Interviewees
TJ Williams
TJ moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to the small town of Rumford, ME during his freshman year of high school. The move was a major transition for TJ, but he’s very glad he ended up in Maine! He graduated from Rumford Valley High School in 2008 and went on to enroll at the University of Southern Maine, where he now studies Technology Management. TJ works and is active in many student organizations at USM, in addition to serving as the student body class president.
Seth Robinson
Seth grew up in Windham, ME and graduated from Windham High School. He went on to study video production at SMCC for two years before transferring to the media studies program at USM. He now works as an in-studio camera operator, audio engineer, and master control operator at WCSH6.
Rachel Morales
Rachel is the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission at the University of Southern Maine. Rachel has worked at USM for nearly 10 years, and also holds a degree in communications from the University.
Lauren Murphy
Lauren Murphy grew up in Old Orchard Beach, ME and attended Old Orchard Beach High School. She is now a senior student studying music education at the University of Southern Maine.
Jenna Guiggey
Jenna Guiggey grew up in the small town of Sherman in Northern Maine, where she attended Katahdin High School. Jenna is now a senior student studying music at the University of Southern Maine.
Christina Zahn
Christina grew up in Lewiston, ME and attended Lewiston High School. After graduating, she chose to attend USM to study music education. Christina is now a senior.
Austyn Resek
Austyn grew up in a small town in Southern Vermont. After graduating from high school, Austyn decided to enroll at the University of Southern Maine, where she is now a senior studying athletic training. After college, she plans to either go to graduate school for athletic training or join the Peace Corps.
Alexandria Lewis
Alex Lewis grew up in York, ME and attended Berwick Academy in South Berwick, ME. After graduating in 2007, Alex first decided to go to the University of Maine at Orono. She found that the large university atmosphere wasn’t for her, however, and transferred to the University of Southern Maine, where she is now a senior studying psychology. Her plans for the future include graduate school and a career in counseling.
Kylie Keene
Kylie is the 2012 “spokester” for Young & Free Maine, a Maine Credit Union League program to provide information and services to Mainers in the 18-to-25 crowd. She grew up in Hallowell, ME, and attended the University of Maine at Orono, where she studied journalism.
Jeanne Crocker
Jeanne has spent her adult life in the field of education, working for 21 years as a high school teacher and serving as the principal of South Portland High School for 13 years. She is currently the assistant executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association. Jeanne also has two children, both of whom are in their twenties.
Wendy Cody
Wendy is the parent of three boys, ages 18, 15, and 8. She works as an Educational Consultant for the Portland, ME-based company Academic Merit. Wendy and her family live in Yarmouth.
Dawn Fernandez
Dawn has three sons, ranging in age from 18 to 24. Her oldest has recently returned home from a tour of duty as a Marine, while her middle son will soon graduate from Yale University this spring. Her youngest is preparing to graduate from John Bapst Memorial High School. In addition to being a parent, Dawn is in an educator in the field of technology. She also teaches with the Maine Adult Education program. Dawn lives in Dedham, ME.
Jessica Thistle
Jessica is a young mother currently taking classes through Maine Adult Ed to prepare her for college. She grew up in Standish, ME and attended Bonny Eagle High School. She had planned to go to college after graduating from high school, but changed her plans after learning she was going to have a child. Now she’s ready to go back to school, where she hopes to study behavioral health and science.
James Passanisi
James is the coordinator of the Renewable Energy program at the University of Maine. He is involved in the development of undergraduate minors in Renewable Energy for University of Maine students.
Kate Damon
Kate grew up in Lewiston, ME and attended Lewiston High School. She then left Maine to attend Harvard University in Boston, MA. After college, Kate stayed in Boston to teach math at an underperforming middle school. She now works for a small math education company based out of Cambridge, MA and is going to school to become a nurse midwife.
Jessica Whittier
Jessica grew up in Fort Kent and graduated from the University of Maine (Orono) with a degree in public administration. She now works as a College Access Counselor for the Finance Authority of Maine, teaching young people and their families about the financial aid process, how to save for college, and how to make smart choices when taking out student loans.
- Find a focus when you start out at a community college
- A strong grasp of math promotes development of critical thinking skills
- Strong writing skills build colleagues’ confidence in her work
- Many factors can cause students to become disengaged in community college
- Professors and clubs can spark excitement for school
Ina Lewin
Ina grew up in Freedom, ME and was homeschooled for most of her educational career. She attended public schools briefly, but did not feel that the public school environment was a good match for her and returned to homeschooling. She has worked at her family’s greenhouse since she was 13 years old. Ina recently finished a GED preparation course with her local Maine Adult Education branch, RSU#3 Adult Education. She now has her GED and plans to attend Kennebec Valley Community College in the fall to study sign language and math.
Krystle Smith
Krystle grew up in Waterville and moved to Brunswick after her parents divorced when she was nine years old. She attended Brunswick High School. High school was a difficult time for Krystle, as she was responsible for caring for her elderly grandmother and keeping up the house. After high school, Krystle worked as a line cook for several years before deciding that she wanted to do more with her life by pursuing a college degree. She is now a student at Southern New Hampshire University, where she studies psychology. To get extra help in math – the subject with which she has the most difficulty – Krystle takes math courses through the Brunswick Adult Education program.
Marina Affo
Marina is a junior at Lewiston High School. She has lived in Lewiston since she was 5 years old, when her family moved to Maine from Togo in Africa. Marina is an honor student and serves as the president of the junior class at Lewiston High. She aspires to become a journalist.
Our Picks
Editor’s Pick: Not having as much money as her classmates
“My family was blue-collar in a white-collar town. My parents worked really hard and did their best, but they had four kids and neither of them had advanced degrees. They did what they could. Even though we were always taken care of and I never wanted for food or clothing or shelter, most of the kids at my very small high school – there were about 60 people in my class – had so much more than I did, and I felt that difference everyday.”
Editor’s Pick: Losing her father and leaving school
“My dad died in 2008 and I dropped out of high school my junior year for about three or four months. I just went to work full-time to keep my thoughts away from school and my dad’s death. I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t want to be faced with the questions about why I hadn’t been in school. It was embarrassing to me. I let my teachers down, I let my mom down; I let a lot of people down. Finally during my senior year I realized that this is not a game; this is real life and I have to support myself. What could I do without an education?”