Staff Writer
The University of Maine at Presque Isle marked its 99th commencement May 10, with degrees presented to approximately 280 individuals, including honorary degrees. Student marshals this year included Scott R. Clenchy, president, Class of 2008, and David P. Rudolph, class vice president.
This year’s ceremony emphasized the importance of a community-campus bond, with an address by Glenn P. Gabbard, Ed.D., associate director of New England Resource Center for Higher Education, noting how the interactions between students, their families, faculty and the community combine to create a balanced learning environment.
“It’s an extraordinary honor for me to join the celebration of the many successes in this room – of the graduates and all you’ve accomplished but also of the success of the individuals who have taken a role in supporting you as you’ve developed over the time you’ve been at the university,” said Gabbard.
Having grown up one of eight children in a poor family of Samoan descent, Gabbard said as the associate director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, he understands the struggles faced by students today.
“A very special part of my work is directing Project Compass, a regional initiative which focuses on the importance of changing what colleges do in order to better support students so that more of them complete their college degrees. In that capacity, I’ve learned a bit more over the past year about UMPI and the community of which it is part,” said Gabbard.
Gabbard said he understood what the term “low-income” really means.
“I am also a person of color, having been raised by two Samoan parents in the South Pacific and other parts of the world. Not unlike Presque Isle, living in a small, rural community has taught me much about persistence, the power of community in taking care of each other, and in the resourcefulness of individuals who are closely connected to the natural world,” said Gabbard.
It was respect for that ‘natural world’ that led to this year’s first honorary doctorate recipients, Mary and the late Donald Sanipass – Micmacs who devoted their lives to the tradition of making baskets and sharing that knowledge with others through exhibits and cultural gatherings.
Honoring her grandmother on such a momentous occasion, granddaughter Tania Maria Morey – a member of the graduating class – performed the Micmac National Anthem solo, accompanying herself on drum.
David Sanipass was also present and spoke about lessons learned from his parents.
“I’m here as an honored son. I can’t express the honor bestowed on my parents,” he said.
Years of making baskets with his parents taught him the importance of continuing the culture, said David Sanipass.
“For us, money did grow on trees. They taught us we’d never go hungry if we made baskets and knew the woods,” said Sanipass.
Also presented this year with an honorary doctorate was Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley, the youngest chief justice in the state’s history.
“One of my strongest hopes – not just for you but for those who haven’t found their successes quite as much as you have – is they will have the benefit of interacting with you, learning from you and being inspired to move closer to their own goals, their own successes in life,” said Gabbard. “As I hoped to make clear when I began, your success, in part, belongs to all of us. You may not have thought of it this way, but your success – your ability to invest your hearts and minds in improving yourself – is an enormous gift to us all.”
