UMaine Senior National Continuing Education Student of the Year
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571, joe.carr@umit.maine.edu
ORONO — University of Maine senior Lauren Sterling of Waterville, Maine, has been named the 2010 National Continuing Education Student of the Year by the University Continuing Education Association.
Last fall, she was selected as the Outstanding Continuing Education Student from New England.
Sterling, who majored in university studies focusing on nonprofit administration, also is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the UMaine Division of Lifelong Learning. She will receive her degree May 8.
“Lauren personifies the quintessential continuing education student,” says Robert White, associate provost and dean of the Division of Lifelong Learning. “She is an inspiration to all students. Her UMaine and public service legacy will continue to impact Maine and the nation through her extraordinary work on behalf of children.”
Sterling has pursued her UMaine education part-time since 1981 while working full time and being actively involved in public service. Since 2001, she has staffed the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet and overseen the 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal grant supporting after-school programming and learning opportunities for children in need statewide.
Sterling has been the volunteer coordinator of the Greater Waterville Area Communities for Children & Youth since its inception in 1996. In 2007, she established the Alliance on Early Care and Learning in Waterville, now supported by the United Way of Mid-Maine and which is the advisory body for the first Educare Center in Maine and New England.
“The projects Lauren undertook in Waterville and her work on the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet are truly exemplary and demonstrate how the life experiences of nontraditional students can influence their academic pursuits and state policy,” says University of Maine President Robert Kennedy. “Her national and regional awards recognize her extraordinary achievements and also bring honor to the University of Maine.”
Sterling also studied at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts and New York University’s Actor’s Studio: Circle in the Square Theater Program. For 12 years, she was a singer and actor in New York and Los Angeles. In 1993, she moved back to Maine and enrolled at UMaine to resume her education.