Derek DeMello

Home Country: United States (southeastern Massachusetts)

Degree Program(s): PhD in History

Role in Graduate Student Government: Liaison Officer

Reason behind joining the GSG as an officer: Solidarity and support are very important to me. The Liaison position allows me to act as a bridge between our University of Maine Graduate Workers Union (UMGWU), our Graduate Student Government, as well as the undergraduate University of Maine Student Government (UMSG). 

As an officer in the GSG, how would you like to contribute in such a way that you improve the situation for graduate students?: Both the GSG and the UMGWU work to better the educational, personal, and professional experiences of graduate students. One thing I would like to improve during my term is building communication networks between Orono and graduate students throughout the UMaine System.

Long-Term Career Goals:  Nurturing relationships with Indigenous peoples, recovering knowledge through toponymy, archaeology, and oral history, and working in public education in both academic and non-academic settings.

Research at UMaine: Native Americans of northeast North America

Involvement in clubs and other organizations: University of Maine Graduate Workers Union (UMGWU) organizing committee, History Graduate Student Association (HGSA), Assessment Advisory Board, UMaine Housing Working Group

Hobbies: Going to concerts, traveling, camping, and playing LEGOs with my daughters.

Fun facts: 

• I taught social studies at a public school in Massachusetts for six years.
• My two daughters, Juniper and Rosemary, were born at home.
• The Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project has revived the Wampanoag language after generations without speakers.
• Humans have lived in “Maine” for over 13,000 years.
• Giant ground sloths were critical to the survival and dispersal of avocados.