ORONO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It was a full house in the Alfond Arena at the University of Maine on Saturday, for the state's largest commencement of 2013.

Thousands of friends and family members packed into the building for this year's graduation to watch as 1,664 seniors received their diplomas. Many like Valedictorian, Spencer Hathaway, credited their big day to the support of others.

"The professors, the friends I've made, mentors. Everybody here is so inviting and they help you do anything you want to accomplish," said Hathaway.

In addition to their diplomas, graduates also received some advice from an academy award winning film producer. UMaine Alumnus, Lawrence Bender, has produced such films as Good Will Hunting, Pulp Fiction, and An Inconvenient Truth. He was also the commencement speaker at UMaine giving graduates three important keys to success.

BREWER, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The statistics show that as Americans live longer, and as the population ages, the need for home care workers will grow substantially.  According to the Bureau of Labor Standards, the home care workforce will grow from 1.7 Million to 2.6 million in 2018, but the people caring for seniors in their homes earn, on average, less than 10 dollars an hour, and many do not get benefits.  Some of those workers gathered at the Food and Medicine Headquarters in Brewer Thursday to urge their senators to make it a priority to improve pay, benefits and training for this growing workforce.  

Huddled under a tent, Helen Hanson stood at a podium and shared her finacnial struggles while working as a home care worker. 

"My bills are paid, but when the oil tank is down, do I pay the mortgage or do I spend $350 dollars to put 100 gallons in the oil tank," she said.