FARMINGTON, ME (July 23, 2021)—The University of Maine at Farmington is excited to congratulate UMF junior Bridget Stephenson from Saco as the first student winner of the University of Maine System’s Shot Clock Scholarship.
UMF student, Bridget Stephenson, first student winner of the University of Maine System’s Shot Clock Scholarship, and her dog Aspen
The UMS Shot Clock is a campaign to help keep UMaine System campuses safe by encouraging students and employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Students among the fall 2021 in-person population who verify their vaccination status on the secure UMS Portal by Aug. 20 will be exempt from the arrival testing and quarantine requirements and eligible to be selected for the $1,000 Shot Clock Scholarship. Weekly selections start Friday, July 16. Employees who have registered their vaccination status will also be eligible for prizes.
Stephenson is a double major in Business Economics and Outdoor Recreation Business Administration at UMF. “It was a smart choice to get vaccinated and an easy choice to verify my status with the university so I don’t have to wear a mask or take Covid tests this fall,” said Stephenson.
To date, 4,300 students have verified their status with 3,000 of those students verified since the UMS launched the Shot Clock initiative. There are four weeks to go to get verified and out of arrival testing and mask wearing. The next $1,000 Shot Clock Scholarship will be selected on Friday, July 23, 2021, among UMS students who have verified their vaccination status.
“Congratulations to Bridget for being the first recipient of the Shot Clock Scholarship,” said Edward Serna, UMF president. “By being vaccinated against COVID-19 she is protecting her health and the continued health of the UMF community in addition to receiving a well-deserved scholarship. We couldn’t be prouder.”
The University of Maine System is planning required COVID-19 arrival testing for all unvaccinated students and employees who are members of the in-person population as part of its fall 2021 return to campus. Unvaccinated community members participating in arrival screening will also be required to quarantine while awaiting their test results and wear face coverings while inside university buildings.
The presence of the very contagious Delta COVID variant, and reports that the majority of patients requiring treatment for severe COVID-19 symptoms are not fully vaccinated, are requiring the University of Maine System to remain vigilant about asymptomatic cases and the spread of disease at its universities. This vigilance includes planning to require unvaccinated members of the in-person population to participate in regular rounds of asymptomatic screening during the semester and to continue to wear face coverings inside university buildings.
UMS anticipates requiring vaccination against COVID-19 once any of the vaccines that have been issued to hundreds of millions of Americans under emergency use authorization receive regular FDA approval. The policy will recognize and respect that some individuals are not able to be vaccinated.
“The Delta variant is a real threat, hospitalizing many young, unvaccinated individuals with severe COVID-19 symptoms,” said Chancellor Dannel Malloy who shared a “The Choice is Clear” message with the University community about plans for fall.
“Vaccination is our best defense against the threat of COVID and makes life easier and safer,” continued Chancellor Malloy. “We have no more urgent task in our return to normalcy than to get our vaccination rates as high as possible while also maintaining safety protocols for those who have not or cannot get vaccinated.”
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EDITOR’S NOTE:
Link to image in WordPress: https://www.umf.maine.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2021/07/RP201-051.jpeg
Photo Caption: UMF student, Bridget Stephenson, first student winner of the University of Maine System’s Shot Clock Scholarship, and her dog Aspen.
Photo Credit: Submitted image