Interviewees: Other
Tracy Reid
Tracy grew up in Lowell, MA, where she attended a vocational high school. Instead of finishing high school, Tracy left when she was 17 and began working as a nurse’s assistant. A few years ago she moved to Maine and she and her husband now live in Gardiner. Tracy is still working as a CNA but recently acquired her GED through Gardiner Adult Education and plans to attend college to get her RN degree.
Tina Pierce
Tina grew up in Monticello, ME and attended Houlton High School. She is currently enrolled in the College Transitions program through the Houlton Hodgden branch of Maine Adult Education and plans to pursue a career as a medical coder and transcriptionist. Tina has three daughters: a 13-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a three-year-old. She hopes that by getting a college education she will help to inspire her girls to do the same.
- Adult Ed Learning Center will be there to help even after she starts at NMCC
- Maine Adult Education made learning math painless
- Working in hospitals and pursuing a career as medical transcriptionist
- Wishes someone had pushed her to go to college earlier
- Going to college to be a role model for her children
Nicole Casella
Nicole grew up in Boston and moved to Houlton, ME when she was 15. Her high school career was colored by substance abuse and a challenging home life. She was not particularly interested in school and only graduated because her parents gave her an ultimatum: ‘Graduate or get out.’ She chose not to go on to college and struggled with substance abuse for years. She is now in the College Transitions program with the Houlton Hodgden branch of Maine Adult Education, and plans to go on to study for a degree in office assisting and business. She has two children, a daughter in ninth grade and a one-year-old.
Amy Smith
Amy grew up in the Lincolnville and has lived there ever since. When Amy was seventeen, she gave birth to her first child and made the decision to take some time off from high school. She then returned to school a year later to earn her diploma. After spending years as a stay-at-home mom to her three children, Amy decided to go back to school. She first enrolled in the Maine Adult Education College Transitions program, then went on to study at the University of Maine in Orono, where she was the valedictorian for her graduating class (2010). She is currently in the master’s program at UMO working towards a degree in history. Her goal is to one day become a social studies teacher.
- Tough to find a balance between being a good mom and a good student
- Anyone considering going back to school should try College Transitions
- Pursuing a Ph.D. in history with the intention of being a teacher
- Credits college success to a love of learning
- Surprised to learn she was the valedictorian for her class
Governor Paul LePage
Governor LePage grew up in Lewiston, where he had a childhood rife with challenges and obstacles to overcome. He worked many jobs throughout high school before going on to study for a degree in finance and accounting at Husson University. Following graduation from Husson, Governor LePage went to the University of Maine to earn his MBA. Since then he has been a leader in Maine business, acting as the general manager of Marden’s and as a private business consultant in a variety of industries. LePage served as the mayor of Waterville from 2003 to 2011, before becoming Maine’s governor in January 2011.
Jackie Dupont
Jackie Dupont grew up in Maryland and attended high school at the Friends School of Baltimore. She went on to get her bachelor’s degree at Colby College and her master’s degree in social work at UMO. She is currently the Director of Programs at Hardy Girls Healthy Women, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering and educating girls and young women. Jackie also works part-time as a clinical family and individual counselor.
Betty Ryder
Betty grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire and graduated from Manchester High School West in 1986. After high school she joined the navy she was a stay-at-home mom. When she had to enter the workforce she found jobs primarily in supermarkets. She asked to be transferred from a NH store to the Kennebunk store, and one month later the Kennebunk store closed. Out of a job, Betty decided to attend Sandford Community Adult Ed. and earned her accounting clerk certificate in 2010. She is working as an administrative assistant at Concentra Health Services.
Deb Neuman
Deb grew up in Pennsylvania and spent every summer in Maine with her family. After going to college in California, Deb decided to move to Maine and she has been here for 20 years. After owning a number of small businesses and coaching small business owners, Deb started hosting her own radio show, Back to Business, which features stories of small businesses. She is also the director of the Target Technology Incubator at UMaine.
Vicki Hayes
Vicky grew up in Arkansas and has been in Maine for about 10 years. She works for Maine Medical Center and USM as an M.D. specializing in Adolescent Medicine.
Yaselis Toohey
Yaselis grew up in Venezuela, going to school only occasionally. She met her husband, an engineer in Portland, Maine, when she was 17 and moved to Portland. They married and had a son when she was 19. She began taking courses through Adult Ed. in Portland to learn English and earned her GED in 1998. She took a break from school while raising her children and has since returned to take a few more courses at Portland Adult Ed. She plans to enroll part-time at SMCC and is looking to get into the medical field.
Samwel Waithaka
Samwel grew up in Kenya and graduated from high school there. After high school he got a job writing plays and teaching drama at a local high school. He met his wife, an American from Maine, in a volunteer program in Kenya. After getting married in Kenya in 2007 and living there, they decided to move back to Maine. Samwel has been attending the Belfast College Connections program and hopes to attend college for either accounting or engineering.
Kevin McLean
Kevin grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Ridley High School in 2009. Just weeks after graduating, Kevin enlisted in the Coast Guard. He is stationed in South Portland.
Olena Yermak
Olena grew up in Ukraine and moved to the U.S. four years ago after visiting family here and meeting her future husband. She and her husband lived in Connecticut where she worked in a Russian store and had mostly Russian friends. When they decided to move to Maine she had to make a strong effort to learn English. She attended the College Transitions program in Madawaska, and then went on to Northern Maine Community College. She is currently enrolled at UMaine at Fort Kent studying nursing.
Cindy Beaulieu
Cindy has worked in customer service for most of her adult life, but decided to changer career paths after an inspiring medical emergency. She had to have open heart surgery and had such a positive experience that she decided to pay it forward and start a career in the medical field. She attended College Transitions in Madawaska and is currently a nursing student at Northern Maine Community College
Mark Whitman
Mark went to Bonny Eagle High School and graduated in 1985. While in high school he worked at Shaw’s and was hired there full-time when he graduated. He went on to work for a home improvement company and was there for ten years before they went out of business. Out of a job, he decided to go back to school. He attended the Hollis College Transitions Program and started working towards a degree in electrical engineering in January 2010 at SMCC.
Donna Bass
Donna grew up in York, Maine and graduated from high school in 1976. After getting married and having kids she worked a number of different jobs while home-schooling her children. She and her family moved to Texas to care for a sick family member and when they came back they found themselves homeless for a few years, despite her and her husband both having good jobs. After getting back on their feet Donna decided to go back to school. She enrolled in the Marshwood College Transition Program to prepare for college and in December she will graduate from UNE with a degree in Psychobiology/Neuroscience. She plans to work in alternative medicine after she graduates.
Chris Russell
Chris graduated from Southern Aroostook Community High School and Northern Maine Technical College (now Northern Maine Community College). He worked at a cedar mill for years until he was laid off. Chris sought help from the Maine College Transitions Program to prepare him for entering college and is currently studying Criminal Justice at the University of Maine at Presque Isle with plans to become a police officer when he graduates.
Charlie Colgan
Dr. Colgan is a Professor of Public Policy and Management at the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service. He teaches courses in economics, economic development, and was the Maine State Economist for a number of years.
Megan LaLonde
Megan started working at Hannaford as a high school student in Vermont before attending the New England Institute of Art for graphic design. She has held many different positions in Hannaford stores and just recently joined the corporate office as a graphic designer.
Amaya Serpa
Amaya is a postulant with the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in Meriden, CT. She grew up in Pocatella, ID, graduated from Carroll College and Idoha State University School of Pharmacy. She recently started her first pharmacy job at a hospital in New Haven, CT.