AUGUSTA – Two area residents were among the seven students, one from each of Maine’s Technical Colleges, honored recently at the Senator Inn by the Maine Technical College System Board of Trustees as the 2003 Students of the Year. They were joined by family, friends, faculty and other members of their college community.

This year’s Students of the Year are: Caroline Ward of Winthrop (CMTC), Thomas H. Maynard of Bangor (EMTC), Michelle Tinkham of Fairfield (KVTC), Kassandra Dominique of Blaine (NMTC), Chris Cole of Windham (SMTC), William Cody of Calais (WCTC), and Crystal Silva of Sanford (YCTC).

“I am in awe of what these students have achieved,” said Jana Lapoint, chairwoman of the Maine Technical College System’s Board of Trustees. “They have worked hard to pursue their educational and personal goals and in doing so have improved their own lives as well as those around them.”

Nominated by faculty, staff and administration at their colleges, the award winners are selected for their academic success, campus and community involvement and, in some cases, for their ability to achieve in the face of adversity.

Each of the students was awarded a John H. Lapoint Jr. Leadership Award in the amount of $1,000. Lapoint was president of UF Strainrite in Lewiston and a trustee of the Technical College System when he passed away in 1995. Lapoint’s widow, Jana Lapoint, helped establish the fund for the annual awards. The Lapoints’ son, John Lapoint, was at the ceremony to help present the awards.

Ward, 20, of Winthrop, is a student in CMTC’s liberal studies program. She was a home-schooled student who maintains a 4.0 GPA. In addition to her impressive academic work, she is a member of the Student Senate, Phi Theta Kappa, and a staff member of the student publication Mixed Nuts. She serves as an executive assistant and ambassador for the college, providing tours for prospective students. She plans to transfer to Smith College this fall.

Cole, 36, of Windham, is a student in SMTC’s business administration program. She has helped others by creating opportunities for them to help themselves. This includes her work in creating Stone Soup, a local business run by clients of the Preble Street Resource Center, a Portland shelter. She created a training program, wrote a business plan and operations manual, hired staff and opened the business located at the Portland Public Market. She previously earned a degree in Culinary Arts at SMTC. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and has been involved in a number of volunteer activities.

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