Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Selma Botman: USM students shine in
and out of the classroom

The opportunity to combine meaningful, productive work with study is an immense advantage.

Chris Barr is a University of Southern Maine graduating senior who is majoring in English.

An exquisite writer, Chris is also what we in higher education term a successful non-traditional student, having begun his USM experience in 1998 as a part-time student in our Saco-Sanford Center.

Over the past 13 years, his path to graduation has been punctuated by studies at a community college, cross-country travel, and working two jobs while going to school. The result? He now sees himself as a well-prepared professional writer.

Chris makes invaluable contributions to my office as one of the seven federally funded work-study students who serve in part-time positions on my staff.

The Federal Work-Study Program provides funds that students across the United States can earn to help finance their education. In return, students who qualify work in part-time positions throughout American higher education.

This long-standing program is based on the premise of keeping students on campus, close to the work of their institution, and giving them solid work experience while they earn their degrees.

Another of these wonderful young people in my office, Megan Theberge, recently returned from a semester-at-sea program. Interested in politics and current events, her travels in this program bolstered her desire to work after graduation in the non-profit world or perhaps as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Megan is now a junior with a self-designed major that encompasses international studies and anthropology.

Four of these seven work-study students are nursing and health professions majors. Ekaterina Funk came to Maine from Russia as a college student for a summer job and met her future husband.

Although she is planning to go to work as a nurse after graduating in May, Ekaterina wants to further her studies in a nurse practitioner program or to enter medical school.

Jesslyn Lawler's father and grandmother are both alumni of USM. Jesslyn, an exercise physiology major, decided to pursue a career in a health profession due to her own experience as a heart patient.

Impressed by her doctor and the physician's assistant who worked on her case, Jesslyn aspires to a career as a physician's assistant because she understands the personal impact of this profession.

What's striking about all of the work-study students in my office is the commitment and seriousness with which they engage their work while juggling their studies. Their presence on my staff creates unexpected opportunities to foster their professional growth while also furthering their academic aspirations.

My administrative assistant Sharoo Wengland provides dedicated mentoring, having earned her own degree while working at USM.

As each of these students enters the work force after graduation, I might be asked to serve as a reference, and it will be a joy to sing the praises of young people whom I have watched blossom during their time at USM.

This summer two of them, Audra Cianchette and Briannah Mosher, will participate in the USM Health Outreach Project in the Dominican Republic. They will spend two weeks providing primary health care in rural villages as part of a community service experience designed to offer a life-changing encounter with international nursing.

When Audra and Briannah return to work next year, they will bring back to my office new skills and insights that will enrich whatever task they undertake.

What lesson can you draw here? This vital federal program allows students to give something back to the university. They make tremendous contributions through their work on projects like the university's recent reaccreditation process for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

They get a bird's eye view of the internal workings of a complex organization that they can apply to their future careers. They leave USM having earned the respect of their supervisors who, in return, can testify to their abilities and talents.

Let me close with the example of one graduating senior, Rachel Gordon. A business major, this young woman has a poise and professional demeanor that belies her age.

I have learned to trust Rachel's judgment and discretion as I have watched her blossom in her support role within my office. Every day that she comes to work, she demonstrates vividly what she has learned in USM's School of Business. I will genuinely regret when she graduates this May, but I am confident that she will go on to far greater accomplishments.

These hardworking students make important contributions to my office, and I envy future employers who will have the joys of encountering them and discovering anew what I have learned about them.

Selma Botman is president of the University of Southern Maine. She can be contacted at:

sbotman@usm.maine.edu