News: PVSC JULY 2023 MONTHLY MEMO

JULY 2023 NEWS

PVSC MEMO FOR MEMBERS
JULY 2023
 
Recently Penobscot Valley Senior College members who signed up for the Summer Spectacular events series were privileged to attend a naturalization ceremony at the Bangor Federal courthouse. There, 25 individuals representing 18 different countries, became American citizens. The ceremony was presided over by Federal District Court Judge Lance Walker. Representatives from Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Representative Jared Golden were in attendance.
 
Following the event, PVSC members attended a question-and-answer session with the Immigration Officer. Kurt Pelletier who worked with these new citizens. He comes up from Portland. It was an uplifting and a very special event.
 
 
 
 Since some of the upcoming U.S. citizens were changing their names, the ceremony had to occur at a U.S. Federal Court. Other naturalization ceremonies can be sponsored by various organizations.
 
 
 
 
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Speaking of this summer’s spectacular list of events, four which still remain, Shelia Zahm and her Summer Extravaganza Series Course and One-Day Presentation (ODP) committee have worked long and hard to bring you the variety of activities that are being presented. Shelia is a most interesting person, and we are very lucky to have her as a member of the PVSC Board.
 
Shelia is a Harvard-trained epidemiologist. Asked at an on-line interview awhile back why she chose her field, Shelia said that she always liked math and she was intrigued by science. She was especially attracted to cancer research because several family members, including herself, have had various forms of cancer. During her long career Shelia has specialized in pesticides and cancer, the causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and occupational cancer among women.

 
Shelia has received many prestigious awards for her work. She was elected to the American Epidemiological Society in 1995. She was Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute’s division of cancer epidemiology and genetics from 1998 to 2011. She’s been trying to retire since 2012 but keeps getting called back to do projects that she is uniquely qualified to carry out. Most recently she is organizing an international forum on PFAS to be held in Lyons, France in November 2023.
We are waiting for the day when she can teach some courses for PVSC! Meanwhile, she gives generously of her time to help create our One-Day Presentations.
 
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Upcoming FALL 2023 Term Information:
 
As part of our 2022-2023 membership year, we have 10 courses being prepared by PVSCs volunteer instructors. Most courses will begin the week of September 25, 2023. Registration will begin in mid-August. (2022-23 membership will also include any free One-Day Presentations that will be held during Nov/Dec 2023 and January 2024.)
 
Some to pique your imagination are:

• Italian Regional Cooking (which was cancelled in Spring 2020) (In-Person)
• Beginner Mahjongg (In-Person)
• Deep Dive into Conrad’s Nostrono (In-Person)
• The First Amendment, Defamation, the Media (and Social Media) and Access to Public Records (In-Person)
• Intro to the Nature and Properties of Soil (Hybrid or In-Person, will be recorded)
• Book Bans and Beyond (Zoom)
• Deaf Culture, Bridging the Divide (Zoom)
• Seniors’ Local Walks (Outdoor course)

• The Wildlands: Habitats from the North Gate, Orland, ME (Outdoor Adventure course)
• The Wonderful World of Fungi (Zoom with one field trip)