Stonecoast MFA student Calvin Soule is currently 2,000 miles into a cross-country journey from Maine to Montana, documenting old-growth forests and climate refugia along the way. Keep reading to find out what inspired him to go — and what the road has looked like so far.
I used to pack my bags every weekend just to escape a school that never felt like mine — now I can’t imagine being anywhere but USM. Keep reading to see how one transfer changed everything, from my friend group to my career path.
She came to USM to become a music teacher, but found her real calling somewhere else entirely. Keep reading to find out how a trumpet, a conference in Hartford, and two years at USM led Hannah Paterson to the Marine Corps Band.
Florence Guimont stood at Iceland’s Gullfoss waterfall, mist settling on her jacket, thinking: I can’t believe we’re actually here. Read on to find out how a USM freshman went from seeing a poster on campus to standing at one of Iceland’s most iconic landmarks.
When Olivia O’Donnell walked across the stage at commencement this spring, she left with more than she expected: a degree, a group of lifelong friends, and a full-time job she’d start the following week. Find out how a USM Career Hub internship made it happen before she even crossed the stage.
Makenzie Renner ’26 and Caleb Randall ’23 ’26G were among the more than 1,000 University of Southern Maine students who crossed the stage at commencement in May — but unlike most of their peers, the pair had just returned from Austria, where they were invited to present on the history and culture of American music at one of Europe’s leading conservatories. Keep reading to find out how two students from USM’s Osher School of Music took American Art Song to European stages, what it took to get there, and how the experience is now shaping their next steps.
When Aja Marzilli showed up to a women in business networking panel on campus her first semester at the University of Southern Maine, she was one of only three students in the room. Keep reading to learn how that nearly empty panel became the spark behind USM’s Women in Business Club — and what she’s built since.
Tim Fogleman arrived in Maine having visited the state exactly once. Two years later, he’s graduating from the University of Southern Maine with a public health degree, a Free Press byline, and friendships he calls the bedrock of everything. Keep reading to hear how a leap of faith led him to USM, what he found when he got here, and what he wants students to know about building community from scratch.
Najmo Ahmed has a lot going on. She’s finishing her bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences at the University of Southern Maine, interning at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and working toward a master’s in public health — all while preparing a commencement address her mother doesn’t even know about. Keep reading to hear how she got here, what drives her, and what she wants people to take away from her story.
When Lisa Struebing was in her twenties, she made a promise to her mother: she would finish the college degree that she’d started and set aside. Keep reading to hear how decades of determination, two USM degrees, and one introductory physics class led her here.