ORONO — Undergraduate Taylor Cray, of Readfield, is one of two students to be presented the Sharon Barker Student Activism Award during the 2019 Maryann Hartman Awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at Buchanan Alumni House, 160 College Ave., on the UMaine campus. Master’s candidate Moriah Geer, of Old Town, is the other recipient, according to a news release from the Division of Marketing and Communications at the University of Maine.

The Sharon Barker Student Activism Award for University of Maine students is a new honor this year, as well as an award for a local high school essayist inspired by a Maine feminist.

Neily Raymond, of Hermon, will be honored for her submission to the Maryann Hartman Scholarship essay contest.

Cray, a third-year student and vice president of Student Government, is majoring in political science and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, with minors in Spanish and legal studies. She volunteers with Planned Parenthood and the Maine Democratic Party, where she focuses on voter engagement. Cray plans to attend law school to continue her pursuit of social justice through legal activism.

The Sharon Barker Student Activism Award honors UMaine student activists seeking to implement positive change in their communities by fostering social justice. Barker, a longtime UMaine employee, is known for her passionate advocacy for Maine women and girls. She founded the University of Maine’s Women’s Resource Center in 1991, and served as the center’s director until she retired in 2015.

The awards ceremony is sponsored by the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, and the Rising Tide Center at the University of Maine.

To RSVP, call 581-1228 or email [email protected].