Area students named to dean’s list at UNE

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The following area students have been named to the University of New England’s dean’s list for the spring semester 2025, in Biddeford:

Augusta: Mallory Erickson, Tyler Pelletier, and Nhasino Phan Daraun White. China Village: Nabila Harrington. Fairfield: Caitlyn Mayo. Jefferson: Ava White. Liberty: Mckenzie Kunesh. Madison: Peyton Estes. Oakland: Francesca Caccamo. Sidney: Valerie Capeless and Brady Doucette. Skowhegan: Elizabeth Connelly, Catherine Kelso, Zoe Lambke, and Ashley Mason. South China: Richard Winn. Vassalboro: Adam Ochs. Waterville: Asher Grazulis, Emma Michaud, Grace Petley, Emilee Richards, Elizabeth Schmitt, Caitlyn Smith and Evan Watts. Windsor: Kassidy Barrett.

VCS students actualize welcome to Vassalboro signs

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Last year Town Manager Aaron Miller reached out to Vassalboro Community School’s art teacher Mia Sargent and pitched an idea that not only sparked creativity with her students but also will surely build hometown pride for many years to come.

Rather than spend about $1,600 to have the signs manufactured, the town spent about $120 on plywood. The paint was donated from Public Works Director Brian Lajoie. The end product was well worth the wait.

To create their designs, students first engaged in brainstorming and research about the town of Vassalboro, reflecting on what makes Vassalboro the unique and remarkable place that it is. Many students chose to represent aspects of nature in their designs, as these images highlight the characteristic beauty of the area and can resonate with the larger population of Vassalboro. Hundreds of designs were drawn by the students of VCS, which they then voted on to narrow down to just a handful of designs.

The final four designs represented on the signs showcase the collaborative and dedicated efforts of students across the grade levels of VCS. The Vassalboro Community School students are proud of their work in designing and creating the new Vassalboro town line signs.

Local students named to St. Lawrence Univ dean’s list

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St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York, congratulates more than 630 students named to the dean’s list for the Spring 2025 semester.

They include Lola Caruso, of Norridgewock. Caruso is a member of the Class of 2028. Caruso attended Skowhegan Area High School.

Nina Dabas, of Winslow. Dabas is a member of the Class of 2028 and is majoring in English and political science. Dabas attended Maine School of Science and Mathematics.

Palermo’s Riley Reitchel earns All-American status at nationals

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Riley Reitchel

University of Southern Maine Junior Riley Reitchel, of Palermo, a graduate of Erskine Acedemy, in South China, earned All-American honors at the 2025 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, in Geneva, Ohio. Reitchel placed fourth in the javelin to earn First Team All-American status.

Reitchel recorded a throw of 41.23m to place fourth. The distance came on her second throw of the day. Reitchel, who placed 22nd at the 2023 National Championship meet as a freshman, is the fourth athlete in program history to earn All-American honors in the javelin.

CAREER RESULTS

2025: Earned First Team All-American honors by placing fourth in the javelin at the NCAA DIII National Championships with a throw of 41.32m* … LEC champion in the javelin with a distance of 41.48m … DIII New England champion in the javelin with a mark of 41.09m … Placed second in the pole vault at the LEC championships with a height of 2.95m … Member of a 4×100 relay team that placed third at the LEC Championships … Earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the javelin.

2024: Com­peted in three meets … Set a season-best mark of 3.10m to tie for third in the pole vault at the Coast Guard Spring Invite … Had a season-best javelin throw to 36.95m to place fifth at the SNHU Penmen Relays … Named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District.

2023: Placed 22nd in the javelin at the NCAA Division III Track & Field National Championships with a throw of 32.97m … Named the LEC Field Rookie of the Year after winning the javelin at the conference championships with a throw of 38.52m … Placed third in the pole vault (2.95m) and eighth in the 200m (27.90) at the LEC Championships … Placed second in the javelin at the DIII New England Championships at 38.52m … Won the NEICAAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a throw of 45.49m that ranks as the second-best in program history … Earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the javelin.

Indoor Season Awards and Honors: 2024 LEC champion in the pole vault … Member of a 4×200 relay team that placed second at the 2024 LEC Championships … Member of the 2023 LEC champion 4×400 relay team … Earned All-Rookie honors in the pole vault after tying for second place in 2023.

Academic Awards and Honors: Earned USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete honors in 2023 … Named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District.

Before USM: Varsity soccer and varsity track went to state freshmen year/Rookies Award … Varsity soccer, coaches award, varsity track went to state and coaches award sophomore year … Varsity soccer, coaches award, All-state, varsity track coaches award and went to state junior year … Varsity soccer, coaches award, All-state, Senior Bowl, Varsity track, coaches award KVAC All-Academic, All-star, State champions, Eagle award senior year … KVAC All academic, Top Ten, National Board Award … Student council, Girl-up, AFS, AFS, International outreach

Personal: Majoring in Linguistics … Attended Erskine Academy, in South China, … Daughter of Richard and Daniellle Reitchel … Has one sibling, Alexander … Also a member of the USM women’s soccer team and has earned All-Region and All-LEC honors on the pitch.

* A meter is equal to 3.28 feet.

Local students receive Worthington Scholarships

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The Worthington Scholarship Foundation (WSF) is delighted to announce that 1,000 graduating seniors from high schools across Maine were awarded the Worthington Scholarship. The Foundation is committed to increasing college accessibility by reducing financial barriers and connecting scholars with resources that will aid them in their college journey.

“This Foundation was created with a simple vision: to support the completion of post-secondary education in Maine,” said Bev Worthington, Co-Founder of WSF. “In just 15 years, we’ve grown from awarding 10 scholarships to 1,000. We are honored to be part of our scholars’ college journey and know that they have what it takes to succeed.”

The Worthington Scholarship is open to students graduating from one of Maine’s 134 public high schools who plan to attend one of the Foundation’s partnering colleges in Maine. Awardees have shown a strong commitment to their education and a clear desire to invest in their future.

Each Worthington Scholar receives up to $20,000 in support to attend a Worthington-eligible Maine-based college.

This year’s local scholarship recipients are:

Carrabec High School: Kailie Ebneter, Brady Goguen, Machaon Pierce, Macie Plourde, Seth Price, Desmond Robinson, Josephine Scheve, Ian Smith, and Brooks Sousa.

Cony Middle High School: Aya Abdulmohsin, Jedadiah Billings, Carter Blanche, Ian Brewer, Emma Buccellato, Kassidy Delesline, Rachel Fongemie, Penelope Fyfe, Loralie Grady, Hailey Johnson , Kaydence Mills, Allie Reichard, Kaylee Rhynd, Matthew Serrano, Amiel Sookma, Juliannah Soper, and Ethan Vose.

Erskine Academy: Noah Bechard, Jayda Bickford, Madison Cochran, Trinity DeGreenia, Brady Desmond, Aidan Durgin, Josiah Fitzgerald, Kenneth Fredette, Serena Hotham, Kaiden Kronillis, Jade McCollett, and Carter Rau.

Lawrence High School: Kylie Delile, Wyatt DeMott, Stella-moon Devine, Broden Eaton-Foster, Gabriel Fairbrother, Paige Goodwin, Harley Greatorex, Ashlee Jarvis, Ryan Lea, Matthew Menchen, Emma Mills, Nadia Morrison, Madisyn Niles, Kallie Richards, Alina Rodrigue’Butler , Kaylie Smith, Landon Vigue, Alyssa Welch, and Deven Young.

Madison Jr. Sr. High School: Jeason Almeida, Avea Daskoski, Bryan Donnelly, Leila Dunphy, Ethan Linkletter, Aurora Norsworthy, Hailey Poissonnier, and Carmyn Young.

Maine Academy of Natural Sciences: Sophia Barrientos, Logan Dube, Michael Golden, Nicholas Hewett, and Rose Jadamec.

Overman Academy: Gabrien Curtis

Skowhegan Area High School: Myla Brown, Jorja Brown, Emi Brusa, Delena Cabral, Rae Corson, MacKenzie Dawe, Joseph Frappier-Nadeau, Meraina Furbush, Brooklyn Goodridge, Cody Hardy, Twyla Hodgdon-Wagg, Cailyn McKechnie, Levi Nichols, Samuel Philpot, Michela Provost, Kaden Salsbury, and Drake Turcotte.

Upper Kennebec Valley High School: Emma Belanger, and Madeline Hill.

Waterville Senior High School: Abigail Albert, Dustin Bearce, Gage Chamberlain, Maxwell Field, Jeffrey Flees, Garrett Gendreau, Fynley Grubbs, Nivonsenga Hawyari­mana, Jeffrey Ogori, Mischa Pelletier, Kaethe Rice, Patrick Robinson, and Cormac Wilcox.

Winslow High School: Seth Bard, Malyn Beaster, KayLynn Beaulieu, Adeline Blackstone, Stella Brunelle, Haileigh Camp, David Cooper, Izaiah Costigan, Michael Dellinger, Kyrah Denis, Jessi Dunn, Makayla Ellis, Jacob Garcia, Zoe Gorman, Amy Jones, Kyran Kinrade, Maya Lavallee, Meghan Mahoney, Abigail McCaslin, Liam McPherson, Kyri Meak, Paige Owen, Brady Poulin, Ava Prickett, Kalia Reffett, Braden Rodrigue, Sierra Sharp, Allexandriea Small, Jacqueline Soucy, Sophia Sullivan, Maya Veilleux, Tealah Ward, and Brody Willette.

Mitchell Institute announces 13 new Mitchell Scholars from Somerset County (2025)

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Thirteen recent high school graduates from Somerset County have been named 2025 Mitchell Scholars by the Mitchell Institute. The 2025 scholars join more than 3,800 past recipients who have been unlocking their potential, having successful college experiences and contributing to the vitality of their communities since 1995. Students receive a $10,000 scholarship award, along with ongoing personal and professional support to ensure they find success in their journey throughout college and beyond.

These students include: Desmond Robinson – Carrabec High School, Allie Dunning – Forest Hills Consolidated School, Addy Battis – Lawrence High School, Harley Greatorex – Lawrence High School, Kallie Richards – Lawrence High School, Bryan Donnelly – Madison Area Memorial High School, Aurora Norsworthy – Madison Area Memorial High School, Sophia Barrientos – Marine Academy of Natural Sciences, Johnathan Batchelder – Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, Grace Curtis – Overman Academy, Cailyn McKechnie – Skowhegan Area High School, Michela Provost – Skowhegan Area High School, and Madeline Hill – Upper Kennebec Valley Memorial High School.

“Senator Mitchell realized a bold vision when he created the Mitchell Institute – to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to, pursue, and achieve a college education,” said Jared Cash, CEO. “In our 30th year, his vision is more important than ever before. We’re proud to support these remarkable young people as they begin journeys that will benefit Maine for generations to come.”

Each year the Mitchell Institute receives more than 1,600 applications and is tasked with choosing at least one student from every public school in the state. Scholars are chosen with a balanced view of their financial needs, academic achievement, and community impact.

This year marks the largest class in Mitchell’s 30-year history – with 200 Ssholars in total.

But this year was unique in more ways than just the numbers: “Every part of the Mitchell community had a hand in choosing who made up the incoming class,” said Casey Near, Scholarship Director. “I was joined by our Access Ambassadors to help promote the Mitchell Institute on visits to high schools, and Alumni were able to read applications for the first time ever, along with the staff and board to help select recipients.”

The benefits of this unique program can be proven through its statistics: Scholars graduate college at a rate 30 percent higher than the national average; 81 percent are working in career-related jobs; 29 percent report they hold a master’s degree; 10 percent hold either a doctorate, JD, or an MBA; and 71 percent say access to the Mitchell Board, donors, and alumni network have had a positive impact on their careers.

The Mitchell Institute unlocks the potential of Maine college students so that they can find success in college and contribute to the vitality of their communities.

Area students named to President’s List at Plymouth State University

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Area students have been named to the Plymouth State University President’s List, in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Included are Dylan Flewelling, Exercise and Sport Physiology major, of Oakland, Riley Johnson, Psychology major, of Windsor, Kaiden Kelley, Art and Design major of South China, and Courtney Peabody, Physical Education major, of Solon.

Local students named to University of Rhode Island dean’s list

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KINGSTON, RI (06/05/2025)– The University of Rhode Island, in Kingston, Rhode Island, announces that several area students have been named to its Spring 2025 dean’s list. Among them are:
Gavin Murphy, of Winslow, Tucker Pieh, of Rome, Danica Serdjenian, and Maddie Yakimchick, both of Waterville.

Local Students Win Awards at Hamilton College Class & Charter Day

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photo credit: Hamilton College

Hamilton College’s annual Class & Charter Day took place on May 13, in Clinton, New York. Established in 1950, the event combines the traditional Class Day celebrating the end of classes with a commemoration of the granting of the College’s charter on May 26, 1812.

The following local residents were among the award winners:

Charles Haberstock, of Waterville, was named the recipient of The Senior Prize in Economics. Haberstock, a senior majoring in economics and geosciences, is a graduate of Waterville High School.

Maia Macek, of Madison, was named the recipient of The William Gillespie Prize in Art. Macek, a senior majoring in art and Hispanic studies, is a graduate of The American School in Japan.

Plymouth State University announces dean’s list (2025)

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Plymouth State University, in Plymouth, New Hampshire, recognizes students who made the dean’s list for the Spring 2025 semester. They include Colby Corson, Exercise and Sport Physiology major, and Sidney Hatch, Social Work major, both of Oakland.