• Aruna Kenyi, a UMF Community Healthg Education student and refugee from war-torn Sudan, returned in the summer of 2011 to his homeland to celebrate his country's first Independence Day and to help provide his fledgling country with hope for the future. As reported in a recent article on MSNBC.com, knowing firsthand the critical importance of adequate nutrition for students to learn and grow, Kenyi is raising funds to help launch the Sudanese School Lunch Program in his hgome village and hopes to connect with government, business and community leaders while in Sudan during the summer. Kenyi fled war-torn Sudan at the age of five and returned to see his family for the first time since 1994.

• In 2009, Community Health Education major Kelley Damboise of Caribou, Maine was named an "Outstanding Future Professional" by the Eastern District Association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD). She was one of only two Maine college students chosen in 2009 for this distinction. Kelley was recognized for this prestigious AAHPERD award for her academic achievement, campus and community involvement, leadership qualities and professional standing. As part of her award, she received an all-expense-paid trip to attend AAHPERD's annual professional conference held in New York.

• In 2009 Professor of Health Education Dennis Kamholtz accompanied a group of Community Health Education students to Tampa, Florida to participate in the national conference of the Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

• In 2008, Community Health Education senior Alissa Thebarge of Windham, Maine was selected Maine's "Outstanding Future Professional in Health Education" and was honored at the Eastern District Conference held in Lancaster, Penn. She was awarded an all-expenses paid trip to the prestigious conference and represented the University and the Community Health Education program in exemplary fashion.

• Senior Community Health Education majors are required to complete a semester-long full-time internship in a community health-related setting. Students often find these internships the most rewarding -- and valuable -- experience of their college career.
  

• In 2008-2009, Community Health Education students recently completed internships in a variety of health settings in Maine including: Franklin Memorial Hospital, Edgewood Rehabilitation and Living Center, and HealthQuest Chiropractic Center in Farmington; The Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program and the Maine Center for Public Health in Augusta; The Healthy Community Coalition in Wilton; Inland Hospital in Waterville; Dirigo Wellness Center in Dixfield; Kents Hill School in Readfield; Healthy Communities Capital Area in Gardiner; Somerset Heart Health Program in Skowhegan; and on campus at the UMF Student Health Center, among others.

• In other years, Community Health Education students have interned at these other health settings in Maine: Occupational Medical Counseling; Maine Center for Disease Control, the Maine Bureau of Health, The Maine Immunization Program, Medical Care Development, and the Maine Cardiovascular Health Program at Medical Care Development in Augusta; Hannaford Supermarkets Employee Wellness Program in Scarborough; Sisters of Charity Health Services in Lewiston; the American Red Cross, and UNUM in Portland; and many more.

• Hands-on learning experiences are readily available at the on-campus UMF Fitness & Recreation Center. There, you can take part in internships, learn to teach group fitness classes and work as a student personal trainer, and more.

• The UMF Student Health Club (a student organization dedicated to promoting healthy living and health advocacy issues) provides numerous opportunities for Community Health Education majors to attend local, state and national professional conferences.

• Students in Health Education Planning classes often develop -- and administer -- health programs on campus pertaining to a range of student health issues.

• A School Health Education concentration will certify you to teach health education in kindergarten through grade 12. You are prepared to conduct community health education, like the non-school health graduates, with the teaching endorsement added on.

For additional information about Community Health Education at the University of Maine at Farmington, just contact the Office of Admission:

Office of Admission
University of Maine at Farmington
246 Main Street
Farmington, Maine 04938-1994
US tel 207-778-7050
Intl. tel 00-1-207-778-7050
fax 207-778-8182
TDD/TYY 207-778-7275
umfadmit@maine.edu