Black Bear profiles

Savanah Haines

Savannah Haines: Passion for the forest and its health

Savannah Haines, a junior from Westport, Massachusetts, majoring in forestry with a minor in environmental horticulture, was one of three students nationwide to be awarded a Robert Felix Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, which supports undergraduates studying arboriculture and urban forestry, is offered through the TREE Fund, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the science of […]

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Alexandra Barzin

Alexandra Barzin: Kinesiology grad to teach English in Thailand

After graduating from the University of Maine this summer with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, Alexandra Barzin is already off to her next adventure. The Jamestown, Rhode Island native has accepted a teaching position in Thailand. Barzin, who will teach English, says she’s a little nervous, but mostly excited. “I have always […]

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Jill Pelto

Grad student’s art featured on cover of annual climate report compiled by NOAA

Art created by University of Maine graduate student Jill Pelto is featured on the cover of an international climate report compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Pelto’s environmental artwork appears on the front and back of the State of the Climate in 2015, an international, peer-reviewed publication released each summer as a supplement […]

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Charlotte Quigley: Researching how water temperatures affect kelp growth

Read transcript Charlotte Quigley is a Ph.D. student at the University of Maine studying marine biology. Her research focuses on alaria (a type of sea vegetable) and how changing water temperatures affect its growth. By studying and testing its genetic structure, Quigley hopes to supply a sustainable, temperature tolerant crop for Maine’s aquaculture future.

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Berlynna Heres: From working with rattlesnakes to American eels

Berlynna Heres, a doctoral student in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation, is applying her passion for snakes to her new research focus at the University of Maine — the American eel. American eels, common residents in Maine’s lakes and waterways, migrate to the ocean to spawn. Occasionally the fish must navigate one of […]

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Phong Nguyen

Phong Nguyen: Changing lives is top priority

Read transcript Phong Nguyen earned a degree in chemical engineering with a concentration in pre-medical studies and a minor in chemistry from the University of Maine. The Vietnamese native hopes to one day use his passion for health care and fitness to make a difference back home. This fall, he will be pursuing a doctorate […]

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Athletics: Liz Wood maximizes the student-athlete experience

Read transcript The award-winning basketball captain and 2016 graduate with a degree in biology with a concentration in pre-medical studies has learned to live, and thrive, in the moment. Liz Wood, who earned a 3.95 GPA, scored nearly 1,500 points and pulled down more than 900 rebounds for the Black Bears. Her sights are now set […]

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Research: Shifting ecosystems in the Falkland Islands

Read transcript University of Maine researchers, including Kit Hamley, explore how extinct and introduced animals affect the Falkland Islands and seek to help farmers, sheep, tussock grass, tourists and penguins coexist in light of competing interests, sea-level rise and erosion. Hamley helped develop the 4-H Follow A ResearcherTM program at UMaine, which connects K–12 students […]

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Arts & Culture: Katie Keaton takes the stage

Read transcript Alumna Katie Keaton, ’16, embraced her undergraduate experience as a theatre major with a double minor in dance and business management. For Keaton, immersing herself in the performing arts at UMaine — both onstage and backstage — made her happy. The Caribou, Maine native was deeply involved in various UMaine clubs and organizations. She was a […]

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