Four CMCC students named to 2020 All-Maine Academic Team

AUBURN — Four students from Central Maine Community College are among the 20 Maine community college students named to the 2020 All-Maine Academic Team.
The students were selected in recognition of outstanding academic achievement, leadership and service. The CMCC students receiving the award, which includes a $500 scholarship from the Maine Community College System Board of Trustees, are Joshua Gagnon, of Poland; Kate McPherson, of Litchfield; Steven Ouellette. of Auburn; Leon Twitchell of Bryant Pond.
Gagnon has been a high honors student in the Precision Machining Technology program. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he is considered the “go-to person” for the younger students in the program who need assistance. A member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Gagnon plans to graduate this spring.

McPherson has earned president’s honors as a student in the Computer Technology program. She is president of the CMCC chapter of PTK, which, under her leadership, achieved five-star status. The recipient of the Coca-Cola Leaders of Promise scholarship last fall, she has also been selected as a semifinalist for the PTK All-USA Academic Team scholarship. She plans on transferring to the University of Maine at Augusta to continue her education in technology.
Ouellette has earned high honors in General Studies and plans to transfer to the University of Maine to study mechanical engineering (his dream job is to design cars). Very active in campus activities, Ouellette is PTK treasurer and has been involved in everything from fundraisers to Red Cross blood drives to “Escape Room” outings.
Returning to school at age 53 can be intimidating, but all Twitchell has done is consistently earn

president’s honors in the Building Construction Technology program. The recipient of the Roland “Doc” Hannaford Scholarship last fall, Twitchell expects to begin theology studies for a bivocational ministry, serving his community with his hands while at the same time providing spiritual leadership for those in his church.

The All-Maine Academic Team is a program of Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for two-year colleges.