UMaine Honors students travel to Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership for community-focused outdoor orientation experience

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

ORONO, Maine – At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Thursday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

September 11, 2019 Marine Sciences

The University of Maine Honors College recently took 25 incoming Honors students on an inaugural outdoor orientation experience on Hurricane Island Aug. 28–30.

The Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, located off of the coast of Rockland, Maine in Penobscot Bay, hosts science education and leadership programs for schools and organizations from around the United States.

Hurricane Island Director of Education and UMaine Honors alumna, Jenn Page ’03, created a dynamic orientation program focused on community-building, marine science, local history and sustainability. Page reconnected with the Honors community through this new partnership developed in conjunction with an Honors course “Community Building and Engagement,” created by professors Melissa Ladenheim and Mark Haggerty. This service-learning course combines experiential and traditional classroom learning in the exploration of community, civic identity and social responsibility.

Page, supported by Hurricane Island educator Kat Duvall, led the students through activities like raft-building, tide pool exploration, marine debris clean-ups and rowing in Penobscot Bay.

The students, who entered the program as strangers, quickly bonded. As a group, they brainstormed a set of community agreements intended to guide them during their time on the island and throughout the semester. Values such as inclusive respect and humility grounded their experience and engendered a strong sense of community.

For the students, the Hurricane Island orientation trip laid the foundation for further learning.

Throughout the fall semester, the students will dedicate time to service-learning projects, partnering with local organizations to design projects that benefit UMaine and surrounding communities.

Honors anthropology and secondary education double major Tom Adams and Honors marine science major Sydney Avena will serve as the student facilitators for the course. They will guide the students as they work on their projects and expand their understandings of community and service.