their horizons.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to study abroad because I’ve wanted to experience the world
beyond Maine,” said Carly Philbrook. “Even though I had originally hoped to go to Spain, Canada is
an exciting opportunity to see a new part of North America and to learn some French.”

Blake Getchell shared, “I wanted to study away specifically in the Canadian Maritimes so I could
have the opportunity to take a Mi’kmaq language course!”, “I’m First Nations Mi’kmaq and learning
the language has been a big goal of mine. I hope to learn about Canadian and Indigenous relations
and make friends I can later come visit after my exchange is over! I have some family in Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia and will definitely be coming back up North again soon.”

Hannah Peak, who will start her experience in Canada in Spring ‘26, offered the following, “I’m an
anthropology major, so I’ve been planning on studying abroad for a while, I’d like to have some sort
of diplomatic role in my future career, so studying abroad is helpful. I chose Canada in particular
because I am currently taking French, and I would like to be able to put that to use in the future.”

“As someone who has always lived at home and rarely had the opportunity to travel, I wanted to
experience living away from home for the first time – and in a city. Canada (and McMaster
University) was the perfect place,” said Autumn Perley. “It was different, but not too far from my loved ones. I was excited for independence and experiencing the diversity of the people and cultures
that populate Canadian cities and academia. While the University of Maine is a large research
university, and our small department has a great curriculum focused on authentic research
experiences,” Perley continued, “there are many areas of biology that I would like to explore. I’m
eager to broaden my research experience to other areas of biology at McMaster … and I look
forward to gaining the skills and knowledge that working in a lab here will provide.”

Of course, while studying and academics are important, they are not the only exciting aspects of
study abroad. It’s also about the experiences.

“The biggest highlights for me so far are the friends I’ve made and the amazing views from Signal
Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland where I am studying,” Philbrook said.

“I’m most looking forward to being in the center of everything (I’ll be going to UOttawa),” said
Peak. “There are a lot of museums and government buildings close by, so I will constantly be
immersed in what I am interested in. I’m also looking forward to the experience of being in Canada
in general. I hope to gain experiences that I cannot have at UMaine.”

“[I’m] beginning to explore the many communities of Mi’kmaq there are here in Canada, and
meeting Inuit and Métis people as well,” Getchell said. “It’s been nice to go to the beaches and
coasts here without many tourists around. It’s been a bit foggy as of late October and I really enjoy
the fog, too.”

“I hope to broaden my horizons and develop new perspectives and skills that will help me learn how
to adapt to different situations, groups of people, and aspects of life,” said Perley.

These students’ applications were supported by the Canadian-American Center, the Office of
International Programs and the Office of Major Scholarships.

The UMaine deadline for applications for the 2026/27 academic year is January 18, 2026.

For more information on the Killam Fellowship Program and how to apply, use this Killam Fellowship Program link.

If you are interested in applying for a Killam Fellowship, please contact Marie-Joëlle St-Louis
Savoie (mariejoelle.stlouis@maine.edu) prior to applying.