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By Bill Van Tassel
AUBURN — Students, faculty and staff from Central Maine Community College were feted at the 12th annual CM Education Foundation Dinner April 17.
The dinner also summarized the college’s recent accomplishments. President Scott Knapp shared a video of students who have benefited from financial aid awards from the foundation. Eighty-three percent of students at CMCC get some sort of financial aid. During the last five years the college has received around $2 million in federal grants. Another video highlighted the give of a 2017 Chevy Volt to CMCC, the money from the sale to benefit the Foundation.
The night’s awards included:
John Wallace and Chris Thoma were recognized as Faculty Members of the Year.
Bert LaBonte was Corporate Partner for 2018-19.
The President’s Award was given to Terry Sampson. Sampson has been active in community service in the Lewiston-Auburn area since she was a senior at Lewiston High School in 1952, and has served on many boards. “My problem is I never learned to say no,” she joked.
CMCC Facilities Supervisor Dan Graham was named Staff Person of the Year.
CMCC students receiving All Maine Academic Team awards were Bob Creznic, Tyler Hayes, Zakiya Sheikh and Rusty Vining.
Kayla Thayer of Auburn was Student of the Year.
Female Athlete of the Year was Kristin Huntress, a member of the 2019 USCAA Championship basketball team, and a graduate of Lake Region High School in Rangeley.
Jordy Knoren from the Netherlands was the Male Athlete of the Year for his performance in ice hockey as well as his contributions off the ice.
Shawn Brown, a graduate of Oak Hill High School in Wales and a U.S. Army veteran was named Student Veteran of the Year. He earned a degree in Human Services.
Matthew Kinney of Waterford was Scholarship Recipient of the Year. Kinney is studying Network Security/Computer Forensics and is active in Campus Crusade for Christ.
There were two Against All Odds award winners, Kauna Yaga, from Nigeria, and Ouseiny Ousmane, originally from the Central African Republic.
Yaga was one of the young women abducted in 2014 by the terrorist group Boko Haram. She and a friend jumped off the bus they’d been put on and escaped, making it back to their village. Later that year Yaga and several other girls arrived in the United States. She earned a high school diploma from the MSAD 52 Adult Education Program.
Ousmane contracted polio at eight years old, and fled with his family to Chad after his father died to escape the violence in their country. The family made it to America through the UN resettlement program. After six months in Atlanta, the family moved to Lewiston. Ousmane was finally able to get a wheelchair, and began making progress in his education. Upon moving to Auburn, he earned a high school diploma through Adult Education. He became a U.S. citizen in 2014 and after CMCC graduation in May plans to attend the University of Maine at Augusta to get a degree in business and accounting. While working on his studies he has held down jobs at Goodwill and TJ Maxx in Auburn.
The Central Maine Community College Foundation is a community-based, non-profit corporation that supports CMCC and its students. The foundation has contributed more than $1.2 million for scholarships, program improvements and capital projects.
PHOTO: From left, CM Education Foundation Award Recipients Kayla Thayer, Ouseiny Ousmane, Matthew Kinney, Shawn Brown, Terry Samson, Kauna Yaga, Kristen Huntress, Jordy Knoren. Back row: John Wallace, Zakiya Sheikh, Chris Thoma, Rusty Vining, Tyler Hayes, Bert LaBonte, Dan Graham and Ben Creznic. (Bill Van Tassel photo)
