Heather Decotes, who will graduate in the winter of 2009, will be presented with the Outstanding Future Alumni award. Heather DeCotes, the Outstanding Future Alumni recipient, is a senior at UMFK- pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies. Heather will graduate from UMFK in December 2009. She has made the UMFK's Dean List since she came to UMFK in 2007.

Heather has been an active member of the campus Environmental Studies Program. She was the coordinator and organizer of the week long Earth Day event, which took place on campus during the spring of 2009.

She is the president of the Ecology committee and has been asked to attend a variety of campus environmental meetings to share her knowledge with campus officials and other interested parties. Heather was directly involved with helping to get Mark Dixon, originator and co-founder of YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) to campus. She has worked on a campus carbon foot print project and is committed to the environment and recycling.

Heather was the recipient of the 2009 Dean's Award, which is awarded to a junior or senior student with a high grade point average and who demonstrates scholarly attributes and was the recipient of The Associated Faculties of the University of Maine, Fort Kent Chapter Scholarships in May.

She participated in the Maine National Education for Women Leadership Summer Institute "Public Leadership Education for College Women" that was held at the University of Maine in June.

This summer, as part of her senior project, Heather did research under the direction of Professor Kim Borges. She is doing water tests to check if specific types bacteria are present in our local brooks and streams.

Heather is an active in the community as a member of Fort Kent PAWS, went to the first graders from the local elementary school and how to do composting, volunteered her time at Fort Kent Rotary's ‘Earth Day' event to introduce how to do composting for the community members.

Heather is from Albany, New York.