Student Life

A photo of a doctoral graduate holding their diploma

UMaine confers record graduation numbers for advanced degrees

Editor’s note: This was story was updated May 9. The University of Maine will issue an unprecedented number of graduate degrees this May. A total of 779 master’s and doctoral students will receive their degrees, a high point in the flagship’s 160-year history. Degree earners in this historic class include 100 doctoral and 679 master’s […]

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Meet the 2025 Outstanding Graduating Students 

Ten undergraduates have been named 2025 Outstanding Graduating Students at the University of Maine. Read their short biographies: Siddhartha Bajracharya Maine College of Engineering and ComputingBachelor of Science in Computer Engineering Siddhartha Bajracharya of Kathmandu, Nepal, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. A computer engineering major, Bajracharya […]

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A portrait of Siddhartha Bajracharya

Siddhartha Bajracharya: Outstanding Graduating International Student

Siddhartha Bajracharya of Kathmandu, Nepal, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. A computer engineering major, Bajracharya discovered his passion for embedded systems, a specialized computer system combining hardware and software, through high-altitude ballooning workshops at the University of Maine and Montana State University. He collaborated with students […]

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A portrait of Elizabeth Brennan

Elizabeth Brennan: Outstanding Graduating Student 

Elizabeth Brennan of West Chester, Pennsylvania, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences. She is a wildlife ecology major and member of the Honors College, through which she wrote a thesis titled “Phenological changes in Arctic and Common Terns across Maine’s coastal islands.” While attending the University of […]

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A portrait of Daniela Chavez de Paz Solis

Daniela Chavez de Paz Solis: Outstanding Graduating International Student

Daniela Chavez de Paz Solis of Lima, Peru, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Honors College. She is majoring in biology with a concentration in pre-medical sciences. Chavez’s experiences have connected her passions for science and service, beginning with her efforts to establish a chapter of the Maine Red Cross on the University […]

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A portrait of Thomas Freel

Thomas Freel: Outstanding Graduating International Student

Thomas Freel from Aberdeen, Scotland, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student for the Maine Business School. He is majoring in business administration in finance and is a member of the Men’s Ice Hockey team. His experience connected him with a group of fellow student athletes who motivated him and helped him grow as a teammate […]

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Zachary Hopp: Outstanding Graduating Student

Zachary Hopp of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. A mechanical engineering major with a minor in mathematics, Hopp is also a member of the Men’s Swimming and Diving team. He has gained valuable experience in materials science by completing three internships in commercial HVAC, […]

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A portrait of Amanda Karomba

Amanda Ahava Karomba: Outstanding Graduating Student

Amanda Ahava Karomba of Lewiston, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Division of Lifelong Learning. She is majoring in university studies with minors in interdisciplinary disability studies and leadership studies. Karomba pursued her degree online while raising two boys and working as CEO of Happy Haven, an agency that provides direct support to […]

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A portrait of Lara Kirkby

Lara Kirkby: Outstanding Graduating International Student

Lara Kirkby of Adelaide, South Australia, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences. A December 2024 graduate, Kirkby majored in biochemistry, researched in the Maginnis Lab and participated on the UMaine Women’s Soccer Team, through which she competed in and won two championships. After earning her bachelor’s […]

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A portrait of Zachary Wentworth

Zachary Wentworth: Outstanding Graduating Student

Zachary Wentworth of Calais, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD). He is a secondary education major with a concentration in social studies and a minor in history. A Maine Top Scholar, a Maine Seacoast Mission scholar and a Galen Cole Family Foundation scholar, Wentworth served as […]

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