UM scholarship winners

ORONO – The University of Maine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture has announced that two students in its department of plant, soil and environmental sciences have been awarded significant scholarships.

David Merrill of Newburgh, a second-year student majoring in sustainable agriculture, is the recipient of a $5,000 Garden Club Federation of Maine scholarship. The state award also makes him eligible for one of the $3,500 scholarships offered by the National Garden Club, which is expected to make its decision by late May.

Merrill said he hopes to make a career one day that combines his interest in plants and small-scale food production with community-based education. This summer, he will be one of three student managers of the Black Bear Food Guild’s 2-acre vegetable garden at UM’s Rogers Farm.

Kevin Douglas, a sophomore majoring in landscape horticulture, is the first student from UM to be awarded the nationally competitive Vic and Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship. The $6,000 prize and paid internship are issued through the American Floral Endowment.

Douglas, who grew up near Philadelphia, will attend UM’s fall semester and then leave in January for a six-month internship with a commercial production greenhouse or nursery, perhaps in California. He will receive the $6,000 award when the internship is completed.

University of Maine

ORONO – Sixty-six students in the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development were recognized recently for outstanding academic achievement. The students, representing communities across Maine and six other states, were honored at the Spring Presidential Academic Achievement Award Ceremony attended by faculty, family members and friends.

Anne Pooler, interim dean, congratulated and presented each student with a Presidential Academic Achievement pin. The one-time award is presented to students who have earned a 3.5 or higher grade point average during the most recent semester and a 3.0 average over two semesters. For part-time students, the award goes to those who have earned a 3.5 grade point average over the past 12 credit hours and have maintained at least a 3.0 average based on a minimum of 30 credit hours at UMaine.

Area students receiving the honor were:

Bangor: Catherine Kotredes.

Brewer: Brendan Carr, Heather Pelkey.

Corinth: Pamela Jerome, Emma Moody.

Glenburn: Tracy Dyment, Stacey Saucier.

Hampden: Aislinn Sarnacki.

Old Town: Nabil Salim, Lacey Gillespie, Jermaine Henderson, Heather Kasper.

Orono: Ashley Kerekes, Ashley Dunning, Andrea Johnsen, Daniel Pelletier, Anthony Jones, Chelsea Sherman, Mark Pollock, Dylan Grieve, Kevin Guetterman, Theresa McDonnell.

Veazie: Vicki Lynch, Laura Garrity.

Winterport: Megan Wibberly, Michele Jason.