{"id":1914,"date":"2025-05-28T09:33:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T13:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/?p=1914"},"modified":"2025-05-02T09:42:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T13:42:34","slug":"mcc-proud-meet-aaron-bouyea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/28\/mcc-proud-meet-aaron-bouyea\/","title":{"rendered":"MCC Proud: Meet Aaron Bouyea"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Athletic Director Aaron Bouyea is in his eighth year at Monroe Community College (MCC).<\/p>\n<p>Bouyea is a first-generation college student from Lewiston, Maine\u2014a diverse and economically challenged mill town. \u201cFor many families and friends in my community, college wasn\u2019t a common path, and it wasn\u2019t my first choice either,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>However, Bouyea was fortunate to be recruited to play college baseball. \u201cAs a first-time college student, I faced significant challenges and obstacles, not unlike many first-year students,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat made all the difference was the belief my coach, professors, and athletic director had in me.\u201d Their support inspired him to persevere, ultimately shaping his life\u2019s trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>The experience motivated Bouyea to pursue a career in intercollegiate athletics, where he could have the same impact on students. \u201cUltimately, it led me to the community college level, where I believe I can make the greatest difference in the lives of young people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Bouyea added, \u201cAthletics is a field full of impactful experiences, and I take immense pride and joy in the success of others.\u201d When asked for his favorite memory at MCC, Bouyea said, \u201cIt&#8217;s difficult to pinpoint one single memorable event because there have been so many. From national championships to a first-time coach earning their first win, a student-athlete graduating and earning a scholarship to a four-year school, overcoming adversity and achieving success, or our student-athletes and coaches earning individual or team awards\u2014each moment is special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He is also proud of the Athletic Department for earning the NJCAA Region III Community Service Award during the 2023-2024 academic year \u2013 their first Community Service award in over 13 years.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on each experience brings a smile to Bouyea\u2019s face and serves as a reminder of why he loves his job.<\/p>\n<p>When asked what advice he would give prospective MCC students, Bouyea said, \u201cFor new students, MCC is a special place, filled with dedicated faculty and staff committed to your success. As the best community colleges in the country, your success here can open doors to opportunities that rival those at some of the best four-year institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For current students, Bouyea added, \u201c\u2026stick with it. College is challenging, and moments of failure and adversity are a normal part of every student\u2019s journey. Learn from both your successes and setbacks, get involved in clubs and activities, and keep moving forward. The pride you\u2019ll feel when you walk across the stage and receive your diploma will be something no one can ever take away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Outside of MCC, Bouyea is currently the second vice president for the National Association of Two-Year College Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) and also serves on the Executive Committee for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Both organizations serve as the largest and leading professional development organizations for two-year and four-year athletic administrators in the country. In addition, he is currently the treasurer for the Western New York Athletic Conference and the Assistant Men\u2019s Director and Business Manager for NJCAA Region III, which encompasses 21 community colleges across New York state.<\/p>\n<p>Bouyea earned his BS in Sport Management from Thomas College in Waterville, ME and his MS in Sport Management from SUNY Cortland. He is currently pursuing his EdD in educational leadership from the University of the Cumberlands.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fun Facts About Aaron<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Courtney: If you had to eat the same meal at least once a day, what would it be?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: A bologna and cheese sandwich with mustard.<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: What is your favorite movie?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: A Few Good Men<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: What is your favorite sports team?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: I\u2019m from New England so\u00a0I\u2019m equally committed to the Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox, and Bruins.<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: What is your biggest fear?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: Deep, dark water<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: Is there anything about you that people are surprised to learn?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: I have a big house plant obsession that I\u2019m working on.<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: If you could attend a dinner with any celebrity, living or dead, who would you choose?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: Muhammed Ali<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: Do you prefer staying up late or waking up early in the morning?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: I am a night owl<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: Share the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you.<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: This too shall pass. It\u2019s a great reminder in difficult times that it\u2019s always temporary. At the same time, it\u2019s a great reminder to ground yourself in moments of success or happiness and to step back and be humble and enjoy the moment.<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: What destination do you hope to visit one day?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: I\u2019d love to take a trip around Europe<\/li>\n<li>Courtney: What activities do you participate in over the weekend?<\/li>\n<li>Aaron: Athletics keeps us pretty busy so when I\u2019m home I enjoy gardening, being with my wife and son, and relaxing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_1926\" style=\"width: 247px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1926\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1926\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/aaron-bouyea-website-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"Aaron Bouyea headshot. He is standing in front of the MCC logo and wearing a sport coat.\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/aaron-bouyea-website-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/aaron-bouyea-website-79x100.jpg 79w, https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/aaron-bouyea-website.jpg 474w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aaron Bouyea<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Athletic Director Aaron Bouyea is in his eighth year at Monroe Community College (MCC). Bouyea is a first-generation college student from Lewiston, Maine\u2014a diverse and economically challenged mill town. \u201cFor many families and friends in my community, college wasn\u2019t a common path, and it wasn\u2019t my first choice either,\u201d he said. However, Bouyea was fortunate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":719,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[146,107],"class_list":["post-1914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mcc-proud","tag-aaron-bouyea","tag-staff-spotlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/719"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1927,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914\/revisions\/1927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}