PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Class of 2026 marched into the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Wieden Hall under sunny skies Saturday morning for the first of two commencement ceremonies.
The campus marked its 117th commencement with a class so large it held a morning and afternoon ceremony.
It’s the third year in a row that the university marks its largest-ever graduating class, with 1,752 students to receive degrees — topping last year’s record by more than 500, campus officials said.
During Saturday’s ceremonies, 540 participated. Another 700 will mark a virtual ceremony later this spring, and still more will graduate later this spring and summer.
The first graduating class in 1905 contained 16 women and one man, campus President Ray Rice said.
Students are graduating at a time when education has become more accessible than ever, he said, and every person’s dream can become a benefit for others.
“One person’s success need not and should not ever require another’s failure,” Rice said. “Whether you remain here in Aroostook County or venture to points far beyond, the education you’ve received at UMPI has prepared you not merely for employment, but for the far more demanding work of citizenship.”
Rice introduced the keynote speaker, longtime area educator and alumna Sandra Gauvin.
Gauvin taught in area schools, and later with her husband, Ray Gauvin, founded the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative, which helped more than 600 Aroostook students with mentorship and scholarship funding, Rice said.
The couple collaborated with the Worthington Scholarship Foundation in 2023, and the partnership last year awarded 137 $20,000 scholarships to Aroostook students, he said.
Gauvin used the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” as a metaphor for where today’s graduates stand in their journeys.
“‘Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places. You’re off and away,’” she read, urging the class to embrace their own paths to success.
She urged graduates not to give up when problems arise, but to view the challenges as learning opportunities. One should never be afraid to ask questions or to choose a different path if things don’t seen right, she said.
Everyone finds themselves in a slump now and then, she said. The important thing is not to stay there, but to face the issues and power through them.
“Decide what you think will be a successful life. Don’t let someone else define it for you,” Gauvin said. “I have no doubt whatsoever that you will succeed, whatever that means for you. You’ve got the stuff and you’re ready to face anything.”
Student speakers were Andrae Joel Anthony and Valerie Elaine King.
Anthony remarked on the various paths today’s graduates navigated to earn their degrees.
“Some of us learned in lecture halls. Some in living rooms. Some between shift changes. Some after children fell asleep,” he said. “Each of us through different pathways, but with the same perseverance.”
Life’s unknowns present many challenges that will be solved by curiosity, courage, compassion, discipline and faith, he said. He exhorted classmates to persevere, reading lines from a Langston Hughes poem in which a mother says she is still climbing despite hardship.
“And when the world asks what became of the graduates of UMPI, let the answer be this: we kept climbing,” he said.
King outlined her journey, having returned to college after 30 years.
“That’s not a gap, that’s a life,” she said.
When she returned as an older student, she feared she’d be too far behind. But she persevered, asked questions and balanced responsibilities. She made it because she refused to give up, and she learned growth is possible no matter what, she said.
King urged fellow graduates to keep pressing on despite fears and challenges.
“If my journey has taught me anything, it is this: It is never too late,” she said. “You are never too behind. And you are never too unfamiliar with the tools to learn how to use them.”
Patrick Flood of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees and Lea Allen, chair of the campus’ faculty assembly, also greeted the graduates.
Music was provided by Holden music teacher Margaret Jellison on piano and University of Maine music professor Anatole Wieck on violin.
Soloist Amber Matheson sang the national anthem in the morning, and Jonathan Guimond played it on saxophone in the afternoon.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the year the first class graduated and the nature of Jonathan Guimond’s performance of the national anthem.