What Students Really Say About Farmington


Did you come to Farmington as a Community Health Education major?
No. Actually, I came in as “Undeclared.”

What led you to choose Community Health Education?
I took a lot of different classes, I explored different things I was interested in, I thought a lot, prayed a lot and eventually I just decided it was either English or Community Health Education. What appeals to me about Community Health Ed. is that it’s diverse — you can do many different things with it. It’s a good way to help people learn how to help themselves.

What areas of Community Health Ed most appeal to you?
Probably HEA100. The Health Lab was how I got into it. I just thought group fitness was the best thing ever. I got interested in that and ended up taking the Instructor Training course, and right now I teach group fitness at the UMF Fitness & Rec Center. I just love it! I’ve always been a person who likes exercise and I’ve been trying to eat well and I feel really good. I’m a strong Christian and I think taking care of your body is an important way to be a good testimony.

You do group fitness classes, what’s that about?
It’s me up in front of the class with a microphone headset leading a class through different types of workouts. I teach mostly kick boxing and some step-aerobics. And I’ve also taught a spinning class. I’ve been doing this since the summer after my freshman year.

How did you get qualified to do this?
Through the woman who was in charge of the fitness and personal trainers at the Fitness & Rec Center. I told her I was interested in teaching and she encouraged me to try it. So I took a semester-long, one-credit course that she teaches and she often ends up hiring the best of the students who take the class. The first few times I taught, I was a little self-conscious, but now it’s fun. I used to have bad asthma, and swimming helped me get over that. In high school, I started doing other things, I’d go for walks, I did the Tae Bo tapes, I was always an active kid.

Have you had a favorite class at Farmington?
I really liked my Stress Management class with Dr. Kamholtz [Professor of Health Education]. Dr. K. has a great personality and is very compassionate and he's sincere in what he’s teaching. You can tell it's part of his own lifestyle. He wasn’t just saying “be healthy,” while sneaking off to eat a bag of potato chips. He's very real.

What other classes do you like here?
I really like my History classes. I’ve only had three of them but I enjoyed them all. I liked U.S. History the best. I have Geography right now, which is interesting, too. I also like English — I actually love to write papers. Let's see, I took Fiction Writing, Survey of American Lit, and I’m in British Texts right now. Oh, and I’ve taken Shakespeare, too.

Was it obvious that you would apply here?
Farmington was always an option. My junior year of high school, I really didn’t want to come here — I wanted to get away from Mom and Dad and go somewhere far away. But expenses were just crazy everywhere else. I was accepted here and I took a rational look at it. I quickly got rid of my, “I don’t want to go here because my parents want me to” attitude and I realized Farmington was the perfect fit. I just love it here.

Did anything surprise you here?
What surprised me — and this is a little difficult to talk about — but I had committed myself more wholly to a Christian faith when I was a sophomore in high school and I was worried that when I went off to college, it would be hard to stay connected. But I was blow away by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship club here and all the activities and Bible study retreats involved in that club. I’ve really grown here spiritually, more so than I think I would have at a religious university. Here, it forces you to be real because there are so many different opinions and choices, so if you want to believe something contrary to what most people believe, you’ll be noticed.

Another thing that surprised me about Farmington was how friendly the upperclassman were to me. People are just very real here. A lot of my friends at other schools complain their schools are very cliquey and that money separates people. But there's none of that here at UMF and everybody is down to earth and open and friendly.

Are you active in anything else on campus?
There is Campus Crusade for Christ, I attend that as a member. And the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship club, where I’m part of the organization and management team. Right now, I’m also an Resident Assistant in Scott Hall-South. I’m really enjoying that. It’s a big challenge but I love it.

Once you decided on your major, did you find a community of students in that major or did it not make a difference?
Kind of between those two. I should join the UMF Health Club but my busy schedule doesn’t allow me to. I’ve had a few classes with the same group of people, so it’s been neat to get involved and make friends that way. It felt great to be declared and know what I would be doing with the rest of my time at Farmington.

What about the area, do you like to ski?
I love to hike but I have never downhill skied. I love Maine. I complain about the cold but in reality, I love it.

Who do you hike with?
I hike with my Dad and friends from home. I haven’t done the Outing Club trips with the school — but I plan to. The area, itself, is nice. Tumbledown Mountain, I’ve climbed four times and I’ve done Bald Peak, Mahusick Notch with my dad and a good friend, Bigelow Mountain, and Mount Blue. There’s a lot in western Maine.

If you were to pass along some advice to a freshman, what would it be?
I'd tell them to get involved in something they’re interested in. For me, it was Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, but there are so many clubs and activities. Just find something that will help you make friends, an activity that will help you feel like you’re part of a new family.

Do you feel you’re being prepared well?
Definitely. Farmington is a perfect balance between getting out on your own and staying close to home. For me, it's right in the middle, a happy medium. I’m very independent here — I have to rely on myself more. And as an R.A., I have to also take care of other people. But UMF isn’t too far from everything I know. It’s a nice stepping-stone.

What do you hope to do after you graduate?
I’m not sure just yet. I’m thinking if I go on to get a graduate degree, it’ll be after I work for a while — maybe working in a school, in a nursing home or some kind of care facility. I could help plan meals, do physical therapy with more degrees, work at a hospital, or maybe some kind of community program. Or maybe I'll work at a fitness facility or a health club — all kinds of good stuff.