Author Rhea Cote Robbins, founder and director of the Franco-American Women’s Institute, says she was speechless when she was told that she would be awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the University of Maine at Farmington on May 15.

She also will be the keynote speaker for UMF’s 151st graduation exercises that day.

“I feel I’m getting [the honorary doctorate] on behalf of the group,” the Brewer woman said recently, referring to the institute. “My work would be nothing without the individual women involved.”

The Franco-American Women’s Institute is an organization that promotes the contributions of Franco-American women to the nation’s culture. In 1995 Robbins co-edited and designed a collection of Franco-American women’s writings titled, “I Am Franco American and Proud of It,” and for years she served as editor of Le Forum, a bilingual, sociocultural journal.

Robbins is also author of “Wednesday’s Child,” a memoir about growing up and living in a bilingual Franco-American community in the “South-end” portion of Waterville, which also is known as “down the Plains.” This nickname is also the title of her sequel to “Wednesday’s Child,” which has not yet been published.

Several classes being taught at UMF, Colby College and UMaine are using “Wednesday’s Child” as a teaching tool.

Robbins graduated from Waterville High School in 1971 and spent years researching the origins of her family by visiting Canada and France. She attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle and the University of Maine in Orono, where she earned a master of arts degree in 1997.

Robbins teaches at Bangor Mental Health Institute and UM. In addition, she has worked with women in the Maine prison system.

When UMF graduates leave the ceremony Saturday, Robbins hopes they walk away with two points she wants to stress – lifelong learning and how to recognize opportunity.

“I see creativity as the ultimate passport to being voiced and having a say,” she said. “Life asks a question and creativity is the solution.”

Being creative also allows the creator to celebrate individualism and culture and to heal from problems that are often stumbling blocks to achievement, Robbins said. She said when people are stigmatized or lumped into groups such as “the French” or “the mentally ill,” they lose their voice.

“They are invisible,” she said. “The reason I wrote the book was to work my way toward freedom.”

Her hope is that the UMF graduates will take her words and see that they, too, can accomplish great things.

“There is the past, there is this [today] and there is more coming,” she said.

UMF’s commencement will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 15. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held inside UMF’s Health and Fitness Center.

About 410 members of the graduating class will participate in the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on Mount Blue Community Access Television.

In addition to Robbins, Dorothy Schwartz, director of the Maine Humanities Council, also will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

Graduating senior Lee Staples of Farmington also will speak at the event.

For more information about the graduation, call 778-7276 or 778-7256.