USM Public Affairs

Student Commencement Speaker Serena Dawn Gosbee

Serena Dawn Gosbee of Sebago, Maine, was selected to give the student commencement speech. Gosbee, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications, was inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society and the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Earlier this spring, she was named the 2011 recipient of the Outstanding Senior in Communication Award. She is a 2005 graduate of Lake Region High School who transferred to USM from Southern Maine Community College. After graduation, she plans to continue working at AMEC Earth and Environmental in South Portland while exploring opportunities to work with children. Both of her parents, Robin Gosbee ’82, and the late Lane Gosbee ’03, graduated from USM.

Commencement Speaker Linda Greenlaw

Isle au Haut resident, best-selling author and swordfishing captain Linda Greenlaw delivered the keynote address at USM’s 131st Commencement. USM also awarded her an honorary degree in recognition for her contribution to the cultural heritage of the coast of Maine. Greenlaw first came to public attention in 1997 when she was one of the swordfish captains profiled in Sebastian Junger’s best-seller, The Perfect Storm. She is the author of four books about life as a commercial fisherman, The Hungry Ocean (1999 New York Times best-seller), The Lobster Chronicles (2002 New York Times best-seller), All Fishermen are Liars (2004 New York Times best-seller) and Seaworthy: A Swordboat Captain Returns to Sea. Time Magazine called her 2005 Recipes from a Very Small Island, co-authored with her mother Martha Greenlaw, a “must-have cookbook.” She also is featured in the Discovery Channel series Swords: Life on the Line.