ORONO, Maine -- Four student-athletes have been named 2019 Outstanding Graduating Seniors at the University of Maine.
The four honorees are: Vincent Eze, men's basketball, Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Education and Human Development; Shayla Kleisinger, women's swimming, Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Engineering; Lydia Murray, women's ice hockey, Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture; and Ilija Stojiljkovic, men's basketball, Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine Business School.
The Outstanding Graduating Students will be honored at UMaine's 217th Commencement in Alfond Arena May 11.
Vincent Eze, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is double-majoring in child development and family relations, and in sociology, with a concentration in individual and family studies.
Eze is a forward on the men's basketball team, and received both Rising Star and Scholar-Athlete awards of the Athletics Department. Eze is a teaching assistant and member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He also has been involved in student groups, including Male Athletes Against Violence, the Student Portfolio Investment Fund (SPIFFY) and the International Student Association.
He plans to attend graduate school to study public administration.
A full Q&A with Eze is online.
Shayla Kleisinger, of Winnipeg, Canada is a biomedical engineering major with a minor in nanotechnology.
As a member of the swimming and diving team, her primary events are freestyle and individual medley. In 2016–17, she was named to the America East All-Academic Team.
Kleisinger is a member of the All Maine Women honor society, vice president of the UMaine chapter of Active Minds, a peer tutor and a teacher in the Black Bear Swim School. She also has been involved in research on campus, working in the Howell Biointerface and Biomimetics Laboratory and participating in an interdisciplinary project through the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions.
Kleisinger also was a mentor in the Maine EPSCoR High School Internship Program. Her capstone research project focuses on microsatellite technology used in NASA's CubeSat initiative that would be capable of sustaining the growth of microgreen plants in space. She plans to pursue a job in biomedical technology and attend graduate school.
A full Q&A with Kleisinger is online.
Lydia Murray, of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, is majoring in nursing and is a forward on the women's ice hockey team.
Among her honors is a 2016–17 Team Maine award for the highest GPA on the team.
In her four years in the nursing program, Murray has done numerous clinical rotations, caring for a range of patients at Brewer Center for Health and Rehabilitation, St. Joseph Hospital; Surgical/Orthopedic Unit and Medical/Neuroscience Unit, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center; Surgical and Pediatrics at EMMC; and community clinicals at Orono High School, Orono Middle School and Asa C. Adams School. Her senior practicum is with the EMMC Obstetrics Unit.
On campus, Murray has been involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Athletes for Sexual Responsibility. She has discovered a passion for obstetrics and women's health, and plans to pursue a career as a registered nurse.
A full Q&A with Murray is online.
Ilija Stojiljkovic, of Niš, Serbia, is a management major and forward on the men's basketball team.
His honors include Scholar-Athlete awards, and being named to the 2019 America East All-Academic Team, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference President's Honor Roll and National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, both in 2018. In his senior season, he was team captain.
Stojiljkovic also has been a member of Male Athletes Against Violence and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on campus, and served as a peer tutor and mentor.
He plans to pursue a master's degree and play professional basketball.
A full Q&A with Stojiljkovic is online.
-UMaine-
