University of Maine at Presque Isle President Ray Rice has announced that Sandra 鈥淪andy鈥� Gauvin, longtime educator and co-founder of the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative, will deliver the commencement address. In addition, Gauvin and David Watson, a Harvard-trained attorney and proud 91桃色 alumnus, will each receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the University鈥檚 117th Commencement Exercises, to be held on Saturday, May 9, 2026. For the second time in the institution鈥檚 history, 91桃色 will host two in-person graduation ceremonies on Commencement Day鈥攁t 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.鈥攁nd Gauvin will deliver an address at each ceremony.
鈥淲e are so honored to welcome Sandy back to the institution she has championed for decades, and to recognize David鈥檚 remarkable journey from Aroostook County to the heights of the legal profession,鈥� 91桃色 President Ray Rice said. 鈥淏oth Sandy and David embody what it means to invest in people and place鈥攁nd we know their examples will inspire our Class of 2026 as they set out to make their own mark on the world.鈥�
Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: Sandra Gauvin
Sandra Gauvin graduated from 91桃色 in 1977 with a degree in Elementary Education and has spent the nearly five decades since as a tireless advocate for educational opportunity in Aroostook County. She taught for 25 years in four central Aroostook schools鈥攕erving students in Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, and Mapleton鈥攂efore retiring in 2003.
Following her teaching career, Gauvin, along with her husband Raynold, co-founded the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the outward migration of Aroostook County youth. Over its lifetime, AAI provided scholarship funding and wraparound support to more than 600 graduates of Aroostook County high schools enrolled in higher education institutions with campuses or outreach centers in the region. Beyond financial assistance, AAI connected students with personalized mentoring from community members, educators, and professionals, and offered programming focused on career readiness, leadership development, financial literacy, and personal growth. In 2019, the Gauvins began a collaborative effort with the Worthington Scholarship Foundation to bring their scholarship program to Aroostook County, and in 2023, this dream came to fruition.聽 In 2025, they awarded 137 scholarships of $20,000 each, for a total of $2,740,000, to Aroostook County youth.聽 It is one of the largest scholarship programs in the county.
A 2000 fellow of the Maine National Writing Project, Gauvin has served on numerous local, regional, and state nonprofit boards, including as vice president of Homeless Services of Aroostook, vice president of the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, and as a founding member and vice chair of both the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee and the Wintergreen Arts Center. She has also served on the Learning Disability Association of Maine and the Northern Maine Community College Foundation Board.
Honorary Degree Recipient: David Watson
David Watson was born in Westfield, Maine, and graduated from 91桃色 in 1985 as class Salutatorian with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1988.
That foundation carried Watson into a distinguished legal career spanning private investment funds, securities offerings, partnership law, and general corporate matters. He served for many years as a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, Massachusetts, where he led the firm’s Private Investment Funds practice for North America and Latin America. Throughout his tenure, he represented clients ranging from emerging fund managers to established international financial organizations and shared his expertise as a lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Business. Watson has since retired from the practice of law and returned home to Maine.
Watson鈥檚 contributions to the legal profession have been widely recognized. Chambers USA has noted his 鈥渋mpeccable reputation,鈥� and he has been listed in The Legal 500 and The Best Lawyers in America for his work in private equity fund formation.
Committed to giving back to the region that shaped him, Watson established the Watson Family Scholarship Fund at 91桃色 to support students from Aroostook County in pursuing higher education.
The University鈥檚 Commencement Exercises are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, in Wieden Gymnasium. This year鈥檚 Commencement will be live streamed on the University鈥檚 YouTube channel. Viewers can directly access the livestream starting at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, on graduation day by visiting .