The News - University of Maine at Augusta

The News
from
Liberal Studies
UMA Bangor
Spring 2012
College classes for H.S. students . . . 2
Campus news . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Focus on Advising . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Liberal Studies profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1

High school students
in college
High school students usually worry about
the transition to college—with good
reason. Ashley Coffin has already made the
leap, before she even finishes high school.
She’s taking ENG 101, College Writing, at
UMA Bangor. Home schooled, Coffin
enrolled at Hermon High School to finish
up her high school work. Her father
suggested the Aspirations program, which
lets high schoolers take college classes for
half tuition.
Her sister goes to UMA Bangor, and
Ashley liked the small size. In fact, the day
The News visited the class, she was one of
ten students in the classroom; her
instructor, Assistant Professor Jeffrey
Schyterz, obviously knew each student
well.
Coffin was a bit apprehensive about the
English class. “I’m a math geek,” she says;
“English isn’t my best subject.” It seems to
be working well, though; she just got an A
on her latest essay.
Aspirations
Though the Aspirations program has
been in place for years, few students take
Ashley Coffin; ENG 101
advantage of it. It was developed to help
overcome the low percentage of Maine high
school graduates going on to college.
If Coffin is any indication, it works. She plans to
enroll at Husson University in the nursing
program in the fall. She’d like to do medical
school one day, but is willing to go a step at a
time.
She has plenty of time: she’s only 16.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For more information about college courses for
high school students, call Kate Kevit: 262-7800,
Option 3.
U
U
U
Campus Briefs
Summer classes begin May 14th. The second
session starts the week of July 2nd.
New Student Orientation for Fall admits is
Wednesday, June 20th. There will be a second
orientation August 20.
The library will be dedicated May 1 to the
woman who built the collection and ran the
library for many years. Its new name is the Judith
Nottage Library.
Judith Nottage
2

Focus on Advising
The Lewiston Hall staff—Admissions, Advising, and
Financial Aid—are often the first people a potential
student meets.
Recent changes in staffing will make life easier
for students, so this issue focuses on some of these
important folks.
Advising, counseling gain
additional staff
“One stop shopping” for student services has
been a goal of UMA Bangor for a long time. With
some changes in staff responsibilities and
expanded academic advising, that ideal has
become reality.
Students can apply to UMA, apply for financial
aid, take placement tests, and meet with an
advisor, all on the first floor of Lewiston Hall.
But the best part, says Marcia Mower, longtime
advising assistant director, is that there’s plenty
of professional advising as part of the deal.
Faculty still do the lion’s share of advising,
especially for upperclass students. But for
entering students, it’s useful to have someone to
answer basic questions about majors and
requirements as part of their first contact with
the University.
Nick Runco
More advisors
The changes nearly triple the advising
horsepower in Lewiston Hall, and enable more
specialization. Mower handles the students
headed for healthcare programs, such as
Dental Hygiene and Veterinary Technology.
Nick Runco provides career services. He
helps students focus on post-college plans
and identify and carry out career goals.
Stephanie Graves continues to use her
expertise in placement testing and does
general advising as well. She hopes to be able
to do CLEP testing on campus soon, too.
In addition, the campus now has a full-time
counselor, Jen Mascaro. Until recently, the
counseling position was only part time. A full
time Learning Support Specialist rounds out
the student support staff on campus.
The Advising staff organizes New Student
Orientation, facilitates changes of majors, and
does a dozen other tasks, all student-focused.
Stephanie Graves
3

Advising guru
Marcia Mower holds a somewhat
dubious distinction: she’s been on the
Bangor campus longer than just about
anybody else.
She arrived in Bangor for a clerical job just
one semester after the campus opened in
the early 1970’s. It was called the South
Campus of the University of Maine at Orono
then. She liked the place immediately, and
has stuck around through half a dozen
name changes, several bosses, and myriad
other changes.
For more information about
Liberal Studies and UMA
Bangor:
Admissions and Financial Aid
262-7800, Option 3
Advising
262-7800, Option 2
Liberal Studies
262-7750
Marcia Mower
Student application form:
http://www.uma.edu/assets/docs/
admissions/Student_Application.pdf
Service to students
Mower’s long history gives her an
encyclopedic knowledge of the University.
Faculty note her perfect command of
academic requirements across the campus,
though she focuses primarily on the health
care majors. Years of working with students
have also made her keenly aware of their
needs, and she has worked hard to ensure
that staffing matches demand (see related
story, above).
For years she has organized New Student
Orientation. Mostly, though, she responds
to students’ questions, problems, and
concerns. It can be demanding. She works
with students by phone, instant message,
text, and email, though she still prefers
face-to-face contact.
What keeps her sane in an office where
the phone is always ringing? The outdoors,
her friends, and her “toys.” She’s an avid
snowmobiler and works on her local club’s
charity events. She loves hanging out
Downeast with friends, enjoying the Maine
woods and dangling a fish line in the water.
And she’s a devotee of useful fun. A whiz
with clip art, she loves creating brochures,
flyers, and related materials—mostly the
kind that benefit students.
4

The face of Liberal Studies:
Shani Barlow
It’s not uncommon for entering Liberal
Studies students to feel that Shani Barlow is
their new best friend. She has that effect on
people. And she’s very often the first person
a new student encounters, because she’s
the LS Administrative Assistant.
She remembers one particularly nervous
young man. Shani reassured him, and said
to stop by anytime. He did—daily. By the
time he finished at the Bangor campus,
he’d been on the Student Senate, and
generally flourished. But he still checked
in regularly with Shani.
It works both ways.
Asked what she likes best about her job,
Barlow says, “Students. Seeing them
succeed. Sometimes you meet one and
think, ‘Oh oh—this one’s going to have a
tough time.’ And then she or he does really
well. I like to think I helped a little with that
success.”
She knows what it’s like to be that
nervous new student, because she was
one herself. She arrived on campus ten
years ago to work on a business degree,
and finished her bachelor’s in 2008. Like
many UMA students, she worked full time
and raised her children as a single mom
while going to school.
Spare time?
Barlow’s concern for others is evident
even when she’s away from campus. Ask her about the
new BRICK-PEACE program working to improve her neighborhood and you’ll hear
her characteristic enthusiasm and energy. As Resident Group President, she helps efforts
to create programs for kids and adults, plan events, and get people more involved in the
community.
In her spare time, her two teenagers are her principal focus. But there’s also time for a
little modeling, some long walks and photography. She’s a word find addict and—as you’d
expect from such a people person—is active in social networking.
Busy? For sure. But Shani Barlow is never too busy to give a new student a helping hand.
She’ll tell you it’s just part of the job—the part she loves best.
5