Lewiston, Maine

Graduates: 383

Degrees: BA, BS

Speaker: Chinua Achebe, novelist

Honorary degrees: Peter J. Gomes, minister of the Memorial Church and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University; Natalie Webber Gulbrandsen, president of the International Association for Religious Freedom; and Edward O. Wilson, entomologist and Pellegrino University Professor at Harvard

Number of seniors graduating summa cum laude: 15
Number of seniors graduating magna cum laude: 43
Number of seniors graduating cum laude: 53

* Does not include one member of the class of 1995 who is graduating with the class of 1996.

AUBURN

Lori A. Shaw Blackwelder of 149 Lake St. earned a bachelor of science degree with an interdisciplinary major in biopsychology. A dean’s list student, she was nominated to Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society, and conducted research with John Kelsey, professor of psychology. She also worked as a volunteer in the family practice clinic at Central Maine Medical Center. A graduate of Plano  Senior High School, she is the wife of Thomas Blackwelder.

Nancy Audet Bullett of 23 Towle Ave. graduated with a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, in women’s studies and political science, earning honors in both subjects. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society; earned dean’s list status in each of her semesters at Bates and was named a Dana Scholar and a Ruggles Scholar. A graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School, she is now special initiative coordinator and HIV prevention coordinator for the AIDS Coalition of Lewiston-Auburn.

Brent Robert Radcliffe earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. He was a dean’s list student. A graduate of Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H., he is the son of Claire and Russell Radcliffe, both of Auburn.

FARMINGTON

Eric William Cullenberg of 6 Fairview Ave. earned a bachelor of arts degree in East Asian languages and cultures. A dean’s list student, he spent his junior year studying in Japan, was a member of the popular vocal group the Deansmen and performed a solo in a College Choir concert. He is a graduate of Mt. Blue High School and the son of Sharon and Ronald Cullenberg.

GILEAD

Shilo Lee Hutchins earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. A dean’s list student, she served as captain of the field hockey team and played varsity softball. She spent part of her junior year studying in Australia and was a volunteer at Tri-County Mental Health Services and the Sexual Assault Crisis Center. A graduate of Telstar Regional High School in Bethel, she is the daughter of Elaine and Jeffery Hutchins.

GREENE

Jo Ann Darling graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and women’s studies, earning honors in both subjects. A dean’s list student, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. She has been active in numerous community and social-action organizations, including the Auburn Historical Society, the Josselyn Botanical Society and the Maine Archeological Society. A graduate of Stambaugh (Mich.) High School, she is the wife of Leslie Eastman.

Karen Ann LeComte of Key Hill Road earned a bachelor of science degree with an interdisciplinary major in biopsychology. A dean’s list student, she was elected to Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society. She conducted research with Nancy Kleckner, assistant professor of biology; worked as an athletic trainer and was a member of the Health Sciences Society. She has been accepted at the University of Vermont Medical College. A graduate of Salem (N.H.) High School, she is the wife of David LeComte of Greene and the daughter of Arlene and Richard MacLean of Crofton, Md.

LEWISTON

Benjamin Michael Clark of 2 Elaine Ave. graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics. He was a dean’s list student. A graduate of Lewiston High School, he is the son of Elaine and Brian Clark.

Melissa Joan Margarones of 210 College St. earned a bachelor of arts degree in English. She was a member of the Representative Assembly, the Student Health Link and the rugby club, and she served as a campus tour guide and a mathematics tutor for middle-school students. She spent part of her junior year studying in France. A graduate of Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, N.H., she is the daughter of Viola and John Margarones.

NORWAY

Brian Andrew Ketchum of 29 Huntington St. earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics. A graduate of Oxford Hills High School, he is the son of Rosalie and Roger Ketchum.

POLAND

Danagra Georgia Ikossi of Poland Corner Road graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in biological chemistry. A dean’s list student, she served as co-coordinator of the riding club. She is a graduate of Hebron Academy and the daughter of Dr. Maria Ikossi.

RUMFORD

Matthew Scott Irish of 2360 Swain Road graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, he was a member of the baseball and football teams. He is a graduate of Mountain Valley High School and the son of Janice and Lewis Irish.

RUMFORD POINT

James Daniel Ippolito of Route 5 earned a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, he was a member of the varsity ski team and a staff reporter for the college newspaper, The Bates Student. He is a graduate of Mountain Valley High School and the son of Jolan and James Ippolito.

SABATTUS

Angela Rolande Martin of Fisher Farm Road graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in English. A dean’s list student, she conducted research with Stanton Wortham, assistant professor of education, and Laurie Teal, assistant professor of English. She was a publications assistant in the Office of College Relations and a substitute teacher for the Lewiston School Department. A graduate of Lewiston High School, she is the daughter of Albert and Ginette Martin and the late Madeleine Martin.

TURNER

Jessica Stover Talbot of Poplar Hill Road, formerly of Bowdoinham, earned a bachelor of arts degree with an interdisciplinary major in environmental science. A dean’s list student, she was a member of the Environmental Coalition and the Freewill Folk Society, and she spent part of her junior year studying in Nepal. She is a graduate of Mt. Ararat School, Topsham, and is the daughter of Jennifer and James Talbot.

Joining Achebe as honorary-degree recipients will be one of America’s most eloquent ministers, Peter J. Gomes, a Bates alumnus; human-rights activist Natalie Webber Gulbrandsen, a Bates alumna; and entomologist Edward O. Wilson. Harward will confer bachelor’s degrees on approximately 390 seniors in an outdoor ceremony at 10 a.m. in front of Coram Library, following the traditional procession of seniors and faculty, which will be led by bagpipers. In case of rain, the graduation exercise will be held in the Margaret Hopkins Merrill Gymnasium.

A novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist, Achebe is one of the most important figures in contemporary African literature. His novels, chronicles of the colonization and independence of Nigeria, are among the first works in English to present an authentic rendering of African culture. Achebe’s works are a successful fusion of Ibo folklore, proverbs and idioms with Western ideologies and Christian doctrine.

“Things Fall Apart” (1958), Achebe’s first novel, is considered a classic of contemporary African fiction for its realistic portrait of Ibo society at the turn of the century when Europeans first came upon the Niger.

His subsequent novels “No Longer At Ease” (1960), “Arrow of God” (1964), “A Man of the People” (1966) and “Anthills of the Savannah” (1987) bore out the early promise of his first award-winning book. Critic G.S. Killam calls Achebe “arguably the most widely read and discussed African writer of his generation.”

The author of two-short story collections, “The Sacrificial Egg, and Other Stories” (1962) and “Girls at War, and Other Stories” (1973), he also has published several essay collections as well as two volumes of poetry, including “Beware Soul Brother, and Other Poems” (1971), the winner of the first (British) Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1972.

The fifth of his parent’s six children, Achebe was raised in an evangelical Christian family in the village of Ogidi. He attended Government College in Umuahia and University College in Ibadan, and received his B.A. from London University in 1953.

His first career, in radio, ended abruptly in 1966 when Achebe left his position as director of external broadcasting in Lagos during the national upheaval and massacres that led to the Biafran War (1967-70). The Charles P. Stevenson Jr. Professor of Languages and Literature at Bard College since 1990, Achebe retired in 1981 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he was named professor emeritus four years later. He taught in the English departments at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, from 1972-75, and at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, from 1975-76.

Achebe has received numerous honors from different parts of the world, including more than 20 honorary doctorates from universities in Britain, the United States, Canada and Nigeria, as well as Nigeria’s highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian Order of National Merit.

Peter J. Gomes ’65 is the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and minister of the Memorial Church at Harvard University. Since being named by Time Magazine in 1979 as one of America’s seven most influential preachers, he has remained an insistent voice of conscience, blending a conservative view of religion and morality — he is a leading authority on the Pilgrims of Plymouth–with contemporary concern for the physical and spiritual welfare of all Americans. His closely reasoned sermons are among the quintessential Harvard experiences.

Natalie Webber Gulbrandsen ’42 is president of the International Association for Religious Freedom, a worldwide organization based in London which promotes human rights, interreligious cooperation, peace and justice. She previously was moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association, an officer in the Girl Scouts organization and a member of numerous Wellesley (Mass.) civic groups.

Edward O. Wilson is an entomologist, evolutionary biologist, naturalist and author. His development of sociobiology in the 1970s made him a convenient target for those who say nurture is all, nature nothing, in animal and human development. But sociobiology has prevailed as among the most important work ever done on animal behavior, and Wilson has emerged as a leading theorist in support of conservation, particularly biodiversity. His book “The Insect Societies” (1971) remains a classic.