Peter Casares has been the head coach of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ swimming and diving program for 13 years.

One of the first things he did after his hiring was offer lessons for schoolchildren in the community. One of his first pupils was 9-year-old of Lewiston. 

“Matt would come in on Sundays two or three times a month to work with me one-on-one,” Casares said. “And when we decided to run a swim camp, I mentioned to him, as a 9-year old, ‘You know, you’re a good swimmer, you learn really well, I can tell this matters to you. So maybe you should look into this swim camp we have.’â€�

Video by Aaron Morse.

Charest attended that swim camp and immediately fell in love with it.

“Getting to stay overnight really got me interested in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,” Charest said. “Getting to have food at the dining halls was amazing for me as a kid, getting ice cream all the time.â€� 

The now-senior captain of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s swimming and diving team returned every summer, first as a camper and then as a counselor, becoming a Bobcat for life.

Matt Charest as a young boy at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ swim camp. (Photograph courtesy the Charest family)

“The thing about Matt is that he is an extraordinary leader by example,” said of Augusta, Maine.

“All the way up from being swim campers together and doing morning practices when we were counselors together. And now, seeing him in practice every day, I look over and he’s kicking really hard, and he’s moving, and I’m like, ‘Man, I can’t lose to Charest!’â€�

Next up for Charest and his team are the NESCAC Championships, Feb. 20–23 in Williamstown, Mass., where his goal is to qualify for NCAAs in March, in a relay event.

Matt Charest ’20 is an “extraordinary leader by example,” says teammate Nathan Berry ’23 of Augusta, Maine. (Brewster Burns for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Graduation is just a few months away, but the past 13 years have given Charest, who hopes to coach his own swim team one day, a proud connection to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ that few others can claim.

“It will always be a part of me,” Charest said. “And I can’t thank this pool enough and everybody that’s supported me enough. So, it’s bittersweet, but I’m excited for the future.” 

Last fall, new to the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty and to Lewiston, artist Carolina ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú Valencia started going to YWCA Central Maine as a way to make friends and get to know the community.

The connection gave ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú an even better introduction to the city than she might have hoped for: the chance to work with students from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and from Lewiston High School to create a mural in the YWCA gym. The mural’s theme: “Women of Color Leading Change.”

Four ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students under ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú’ oversight offered technical support for their younger counterparts, who came up with the mural’s imagery and did most of the painting. The high schoolers were members of 21st Century Leaders, a federally funded program that provides academic support, academic enrichment, and leadership development at schools around Maine.

Hawa Hassan, a member of the 21st Century Leaders program at Lewiston High School, does detail work on the YWCA mural. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

All but one of those 13 LHS students were girls, and all but one of the girls were Muslims from African immigrant families. So it’s only fitting that the group will introduce the mural during the YW’s sixth annual event on April 30, a gathering that showcases the organization’s stated mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.

“We wanted them to think of themselves as leaders and see themselves there on the wall,” says ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú. A native of Colombia, she works in new media, film, and video, and teaches in the art and visual culture department at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú is also a Mellon Diversity and Faculty Renewal Postdoctoral Fellow — part of an initiative to get more scholars from underrepresented groups into the profession. (She’ll become a tenure-track assistant professor in her second year at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.)

“I’m interested in art projects that work like a bridge to connect different people, disciplines, or ways of thinking,” says ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú. And she’s very interested in the kind of temporary community that occurs when people break out of their routines and join forces to make something happen — “working together, problem-solving, and having fun and laughing together.”

Carolina ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú Valencia, a lecturer in art and visual culture, talks with her ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students as they work on the YWCA mural on March 26. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

From a personal perspective, ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú felt a strong connection with the 21st Century team. “I came to the U.S. when I was 15 and I was in high school,” she says. “So I know what it means to be experiencing all the teenager craziness, but then at the same time, being immersed in this confusion of being an immigrant, and the struggles that come with that.”

Painted in acrylic, the mural wraps around a corner of the gym and is high enough that the painters needed scaffolding to work on it. The 21st Century Leaders team decided on the colorful imagery: a feminized Trayvon Martin sitting in Abe’s place in the Lincoln Memorial, the social-justice rallying cry “Black Lives Matter,” a yellow lion, girls who look like the painters, trees, and lots of flowers.

“It’s a community gym” used by all ages, says Natalie Bornstein, the YWCA’s social justice and advocacy manager. “And now there’s this gorgeous, very vibrant, colorful image on the wall that has a strong anti-racist message that combines substance and style.

“All the preschool teachers love it, and the kids are drawn to it because it’s bright and colorful. It’s fantastic.”

Bornstein proposed the mural idea. She had worked with the 21st Century Leaders in previous iterations of Stand Against Racism, and had connected with ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú at the YW after an introduction from Darby Ray, head of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ Harward Center (which provided a grant to help purchase materials for the mural).

“I was thinking, what a great collaboration it would be for the three of us — for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, the YWCA, and this group of high school students — to do a tangible project together,” Bornstein says. “I’m also personally interested in the idea of art-based activism.”

Jenn Carter, 21st Century Leaders director at the high school and three other Lewiston schools, worked with the LHS students to start developing the imagery. “The conversation centered around what their experience is as young women of color, and what do they know about women of color in leadership roles,” she says.

Student members of the 21st Century Leaders program at Lewiston High School paint the YWCA mural on March 26. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

“We watched YouTube videos of famous women who would be considered leaders. And they brainstormed what they thought it meant to be a leader.”

³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú and the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students — Daisy Diamond ’19, Dani Klein ’17, Rebecca Howard ’19, and Eden Rickolt ’20 — guided the high schoolers in realizing their ideas visually.

The high schoolers sketched, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ team composed the sketches into a lines-only layout for the mural, and ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú made copies of the layout so that the group could collectively work out the coloring. As a last preparatory step, she used a projector to trace the mural’s lines onto the gym wall.

“It was important to me that the high schoolers came up with the visual ideas, and they had to articulate why they wanted to do that,” she says. “Our students were really good at keeping the essence of the ideas — that it was the high schoolers’ mural and their voice.”

Most of the painting took place on two Sundays in March and April. The LHS students applied most of the paint, while the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students helped with the tricky bits and mixed colors. The high schoolers “really took charge and took pride in their painting, suggesting different patterns and ways of doing things,” says Diamond, a studio art major. “So there wasn’t a lot of work that we needed to do.”

From left, Daisy Diamond ’19, Eden Rickolt ’20, ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú, and Dani Klein ’17 mix colors for the “Women of Color Leading Change” mural. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Because of cramped quarters on the scaffolding, the group split up into teams that took turns painting. For the down times, there was music and dancing — ³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú requested a favorite song from each participant and compiled their choices into a playlist. Lunch was pizza.

“It was really fun,” says Carter. “You know, they came up with their mural concepts, and the discussions were very serious. But at the same time they had the opportunity to just paint and listen to music, have fun and build relationships with each other, and build relationships with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students and Natalie and Carolina.

“That’s a lot of what our program is — we try to balance its being a concrete and serious leadership project with the fact that we have a lot of fun. That’s why the kids show up.”

³Ò´Ç²Ô³úá±ô±ð³ú sees the mural project as a success in myriad ways. It provides an enduring record of the high schoolers’ ideas, she says, “and because they live here, they can see the mural as they keep growing. And it’s not only for them, but for everybody who goes to the YWCA, so it’s very powerful.”

The completed mural awaits its official unveiling at the YWCA’s Stand Against Racism event on April 30. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

For her students, the project provided an unusual opportunity for community involvement and a stimulating break from their routines. It was also a valuable lesson in organization. “It was important for our students to see the whole process, and that art projects don’t just happen,” she says.

The project, she adds, has “been very special to me. I’ve been here less than a year, and I have created friends and ways in which I can understand Lewiston. And now to collaborate in this project that I truly believe in — it’s been great.”

The event gives some 250 high school sophomores the opportunity to create research projects across a wide spectrum of topics. Last year’s winning projects studied the effects of different teaching styles; accuracy on goal in lacrosse; the efficacy of antibacterial hand sanitizers; and the efficiency of airfoils.

The projects are assessed by judges from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the community.

Mandatory for 10th-graders at the high school, participation in the fair is beneficial in many ways, explains Laurie Haines, a science teacher at LHS and the event’s coordinator. Putting together a research project builds skills in problem solving and critical thinking, and in oral and written expression.

“Those students who take the fair seriously really gain an appreciation for the hard work that goes into solving scientific problems,” she says.

“The fair allows students to use the tools from their introductory courses to investigate something that they are interested in,” adds Andrew Kageleiry of Dover, N.H., one of the two ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ sophomores working with Haines. “While it’s important to learn about abstract concepts like atomic theory or DNA, these projects give the students a chance to tangibly pursue an idea of their own choosing.”

Kageleiry’s partner in the project is Colby Maldini of New Castle, N.H. Says Haines, “I could not run the fair without them. The event has evolved into a true partnership.”

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ coordinators, she explains, “create the spreadsheets for student projects, plan the gym placement of exhibits, register the students and most importantly, recruit numerous judges for the event.”

“Organizing an event like this is great experience for college students,” she says, adding that “our sophomores truly enjoy the interactions with the college students, and everyone who helps out has a positive influence on our student body.”

Winners will be invited to an afternoon at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, including lunch in Commons and a tour of the college’s science laboratories.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Brooks Quimby Debate Council hosted a Maine high school forensics tournament at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College. Approximately 170 students and 70 judges from 23 schools took part in the all-day event, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Forensics Tournament, on Saturday, Nov. 17. A scheduled tournament in the 2007-08 season of the Maine Forensics Association, the judged competition featured events in speech, debate and Student Congress.

Schools receiving top tournament honors from the Brooks Quimby Debate Council were: Scarborough High School for best overall performance by a team in Student Congress; Deering High School for best overall performance by a team in Lincoln-Douglas debate; Bangor High School for best overall performance by a team in public forum debate; and Skowhegan High School for best overall performance by a team in speech.

For the first time, the Quimby Debate Council hosted debaters from the Harlem Village Academies in New York City as part of its high school debate tournament. The Harlem team’s debate coach, former ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ debater Andrew Jarboe, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 2005, brought the team to the tournament, says senior Brendan Jarboe of Acton, Mass., president of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ debate and Andrew’s younger brother.

“Drew suggested that it would be great to extend our reach to high schools outside of Maine, and to college-bound students who might not otherwise get a chance to come and see ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,” the younger Jarboe said. A total of 30 Harlem students visited the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ campus for the weekend, met the debate team and participated in the tournament. Several of them won awards in extemporaneous speaking.

“We hope that as our high school tournament continues to grow, this will be the first of many visits from the Village Academies and other schools outside the state,” Brendan Jarboe said.

The tournament demonstrates Brooks Quimby’s continued commitment to maintaining a strong relationship with debate programs across the state of Maine, says sophomore Ariela Silberstein of New York City, the Brooks Quimby director of publicity. “That connection has been an integral part of the team’s community involvement, and will certainly continue to be so,” Silberstein said.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College sophomores Alix Melamed of New York City and Sartaj Khan Mojlish of Dhaka, Bangladesh, organized the forensics tournament with the help of their teammates and their coaches Andrea Curtis and Julie Rabinowitz, directors of debate at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Lewiston High School speech coach John Blanchette, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Class of 1987, helped to organize the speech events for the tournament.

In a landmark event for the Androscoggin Valley cultural community, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College and the Maine Music Society will muster an ensemble of some 260 musicians for a performance of music by Johannes Brahms, including his monumental “Requiem,” at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31, in the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, 27 Bartlett St.

The concert is the first-ever collaboration between the Maine Music Society and the college, both key players in the cultural life of the region. Choral groups from the high schools of Lewiston and Auburn are taking part in the program, as well.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci is scheduled to make opening remarks at the event.

For the general public, tickets cost $17.50 at the door and $15 in advance, available through the box office at 207-782-7228. Admission is free to students with valid ID, but tickets are required. To reserve student tickets or for general information about this event, please call ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College at 207-786-6135.

To open the program, John Corrie, director of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Choir and the artistic director of the Maine Music Society, will lead four choirs in two motets by Brahms. The choirs are the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Choir, the Edward Little High School Chamber Choir, the Lewiston High School Concert Choir and the Androscoggin Chorale, which is one of the music society’s two performing ensembles.

The balance of the program consists of Brahms’ “Ein Deutsches Requiem” (Op. 45), sung by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Androscoggin choirs with soprano Bonnie Scarpelli and baritone Peter Allen, both well-known to Maine audiences, as soloists. The singers will be accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra composed of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Orchestra and the Maine Chamber Ensemble, the other performing arm of the music society.

Hiroya Miura, director of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ orchestra, will conduct the ensemble.

First performed in its seven-movement entirety in 1869, “A German Requiem” is a consistently popular entry in Brahms’ catalog. In its sophistication and complexity, the music marked a turning point in 19th-century composition. The texts, chosen by the composer from the Lutheran Bible, deal with issues of loss, consolation and a transcendent hopefulness for humanity.

For more information about the Maine Music Society, please

Presented in partnership with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Center for Service-Learning, the fair features more than 450 projects created by students in grades 9 through 12.

Projects are eligible for medals and cash awards bestowed for best-of-fair and first-, second- and third-place prizes in each of three grade divisions — 9th, 10th and upper-class. Last year, 30 LHS students were honored for their work on a dozen projects.

Projects run the gamut of scientific disciplines. Last year’s winning entries included studies of dissolved oxygen in springtime meltwater, the relationship between exercise and blood pressure and the variance in freezing rates among different juices.

The fair is made possible in part by a partnership with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Center for Service-Learning. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students help organize the fair, and last year’s fair involved more than 60 ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty, staff and students who spent an afternoon judging the projects and talking to participants. The college also supports the fair through a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Science Education Outreach Grant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Cash prizes were designated for best-of-fair and for first, second and third place in three grade-level categories. Prize money was provided in part by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College through a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Science Education Outreach Grant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Other awards will go to students who did not place in the top 10 but demonstrated significant effort and knowledge in their projects and presentations.

Best-of-fair went to Tarrah Bowen, a 10th grader whose project examined the effects of caffeinated soda on blood pressure. She competed with more than 400 other projects for best-of-fair.

Elisha Armour and Sara Choate received first prize in the upperclass division (11th and 12th grade) for a project that determined which location in the high school harbored the most bacteria. First prize in the 10th grade division went to Renee Castonguay for a project examining the impact of music on thought processes. Nathaniel Jilette received first prize in the 9th grade division for his study of erosion.

In the upperclass division, second prize went to Tiffany Boisvert and Elise Jack for a project on diabetes. Second prize in 10th grade went to Ashley Nadeau and Amanda Toussaint, who looked at chlorine content in drinking water, and in 9th grade the prize was awarded to Roxanne Healey and Amanda Sasseville for their comparison of the strengths of various glues.

Third prize in the upperclass category went to Kari Gronin for the project on stress in medical professions. In the 10th grade, this prize was awarded to Alexis Handy and Katie Lauze for their comparison of the drying rates of nail polishes. In the 9th grade, Matt Parker and Tony Travaglini received third prize for their investigation of the aerodynamic efficiency of different fabrics.

The five auxiliary awards went to:

Kyle Dupuis, 9th grade, for studying computer processor efficiency;

Deneiges Labbe and Kat Ustach, 11th grade, for studying artificial cartilage;

Matt Chateauvert and Audrey Ellis, 12th grade, for a project on the healing of bones;

Kerri Smith, 12th grade, for investigating bipolar disorder;

and Travis Lowe, 12th grade, for his project on human evolution.

The starting time for the “Night of Excellence” will be announced later.

The projects are eligible for medals and cash awards bestowed for best-of-fair and first-place through third-place prizes in each of three grade divisions — 9th, 10th and upper-class.

Project topics in past fairs have ranged from psychology to botany to meteorology. Last year’s winners included students studying the flame retardance of common household materials, the nature of dreams, the relationship between temperature and wind speed, and the effects of nutrition on blood.

“Science-fair projects give kids their first experience in real science,” says Mike Hutchins, head of the high school science department. The fair also addresses key indicators in the State of Maine Learning Results.

New this year are the upper-class grade division, the sponsorship of prizes by businesses and organizations, and the opening of the fair to elementary school students. Elementary school classes will visit the high school to view the projects during the fair.

The Lewiston High School Science Fair is made possible in part by a partnership with the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Center for Service-Learning. The fair “is a wonderful opportunity for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ to share its resources and for its students to learn more about the community,” says Sue Martin, assistant director of the center.

Last year’s fair involved more than 60 ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty, staff and students who spent an afternoon judging the projects. The college also supports the fair through a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Science Education Outreach Grant funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.