FARMINGTON — The sound of bagpipes drifted through the air Saturday as graduates in caps and gowns gathered with families, friends and faculty for the University of Maine at Farmington’s commencement ceremony.

More than 280 graduates crossed the stage during the celebration of the class of 2026, held at the outdoor amphitheater behind Narrow Gauge Cinemas. They’ll now enter fields ranging from archaeology and counseling psychology to public health, wildlife biology, education and community service.

This year’s class reflects a university increasingly centered on applied learning, undergraduate research and community engagement, with many graduates pursuing careers tied to rural healthcare, mental health, ecology, education and public service.

Student speakers and university leaders repeatedly described Saturday’s ceremony not as an ending, but as the beginning of work intended to strengthen communities and improve lives.

“Today’s graduates, bachelor’s and master’s alike, came to UMF to discover and pursue their passion,” UMF President Joseph McDonnell said. “They stayed at UMF bonded by friendship, professional mentorship, career growth, and a love of place and learning.”

The keynote address was delivered by Dora Anne Mills, chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth and former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who also received an honorary doctoral degree.

Mills, who grew up on the UMF campus, spoke from a perspective shaped by rural Maine and national public health leadership. Her grandmother and great-grandmother were also UMF graduates.

Mills said she believes the future of health in America will be shaped not only in major academic centers, but in rural and regional communities willing to innovate, collaborate and lead.

Among the most visible student stories of the day was undergraduate commencement speaker Adam Tosch of New Sharon, who returned to UMF through the university’s adult degree completion program after first attending in 2007.

Between his two stints at UMF, Tosch earned a degree in electrical engineering and worked in industry before deciding to pursue anthropology because of his passion for history, medieval architecture and archaeology fieldwork.

“I was ready for a different career perspective, and UMF made it possible,” Tosch said. “Changing careers is very stressful, but having UMF professors who always make time for you and support your efforts makes all the difference.”

Associate professor of anthropology Luke Kellett described Tosch as a standout example of a nontraditional student pursuing a passion later in life.

“Most notable has been Adam’s passion for Scottish archaeology and his laser-focused goal of becoming a professional archaeologist,” Kellett said.

Tosch recently presented research on the Northern Picts, an Indigenous group in Scotland during the Roman occupation. He has been accepted into a master’s program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Meanwhile, Kristyn Plamondon became the first graduate student in university history to deliver a commencement speech.

Plamondon graduated from the counseling psychology program with a focus on the creative arts master’s program, one of only three such programs in the United States. A former teacher and 2002 UMF graduate, Plamondon returned to school after seeing growing mental health needs among students and communities.

“I feel so privileged to be the first master’s graduate to speak on this landmark day in all our lives,” Plamondon said. “As graduate students, we all came to UMF with a dream to serve others at important moments in their lives as teachers, specialists, counselors and leaders.”

GRADUATES SHARE THEIR PLANS

Several other student stories highlighted the university’s emphasis on fieldwork, internships and undergraduate research.

Megan Dionne of Farmington said a first-semester course in child and adolescent health helped steer her toward epidemiology and public health research. She completed a practicum at UMF, earned a competitive internship with the Maine CDC, and received a UMF Wilson Research Scholarship to study the relationship between alcohol use and mental health among college students.

“UMF has given me a great start,” Dionne said. “I am excited about building a career where my efforts can contribute to reducing disease and improving community health outcomes.”

She graduated with a degree in health promotion and wellness, along with five minors, and plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health and continue working in public health research.

Ryan Martin-Hachey of Fairfield described how a faculty research opportunity directed his path toward infectious disease ecology. He worked with UMF faculty researching tick-borne zoonotic diseases and studied the prevalence of tick illnesses in the Farmington area.

“I am so proud to be working with research of this nature,” Martin-Hachey said. “People in Maine come in contact with ticks on a daily basis, and it’s so important to help them be informed about any health risk.”

Another student spotlight focused on Spencer Brennick of Jay, whose experiences with bird ecology research and field studies helped define his plans.

Brennick participated in field studies involving bushtits in Oregon, worked with Maine Audubon to protect piping plovers and conducted original research on feeder bird behavior.

“That experience changed everything for me,” Brennick said of his first field internship.

Following graduation, Brennick plans to continue research through the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s Great Plains Science Program before beginning graduate studies in California.

The university also highlighted internship work completed by psychology students Grace White and Sydney Booth at the Farmington Police Department, where they studied police burnout, resilience and the relationship between psychology and law enforcement.

Farmington police Chief Kenneth Charles, a 1995 UMF graduate, said psychology and crisis intervention skills are increasingly important in modern policing.

“In today’s world, officers need a lot of tools in their toolbox,” Charles said.

The class of 2026 includes graduates from throughout Maine and across the country, as well as Belgium, the Bahamas and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Western Maine graduates included students from Farmington, Jay, Livermore Falls, Wilton, Phillips, New Sharon, Kingfield and Strong.

Graduating senior Hannah Hall of Waterville sang the national anthem. UMaine System Board of Trustees member Trish Riley delivered greetings during the ceremony. Degrees were formally conferred by McDonnell and Katherine Yardley, co-provost and dean of the College of Education, Health and Rehabilitation.

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