Transcript

Jasper Makowski:

My name is Jasper Makowski. I am a third-year microbiology major from Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and I’m shaving my head for childhood cancer research. And this is my third time shaving it for him.

“I look like my grampy.” I was, I was saying you’re gonna look like me in like a couple years, dude.

My mom was an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Piscataquis Regional Food Center, and it kind of started as being volun-told to help, and I fell in love with it, and have been doing it ever since. And when I came to UMaine, I really wanted to continue with community service. So I found this club, and I joined my first week, and I became the treasurer and helped plan this event my freshman year, and I just finished up my term as the New England District Governor of Circle K International, kind of continuing on with that community service impact all over New England.

So UMaine was definitely the best choice for me. Every day that I’ve been at UMaine, I’ve been reinforced by that decision.

I almost didn’t come to UMaine originally, actually, but then I took a tour of UMaine, and spent some time on both campuses, and the big thing that stood out to me was the people. When I sat just on the University Mall for a weekend before I made my decision, everybody at UMaine seemed to be loving life, enjoying themselves, spending time with friends, and that was the community that I wanted when I came to college.

I took a Research Learning Experience course that led me to present a poster at the national level and at the state level. I’ve been a student in the Maginnis Lab for the last three and a half years. I’ve won multiple grants from my research. I’ve presented multiple posters for my research. From the second semester my freshman year onward, I was learning how a research lab functions, how to do experiments, how to keep a lab notebook, how to write grants, and that’s been so cool to not only work on my academics and getting good grades and taking the important classes, but also getting hands-on experience in research. Learning super cool things that always seem like something way out of reach, and it’s not.

I’ve really been able to squeeze every drop of opportunity out of UMaine that I wanted, and it set me up really well for the future. When I graduate, I’m so excited. I’ll be going to Tufts School of Medicine for their Maine Track, and then I’ll come back to Portland and, long-term, hopefully end up practicing medicine in a beautiful place like this.
I’m gonna look at UMaine most fondly for the moments in between the classes, where you reflect, where you laugh, where you do some silly shenanigan. Those are the moments that count. Those are the moments that you look back and remember fondly, and… you know, that’s where true friendships and connections are forged, in those kind of liminal in-between moments.

UMaine’s the college of our hearts always, but Maine is the home of your heart always. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to travel to places all over the country and out of the country while in college, and each time I visit a new place, I just think, “Gosh, I miss Maine.” Maine is a place that the heart finds home. It’s just the outdoors, the people, the culture, the sense of community everywhere you go. Maine’s just an awesome place to be.

Yeah, so the mascot behind us is Sweetie Pie, and from ages like 10 to 13, I think they stuffed me into that costume. It’s a great time, it’s a sweltering time, but it’s fun to go around and interact with people as a life-sized, horrific whoopie pie.