Meet the 2020 Outstanding Graduating Students

Editor’s Note: Story updated May 1, 2020

Ten undergraduates have been named 2020 Outstanding Graduating Students at the University of Maine.

Among them is Grace Smith, the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, and the 2020 salutatorian.

The other Outstanding Graduating Students include brothers Abram and Gabriel Karam from Bangor, Maine. Abram, the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Engineering, will receive a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Gabriel, the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Maine Business School, will receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration in management, with minors in political science and psychology.

 

Abram, the 2016 Bangor High School valedictorian, is a UMaine Presidential Scholar and multiple scholarship recipient. He received a 2019–20 Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) Fellowship for the project, “Second-order derivatives of nonsmooth functions with applications in engineering.” He was a student research assistant at UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center and an engineering intern in the Office of Facilities Management on campus. This fall, Abram will pursue a master’s degree in mathematics at UMaine.

 

Gabriel’s multiple awards include a UMaine Dirigo Scholarship and the Joseph S. Keating Merit Scholarship. He was a member of a Maine Business School team that provided research-based marketing advice for a local farm, and his capstone experience involved virtual business simulations. Gabriel, who has minors in political science and psychology, is a Maine Campus opinion columnist. He is considering starting his own business and continuing his writing career.

 

Sally Clark of Hudson, Maine, is the Outstanding Graduating Student in the Division of Lifelong Learning. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in university studies with a leadership studies track, and has a minor in Maine studies. A native of Lincoln, Maine, Clark has been taking classes since 2015 while working full time with a family of four. She was instrumental in helping launch the Prism+ community within UMaine residence halls, focused on providing a safe, welcoming environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. Clark is an administrative support supervisor in UMaine’s Auxiliary Services.

 

Ines Khiyara of Crisnée, Belgium, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Engineering. Khiyara will receive a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, and has a minor in environmental engineering. A member of the women’s swim team for three years, Khiyara received multiple scholar-athlete awards and was on the America East Honor Roll. She also received an International Presidential Scholarship and the Richard E. Durst Scholarship. Khiyara served as a peer tutor, and a youth and adult swim coach. Her undergraduate research experience included work on the Duchenne muscular dystrophy zebrafish model using label-free microscopy tools to characterize sarcomere length. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

 

Brittany Kucera of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with a double major in history. Kucera, who was a member of the women’s ice hockey team, spent her senior year as an exchange student in Germany. She received a 2019 CUGR Summer Fellowship Award to participate in the Nadin-Gradina Archaeological Project in Croatia. Kucera received multiple scholar-athlete honors, served as a peer tutor, and reorganized and was president of the Anthropology Club. She plans to return to Croatia to work on multiple archaeological projects, including an underwater excavation she joined in 2019 on the island of Pag. Kucera also plans to apply for graduate school to further study anthropology and archaeology in Europe, and continue her hockey career.

 

Beate Naglestad of Oppegård, Norway, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine Business School. Naglestad will receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration in management, with a minor in international affairs. She has multiple student-athlete awards as a member of the women’s soccer team and served as captain in her senior year. Naglestad also received the Academic Achievement in Management award. She served as a peer tutor and was a team representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She has applied to graduate school at the University of Oslo to study organization, leadership and employment.

 

Fanny Wadling of Nacka, Sweden, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Education and Human Development. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and physical education, with a minor in business administration, and a concentration in exercise science. Wadling is a member of the women’s basketball team and was named to the Elite 18 for America East. For three years, she also was a Team Maine member. She is staying a fifth year at UMaine to earn a business management degree and to play her final year of eligibility.

 

Jarod Webb of Milo, Maine, has been named the Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Education and Human Development. He will receive a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, with a double major in English; a minor in psychology; and concentrations in English and analytical writing. Webb received a UMaine Presidential Scholarship and the Marion T. Archibald Scholarship. Last summer, he attended the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of an independent study. He served as president of the Student Maine Education Association and as a College of Education and Human Development Ambassador. He plans to either pursue graduate work or teach English in either a high school or middle school setting.

 

The two other Outstanding Graduating Students are:

• Cormac Coyle of Lebanon, New Hampshire, Outstanding Graduating Student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, with a double major in French; and minors in political science and Marxist and Socialist studies. He is an Honors College student.
• Xuyang Gu of Shanghai, China, Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745