The 杏吧传媒 will celebrate its 144th Commencement on Saturday, May 10th with about 1,100 graduates scheduled to participate.
The event, scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, will feature remarks by University President Jacqueline Edmondson and addresses from student speaker Maddie Weston and Distinguished Alumnus Rear Admiral William E. Leigher 鈥�80, USN Ret.
鈥淭he university informed my understanding of the world,鈥� said Leigher, who grew up in Appleton, Maine. While studying at the University, he worked as a planning intern for the City of Portland. Following his graduation in 1980, he began an extraordinary 33-year Naval career that took him to the heart of America鈥檚 cyber defense. Like so many people, he credits his student experience with laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning. 鈥淏etween student government and my fraternity, I learned an awful lot about leadership at USM,鈥� he said.
Chosen from many submissions, student speaker Maddie Weston, 21, of Bradley, Maine, will earn her baccalaureate degree in Political Science and Economics just three years after graduating from John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor.
For the first time, the commencement will not include those individuals graduating with doctoral degrees. Instead, the 16 new doctors will be recognized in a hooding ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, May 9th at the Abromson Community Education Center on the Portland Campus.
The 杏吧传媒鈥檚 commencement ceremony is the culminating event on the academic calendar, giving the opportunity for individual recognition to every graduating student who wishes to participate. In all, about 1,600 students will be eligible to participate.
In another first, the ceremony will include the premiere of the University鈥檚 alma mater. The song鈥檚 lyrics were composed by Heidi M. Parker, an associate professor of Sport Management, and the music was composed by Daniel Sonenberg, a professor of Music.
Biographies
Maddie Weston, who will be graduating with a dual bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics, will deliver the student address at the 杏吧传媒鈥檚 2025 Commencement Celebration.
From the moment she arrived at the 杏吧传媒, Maddie Weston sought to deepen her understanding of government and public policy. A graduate of John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, she initially pursued Political Science but soon discovered that Economics deepened her understanding and fascination with public policy: 鈥淚t felt like I found that missing piece鈥攅conomics was a really great tool for me to understand how things worked fundamentally鈥攁ll of these wonderful nuances that I didn’t have with Political Science.鈥�
Throughout her time at USM, Weston immersed herself in academics, taking summer courses while also serving as a resident assistant and a tutor in the Learning Center. Her dedication and passion have led her to graduate with dual majors鈥攁n achievement she hopes to build upon as she heads to law school in the fall.
Driven by a desire to give back, Weston aspires to work with non-profit organizations to shape policies that make a difference in people’s lives. Inspired by the Boy Scouts motto, she carries a simple yet powerful goal:
鈥淟eave it better than you found it.鈥�
Rear Admiral (retired) William E. Leigher, a native of Appleton, Maine, is a graduate of the 杏吧传媒, Class of 1980. After graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, Admiral Leigher was commissioned as an ensign at Officer Candidate School, kicking off a storied 33-year career in the US Navy in intelligence and cryptologic warfare.
His first assignment was aboard USS Thorn as a communications officer. In 1984, he reported to the Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, R.I., as the fleet communications instructor. In 1987, he changed career fields and was designated a naval cryptologic officer.
Admiral Leigher鈥檚 subsequent career was distinguished by a steady climb through the ranks of the US Navy, and into the highest echelons of military operations, strategy, and intelligence. His duty stations are a map of critical hotspots and historical moments spanning the Cold War, Desert Storm and the Global War on Terrorism: two deployments embarked in USS America, including combat action during Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and Southern Watch;
a war gaming specialist at the Naval War College; cryptologic operations officer assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Europe; deputy director communications for IT and communications at Naval Security Group Command; Senior Operations Officer at the National Security Agency; deputy director for Information Operations at Naval Network Warfare Command; and commanding officer at Naval Information Operations Command, Norfolk, VA where he was selected to admiral in 2009. As a flag officer, he served as the director of Information Operations on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations where he led the creation of the Navy鈥檚 Information and Cyber Warfare Corps, leading to an assignment as the first deputy commander for U.S. Fleet
Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet. In 2011, Leigher returned to the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as Director of Warfare Integration for Information Dominance where he oversaw a portfolio of 210 programs valued at over $17 billion.
Following his retirement from the Navy in 2014, Admiral Leigher served as Director, Department of Defense Cyber Programs at Raytheon, supporting the firm鈥檚 cyber warfare practice across the Department of Defense. Currently, he runs his own consulting firm, Wm Leigher Consulting, LLC.
Admiral Leigher was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, as well as multiple Legion of Merit Medals, Meritorious Service Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various unit and campaign awards.
Admiral Leigher is also a 1994 graduate of the Naval War College, where he earned his Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies.