What Students Really Say About Farmington


Tell me about UMF’s Rehabilitation Services major here at Farmington.
The best thing about being a Rehabilitation Services major here is that people in the program are so open-minded. I picked it as a major because I knew I wanted to do something that involved helping people and Rehabilitation Services had all these classes that sounded really neat. The professors in Rehab Services are amazing and encourage you to do what you want.

What interests you, specifically, in the Rehabilitation Services major?
Some people in the Rehab Services program want to do Social Work or Therapeutic Recreation, while other students want to be Mental Health Counselors. All of those are amazing fields and they really support them, but I don’t want to do any of that. Right now, I think I want to do something with Wilderness Therapy and head out West and work there for a while. Again, the professors in Rehab Services encourage you to try so many different things.

Do you have many outside-the-classroom opportunities?
Yes. The thing I like most about the Rehab Services major is that you have to do a work-in-the-field practicum. Whatever you’re interested in, you just go out and do it. Myself, I worked in the Mt. Blue High School Guidance Department. Other students I know have gone to do their practicum at therapeutic recreation camps. Basically, you can do anything with the major that involves helping people. [Editor’s note: Practicum is a requirement in the Rehabilitation Services major where students gain hands-on experience in a real rehabilitation situation — working with service professionals and others. Students spend a certain number of hours per week in an assigned classroom and participate in a weekly seminar.]

What have your Rehabilitation Services classes been like?
Freshman year, the classes included Therapeutic Recreation, as well as counseling classes, and working with the community and learning what support resources are available. Then you get into classes like Casework, which is one of the best classes I’ve ever taken.

In that class we did simulated interviews, we actually interviewed each other, as a way to learn more about a client we’d be working with. We also did phone interviews with real counselors and asked them questions. Here, you get out into the Rehabilitation field immediately — even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do yet. In your junior year, you explore different fields and different job opportunities.

What is a strength of the Rehabilitation Services major at UMF?
From day one, your Rehab Services professors prepare you to get a good job in whatever field you want and they give you every experience they can. They encourage you to get out and do things and see what kinds of programs are available. It’s challenging — Rehab Services is not an easy major. The professors here challenge you but they’re more than willing to help you out with everything.

Have you had a favorite Rehab Services class?
I really liked the Casework class even though it was the most work — I just learned so much. One of our assignments involved doing the intake of another student, convincing them to tell you all their secrets, which is what you do as a counselor. We also visited the local courthouse to see if we wanted to be an advocate. In that career, you’d be at the courthouse a lot. The Casework class is great because it’s not just going to the library and reading this and that — it’s more about what you think and how the information impacts you and what you can do with it.

Coming from out of state, what originally interested you about UMF?
I just wanted to do something different. I was only two hours away from Farmington but it seemed different. I didn’t know anybody who had gone here and I decided to do something different from everyone else in my senior class. I really liked the Rehabilitation program here, so I applied, and here I am.

Had you been to Maine before coming here?
Yes. But I had never been to the Farmington area before I came to look at the school.

Do you snowboard or hike or anything like that?
Yeah, I like to ski but I love to hike.

Where have you hiked?
I’ve hiked the Bigelow Trail, Tumbledown Mountain about 10 times — which I love. And I’ve hiked Titcomb Mountain a few times, the random trails in Bonney Woods in Farmington, and a bunch of others I hiked for my Outdoor Leadership class. We hiked Mount Washington for our final!

So you’ve done some hiking for class and with friends?
Yeah, and when I was studying abroad I did some hiking, too.

Where did you study abroad?
New Zealand. I just wanted to explore the world and go on a big adventure. I took classes at the University of Canterbury on the south island of New Zealand. I lived there for about 6 months and at the end of the semester took my backpack wherever I could. I wanted to see the world and do some self-exploration.

How did your New Zealand trip come about?
I started thinking about it my freshman year here, but one day I got a letter in the mail from the UMF the International Studies program asking, “Why are you still here?” They sent it out to each student with a certain Grade Point Average, trying to encourage every student to go away to study and try something new. My Rehab Services professors encourage me to experience everything I possibly can — as a way to help us relate to different people we want to help. The trip to New Zealand wasn’t related to my major, but it was something I wanted to do, personally.

What are some things UMF does well?
I think all the academic programs here are very good. Basically, if you have a plan for what you want to do, the school will really encourage you to go out and explore things for yourself. And there are a lot of independent studies you can do to get into your interests. I also like that UMF helped to encourage studying abroad.

What is your favorite part about being at UMF?
I love that you can walk ten feet out the door and go hiking. And I love how friendly everybody is — about every professor I’ve had has been incredibly friendly.

What’s it like to live on-campus?
I had a blast living in the residence halls my freshman year. You meet the most interesting people you wouldn’t normally meet, and they live right next to you. You learn so much from everybody around you. The guy who lived next door to me my freshman year wore a red bathrobe every day and arranged his class schedule so he could watch The Price Is Right on TV every single day [laughs]. It made me learn how to deal with um ... interesting people [laughs].

Do you feel Farmington is preparing you well?
Absolutely. In almost every class, my professors are all about what I’m going to do when I graduate. When I came into Rehabilitation Services I had lots of random ideas about what I might do for work. The professors here are all about helping you explore your options, making sure you see what’s out there.

Do you have any sage advice for an incoming student?
My freshman and sophomore year here were hard because I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I wasn’t as serious about my schoolwork as I am now. I had a thousand different ideas — a graphic designer or an art therapist — I just wasn’t focused. Then, when I studied abroad in New Zealand I saw new and amazing things. That’s when I discovered I wanted to work with high school students.