USM Honors

Here's what our students say about their experience in USM Honors...

"There is something to gain from every opportunity and every experience we participate in. The Thesis workshop is not about grading, but offering new concepts/direction. I was amazed to look back at where my thesis started and where I ended up. Honors is less about superior talent/ intelligence, and more about opening our minds to new opportunities and higher levels of thinking. I've completed the thesis and the program, and for anyone approaching this opportunity, I wish you the best. It's such an amazing journey that will strengthen your academic experience."
-Carissa O'Brien (Class of 2007) Beginning at The University of Maine School of Law fall 2007

"Everyone who enters the Honors classroom, with the discipline and open-mind it takes to undergo the academic tour-de-force, is going to end up somewhere they never expected to be on their own intellectual voyage."
-Frederick Greenhalgh (class of 2006)
To listen to Frederick's Thesis, an original radio drama called "Day of the Dead"  check it out here!

"I didn't belong in Honors because I was so darn smart; not at all. That's not what Honors is about. Honors is about being challenged academically and intellectually, and I was challenged."
-Mike Barden (current USM Student)

"I see Honors as my academic parent figure, and any success I have reflects directly on the merits of the program."
-Joe Swanson (class of 2004; 2003 National Collegiate Honors Council Portz Scholar; Candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship)

“When people ask me how I feel about being in the Honors Program, I tell them that it’s like going to a restaurant with a bunch of friends; everyone grabs a menu, orders some food, eats it, and then decides whether the chef did a good job or not.” —Raheem Jammeh (class of 2006)

"The experiences we've had here in this developing Islamic desert country have made us think back to our Honors classes often."
-Mary (Anderson) Hansen & Derek Hansen (class of 2003 & 2002 respectively; met in the program, married in 2004 and completed their work in the Peace Corps. in Mauritania, Africa in 2007)

"The Honors House provides students with a community that respects comprehension and grants the opportunity for experiences to take with us on whatever challenge we decide to face."
-Nick Allanach (class of 2003; recent graduate of The New School's Graduate Faculty for Political and Social Science)

"My experience in Honors taught me that there is nothing I can't do if I want it enough. I learned many textual facts and philosophical concepts, but I walked away with much more. I have a deeper understanding of myself and the world in which I live because of the years I spent in the Honors Program at USM."
-Tara Thomas (class of 2001)

"I never realized that I wanted to be a teacher until a professor afforded me the opportunity to play that role in an Honors class. It allowed me to discover my true interest."
-John Malley (class of 1995; Special Education teacher in Milwaukee School System)

"Honors was the sprinkling on the cake of my college experience and provided me the confidence and writing skills necessary for graduate school and in my career."
-Janet Alexander (class of 1993; graduate of Smith College Counseling Master's Program and recently retired from her private practice)

Where do Honors students go after graduating?

Exciting graduate work at USM:

American & New England Studies
Muskie School of Public Service
ETEP :Extended Teacher Education Program
Master of Social Work Program
Stonecoast MFA in Writing

Our alumni have also gone on to the following graduate schools (to name just a few):

• Boston College
• Brandeise Pre-Med
• Georgetown
• The New School
• Northeastern
• Smith
• Syracuse: Newhouse School of Public Communications
• University of Colorado, Chemistry
• University of Maine School of Law
• University of Vermont Law School
• Vanderbilt

Graduates have taken their experiences and knowledge to a variety of leadership and civic roles in the US and abroad including the Peace Corps, internships on Capital Hill, as well as important careers in law, education, counseling, social work and the creative arts.

2006 graduate Michelle Alger received a Fulbright Scholarship to study for one year in Lithuania.

Our Alumni stay involved too:

• December 2007 four alumni of Honors came back as panelists for the Hon101 Wisdom Event.
• Gretchen Anglund McNulty teaches history at Cape Elizabeth High School and is a member of the Honors Advisory Board along with Wanda Poore.
• Ian A. Ramsey is now the Upper School Instrumental Music Director at North Yarmouth Academy. He was recently awarded a Fulbright Teaching Scholarship which took him to Japan, summer or 2007. Ian was a member of the Honors Director Search Committee along with Shauna (Roubo) Johnston.

For further information or problems with this page, contact Beth Round: bround@usm.maine.edu