Honors Grad featured in Boothbay Register

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

February 10, 2016 News, Research

Honors graduate, Jennifer MacDowell ’13 was featured along with another UMaine graduate, Valerie Smith ’13, in a Boothbay Register article about their experience with Maine Medical Center – Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track Program.

An excerpt from the article written by Alan Crowell:

Valerie Smith’s journey to medical school began in an ambulance at the beginning of her junior year at the University of Maine at Orono.

A friend had talked Valerie into becoming an emergency medical technician and that fall night she had volunteered on the campus ambulance system for the first time. Her first patient was a freshman who dislocated his knee while playing basketball.

The young man was very uncomfortable and while she couldn’t offer him medication for the pain, she held his hand on the bumpy ride to the hospital. It made a difference to the patient and Smith was hooked. Over the next two years, she spent as much time as possible volunteering with the ambulance service.

“I realized that as much as I liked doing research and working in the lab, it was the personal connection and interaction with patients that I really loved,” said Smith.