FARMINGTON – Our First Year Seminar guest speaker, Heather Bowser, will take us down many paths on March 13.
First and foremost, as a dedicated, courageous activist for the rights of people with disabilities, she will speak from her own experiences and the wisdom she has gained over the years. Bowser is the daughter of a deceased Vietnam Veteran who served in the United States Army in Vietnam from 1968-1969. Bowser was born two months premature with multiple birth defects. Bowser’s father became ill at a young age and subsequently died of an illness connected to his exposure to the chemical Agent Orange, which he was exposed to while serving in the military.
Bowser’s parents were early Agent Orange activists trying to attain justice for Vietnam Veterans and their children. Since her father’s death, she has continued her parents’ work. She is a founder of Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance, an advocacy group for the offspring of Vietnam Veterans. She has traveled to Vietnam to build connections with all who have been affected by the US government’s decision to spray dioxin-laden herbicide in Vietnam.
Bowser, a former high school art teacher who holds a Masters Degree in Community Mental Health, is a licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and practices in the state of Ohio. She works in a private practice, diagnosing and treating mental disorders. She is also an accomplished artist.
She will be speaking at the University of Maine at Farmington’s North Dining Hall C at 7 p.m. on March 13.
UMF’s education majors and community health/rehabilitation majors will find Bowser’s words to be especially inspirational and enlightening. Veterans and their families will find her work on behalf of veterans equally inspiring. Please join us on March 13.
I invited Heather to come speak to us because I was (and am) impressed by her ability to use both personal and professional experiences to outline for us the realities of living with disabilities. Also, because, as a Vietnam veteran myself, I am impressed by her work for the Vietnam veterans’ community on behalf of people who are often forgotten — the partners, the children, and the grandchildren of Vietnam veterans. She is truly an inspiring speaker and an admirable activist. Not to mention that her self-portrait painting is now on its way to Viet Nam, where it will be on display at national sites. She is smart, compassionate, and articulate. In a word, she is well worth listening to. Please join us on the 13th. By the way, if you can’t make the evening talk, she will also be speaking at 11:30am on the 13th at the North Dining Hall C location (in the UMF student center). Hope to see you there. Best, Doug Rawlings