Former student gives back
through UMPI scholarship
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — A University of Maine at Presque Isle alumnus who credits his time at UMPI as the starting point to a successful career is “paying it forward” by working with the Foundation of the University at Presque Isle to establish a new scholarship that will provide financial assistance especially for students hailing from Aroostook County.
David W. Watson 
signed a trust agreement earlier this year with the foundation to establish the Watson Family Scholarship Fund, which will help support students from Aroostook who need financial assistance to secure their goal of acquiring a university education.
A native of Westfield, Watson graduated from UMPI in 1985 as class salutatorian with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. He immediately went to Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude and earned his Juris Doctor degree.
Watson said he understands firsthand how difficult it is to afford college.
“I selected UMPI in large part due to financial constraints. My parents were not in a position to help financially so I worked to pay for tuition and expenses and lived at home while attending UMPI,” said Watson.
Law school wasn’t his initial goal, he said.
“My first two years in high school were more focused on a vocation path. I was in what was then called the ‘production agriculture’ program. Essentially I was driving tractors, welding, doing mechanical repairs, etc. My high school guidance counselor had little interest in encouraging me to focus on other alternatives,” said Watson.
By his sophomore year, Watson said he “realized that I had a lot more to achieve in life than driving a tractor, which I had been doing for a number of years in the summer and fall for local farmers. So I started taking college prep classes my junior year.”
While his last two years of high school were interesting and provided somewhat of a challenge, Watson said it wasn’t until he attended UMPI that he fully experienced the excitement of learning.
“Some of what I learned has long since been forgotten — four years of Russian can make you proficient but you lose it if you do not use it — but much of it has had a lasting impact on not only my educational and professional development, but also my personal life,” Watson said. “Dr. Davidshofer’s enthusiasm for all things related to politics was contagious. He was my adviser and the professor for many of my classes.”
He said he thinks the keen interest he has in politics today is a reflection of his years at UMPI.
“Similarly, the economics courses I had at the university provided the building blocks that allowed me to develop an understanding of how our financial system works, which was important to my professional development,” said Watson.
Watson said an education is the best investment a person can make.
“The only thing in life you can be certain not to achieve is what you never try. If you want to set your sights high, the starting point is a good education. And if you have the opportunity to attend a two- or four-year program, I think you will find that it is well worth the investment of your time and money,” he said.
“For the past five years we have witnessed high unemployment and a dramatic change in what it means to be employable. If you Google ‘unemployment rate for college graduates,’ you will find that there are many opinions on whether a college education is still worth the cost, but you will also find that the unemployment rate for people who did not attend college is well above the national average, while the rate for those with a four-year degree is less than half the national average,” continued Watson.
According to Watson, not only are college graduates more employable, they also have higher wages.
“We live in a technology-driven economy,” said Watson, noting the number of electronic devices the average person uses today. “It takes a good education to contribute to that economy. Do you want to be part of it or standing on the sidelines?”
Watson said it’s not realistic for most people to think they can successfully pick their career path first thing upon graduating high school.
“But that does not mean that you should aimlessly wander until you figure it out. Think about what types of work interest you and speak to friends or family members to get a better understanding of what it is really like to do different jobs. Most colleges and universities will require you to take classes in your first year or two that have a broad application across a number of different majors,” said Watson.
He said you “shouldn’t worry if you aren’t sure of exactly what you want to do your freshman year.”
“However, you should spend time looking into different careers so that you are prepared to make an informed decision when the time comes to focus your studies,” he said.
Not having been the beneficiary of a scholarship when he was in college, Watson said it’s now especially important — given tough economic times — for students to pursue scholarships, such as the one he’s established.
“As we see fewer tax dollars available for education and it becomes harder for families to make ends meet in a tough economy, scholarships have become an important source of support for students. Investing in education is not only an investment in the students who are attending school but also in our economy and the benefits we all enjoy from living in a prosperous nation,” he said.
He noted the discussion by many candidates in recent elections of how important education is to our future prosperity was “more than just a good sound bite.”
“Samsung, a Korean company, now has almost twice the market share in the sale of smartphones than Apple. It achieved that success by developing a high-quality product that required significant research and development by very well educated employees,” Watson said.
Watson said education is also important for the advancement of our health care system.
“According to the CDC, during the 20th century the average lifespan in the U.S. increased by over 30 years, with 25 years of that increase attributable to advances in public health. Without a well-educated population, we would never have witnessed the dramatic improvement in health care that we enjoy today,” said Watson.
He said encouraging others to seek higher education benefits everyone.
“If you can help someone with their education, whether financially or simply by encouraging someone to set his or her sights high, please do so,” said Watson.
Watson is now an attorney practicing at Goodwin Procter in Boston, where he is a partner in the firm’s business law department and chair of its private investment funds practice. Watson focuses his practice on public and private securities offerings, private fund formation, partnership law, mergers and acquisitions, securities law compliance and general corporate matters. He works with clients ranging from small startup fund managers to established international financial organizations, raising billions of dollars around the globe. Watson also participates in Goodwin Procter’s capital markets, real estate capital markets and private equity/venture capital practices.
UMPI President Linda Schott is grateful for the scholarship and what it will mean for future students.
“We are so pleased to see this scholarship established not only because it provides our hard-working students with greater opportunities for financial assistance as they strive to earn their degrees, but also because it highlights both the success our alumni are able to achieve after graduation and the kind of impact our campus community has on students,” said Schott. “We are delighted that David Watson felt so strongly about his experiences here that he wanted to ensure the success of future graduates and we look forward to seeing the great things those future graduates do in their own careers.”
The first scholarship from the new fund was awarded this fall in the amount of $1,000 to Emily Wright, of Presque Isle.
FMI or to contribute to the Watson Family Scholarship Fund, call UMPI’s Office of Development at 768-9568.
