Fryeburg Native Named Outstanding Graduate in UMaine College

Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO — Kathryn “Katie” Blynn of Fryeburg, Maine, has been named the Outstanding Graduating Student in the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development.

Blynn majored in elementary education with a concentration in English. She transferred to UMaine as a sophomore and changed her major from broadcast journalism to education.

“My mother is a teacher and, initially, I wanted to try something outside of that box,” says Blynn. “But when I worked in an AmeriCorps program called Jumpstart, teaching 4-year-old Spanish students, I found I couldn’t stop teaching, no matter what I was doing.”

A Dean’s List student throughout her UMaine career, Blynn twice received the Frank W.P. Bailey Merit Scholarship and the Galen Cole Land Transportation Museum Scholarship. She served as historian for All Maine Women honor society and the UMaine chapter of Golden Key International Honor Society.  She also served as the secretary of the UMaine chapter of the Student Education Association of Maine, was a member of Kappa Delta Pi, and was a resident assistant on campus for three semesters.

This year, Blynn did her student teaching in a kindergarten class and a third grade class at Old Town Elementary School.

“I like teaching students how they’re part of their community,” she says. “When they come to school, we can give them the tools to do what they want to do with their lives. My dream job is teaching in any of the elementary grade level classes in a town where the school is the heart of the community.

“From my mother I learned that it’s not just important, but fun to learn and know things, and I hope to pass that on to my students.” After graduation, Blynn plans to work as an elementary school teacher in Maine.

Blynn is the daughter of Melanie and Allen Blynn of Fryeburg.