This year’s student commencement speaker is Sandra Hammel Rivard, a social and behavioral science major and a resident of Brunswick, Maine. Rivard was selected out of 12 applicants based on the quality of her speech, her academic success and her community involvement.
Rivard began her studies at University of Southern Maine in 1996. She then took some time off and started taking classes again in 1998. She has since been on what she describes as the “10 year plan.”
Rivard has worn many hats. For the past 20 years she has been a volunteer at a hospice in Brunswick. She is a member of the Women’s Philanthropic Educational Organization. She also volunteers her time as a chaplain at the Midcoast and Parkview hospitals. She is the voting clerk for the town of Brunswick. While at USM she could be found giving her time as a gallery assistant and a peer advisor on the Lewiston-Auburn Campus.
Rivard has been married for 35 years to a retired Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. They have three boys and one girl.
She is very proud to have been selected as this years student commencement speaker. Originally, she had not planned to walk at Commencement but chose to submit a speech due to encouragement from one of her professors. She has found this to be both “a very humbling experience and a reward.” Since being distinguished with the honor, walking with her class has taken on a very important meaning.
“All of those trips to school on those days I didn’t want to go,” she said. “And now all of this hard work and dedication have come to fruition.”
After graduation Rivard says she will not be slowing down. She has been accepted at the Stonecoast Writers’ Conference this summer and has a book in the works, which will require time to finish. She will also be working with Americorp for a year.
“Since I missed the deadline for graduate school, it seemed like a good thing to do.”
Joseph R. Thompson can be contacted at [email protected]