2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004

2000

Jennifer DeDominici completed a master's degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She portrayed the title role in the premiere of the opera “Sara McKinnon” by Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated playwright Mark Medoff and composer Randall Shinn. She has worked as an apprentice artist at the prestigious Santa Fe Opera, and has done outreach work for Opera Colorado and Central City Opera. She recently performed as a visiting artist at USM's Homecoming. In January 2005, she will be in Anchorage, Alaska, as a member of the apprentice program at the Anchorage Opera. Amy Lynne Sawyer, who received her B.S.W. from USM, earned a master of science in human development and family studies from the University of Delaware. Her thesis was entitled, Early Care and Education Quality: A Comparison of Subsidized and Non-Subsidized 3-5 Year Old Center-Based Care in the State of Delaware.

2001

2002

Laura Hnatow, a USM School of Business graduate, has worked at Imago Creative for more than a year. The company was formerly known as Brown Design & Co., but changed names in an effort to highlight its marketing specialty, which is building brand relationships with women.

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2003

Pamela J. (Smith) Starkey married Nicholas B. Starkey on April 3 in Kittery. They live in South Berwick.

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2004

R. Avery McGill spent the summer as a U.S. athlete in Prague. The USA team was selected from college athletes from Division III schools in New England and the Midwest. The field hockey team members met at the airport in Boston and flew to the Czech Republic. The U.S. team competed with teams from across Europe including the Czech National team. Avery's team came in second place in the tournament. “The tournament organizers arranged many opportunities for the athletes from around the world to interact and have fun,” she wrote. “We were guests at numerous banquets, disco parties, and Czech homes....The experiences and friendships will last a lifetime.” Linda Riddell, who earned a master's degree in health policy and management at USM, is the principal of Health Economy, LLC. She has worked in the health insurance and health care fields since 1985. Linda wrote a column, “Will 'wellness' program work for your employees?” that appeared in the Portland Press Herald in September.

Nacha Thomas won a guaranteed audition for the Fox TV show, American Idol. She won a contest held by Portland TV station WPFO (Channel 23) and radio station WJBQ (97.9 FM) at the Auburn Mall. She sang “Blue Skies” and was judged as the best in a field of about 170 contestants. Her prize was a guaranteed audition in early October in San Francisco before producers for the talent show. Nacha sang “Blue Skies” in front of two judges, but did not advance in the competition. She loved her time in San Francisco and says the experience did not deter her. The native of Houston, Texas, recently left her job at the Fairfield Inn in South Portland to return to Texas where she hopes to save up money to move to California in pursuit of a singing career. Nacha spent six years in the Navy before graduating from USM with a self-designed major in social science. She says that her studies, which focused on social issues, are reflected in the themes of the songs that she writes and performs.

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