Alumni Profile: Andy Bossie ’07
 |
“I Can Do Something About It”
Not many people step off a college campus into a position to change lives. For Andy Bossie ’07, it was a matter of course.
In fact, while still an undergraduate at the University of Southern Maine, Bossie became a force in state politics.
First, in 2005, he was a lead figure in mobilizing 700 volunteers for the Maine Won’t Discriminate campaign, which helped ensure that state civil rights law protects gay men and lesbians from discrimination.
Then, in 2006, he headed Opportunity Maine, a citizen’s initiative that changed state law to give tax credits to college students for staying in Maine after graduation.
And two months after he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Bossie became executive director of the Maine AIDS Alliance, an advocacy group that helps local organizations statewide promote HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and treatment services.
It’s not an entirely uncommon story for graduates of the University of Southern Maine.
“What’s so special about USM is its accessibility,” Bossie says. “Students have so much access to professors and opportunities to learn and get experience.”
That’s a lesson he learned soon after he first arrived on campus. Growing up in Caribou, Bossie says his goal was to study theatre in schools in New York or Boston. He was accepted by both schools but soon realized paying for either was out of reach. USM offered a scholarship, and he took it.
Soon after he arrived, he was surprised to land a prominent role in the University’s production of Cabaret. He doubts that would have happened at one of his so-called dream schools.
“What I didn’t realize then was how much USM is tied in to the community,” Bossie says. “There’s no real separation between the Theatre Department and theatre in southern Maine. There are internship opportunities, auditions, and shows to see, all because the University makes opportunities available to students.
“That is really important to the faculty and staff at USM. They encourage you to get involved.”
When Bossie turned his attention to community activism, opportunities were waiting. He calls his work with Maine Won’t Discriminate “an incredible experience. I learned how to instill my own passion in the campaign volunteers to get them excited and working hard for the cause—something you can’t really learn in the classroom.”
With Opportunity Maine, Bossie and his classmates worked with legislators, educators, business leaders, and students at every college in the state, collecting 73,000 signatures to place the proposal before the state legislature. In July 2007, Governor Baldacci signed it into law.
“I focus on issues, passionately,” he says. “The best way to do that is by encouraging others, helping them focus their energy, and pointing them in the right direction.”
In that role, Bossie draws on courses in theatre, business, and political science. Different perspectives, similar lessons.
“Understanding people, what drives them, how they react; that’s all theatre, political science, and marketing, too,” he says. “I’ve had incredible opportunities to grow academically, socially, and professionally at USM.”
As director of the Maine Aids Alliance, Bossie is helping to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. He came to the job through personal experience. When a friend was diagnosed with HIV, he realized how little he knew about the disease, its resurgence as a public health issue, and he was surprised by the public complacency about it.
“It’s a preventable disease. We need to prevent the spread of it, not only for what it costs in lives, but also what it costs the government, the economy, and health care system. It’s all tied in together.
“I’m a young gay man who until the last year was pretty naïve to these issues,” he says. “For me and my peers to not have that knowledge is pretty frightening.
“But you know what? I can do something about it.”
Is there any wonder where he got that idea?
back to top
|
