Over $4,000 in scholarships has been awarded this summer to local students. The University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast partners with midcoast donors to make available scholarships to local students attending the Hutchinson Center. The Scholarship Committee met earlier this summer and awarded four scholarships to students taking undergraduate and graduate level courses at the Hutchinson Center.

As the Hutchinson Center staff gear up the Fall semester (which starts on August 30th), they encourage all those considering college and needing financial assistance, to apply for one of the scholarships available this Fall. There still is time to apply (the scholarship application deadline is August 16th).

Recipients of summer scholarships include: Sierra Ventura, Belfast, selected to receive a Best of the Best Scholarship for the course MAT 122 Pre-Calculus with instructor Todd Zoroya. June Howard, Belfast, also awarded a Best of the Best Scholarship for Kris Engman’s ART 260 Figure Drawing course.

Hannah Goodwin, Warren, chosen for the Annual Fund Scholarship, special fund in memory of Fred Hutchinson who passed away this spring and namesake of the Center. Hannah enrolled in William Ellis’ SMS 110 Oceanography course. Kathryn Ryan, Rockland, awarded a Harris B. (Pete) and Ann Bixler to continue her MSW studies with SWK 560 Social Work Generalist Practice.

The Scholarship Committee meets each semester to review applications and select students for scholarship awards. The Scholarship Committee includes: Ann Bixler, Mary Frenning, Jayne Giles, Terri Mahoney, Carol Robbins, Larry Theye, and Hutchinson Center staff: Jose Cordero, Sue McCullough, and Nancy Boyington, committee chair.

Registration is just underway for Fall classes, most beginning the week of August 30th. Hundreds of courses are available. Consider some of these live offerings: Art History, Public Communication, Writers of Maine, U.S. History, European Civilization, The Maine Coast, The Art of Listening to Music, Digital Photography, Mediation, Precursors to the Grail:Legend in Early Celtic Spirituality, Peace & Ecology, American Government, Sociology, Spanish, Theater in Acting -Read, Write and Act the Ten-Minute Play, Anatomy & Physiology, The Business Side of the Arts and more. There are courses that fulfill general education requirements as well as courses in psychology, social work, English and other disciplines.

Scholarships are now available for the new semester (deadline is August 16th) -- so please take the opportunity and make an appointment at the Hutchinson Center for advising, career planning and assistance with financial aid forms. The time is now

to begin making your future brighter for you and your family. Call the Center at 338-8000, toll-free 800-753-9044 or stop in the Center at 80 Belmont Avenue, Route 3, Belfast.

Photographer Michael Kahn Brings Abstraction to Museum's Windjammer Exhibit

 A new show of black and white photography by Michael Kahn brings an element of abstraction to the windjammer exhibit at Penobscot Marine Museum. Part of the ongoing exhibit "Earning Their Keep: Maine's Windjammers," the display of Kahn's photographs runs August 5 – 24 in the museum's Main Street Gallery.