PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Northern Maine Community College students Charles Zappone of Woodland and the late Katherine Pictou of Presque Isle are among 14 students statewide named to the 2009 All-Maine Academic Team.
Individuals are nominated and selected for the team by their colleges in recognition of their academic achievements and leadership qualities. Each student receives a $500 scholarship from Camden National Bank.
Zappone, of Woodland, was in addition named Maine’s New Century Scholar for achieving the highest Maine score on the All-USA Academic Team application. He will represent Maine at the American Association of Community Colleges’ annual convention in Phoenix, in early April, where he will receive a $2,000 scholarship.
Zappone was also named one of 50 Coca-Cola National Bronze Scholars and will receive a $1,000 scholarship, as well as appear in an April edition of USA Today.
“I feel very honored to receive these awards. It is quite a recognition for this college and community. I share this recognition with the faculty here at NMCC. They are incredible. They go out of their way to teach, lead and inspire,” said Zappone. “I chose the community college, in part because it is exactly that: ‘community.’ NMCC is a school both made up of community and involved in the betterment of that community, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
The 38-year-old father of two will graduate from NMCC with an associate degree in nursing this May. Since enrolling at NMCC in the spring of 2007, Zappone has excelled both in and out of the classroom. He serves as president of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, is a member of the Student Nurses Association, and has volunteered to assist with several projects on the college campus.
In the community, Zappone serves as a volunteer trainer with the County Patriots Young Marines and is a Maine Hunter Safety Course first-aid instructor. The U.S. military veteran joined the armed services in 1994 and served two tours in Bosnia in 1996 and 1999 as an armament supervisor. He also worked as a military recruiter in Laconia, N.H.
“Charles consistently demonstrates the ability to manage his time, work deadlines, and recognizes the importance of a strong work ethic, persistence and intellectual integrity,” said Kimberly Esquibel, level II nursing faculty member at NMCC. “He is an outstanding student and role model.”
He recently signed a contract of employment with Cary Medical Center in Caribou, and will begin to work as a registered nurse in the acute care unit at the hospital in June. In the near future, he hopes to continue his education to earn a bachelor of science degree in nursing.
Zappone was honored along with Katherine Pictou recently at the 2009 All-Maine Academic Team ceremony in Augusta. The event was especially moving for the members of both the Pictou and NMCC family, as the honor was bestowed on Pictou posthumously.
The 27-year-old outstanding NMCC student and mother of two from Presque Isle passed away unexpectedly Jan. 11, 2009, just days after learning of her selection to the All-Maine Academic Team. Pictou’s parents, Shannon and Sandra Pictou of Mapleton, and her 10-year-old daughter and six-year-old son were on hand to accept the award on her behalf.
Pictou was set to graduate this May with an associate degree in business administration. She was extremely active on campus, serving as treasurer of both the NMCC Student Senate and Phi Theta Kappa honor society. As a student representative to the NMCC Foundation, she spoke movingly last November at the Foundation’s annual dinner about how important it was for her to demonstrate to her children the importance of education by returning to college and earning her degree.
Pictou was also very involved in her local community, having volunteered for the Battered Women’s Project, as a community clean-up volunteer, and with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
The All-Maine Academic Team is a division of the All-USA Community College Academic Team, sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, USA Today, and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. The All-Maine Academic Team program is co-sponsored by Camden National Bank, Bangor Daily News, Creative Awards of Scarborough, and the Maine Community College System.
