Because of you, it has been a great year for 乐播传媒 鈥� and we envision an even brighter future ahead. With your support, we continue to make significant investments in the student experience, our faculty and the academic enterprise, and in making athletics, recreation, and well-being hallmarks of the 乐播传媒 experience.

I am delighted to report that donors like you rose to the occasion, ensuring that our finances keep pace with our vision for the college. 乐播传媒 alumni, parents, and friends invested $35,998,246 in the college in 2024-25! This includes $28.1 million in outright gifts and $7.8 million in documented pledges and future estate gifts.

By making your best gift for 乐播传媒, you ensure the college can provide the very best for our students. This year鈥檚 gifts reflected the shared priorities of the 乐播传媒 community, directly impacting key areas:

$8.5M

A record-setting $8.5 million in gifts to the 乐播传媒 Fund, impacting every aspect of the 乐播传媒 experience. Thanks to the generous investment of alumni, current and past parents, and friends, the 乐播传媒 Fund had its best year yet, finishing 8.5% ahead of last year.

$6.9M

More than $6.9 million in planned gifts and estate commitments, driven in part by the generosity of our 50th reunion class. This growing priority of the college鈥檚 fundraising ensures that 乐播传媒’ legacy of educational excellence will continue for many years to come.

$11.6M

$11.6 million for capital improvements that will enhance living and learning spaces for our students. This includes gifts that have already transformed our athletics and recreational facilities 鈥� from a new rowing shell and football scoreboard to turf on Leahey Field, and future commitments towards the new Fitness & Well-Being Center at the heart of campus.

As President Garry W. Jenkins has observed:

鈥淭ogether, we can put our college in the strongest possible position for those who will follow us, ensuring that future generations鈥攁nd society more broadly鈥攚ill benefit from a 乐播传媒 that has served so many so well, for so long. This is our task鈥攁nd our privilege.鈥�

On behalf of the college, we are so grateful that you鈥檝e joined us in ensuring that 乐播传媒 can continue to serve so many, for generations to come.

With thanks,

Eric F. Foush茅e P鈥�22, P鈥�26
Vice President for College Advancement

The occasion was the culmination of the inaugural Tuck Business Essentials course, designed and implemented in collaboration with Dartmouth鈥檚 Tuck School of Business specifically for the 乐播传媒 Short Term.

Laski and her teammates, Jack Kingsley 鈥�28 of Windham, Maine, and Roan Hopkins 鈥�27 of Yarmouth, Maine, also in navy jackets, were presenting as part of a course-long group project intended to demonstrate what they鈥檇 learned in this new course. 

鈥淢y team actually coordinated on colors so our outfits would look good together,鈥� Laski said. (She didn鈥檛 own a blazer, so she borrowed one from a classmate, who then wore it for her own presentation.) The occasion warranted it: 鈥淭hat was an incredibly unusual and special experience for us.鈥�

Intended to teach highly practical business skills, including using Microsoft Excel, and introduce students to various careers in business, Tuck Business Essentials featured an overview of marketing, accounting, finance, project management, and human resources. It was taught by four Tuck instructors in a blend of Zoom and in-person meetings and Peter Friedman 鈥�92, P 鈥�24, P 鈥�26, who earned an MBA from Tuck in 2003 and served as practitioner-in-residence for this Purposeful Work course. 

The course included a group project during which students worked in teams of three on a case study that used real-world data fit into a fictional scenario, as well as an element of time travel. The year was 2009, and a company called Industrial Gas Incorporated 鈥� after a rough go during the recession 鈥� was aiming to increase its profitability by 25 percent in three years. 

“Tuck taught me the value of embracing a liberal arts background when approaching business ideas, and I think the interpersonal skills that come with a 乐播传媒 education have really come into play during my networking opportunities.”

Willa Laski 鈥�26 of Bellevue, Idaho

Acting as consultants brought in to help IGI reach its goals, the students prepared business proposals assessing the situation and making recommendations for the company.

鈥淟ooking through the lens of the case study grounded a lot of these very abstract ideas, which had felt strange and unfamiliar to a lot of the students in the class,鈥� Laski says. The economics major (with a minor in Spanish) had signed up to improve her technical business skills and gain insight into potential career paths, along with getting herself ready for a summer analyst internship at Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City. 

She was part of a cohort of 30 乐播传媒 students 鈥� biology, economics, and philosophy majors alike 鈥� who signed up for the course. Whatever their prior knowledge of business, the students showed up with critical thinking skills and eagerness to learn in-hand 鈥� hallmarks of a 乐播传媒 education 鈥� says Friedman.

鈥淪tudents were very engaged and interested in the topic, which was great,鈥� Friedman says. 鈥淭hey were strong and very capable. I’m super excited and hopeful that we can commit to having this every year.”

One of five practitioner-taught courses offered this Short Term through the Center for Purposeful Work, Tuck Business Essentials was designed to quickly introduce students to various careers in business and teach practical business skills. Four Tuck instructors 鈥� Aram Donigian, Amy Florentino, Patroklos Karantinos, and Conwell Worthington III 鈥� took turns teaching subjects that included marketing, accounting, consulting, finance, project management, and human resources, as well as lessons on using software, like Microsoft Excel, and advice on translating a liberal arts education into a business career. 

Tuck offers its Business Bridge program, virtually, for Colby, Colgate, and Trinity during January terms, but Assistant Dean for Tuck Undergraduate Education Lisa Tedeschi said Tuck developed a 乐播传媒 version, similar but distinct from Bridge, due to the unique nature of Short Term.

She visited campus for the last two days of the course, eager to see how the case study played out in two sessions where students presented their work. The first was a practice run with a group of Tuck MBA students and course instructors and then, for the final version, Tuck alumni who served as 鈥渧isiting executives.鈥� The feedback Tedeschi got from both groups was that the 乐播传媒 students exceeded expectations.

鈥淭hey were just blown away,鈥� Tedeschi said. 鈥淭he 乐播传媒 students took a broad view of solving these problems. And they were creative, prepared, and engaged.鈥� 

Senior Associate Dean for Purposeful Work Allen Delong says that prior to the development of this course, about five 乐播传媒 students per summer typically attended the Tuck Summer Bridge Program in Hanover, New Hampshire. 鈥淏ut not every student can commit that much time or financial resources for that experience,鈥� he says.

The 乐播传媒-Tuck Business Essentials Course is an ingenious way to preview Tuck business education for 乐播传媒 students, he says, and is offered at no additional cost.

鈥淲e at 乐播传媒 are fortunate to have three contributing factors that make this class possible,鈥� Delong says. 鈥淲e had strong student interest in learning about and developing business-related skills and the existing model of Practitioner-Taught Courses during Short Term. And finally, we have engaged alumni who are generous with their expertise and their financial support. This allowed us to offer a course that is unique to 乐播传媒, in collaboration with a top-ten Business School, and that allows students to apply their liberal arts education to the world of work.鈥�

The course was open to students of all majors and class years. Like Laski, Deborah Asiimwe 鈥�28 of Kigali, Rwanda, enrolled to learn more practical business skills. Asiimwe, who plans to double major in economics and environmental studies, hopes to return to Rwanda to contribute to the development of her home country through a career in climate finance.

Of the many new subjects the course introduced Asiimwe to, marketing was her favorite.

鈥淚 learned so much,鈥� Asiimwe says. 鈥淚t was perhaps one of the most challenging things, but also rewarding and one that cultivated so much interest to grow.鈥�

Tuck Business Essentials also attracted students majoring in subjects without immediately obvious connections to business, including Evan Migdole 鈥�26 of Westbrook, Conn. A biology major, Migdole hopes to pursue a career at the intersection of life sciences and business, likely in a financial analyst role.

鈥淎s someone that does want to go into business and something within corporate America, understanding how business operates and the different departments was something that was enticing to me,鈥� Migdole says.

Being put in teams of three was key to the real world experience, Migdole adds. 鈥淲ith consulting roles in the real world, you’re typically working with a team. From that perspective, it made a lot of sense that we were working with other people and collaborating to put this together.鈥�

For the case study, Asiimwe鈥檚 group suggested that IGI implement a segmentation strategy, dividing its customers into several groups based on their needs and resources. With these distinctions, the company could better understand where their attention was best spent and ultimately attain a wider profit margin.

The presentation itself was a great lesson in learning to tailor information to one鈥檚 audience, Asiimwe says, and communicating with peers.

鈥淭he biggest problem of communication is the illusion that it has happened,鈥� Asiimwe says. 鈥淚 learned from my group members to communicate, from the smallest thing to the biggest thing.鈥�

Just as the students eagerly worked to understand the course material, they also had a knack for group work, Friedman says.

鈥淚t was really nice to see that they very easily could transition into collaborative, team-based work.鈥�

With their presentations concluded, the Tuck students ended Short Term with new practical skills in their pockets and new ideas about building a business career atop a liberal arts foundation.

鈥淓veryone’s been able to bring their unique perspective and should be able to apply, even if it’s at the most basic level, what we’ve been learning to their career paths, whether it’s STEM, humanities, anything,鈥� Laski says.

鈥淚’m really appreciative for opportunities like this class that round out what we’re doing in our regular day-to-day life at 乐播传媒.鈥� 

Equally important to the technical knowledge she gained was the opportunity to meet and network with the Tuck faculty and visitors to the class, including 乐播传媒 alumni, Laski says, and learn how those with liberal arts backgrounds have applied their skills to careers in business.

鈥淭hose softer skills, the critical thinking, the value on interdisciplinary learning 鈥� those are things that all of the alumni have said brought them really far in their careers,鈥� Laski says.

Now that she鈥檚 in the full swing of her summer internship at Goldman Sachs, how is the Tuck course work translating? The data analytics and business intelligence have been 鈥渂ig themes鈥� for the internship so far, Laski says, so she鈥檚 thankful for the technical skills she learned over Short Term. But the lessons in interpersonal connections were particularly valuable.

鈥淚 think that the networking element has been the most important skill I鈥檝e been able to transfer from the Tuck class,鈥� Laski says. 鈥淎s interns we are encouraged to always be networking. Tuck taught me the value of embracing a liberal arts background when approaching business ideas, and I think the interpersonal skills that come with a 乐播传媒 education have really come into play during my networking opportunities.鈥�

In November 2023, Sylvester died at the age of 99, but his positive presence will be felt at 乐播传媒 for many years to come, thanks to his bequest of $1.3 million to 乐播传媒.

Made through Sylvester鈥檚 will, the bequest creates two new permanently endowed funds that will leave a legacy of access, opportunity, and community at 乐播传媒. 

One endowment, the Ralph L. Sylvester 鈥�50 Fund for Financial Aid, will provide need-based scholarships for 乐播传媒 students, with preference for students from Androscoggin and Oxford counties. The second endowment, the Ralph L. Sylvester 鈥�50 Fund for Dining Services, will support professional development for the members of the college鈥檚 dining team.

鈥淩alph was for the underdog, and he was always our champion,鈥� said Christine Schwartz, associate vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events. 

Schwartz learned of Sylvester鈥檚 bequest this week while she was handling swiftly shifting details for Commencement weekend 鈥� rain was in the forecast. 

She teared up when hearing the news. True, the two hadn鈥檛 started out eye-to-eye: Sylvester didn鈥檛 mince words when offering feedback on goings-on at his alma mater, including her dining operation. 

鈥淟et鈥檚 just say that Ralph and I did not start out in a stellar way,鈥� Schwartz says. 鈥淏ut we became great friends, and I really took in his wisdom.鈥� During COVID, Schwartz and her team delivered meals to Sylvester at his home in Auburn.

In recent years, the two friends often talked about how to create opportunity and advancement for the many members of the Dining Services team. 鈥淗ow do we move people along their career path? How do we, as a college, help our staff members realize that there are many opportunities to either continue on the path you鈥檙e on, or to open yourself up to wider opportunities?鈥�

Sylvester was born in Lewiston in 1924 and lived in Auburn for most of his life. Growing up, he was a newsboy for the local paper, graduating from Edward Little High School and entering 乐播传媒 in September 1942. He worked in a local mill to earn tuition money.

Then came World War II. Sylvester joined the U.S. Army in 1943, serving with the 295th Combat Engineers. He landed on Omaha Beach five days after D-Day, when the beach was still covered with the bodies of dead American soldiers, and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war, he returned home to Auburn, and returned to 乐播传媒. War had taken a toll, and he left before graduating, but always remained connected to his alma mater.

He married Elaine Miller in 1949, and worked in local banks and in telecommunications, helping to deliver service to rural Maine. He was a lifelong supporter of public institutions in the Lewiston-Auburn community.

Active in veterans affairs, he supported Honor Flight, a nonprofit program that honors U.S. military veterans by flying them for free to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice.

After retiring, he and Elaine started a morning routine of having breakfast at the Den. That was where Peter Steenstra, head coach of 乐播传媒 rowing, met Sylvester. Steenstra liked to head to the Den for breakfast after the rowers鈥� early morning practice on the Androscoggin River. 

Sitting, eating, and talking with Sylvester and others became a morning ritual. 鈥淏eing able to chat with someone who had such a vast experience in the world helped me keep things in perspective,鈥� Steenstra said.

In recent years, Sylvester shifted to Commons, where he got to know 乐播传媒 rowers, who would greet the nonagenarian as they returned from the river after practice. 

In April 2023, the 乐播传媒 rowing team chose to honor Sylvester by naming its new shell Ralph Sylvester 鈥�50. During the christening ceremony in Perry Atrium, Steenstra presented an oar blade to Sylvester, a symbol of the great esteem the coach and rowers had for him. 

While having lunch with his teammates in Commons on Wednesday, 乐播传媒 rower Leo Sullivan 鈥�25 of Bloomfield, Conn., took in the news of Sylvester鈥檚 bequest. Sullivan was at the 2023 event, where he met and shook hands with Sylvester.

鈥淚t’s incredible that he was so invested in this community that he would pay it forward in that way,鈥� said Sullivan. 鈥淚t just speaks to what a major part of 乐播传媒 he was.鈥�

The promotions were recommended by the Faculty Personnel Committee and approved by the 乐播传媒 College Board of Trustees. This year鈥檚 promotions comprise three assistant professors promoted to associate professor with tenure; five associate professors promoted to professor; and two lecturers promoted to senior lecturer.

鈥淓ach of these faculty members advances the mission of 乐播传媒 with great distinction,” said Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “They are effective and inspiring educators as well as accomplished scholars and artists whose work expands knowledge and perspective in their fields. Each is highly engaged in our community, contributing in meaningful ways to the governance of the college and to the betterment of our broader society.鈥�

Ian-Khara Ellasante, promoted to associate professor of gender and sexuality studies

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., University of Arizona

Scholarly and creative work: Trans poetics and life-writing, Black and Indigenous feminisms and solidarities, cultural identity persistence, and reproductive justice. Ellasante is also an award-winning poet whose current manuscript was a finalist for the National Poetry Series 2024 competition.

Courses taught include: “Race, Ethnicity, and Feminist Thought,” in which students examine race, ethnicity, and national power at their intersections with gender and engage with modes of critical and liberatory theorizing that challenge conventional ideas of what constitutes theory. Students are encouraged to practice intentional self-reflection throughout the course.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: At 乐播传媒, I co-create learning communities every semester alongside the remarkable students in my classes. Their diligence and deep engagement with our course topics, from their myriad positions, motivate and sustain my pedagogical approaches. Being a 乐播传媒 professor also means working alongside warm and insightful colleagues to support the governance of the college. Being at 乐播传媒 also means learning and working within the vital communities of Lewiston鈥揂uburn.

Myronn Hardy, promoted to associate professor of English

Terminal degree and institution: M.F.A., Columbia University

Scholarly and creative work: Hardy is an award-winning poet who has authored six volumes of poetry, including Aurora Americana, published by the Princeton University Press in 2023. Hardy鈥檚 poems have appeared in Ploughshares, POETRY, The New York Times Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, Washington Square Review, and The Baffler.

Courses taught include: 鈥淭he Aesthetics of Seeing: Poetry as Witness,鈥� in which students explore how poets transform experiences of trauma and beauty into poetry, studying writers like Carolyn Forch茅, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Mahmoud Darwish through discussion, close reading, and writing.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: The willingness of 乐播传媒 students to be experimental in their thinking and thrive in that experimentation is what I relish. Here, my colleagues are generous and supportive. This is a wonderful community.   

Asha Tamirisa, promoted to associate professor of music

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., Brown University

Scholarly and creative work: Experimental music, media art, and media history research, drawing from sound studies, media archeology, feminist science and technology studies to situate the tools, materials, and methods of media arts practice.

Courses taught include: 鈥淚mmersive Media Installation,鈥� an interdisciplinary creative production course that guides students through theoretical and technical frameworks for combining sound, video projection, and liveness in the conceptualization of collaborative artworks. Students exhibit their installations in 乐播传媒鈥� Immersive Media Studio (IMStudio).

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: Being a part of the 乐播传媒 community means being humbled by the wisdom of my colleagues, peers, and students and growing together toward greater care for the world around us. Teaching at 乐播传媒 means engaging with students conversationally and experientially, and encouraging students to become conscientious media makers as well as community members.

Lauren Ashwell, promoted to professor of philosophy

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Scholarly and creative work: Metaphysics, philosophy of mind, epistemology with a focus on self-knowledge of desire, philosophy of language on gendered slurs and hate speech, and feminist philosophy.

Courses taught include: 鈥淭opics in Contemporary Mind and Language: Language and Power,鈥� in which students use philosophy of language to explore how speech can empower or harm, analyzing topics like free speech, slurs, propaganda, social identity, and resistance.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: Especially in challenging times, it is wonderful to be surrounded by students who aren’t afraid of investigating hard questions, other faculty who are so committed to supporting our students and to the educational mission of the college, and all the staff who expertly manage the day-to-day running of the college.

Carrie Diaz Eaton, promoted to professor of digital and computational studies

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., University of Tennessee

Scholarly and creative work: Interdisciplinary and inclusive undergraduate STEM education using mixed methods including computational, data science, and digital narrative approaches grounded in a complex adaptive and ecological systems perspective. 

Courses taught include: 鈥淐alling Bull: Data Literacy and Information Science,鈥� in which students learn to call out misinformation by dissecting data-driven claims, spotting statistical traps, studying real-world cases, and using the R programming language to analyze and visualize evidence.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: To be at 乐播传媒 means that I have pursued the invitation to be borderless 鈥� across disciplines and departments, across students, staff, and faculty, across institutions, across cultures 鈥� and to embrace Nepantla, the knowledge that arises from working at these borders. It allows me to surround my quantitative and computational teaching in the joy of learning new things together from each other.

Clarisa P茅rez-Armend谩riz, promoted to professor of politics

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., University of Texas

Scholarly and creative work: How international migration affects politics in migrants鈥� origin countries and the political participation of migrants who return to their origin countries, with a focus on how Mexican immigrants living abroad influence politics and political attitudes and behaviors in Mexico.

Courses taught include: 鈥淗ow Democracy Dies,鈥� in which students investigate how and why democracies collapse under elected leaders, drawing lessons from past and present cases to understand and learn how to defend democracy today.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: Being a 乐播传媒 College professor means being responsive to students as learners and developing adults, recognizing the varieties of knowledge, experiences, habits, interests, and values that each student brings to campus and the fact that each entering class is different from the last. It means keeping up with new research in my field, of course, but also adapting how and what I teach to evolving norms, technologies, and pedagogical approaches. It means thinking critically about the kind of world my students are entering after 乐播传媒 and asking myself and my awesome colleagues what it means to be prepared for that world.

Mara Tieken, promoted to professor of education

Terminal degree and institution: Ed.D., Harvard University

Scholarly and creative work: Rural education, college access and persistence, community organizing, race, and class in rural communities, with a special interest in rural school closure and consolidation.

Courses taught include: 鈥淩ace and Justice in American Education,鈥� in which students reflect upon their own schooling experiences and fieldwork in the local schools to explore the racialized historical and current structures of public education and envision a more equitable and just future. 

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: To me, being a 乐播传媒 professor means working with students to envision and promote a more just educational system and world. It means partnership, reflection, and passion. It means deep ties to community, locally and beyond. And it means the immense privilege of loving what I do. 

Larissa Williams, promoted to professor of biology

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., North Carolina State University

Scholarly and creative work: Biological importance of genetic variation and cellular and molecular responses to toxicants, with a specific interest in how transcription factor proteins work to coordinate normal development in zebrafish.

Courses taught include: 鈥淟ab-Based Biological Inquiry: Poisons,鈥� in which first year students build research skills through open-ended, authentic experimentation of the natural world, and survey historical and emerging poisons, examine their impact on human health, and test the behavioral and molecular effects of exposure to poisons.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: I鈥檓 so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by amazing colleagues and students who are all curious and passionate about learning. I am also particularly grateful to collaborate with so many folks at 乐播传媒 in my research program 鈥� they are true partners with me in knowledge creation and dissemination. 

Jessica Anthony ’96, promoted to senior lecturer in English

Terminal degree and institution: M.F.A., George Mason University

Scholarly and creative work: An award-winning novelist, Anthony is the author of four books of fiction including The Most, published by Little, Brown and Company in 2024. Her novels have been published in over a dozen countries, and have been featured in Time, Newsweek, Esquire, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times Book Review鈥檚 鈥淓ditors鈥� Choice鈥� column.

Courses taught include: “Autofiction,” in which students analyze novels that exist as inventions of the self, and creatively experiment with homonymy among the author, narrator and the characters.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: There is truly no place like 乐播传媒. Every year setting foot on campus, I recall my own experiences as a 乐播传媒 student, and am filled with joy and appreciation that my life鈥檚 work can exist here, in conversation with the work of others. I am constantly humbled by the intellectual rigor and talents of my colleagues and students, and could not be more grateful to be a part of this extraordinary community.

Laura Balladur, promoted to senior lecturer in French and Francophone studies

Terminal degree and institution: Ph.D., Duke University

Scholarly and creative work: Translation in theory and practice, French and Francophone cinema, the relationship between literature and science, critical theory, and the embodied mind. Currently, she is working on a creative nonfiction project that blends personal memoir with the history and present-day realities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focusing on both its colonial past and its contemporary context.

Courses taught include: 鈥淭ranslation: Theory and Practice,鈥� in which students engage with the politics of language, power, gender, and representation in French and Francophone literature and poetry. The course emphasizes how translation functions not only as a linguistic practice but also as an ideological and cultural one 鈥� revealing structures of exclusion, silencing, and resistance. Students come to understand translation as a political act.

What it means to be a 乐播传媒 professor: Being a 乐播传媒 professor gives me the freedom to explore wide-ranging ideas 鈥� both in the classroom and through my research. I鈥檓 fortunate to work alongside colleagues who inspire me to grow as a teacher and scholar. In the classroom, I鈥檓 privileged to teach curious, creative students, and I value cultivating a learning environment grounded in imagination, collaboration, and authentic voice.

Original story posted here.

Held in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building, the festive occasion brought together student-athletes, coaches, staff, and members of the 乐播传媒 community for a spirited dessert reception brimming with camaraderie and cheer. Attendees posed for photos along the red carpet before settling in for a night of recognition and reflection.

Interim Director of Athletics,听, welcomed the audience with opening remarks before introducing this year’s masters of ceremony:听听’25 (Women’s Soccer) and听听’25 (Men’s Lacrosse).听听

The awards ceremony would then commence with the following awards presented at the CATSBYS:

LEWISTON STRONG AWARD
Presented by听听’25 (Women’s Tennis) and听听’26 (Baseball),听the听Lewiston Strong Award is presented to one Bobcat from a women’s team, and one from a men’s program, that prioritizes service and engagement, both on campus and in the Lewiston-Auburn community.

Winner (Women’s)
听’25 (XC/Track & Field)

Nominees:听听’25 (Soccer),听听’25 (XC/Track & Field),听听’26 (Golf)听

Winner (Men’s)
听’27 (Soccer)

Nominees:听听’27 (Soccer),听听’27 (Lacrosse),听听’26 (Basketball)

TEAM BREAKOUT AWARD
Presented by听听’27听(Men’s Rowing) and听听’26听(Women’s Soccer/Track & Field), the Team Breakout Award is presented to one men’s team, and one women’s program, that has demonstrated success and achievement, while emerging as a top team (either in conference or on the national stage)

Winner (Men’s)
Lacrosse

Nominees: Football (signature NESCAC victories vs. Middlebury and eventual conference-champion Wesleyan), Men’s Lacrosse (winning record AND making NESCAC Tournament for first time since 2019), Men’s Swimming & Diving (13th at NCAA Championships)

Winner (Women’s)
Softball

Nominees: Lacrosse (make NESCAC Tournament for first time since 2019 AND best seeding since 2016), Softball (clinched sixth-seed in NESCAC Tournament), Tennis (most victories in three years and winning record at home)

TEAM BOBCAT AWARD听
Presented by听听’28 (Football) and听听’27 (Women’s Golf), the Team Bobcat Award is presented to a student-athlete from both a women’s and men’s program that influences others to succeed. This individual drives their teammates, does the little things to be successful, motivates, leads by example, and possesses that “it” factor.

Winner (Women’s)
听’25 (Lacrosse)

Nominees:听听’25 (Alpine Skiing),听听’25 (Rowing),听听’25 (Lacrosse)

Winner (Men’s)
听’25 (Basketball)

Nominees:听听’25 (Soccer),听听’25 (Basketball),听听(Alpine Skiing)听

MOMENT OF THE YEAR
Presented by听听’28 (Volleyball) and听听‘25 (Men’s Golf), the Moment of the Year highlights an individual moment from a game, match, or competition occurring over the last calendar year.

Winner (Men’s)
听’26 (Swimming & Diving)

Nominees:听 Baseball (combined no-hitter vs. UMaine-Farmington),听听’26 (wins NCAA title in 100-yard freestyle),听听听’28 (does a back flip听after pushing Men’s Lacrosse to victory with game-winning goal in OT at Williams)

Winner (Women’s)
听’26 (Basketball)

Nominees:听听’28 (nifty Women’s Soccer opening-night goal听makes ESPN Sportscenter Top-10),听听’27 (game-saving save vs. No. 4 Wesleyan sets stage for shootout win in first round of NESCAC tournament),听听(Game-winning layup sends Women’s Basketball to second round of NCAA Tournament)

FACULTY-STAFF APPRECIATION AWARDS
Presented by听听’25 (Men’s Lacrosse) and听听’26 (Football), the Faculty-Staff Appreciation Award听honors members of the 乐播传媒 College faculty or staff who has made a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of student-athletes.听This award celebrates those whose encouragement, mentorship, or behind-the-scenes efforts contribute to the holistic success of 乐播传媒 student-athletes.

Winners
Kirstin Hanlon, Catering/Dining Services
Mark Truitt, Facility Services

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Presented by听听‘26 (Women’s Basketball)听and听听’26听(Men’s Lacrosse), the Rookie of the Year is presented to 乐播传媒’ top first-year student-athlete who is a steady, consistent presence; a demonstrator of outstanding ability; and possesses high personal motivation and drive.

Winner (Women’s)
听’28 (Field Hockey)

Nominees:听听听’28 (Field Hockey),听听’28 (Nordic Skiing),听听’28 (Track & Field)

Winner (Men’s)
 ’28 (Squash)

Nominees:听听’28 (Swimming & Diving),听听’27 (Track & Field),听听’28 (Squash)

GAME OF THE YEAR
Presented by听听’26 (Alpine Skiing)听and听听’26 (Men’s Basketball).

Winner (Men’s)
Football

Nominees: Football (24-13 win at Wesleyan, 9/28/25), Soccer (1-0 win over  No.15 Bowdoin with 0:55 remaining, 9/24/25), Track & Field (4th-place finish at 2024 NESCAC Championships)

Winner (Women’s)
Field Hockey

Nominees: Field Hockey (stuns No. 1 Middlebury, 2-1, in NESCAC Tournament semifinals), Lacrosse (defeats Williams, 9-7, in home opener), Tennis (upsets No. 16 Williams, 4-3)

MILTON L. LINDHOLM SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARDS 
Presented by Malcolm Hill, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty, the Milton L. Lindholm Scholar Athlete Awards have been given annually since 1976 to the senior men’s team and senior women’s team athletes with the highest grade point averages. The awards honor Milton L. Lindholm, Class of 1935, who served as 乐播传媒 Dean of Admissions for 32 years.

Winner (Men’s)
听’25 (Swimming & Diving-3.98 GPA)

Winner(s) (Women’s)
听’25 (Soccer-4.00 GPA)
听’25 (XC/Track & Field-4.00)听
听’25 (XC/Track & Field-4.00)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Presented by听听’26 (Women’s Lacrosse) and听听’26 (Men’s Lacrosse), the Most Valuable Player must have at least sophomore standing and may either be highly versatile or demonstrate excellence in one sport. The MVP must be a steady, consistent athlete; display good sportsmanship; have high personal motivation and drive; and maintain an attitude and character that represents the ideals of 乐播传媒 College.

WINNER (Women’s)
听’25 (Field Hockey)

Nominees:听听’26 (Track & Field),听听’25 (Field Hockey),听听’26 (Basketball)

WINNER (Men’s)
听’26 (Swimming and Diving)

Nominees:听听’26 (Swimming & Diving),听听’27 (Football),听听’25 (Track & Field)

PRESIDENT’S CUP
Presented by President Garry W. Jenkins (introduced by Rosanna Ferro, Vice President for Student Affairs), the President’s Cup is to be presented annually to the athletic program that has excelled in athletic competition, in the classroom, and in the community, while exemplifying leadership, dedication, values, and concern for their fellow Bobcats.

WINNER
Men’s Lacrosse

Original story posted .

They hole away in a reserved space on campus for a 48-hour 鈥渉ackathon鈥� to test their problem-solving skills and apply code, economics, and data science to real-world issues in the local Lewiston community.

Coombs鈥� goals for the class are to teach students the skills needed for real-world project management and to tackle problems which harm society as a whole. Knowing how to work with data can be a great tool for justifying, evaluating, and addressing socioeconomic concerns. 

鈥淭he motivation is around using data to get at social issues, inequality issues, and how it manifests around race, gender, income inequality, economic opportunity, and whether that’s equitable,鈥� Coombs says.

During the fall 2024 hackathon, Coombs鈥� students tackled a project to examine the efficacy of the city of Lewiston鈥檚 efforts to address lead-paint hazards. Like many other cities around the country with aging housing stock, Lewiston has faced problems of lead paint exposure and poisoning in the home.

The Lewiston鈥揂uburn area鈥檚 rate of childhood lead poisoning incidents is the highest in the state, according to Healthy Androscoggin, a public health initiative focused on wellness and disease prevention in Androscoggin County.

鈥淲e’re the second largest city in Maine, and we have per capita the highest number of young people in the state,鈥� says Jacqueline Crucet, a former city of Lewiston neighborhood development planner who has worked with Coombs and his students. 鈥淚t’s very important that we have healthy homes for these young people to grow in.鈥�

Through a partnership set up by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, Coombs connected with Crucet, who provided the hackathon students with information about the city鈥檚 lead program.

The data included comparisons of lead paint prevalence with home age and socioeconomic indices, statistics about the kinds of homes that the city has targeted for lead mitigation programs, how the programs are implemented, whether through grant-subsidized or fee-based models.

Coombs鈥� students analyzed the data and found that the city鈥檚 efforts to reduce lead exposure are mostly meeting their goal of targeting homes with the greatest risk of lead exposure, suggesting that during upcoming efforts, the city focus its attention on homes built between 1920 and 1940.

Coombs鈥� other hackathons thus far have focused on the correlation between streetlights and decreased crime rates and designing rental assistance pilot programs to support local renters.

In recent years, the verb 鈥渉ack鈥� has shifted away from its nefarious meaning 鈥� anonymous computer geniuses working to steal data 鈥� to mean solving a problem or creating a shortcut. To wit, a hackathon is a fast-paced, collaborative gathering, with suitable high-tech overtones, to solve a problem in a short period of time.

The hackathons showcase the students鈥� emerging 鈥渃reativity and technical skill,鈥� Coombs says, 鈥渨hich is a lot of what you use in workplace scenarios.鈥� 

Each semester, Coombs collaborates with the Harward Center to reserve a campus space for the hackathon; there, students hunker down to work, though the 鈥渉ackers鈥� come and go for classes, sports, and sleep. While they hack, Coombs fields takeout requests and delivers favorites like Mother India and Pure Thai.

Nick Brown 鈥�25 of Hopkinton, Mass., arrived at his hackathon last fall straight from track practice and settled in to work with a burrito in hand. He says he spent six to ten hours each day working on his team鈥檚 project.

鈥淭hat was with fully comped, really good meals, and working with a great team of people,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淚t never felt at any point that I was not going to finish or felt rushed. It overall was a very positive experience.鈥�

Like a team of coworkers, the students were responsible for independently dividing up group work and coordinating their schedules.

鈥淚 did a lot of the data cleaning and then the regressions, other people did a lot of visualizations or worked on the presentation itself,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淚t felt very natural, and we also felt like we were communicating very well.鈥�

鈥淒ata Science for Economists鈥� is cross-listed as both an economics and a digital and computational studies course. The hackathon is the culmination of a semester spent, for many of Coombs鈥� students, learning to code for the first time, an often-frustrating process of trial and error. 

鈥淵ou will make constant mistakes,鈥� Coombs says. 鈥淚t’s about learning how to get through the mistakes, push through, address the problems, help yourself find creative solutions to a technical problem.鈥�

The students organize their work in GitHub, a software storage program, and code in the language 鈥淩,鈥� which is free and open source, meaning any student can access the code from their personal computer. An economics and history major with a minor in math, Brown used the R skills he learned during the course to complete his senior economics thesis. 

鈥淚n terms of raw skill building, this was probably the number one class I’ve taken at 乐播传媒,鈥� Brown says. 

After each two-day hackathon, the students present their work to city partners and make recommendations based on what they discovered. The city partners can then use the analyses in their own evaluations and projects. 

鈥淚t was really cool to be able to present to community members and see them actually derive insights from what we found and think about how those could be used to actually benefit people,鈥� Brown says. 鈥淭hat was really insightful for me, how you can leverage your skills to create meaningful impacts.鈥�

Each hackathon subject ties directly into greater city plans. In 2020, Lewiston received a $1.3 million federal grant to develop a resident-led transformation plan, 鈥淕rowing Our Tree Streets,鈥� for its downtown neighborhood, which has nine goals that will be accomplished across 25 years.听(“Tree streets鈥� is the nickname of the neighborhood where many streets have names like Oak and Maple.)

Based on the strength of the transformation plan, the city was awarded a $30 million Choice Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Lewiston is the first small city in the country to receive the competitive grant, which is intended to help cities revitalize and transform neighborhoods. 鈥淲e are like this beautiful experiment,鈥� Crucet says. 鈥淲e’re the right size for this kind of major investment where we’re taking some risks and trying to be as innovative as possible to meet the goals that we’ve set out in the transformation plan.鈥�

Crucet was attracted to Lewiston because of that very 鈥済o getter鈥� mindset that led residents, including 乐播传媒 alumni, to lead the charge for the transformation plan. 

鈥淲e have this amazing cadre of 乐播传媒 alumni,鈥� Crucet says. 鈥淭hey’re doers and they’re taking all of their knowledge and all of their life experience and investing in Lewiston, and they see a future.鈥� 

By tackling subjects included in the city transformation plan and making suggestions to the city, Coombs鈥� students are able to join in on these real-world efforts. 

鈥淭he exercise of the hackathon enables them to have the opportunity to inform actual policy and the business of the municipality in which they live,鈥� Crucet says.

Original story posted here.