Kelly,
Thank you for all the energy, love, time, & passion you have poured into TRIO for the past 17 years. Your advocacy and teaching has shaped so many lives- from students to colleagues- and we are all better for having had the chance to work alongside you. I wish you the best in this next very exciting adventure. Be well!
Ginny
On 8/17/17, 1:57 PM, "- MEEOA-L - Maine Educational Opportunity Association members communication on behalf of Kelly Ilseman" <[log in to unmask] on behalf of [log in to unmask]> wrote:
Good Morning MEEOA,
It is with bittersweet emotions that I let you know I have decided to
attend acupuncture and herbal medicine school in Portland, Oregon, starting
in September!
I’m fully grateful for my time with and connection to the University of
Maine Upward Bound Math Science Program, and to the students and staff who
have been a part of it over the years, and to the TRIO community. You have
all been my home since 2001. Each of you has served as a huge inspiration
to me, and it has been a pleasure and a gift to work with every single one
of you. Each student and staff member who came to the program back in the
days of regional UBMS from all over New England and now from our 8 schools
in Maine, have desired to learn, to grow personally, to create the
foundations for their academic futures, and to shape their personal paths
and professional visions – seeing and knowing these things within them and
also within you has given me confidence, encouragement, and inspiration.
Watching students undertake advanced research projects fueled by their own
interests, literally creating the reality they want to exist for
themselves, has shown me that I can do the same. I have been so inspired by
you all, have been so grateful for you all to share your life journeys with
me in close confidence. Your passions for self-growth, discovery, and
actualization are mine as well, your aspirations and your successes
embolden me and give me strength, direction, and satisfaction. I feel your
struggles too. I admire all of you every day and will continue to have hope
for your best realizations my heart.
UBMS has been the most tremendous personal and professional growth
experience I could ever have hoped for and I will always gather
inspirational energy from my TRIO family. I have learned as much as any
student from being part of the program. There is always more work to be
done, and it is beyond hard to sever ties and to discontinue projects for
which I still have great passion and energy. But I know that others will
continue these with new vision and creativity. I thank you TRIO family for
the 17 years of my life I have spent with you. I will forever hold TRIO and
all of you dear to my heart, forever be a resource to you, a help to you if
needed, always willing to write a recommendation letter, or to provide
humble life coaching direction if I might, and will always, always love to
hear where you are, what you are doing, and how you are doing. I want to
you know this sincerely. Your journeys have been my delight; it has been my
honor and pleasure to take part in them.
In many ways, I am not leaving, but simply building and growing on the
strong foundation you have given me. I will always continue to believe in
the educational and social justice work that you are all doing. Our
inherent belief in the value, worth, and potential for growth in every
individual are one and the same. The challenges tha arise to prevent access
to educational opportunity are still mine to rally for alongside you
everyone has equal access to the things they need. Activism and educational
opportunity will always be at the center of what I hold dear and I will
raise my voice and offer my support for TRIO for ever.
So, it is with love, sadness, and utmost gratefulness that I embark on my
new journey. It’s time for me to take on new challenges! I am seeking the
next adventure of my education, studying Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine at
the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. This degree, Master’s of
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAcOM), will afford me opportunities to
move more fully into education, health, and healing. It will also allow me
to be involved with some incredibly valuable cutting edge medical research
and community outreach. It is a very exciting time to be involved with this
medicine as east now truly meets west, and the integration and acceptance
of both modalities gains traction at a fast pace.
Leaving the gorgeous state of Maine, and all it’s beautiful, lovely,
creative people - all of you, and my profession, feels as scary as the
first day of nursery school. When I think ahead to September, it seems
foreign to think of being anywhere but in Maine. There is so much yet to
unfold, but I'm looking forward to the new connections that I will make,
trusting in the direction this path is leading. I am truly and always will
be a lifelong learner seeking adventures in the spirit of the 2016 UBMS
theme: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Dream.
Explore. Discover."
In love and gratitude,
Kelly
--------------------
Kelly Ann Ilseman
Upward Bound Math/Science Program
Assistant Director/Academic Curriculum Coordinator/Academic Counselor
Best ways to reach me:
call or text: 617.784.2320
kelly.ilseman@m <[log in to unmask]>*aine.edu <http://aine.edu>*
other ways to reach me:
800.581.2522
207.581.3720
fax: 207.581.2710
snail mail:
University of Maine
Upward Bound Math/Science Program
5713 Chadbourne Hall, Rm 224
Orono, ME 04469-5713
http://umaine.edu/ub/
*Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.
|
