Page 24 - The Bell Tower - Winter/Spring 2014

Fort Kent State Normal School University of Maine at For Class Notes Madawaska Training School
Mary Preston
Mary (Cyr) Preston (’00) moved to the Carolinas after graduation and landed her dream job at Michelin North America’s cor- porate headquarters. For the past ten years, she has lived in Greenville, located in the beautiful upstate section of South Carolina. The area is home to several universities: Clemson, Furman & Bob Jones, as well as
an abundance of large corporations: BMW Manufacturing, General Electric, and of course, Michelin, North America. Mary adds,“The average winter temperature is 60 degrees.” With a great education from UMFK and Mary’s work ethic and determination,
she has since been promoted to Executive Assistant to the COO of Michelin. Mary will always be very grateful to the educa-
tion she received at UMFK. She is a firm believer in giving back to the community and has been fortunate to do so with her involve- ment in the United Way and American
Heart Association fund raising campaigns through Michelin. Mary also volunteers at an under-resourced elementary school by helping students with their reading skills. She loves to travel and spend time with her three beautiful grandchildren. Mary’s favorite times are those spent with family and friends from Maine and New Brunswick.
Daniel Kerr and family
Community International School in Shanghai, China. Next year, he will move to Quito, Ecuador to become the intermediate principal of the Cotopaxi American School. Dan has been overseas, for 15 years now,
in such places as Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Jakarta, Indonesia; and China. Ecuador will be his fourth international adventure. Dan still thinks fondly of his time in Maine and continues to keep in contact with many of his classmates. Take a look at the following links to get a sense of where Dan is and what he does. Dan is a featured blogger for the international organization TIE online. He gave a TED talk at the Shanghai TEDx conference. https://hq.scis-his.net/ http://www.cotopaxi.k12.ec/home/ http://www.mondaymusings.org/ http://www.tieonline.com/
TED Talk link - http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xlk2lvNvXAo&feature=youtu.be
Nicole and Derrick
Colin Donegani, M.A.Ed. (’06) finished
a term teaching at Bridgeway Academy, a private school that serves students with various learning disorders. Colin success- fully defended his master’s thesis in August 2013. The thesis is entitled: “Conflict During Adolescence: Exploring Affect and Regulation as Predictors of Conflict.” His thesis defense marked the successful completion of his degree. Colin received a Masters of Arts in Educational Psychology in November 2013 from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Colin is looking for work in research related fields, while applying for Ph.D. programs in either clinical psychol- ogy or educational psychology. He continues to support students who live with learning disorders and mental illnesses.
Dan Kerr (’00) attended the education pro- gram at UMFK back in 1998-1999. Dan
is the middle school principal at Shanghai
Jalbert family
Jessica (Gagnon) Jalbert (’05) works as
a kindergarten teacher at the Eagle Lake Elementary School in Eagle Lake, Maine and Jesse Jalbert (’06 & ’07) manages the Sporting Goods department at Quigleys in Fort Kent. Jessica and Jesse welcomed their first child, Charlee Marie Jalbert, on August 8, 2013.
Nicole Ouellette (’05) became engaged to Derrick Sekulich, while ice skating this past winter. Nicole has her own web develop- ment and internet marketing business in
Bar Harbor, Maine called Breaking Even Communications. Derrick is a finish car- penter for CE Bucklin in Northeast Harbor, Maine and a glassblower for Atlantic Art Glass in Ellsworth, Maine. They are planning a small Bar Harbor wedding for September 2014.
Justin Killam
Justin Killam (’09) earned a bachelor degree in Education at UMFK. He teaches in his home town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. This past summer Justin finished writing and self-published his first novel, a supernatural thriller called “Seven Crows.” It is the first in a series of novels and just the beginning of his writing career. The first print run sold out in two hours at the release event, and the second print run is almost sold out. “Seven Crows” is available on Kobo and Kindle, or may be pur- chased in paperback directly from the author. Contact Justin at apoc@huntandkillam.com
22 | The Bell Tower
t