By all accounts, Erik Squire was a successful student when he attended Southern Maine Community College.

Erik, who graduated in 2016 with a degree in Education, earned a 4.0 GPA and was president of both the Student Senate and the SMCC chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He was named SMCC’s Student of the Year and earned a full scholarship to the University of Southern Maine.

As the new president of Southern Maine Community College, I am pleased to welcome Erik back to SMCC, this time as a success coach and advisor for students on our Midcoast Campus in Brunswick. Erik knows what it takes to succeed; in his new role, he will take what he learned as a student and pass it along to current SMCC students.

Student success is the No. 1 priority at SMCC; there is nothing more important. Students on both our Midcoast and South Portland campuses have ready access to dedicated faculty and staff advisors who will ensure they stay on track and achieve their goals.

“I really love working with students,” Erik says. “Even when I was a student, a big focus of mine was on leadership roles, student success and retention. Working one-on-one with students is awesome.”

Student success, however, goes beyond the classroom. We also teach leadership skills and provide students with numerous opportunities to establish networks of friends and connections that can last a lifetime. In his time at SMCC, Erik sharpened his leadership skills as president of two of our more prestigious student organizations while making connections with fellow students, faculty, staff and people in his field of study that will benefit him for years to come.

The success that students achieve at SMCC isn’t confined just to their time here. Our graduates use what they learn here as a steppingstone to bright futures, whether they are entering the workforce or continuing their education at a four-year institution.

Erik carried the success he enjoyed at SMCC to USM, where he earned a bachelor’s degree this year in English with a minor in Educational Studies. While at USM, he was named the school’s Maine Policy Scholar and worked with a professor to research policy challenges to improve Maine students’ achievement rates in literacy and math.

After his one-year commitment at SMCC is up, he plans to teach at a high-needs high school in Oakland, Calif., through a national organization that places recent college graduates in underserved schools across the country.

When SMCC’s Fall Semester begins on Monday (August 27), our Midcoast Campus will be buzzing with activity as hundreds of students return to class. As a longtime educator — as an elementary school teacher, a high school teacher, a college professor and a college administrator — I can honestly say that nothing brings me more satisfaction than seeing students succeed.

In big ways and small, SMCC is here to help. Student success is job one.