What Students Really Say About Farmington


Did you come to Farmington as a Geography major?
No. I came to Geography in a round-about kind of way. I actually started at [a big university in Maine]. I was a Business major there and transferred to Farmington into the Business Economics program. But after a semester taking an Intro to Regional Geography class with Brad Dearden [Assistant Professor of Geography], I found was interested in the class and the material and I liked Brad a lot.

So how do you like your new-found major?
I like it. It’s definitely something that has been interesting for me in most respects. There are aspects of it I don’t care for, but I like the faculty pretty well. Yeah, I’d say I like it.

What is it about the Geography program at UMF impresses you?
There are a lot of things about it I really enjoy. I’m drawn toward development studies, as is Brad. His specialties are in Latin American and Asia, and my area of interest lies in Latin America, as well — looking at political, structural, and economic development. He’s even involved in some projects in Guatemala.

In the macro sense, I like that Geography incorporates a lot of different fields of study: history, economics, politics. It all melds together, which is good because if I got really in-depth in a lot of those areas I’d probably get bored pretty fast. I like how Geography draws from all of it.

What has been your favorite class? Or a good classroom experience?
You know what I really enjoyed? Global History I and Global History II. I feel like I learned a ton from taking those classes. Teresa Roberts [Lecturer in Journalism] teaches journalism and I really liked that class, too. She’s kind of a stickler but she’s good. She’s knowledgeable and presents the information well.

That is good! Do any Geography classes stand out in your mind?
I really enjoyed Brad Dearden’s Regional Geography class and I’d say I’ve liked most of the classes I've taken with him — I liked Cultural Geography with him, as well.

Did anything else motivate you to transfer to Farmington?
I spent my first year at [the other school] and I was really successful there but I didn’t like it. I had friends there and everything, but I just didn’t like it. The only thing I could think was that it just wasn’t the right size — it was way too big, too impersonal. So I said to myself, “I don’t really want to transfer out of state and be totally gone and out of the way,” but I didn’t know what I had for options. I thought it would be good to try Farmington for a semester and at least figure out if it’s the right size. After a couple months I was like, “Yeah, I’ll stay here.”

So when you transferred you didn’t lose any time?
Actually, when I transferred I could’ve easily graduated in four years but I decided to pretend like this was my freshman year at UMF and that I was going to go for four years. That worked out very well. It was what I planned on doing from the outset — I was going to stay here for four years. So really it has been five years in college, but four years at Farmington.

Generally speaking, what does Farmington do well?
It’s a nice community, for the most part. The whole year I was at [my former school] I didn’t feel like it was home. It wasn’t long after I got to UMF that I felt like this was home. I’d go away for the weekend to see my family and then say to them on Sunday afternoon, “Well, I'm going home.” meaning going home to Farmington.

Do you ski, snowboard or mountain bike?
I do, but I don’t get a chance to do a lot of it. Titcomb Mountain, for the price and the proximity, is a nice place to go for a couple hours. Farmington is a good proximity to Sunday River and Sugarloaf — not far. As far as mountain biking goes, I have a lot of friends that bike around here. A lot of people also hike but I haven’t yet. There are a lot of nice trails. Basically, if you’re the outdoorsy type, there’s a lot of great recreation here — i t comes with the territory.

What has been the best part of your UMF experience?
The thing I’ve enjoyed the most is it’s an intermediary step. It allows you to be an adult and have a lot of freedom to met a lot of people and have fun, while at the same time you’re not pushed out into the middle of the world. You can pull in aspects of both worlds. You’re protected in a way. I’ve liked being in an environment where it’s pretty focused and my job is more or less my school work. At the same time, you can meet a lot of people and have a really good time.

Do you feel Farmington has prepared you well even though you’re not sure where you’re going?
I’d say UMF has prepared me well me in most respects. A perception of some people outside of Farmington is that it’s a small teaching school and that’s all it has to offer. But the faculty and the class size here was really good. I work with Brad a lot. He and I have similar interest areas and I find he really knows his stuff. He’s a good resource and the professors here and very knowledgeable and approachable. That’s another thing — all my professors and I are on a first-name basis and that’s the general trend here at Farmington.

What’s your next step?
The Geography Department — particularly my faculty advisor, Brad — is trying to push [me] toward applying to graduate school in some sort of geographical context. If I’m honest with myself, teaching is something I like — which is ironic, because I’m at a school acclaimed for its teaching and I’m not in the teaching program right now. I’ll have to plan it out and see what happens.