What Students Really Say About Farmington


Could you talk about your Individualized major?
Well, I started off as an Undeclared major when I was a freshman. I knew where I wanted to go, but there wasn’t a major that exactly fit what I wanted. I looked into Environmental Planning and Policy because I knew I wanted to do something with environmental regulation and environmental protection and I figured combining Political Science with some kind of Natural Science was the best way to do it. So I decided to create an Individualized major.

So you came to UMF with no idea of what you wanted to major in?
That's right. When I applied, I had no idea. But the summer before I came here I started getting interested in environmental issues. So I knew I wanted a career in environmental protection but I wasn’t sure what major would be the best fit for that career, so I talked with some people and decided to do my own thing.

What are some of the classes you’ve put into your custom-designed major?
I’m combining Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Geography, and a range of different social science classes. I picked more environmentally-focused natural sciences like Ecology and Forest Ecology, Botany. And I’m planning on taking Environmental Chemistry and talking with different professors to finding the courses that are oriented toward what I want to know about.

Is an Individualized major available for students?
There are certain requirements. You have to combine at least two fields of study and you have to complete the application in time. Once you fill out the paperwork and compile the list of courses you want to take, you submit it to Robert Lively [Dean of College of Arts and Sciences]. You have to have an advisor in each discipline and have both of them sign off on it. My Individualized major got approved right away.

Have you had a favorite class at UMF?
I’ve had a few favorites. I really liked Environmental Geoscience with Tom Eastler [Professor of Geology]. And I really liked Forest Ecology with Drew Barton [Associate Professor of Biology] and I like all my Political Science classes too.

Have any of your classes encouraged you to do something you never saw yourself doing?
In Environmental Geoscience, a lot of the labs weren’t what I’d have expected to be doing in college. Every week we’d go on an outdoor lab.

We went to the Sandy River transfer station, the town's recycling center, and it was shocking to see how much trash accumulates from just one small town. Tom Eastler’s classes give you a direct relationship to a lot of things in society people don’t necessarily think about. He makes you realize that when you turn on a light switch it’s taking electricity from a power plant, which is producing that much more pollution. It’s a neat way to think about things.

What brought you to UMF?
I first looked at a lot of out-of-state colleges because originally I didn’t want to go to school in Maine. But looking at costs and the fact I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I figured I should stay in a Maine university my first year to save money. I’d leave the transfer option open. But I liked it here, so I stayed.

Around campus what do you do?
I was involved with SEAChange [a student organization that promotes awareness and action on social and environmental issues] a lot last year; I was the club president for a semester. I’m also part of the Green Campus Coalition, which is a faculty-student environmental organization.

Is there anything that surprised you about UMF?
UMF is very forward on environmental and social issues compared to the rest of the world.

Do you work on campus?
Yeah. My work-study job this semester is really cool. I’m working with Valerie Huebner, [Assistant to the University President] as a student environmental coordinator for the campus. We’re doing projects that improve the environmental quality of our school and our impact on the environment. Right now, I’m designing a Web site to help coordinate carpooling for students and staff.

How did you get the job?
Last spring I went to a conference at Colby College about green campuses with Valerie Huebner and Dr. Barton and a few Farmington students. We came back with all these ideas of things we wanted to change at UMF. We decided that if we could create some work-study jobs on campus, there’d be more incentive for students to get involved. So we created four new student jobs. We just started this semester — it’s cool.

What does UMF do really well?
I think we have really great faculty. Our professors even get involved with clubs and things going on. I think it’s a result of the majority of classes being small — they know your name and a lot about you. I think the professors give you opportunities to do well and to be involved.

Do you feel that Farmington is preparing you well?
Yeah, I do. I really like all my professors and I think they give you a lot of opportunities to excel in whatever subject you’re taking. You also have loads of opportunities to get involved outside of the classroom. I like the community here a lot.

So, where do you see yourself going once you graduate?
I’m definitely planning on going to grad school. I’m not sure what I want to go to grad school for yet because I need to pick whether I want to do law school — which I’m not seriously considering at the moment — or doing environmental policy or something with environmental social justice or something like that. Or I could go with a biology or ecology Master’s degree and see where I go from there. That’s where I am right now.

Would you recommend UMF to a sister or a friend?
Yes, and I have recommended it to people. I couldn’t see myself at a huge school, I needed to be able to see familiar faces and not be lost in the social setting of the college. I would definitely recommend Farmington.