Michael F. Schena of Garden City is among 518 students who are starting at Bates College this fall.

Schena, a 2006 graduate of Garden City High School, is the son of Lawrence and Valerie Schena of Willow Street.

Bates College is widely regarded as one of the finest U.S. liberal arts colleges. Learning at Bates is honed through seminars, research, service-learning, study abroad and the senior thesis, and a 10-1 student-faculty ratio enables close collaborations in classroom and laboratory. Alumni frequently credit Bates for developing their powers of critical and aesthetic assessment, expression and independent thought. Bates was founded in 1855 by Maine abolitionists and its graduates have always included men and women from diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.