Page 15 - The Bell Tower - Fall 2014

Student Receives Care Package
A group of friends in Fort Kent have pulled together and mailed
a package that made its way to Afghanistan and then into the hands of a student of the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Bryan Piaseczny, originally from Vermont, deployed with the Maine Air National Guard in the middle of winter to that cor- ner of the world for a six-month tour of duty.
Tony Enerva, who teaches courses in public safety and criminal justice, said Piaseczny was a student of his, taking online courses with UMFK even while deployed overseas.
The young soldier was preparing for
a change in duties that would take him
off base, and some of his friends and col- leagues at UMFK decided to send him a care package to help out with some of the discomforts a trip off the base can bring. Enerva said, “He’s going to be joining
some teams that will be going “outside the fence” as they say.”
The folks at UMFK asked what he needed, and the response was “talcum powder and soap.”
Along with frisbees, t-shirts, playing cards, pens, paper, and baseball caps, Piaseczny’s friends sent him numerous small bottles of soaps, foot powder, and baby powder. Enerva explained that sol- diers need the small containers of toilet- ries in order to have room in their back- packs for the rest of their gear, and they need the powders, because everything rubs and chaffs. “We sent him over quite a few of those,” said Enerva.
Donations came from various places, both from the surrounding community and from the people at UMFK. Paradis Shop
‘n Save sent comfort food such as cookies and other treats, along with some of the toiletries. The UMFK athletic department sent him t-shirts and baseball caps, and the soccer team wrote him a personal letter. The UMFK admissions department threw in the frisbees, pens and other swag. Student affairs put UMFK t-shirts
into the box, as well as more toiletries.
In April, Enerva and Career Planning and Internship Placement Coordinator Tammy Delisle boxed the items together and shipped them out.
Enerva said, “It was just feel-good items. We wanted him to remember who his family is here.”
Piaseczny has strong ties with the cam- pus and the community. He is a volunteer firefighter, a member of the Bengal men’s soccer team, and a resident assistant in one of the dorms on campus.
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