This site uses javascript to implement some of its functionality. Please enable javascript in your web browser to ensure full functionality is available.
skip to content
University of Maine at Fort Kent

Latest News

Enrollment & Advancement Center • University of Maine at Fort Kent • 23 University Drive, Fort Kent, ME 04743

UMFK's TRIO Program Welcomes New Team Member, Mark Kelly

December 2, 2013

Note: this is an archived news release. As such, the information provided may no longer apply.

NR13086

photo of Mark KellyMark Kelly recently joined the Student Supports Services TRIO program at the University of Maine at Fort Kent as its new Reading/Writing Specialist. With more than 30 years of teaching experience, Mark brings a great deal of energy and knowledge to the TRIO program.

Lena Michaud, director of the TRIO program shared, “We are excited to have Mark join our team. He already has engaged many of our students, and it is clear that he is focused on supporting our students reaching their academic goals.”

Mark has a broad background in education, teaching in Madawaska, St. Agatha, southern Maine, and Central America. Mark also has taught as an adjunct instructor at UMFK. In addition, Mark has made a point of visiting educational institutions all over the world during his many travels. Some of those places include Bolivia, Peru, England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. Mark shared, “In every country I visit, I always have tried to visit a school and get involved in a pick-up soccer game.”

Not only has Mark pushed the boundaries of his learning as an educator, he is a passionate outdoors person. Mark is an avid runner, cyclist, hiker, skier, and has even done some dog sledding. Some of his accomplishments include more than 50 ascents on Mount Katahdin, twelve 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado, three 22,000 foot peaks in Bolivia and Peru, and the highest peaks in England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the triple Continental Divide in Montana.

Mark has an impressive history skiing all over the country and cycling as well, biking across the Mojave Desert in 128 degree heat, peddling in England, Ireland, Scotland and traveling on his bike from Fort Kent, Maine, to Lake Placid, New York.

Mark also has a long history of working with students outside of the classroom. He has taken students winter camping, led several drama programs, coached soccer, and coached track and cross country running and skiing.

Mark identified his most significant accomplishments as being a father and husband. Mark has been married to his wife, Arianne, for 11 years, and they have two children, Mira and Finnegan.

The Student Support Services TRIO program at UMFK serves 160 first-generation, low-income, and disabled students as they pursue their academic, personal, and career goals. The Student Support Services TRIO program is designed to improve academic performance, increase student motivation, and increase persistence and retention rates. For more information, please feel free to call 834-7530 or visit them at www.umfk.edu/trio/