Post-cancer, ME Student Will Head to DC

A 60-year-old geography student at the University of Southern Maine is one of 22 interns from across the nation to receive a paid internship at the National Geographic Society (NGS) in Washington, D.C. Brian Alward, the only intern from New England, will begin his three-month internship with the NGS dot com division in September 2001.

Alward, a native of Houlton, Maine, had his life changed by cancer. Before being diagnosed with cancer in 1994, Alward had tried numerous jobs, including being a U.S. Marine and insurance salesman. After surgery, Alward looked back on his life and wanted to feel he’d done more for the world. With his cancer in remission, he decided to go back to school and entered USM.

A dean’s list recipient since 1995, with a grade point average of 3.72, Alward will graduate in May 2001. While attending USM, Alward has received the Auto Europe Scholarship, Nora and Grace Nason Scholarship, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Scholarship, and the Associated Faculties of the University of Maine System scholarship. He is a member of Gamma Pheta Epsilon, the international geographic honors society, as well as a member of the honors program at USM. He is the Web master for the Geography-Anthropology Department and has also served as a teaching assistant in the department. As a geography student, Alward became skilled in use of Geographic Information Software (GIS).

The National Geographic internship program has been awarding junior and senior college students with internship opportunities since 1981. By the end of 2001, 430 students will have participated in the program from 153 colleges from coast to coast.

After graduation and his internship, Alward would like to enlist in AmeriCorps.