Twelve undergraduates have been named 2026 Outstanding Graduating Students at the University of Maine.

Hamidah Aldarwish

College of Education and Human Development

Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Relations

Hamidah Aldarwish of Dammam, Saudi Arabia is the Outstanding Graduating International Student for the College of Education and Human Development. Aldarwish arrived in Maine in 2019 with her family — her husband, Jafar, and their three girls who are now ages 11 to 15. Aldarwish completed her capstone internship at UMaine’s Children’s Center with a focus on the application of observational and developmental principles in early childhood settings, particularly related to children with diverse developmental needs, including autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. After graduation, Aldarwish plans to return to Saudi Arabia to work with families and children. 

A full profile of Aldarwish is online. 

Ella Boxall

Maine College of Engineering and Computing

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with Minors in Sustainability and Mathematics and a Concentration in Water Resources

Ella Boxall of Kennebunkport, Maine is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing. She has completed internships with GEI Consultants and TRC Companies, conducted research using MATLAB to project sea level rise and king tides in Bar Harbor and served as a learning assistant and grader. Her capstone project focuses on redesigning a gravity-fed water system for a salmon rearing facility in Aroostook County, highlighting creative, low-energy engineering solutions. She plans to pursue graduate studies in marine science in the United Kingdom and build a career promoting coastal and environmental resilience.

A full profile of Boxall is available online. 

Dianne Brindisi

Division of Lifelong Learning

Bachelor of University Studies, Leadership Studies Track

Dianne Brindisi of Cape Neddick, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Division of Lifelong Learning at the University of Maine. Service has always been central to Brindisi’s life. From supporting families in need and mentoring young leaders to contributing to professional associations that advance women and industry standards, Brindisi believes leadership is inseparable from service. Looking ahead, she is committed to educating the public about the university studies program and sharing her positive experience and welcomes the opportunity to serve as a program ambassador. 

A full profile of Brindisi is online. 

Kate Evans

College of Education and Human Development

Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with a Second Major in Spanish

Kate Evans of Bangor, Maine is the Outstanding Graduating Student for the College of Education and Human Development. A single mom of four young children, whom she has homeschooled while working toward her degree, Evans earned a 4.00 GPA while pursuing double majors in secondary education and Spanish. She received the Roger Hill Humanities Scholarship and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Outstanding Junior Award. Evans is an active member of her church community, where she often volunteers her time for service and educational programs. After graduating she plans to stay in the Bangor region and teach Spanish at a local high school.

A full profile of Evans is online. 

Chantelle Flores

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Honors College

Bachelor of Arts in English with a Minor in Creative Writing

Bachelor of Arts in Art History with a Minor in Classical Studies

Chantelle Flores of Oakland, Maine is the Outstanding Graduating Student for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She was a McGillicuddy Humanities Center (MHC) Undergraduate Fellow, as well as a Zillman Art Museum Research Curatorial Fellow through the center. Flores interned at the UMaine Writing Center and served as co-editor-in-chief of Spire magazine. After graduation, she plans to pursue an internship related to literature or the arts and apply for graduate programs for art history, with the ultimate goal of acquiring a Ph.D. in contemporary art history and becoming a professor.

A full profile of Flores is online. 

Zoe Furber

College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Marine Science with a Second Major in Biology with a Concentration in Marine Biology

Zoe Furber of Vancouver, British Columbia is the Outstanding Graduating International Student for the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences. She has been a member of the UMaine Field Hockey team since 2022 and was appointed captain in 2025. During her time at UMaine, she completed a capstone project comparing ocean temperatures in the Gulf of Maine to heart rate metrics of blue mussels. These experiences prepared her for a career in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability. Furber plans to complete a Master of Science in Global Strategy and Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, where she will play field hockey for an additional year.

A full profile of Furber is online. 

Ruth Griffith

College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences | Honors College

Bachelor of Science in Economics with Minors in Mathematics and International Affairs

Ruth Griffith of Parkman, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student for the Honors College and the 2026 UMaine valedictorian. She is majoring in economics with minors in mathematics and international affairs. Through her honors thesis, Griffith developed a method to analyze sub-county economic trends using regional data, helping illuminate how policies impact local communities across Maine. Drawing on her background in regional economics, she adapted tools used for markets to understand disparities. Beyond academics, she has led service initiatives such as the Maine Day Meal Packout, coordinating efforts that provide tens of thousands of meals statewide. She will launch her career at TD Bank in New York City after graduation and plans to one day pursue a Master of Business Administration.

A full profile of Griffith is online.

Sarah Johnson

Maine Business School

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting with a Second Major in Business Information Systems and Security Management

Sarah Johnson of Clifton, Maine is the Outstanding Graduating Student for the Maine Business School. Johnson has completed multiple internships with both the Maine Business School and BerryDunn, an accounting and consulting services firm. She has also worked as an undergraduate assistant for UMaine’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. These roles strengthened her professional skill set, including effective communication, adaptability, critical thinking and the ability to apply feedback constructively. They also prepared her to approach problems analytically and to collaborate effectively in a professional setting. Following graduation, she will launch her career at BerryDunn as a tax specialist.  

A full profile of Johnson is online. 

Jasper Makowski

College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences | Honors College

Bachelor of Science in Microbiology

Jasper Makowski of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences. He secured internships and part-time work with two medical facilities and UMaine’s Maginnis Lab. Working closely with associate professor of microbiology Melissa Maginnis, he researched signaling mechanisms in viruses and learned about a range of diseases. Makowski is a student organizer for the Maine Day Meal Packout. Outside of academics, he retreats to the Maine outdoors and enjoys a variety of activities, from backpacking to fly fishing. After he graduates, he is pursuing a medical degree with plans to return to rural Maine as a primary care provider. 

A full profile of Makowski is online. 

Andrii Obertas

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Physics

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

Andrii Obertas of Lutsk, Ukraine, is the 2026 Outstanding Graduating International Student for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the 2026 UMaine co-salutatorian. Pursuing dual degrees in physics and mathematics, Obertas has distinguished himself through academic excellence and perseverance. He has conducted original research in both physics and mathematics, while also engaging in outreach efforts that bring science education to communities across Maine. His experience at UMaine has been shaped by a strong sense of community and opportunity, which he credits with providing hope for his future. After graduation, Obertas plans to pursue a master’s degree in mathematics through the accelerated 4+1 program.

A full profile of Obertas is online.

Samuel Tremblay

Maine Business School

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management

Samuel Tremblay of Quebec City is the Outstanding Graduating International Student for the Maine Business School. Tremblay is a tutor, mentor, Maine Business School ambassador and president of the UMaine chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. He is also a kicker for the UMaine Football Team, through which he became a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award, and a representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He served as a captain on Canada’s Junior National Team at the International Federation of American Football’s World Junior Championship. After graduation, he plans to stay at UMaine and pursue a master’s degree while continuing to play football.  

A full profile of Tremblay is online. 

Karun Varghese

Maine College of Engineering and Computing | Honors College

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a Minor in Robotics

Karun Varghese of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine College of Engineering and Computing and the Honors College. Varghese assumed research roles in the Computer Vision and Autonomous Robotics Lab, the High Altitude Ballooning Lab and the Advanced Structures and Composites Center. Outside of academics, he participated in the Black Bear Robotics Club, the South Asian Association of Maine and Model United Nations. Through Model UN, he traveled internationally to Taiwan, the Philippines and Peru. After graduation, he will pursue graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.

A full profile of Varghese is online. 

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu 

PORTLAND (WGME) — Campfire season is upon us, and many people might not think twice about transporting firewood from state to state.

But it’s important to remember that it’s illegal to bring out-of-state firewood into Maine, unless it’s properly treated.

“Whether it’s processed firewood or log-length firewood, if its purpose is to be used for firewood and it’s coming from out of state, then it needs to be heat-treated. Heat treatment means that the firewood would have reached a core temperature of at least 160 degrees for at least 75 minutes,” Maine Forest Service State Entomologist Allison Kanoti said.

Facilities that offer heat-treated firewood need a permit.

That permit then travels with the wood for proof that it was properly treated.

There is a ban on transporting out-of-state firewood into Maine to help slow the spread of invasive pests.

“Heat treating will kill things like insects, nematodes, fungus, bacteria that can travel in and on firewood and cause harm to our environment,” Kanoti said.

As of now, there is no county-to-county ban on transporting firewood, but there are quarantines in place to keep organisms from spreading.

“They are pest-based quarantines, so they focus on individual organisms. They are the emerald ash borer quarantine, which regulates the movement of hardwood firewood. Also, the European Larch Canker quarantine regulates the movement of any larch,” Kanoti said.

There is a ban on transporting out-of-state firewood into Maine to help slow the spread of invasive pests.

Examples of larch wood are conifers as well as tamarack.

And since the state-to-state ban was issued, Maine’s trees may be reaping the benefits.

“We do have some evidence that it is slowing the spread of these potentially dangerous organisms. But really, we just need everybody to make the right decisions regardless of the rules, and that is to use the local firewood,” Kanoti said.

There is a ban on transporting out-of-state firewood into Maine to help slow the spread of invasive pests.

Here you can learn more about the ban or the quarantines in place.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is set to impose the nation’s first statewide moratorium on energy-hungry data centers in a sign of growing political opposition to tech giants’ massive structures that have stoked fears about blackouts, rising electricity bills and voracious water needs.

The legislation arose in a state that isn’t necessarily a destination for the computer-stocked warehouses that power artificial intelligence, but a couple of proposals there generated intense community backlash and helped propel a measure quickly through the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature. Lawmakers on Tuesday approved sending the bill to Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate.

It’s the latest sign that increasingly stiff opposition at the local level is gaining a foothold higher up the political ladder. Tech giants and the data centers they are building have high-level support from President Donald Trump’s administration and many governors, who see them as economic engines and essential for winning the artificial intelligence race with China, even as voters raise concerns about the enormous amount of power data centers use. Analysts also warn of the possibility of blackouts in the mid-Atlantic grid in the coming years.

Proposals to slap a moratorium on data centers have been introduced in at least a dozen states, but none have passed a legislative chamber.

Maine’s legislation would institute a moratorium for more than a year on data centers above a certain size, and create a special council to help towns vet potential projects. Mills has not said whether she will sign the bill.

“It’s not that there’s no place for data centers in Maine,” said Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, who sponsored the measure. “Frankly, the tradeoffs have not been shown to be of benefit to our ratepayers, water usage or community benefit in terms of economic activity.”

Why Maine?

Despite Maine’s relatively low profile among developers of massive data centers, called hyperscalers, supporters of the projects said the moratorium will still matter long into the future to all sorts of industries.

“It says that the state is willing to essentially put a blanket ban on you if it decides that you may be politically unfavorable,” said Dan Diorio of the Data Center Coalition, a trade association that includes tech companies and developers.

They said it could deter data center developers from going to Maine and deprive the state of a long-term economic development anchor that attracts other industries. It also means local builders and labor unions won’t develop the skills necessary to build the facilities and might leave them lagging behind other states, they said.

“We think that these data centers could bring good jobs, good opportunities to these regions,” said Montana Towers, a policy analyst with the free market Maine Policy Institute. “And a lot of these concerns about them are luddite in nature.”

Nonetheless, several communities in Maine have raised concerns about a lack of transparency in potential data center projects. The Maine moratorium is largely about getting those communities to have input in the development process, said Joe Oliva, a spokesperson for the Maine Broadband Coalition, which supported the moratorium.

“If this is going to come, we want to be in early and often on the conversation,” Oliva said.

Growing opposition

Since last summer, community opposition has become a serious concern for data center developers, with numerous municipalities defeating their proposals in planning and zoning board votes before packed rooms of angry residents.

A handful of counties and municipalities in the U.S. have imposed a moratorium, and some bills emerged in states where development is brisk such as Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Some bills died without action, like one in Georgia, a data center hotspot. Other states have explored other ways to rein in data centers, such as by imposing tougher standards around water and energy use, transparency and protection of ratepayers and communities.

In Ohio, residents are trying to bypass the Legislature and get a measure on the ballot in November that is designed to permanently ban hyperscale data centers. They’ll need to gather more than 400,000 voter signatures by July 1 in what is perhaps the strictest measure of any under consideration.

Public officials, developers and other interests could otherwise “make this state a virtually unbroken field of data centers,” said Austin Baurichter, a Cincinnati-area lawyer who is helping organize the effort.

In South Dakota, a one-year moratorium bill failed in a state Senate committee amid opposition from power plant owners and data center developers. The governor also opposed it, telling senators that such planning is best done at the local level and that a statewide moratorium holds back municipalities that want a data center.

The sponsor, Republican Sen. Taffy Howard, told senators that “citizens are asking for this” and that the opponents are all lobbyists, “billion-dollar corporations” and government officials.

“Are you going to listen to the people or the paid lobbyists?” she asked.

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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Follow Patrick Whittle on X at https://x.com/pxwhittle and Marc Levy at https://x.com/timelywriter