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State's Biggest Commencement Crowds Gather Saturday

Hundreds of students across the University of Maine system have degrees in hand. 

In Orono, Saturday's commencement address was delivered by M. Peter McPherson, who worked under both President Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, and currently serves as president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities in Washington DC.
"Big changes are hard and often slow, but they'll never happen if University of Maine graduates and others like you are not involved." he said, addressing the crowd of more than 1600. He urged student to care about the issues facing their world, and to  come home often.

Delivering the USM commencement address was Richard Blanco, the first openly gay, first Latino and the youngest person to serve as inaugural poet.

 
Also holding commencements Saturday were the University of Maine at Augusta and the University of Maine at Fort Kent, along with St. Joseph's College in Standish.
Colby’s College's commencement, with Robert Redford as the speaker,  and Bowdoin College commencement are set for later this month.