Welcome to the Spring Semester!
Thousands of SMCC students have arrived on the South Portland and Midcoast Campuses for the Spring Semester, ready to continue their studies and prepare for bright futures.
Classes began January 19 and the semester ends on May 14.
Some of the key dates for students to mark on their calendars for the weeks ahead include:
- Jan. 19-26: Add/drop period
- Jan. 29: Spring book allowances end
- Feb. 4: Spring parking and insurance waiver deadline
- Feb. 5: Deadline to order a diploma for commencement
- Feb. 18: Spring financial aid checks available
- Feb. 22 Summer registration begins
- Feb. 22-26: Winter Carnival
- March 1: Applications accepted for SMCC Foundation scholarships
- March 14-19: Spring break (no classes)
- April 1-30: Advising Month
- April 11: Fall registration begins (current students with 30-plus credits)
- April 13: Fall registration begins (current students with less than 30 credits)
- April 14: Career Fair
- April 19: Last day to withdraw from classes
- May 22: Commencement
Student volunteers make a difference
SMCC students are making a difference helping Mainers in need of substance abuse treatment.
Students in Kathryn Stannard’s Introduction to Human Services classes took part in a range of service-learning opportunities during the Fall Semester by volunteering more than 500 hours of their time working with children, disabled adults, immigrants, the elderly and others at a variety of agencies throughout southern Maine.
Five of those students volunteered at the Portland Recovery Community Center, where they made cold calls to agencies across the country asking that beds be donated to Mainers in need of substance abuse treatment but who couldn’t afford treatment. Stannard says the students were promised 15 or 16 free beds for Maine residents at treatment centers in Maine, California, Texas, Arizona and elsewhere.
Stannard says a conservative estimate for an average bed price is around $25,000 — meaning SMCC students were able to secure upwards of $400,000 worth of promised donations for Maine residents in need of treatment.
“While other students donated similar value to the community in terms of time and energy — I like to think that we as a school are making a difference and contributing a tremendous value to our local community — it’s nice to have it show in terms of monetary value as well,” Stannard said.
Hundreds of students at SMCC’s Midcoast and South Portland Campuses each year learn about the power of giving first-hand. They volunteer their time with organizations and community groups that are focused on hunger, education, health care, the environment, social justice, the elderly and other worthy and noble causes.
Seawall replacement takes shape
The replacement of the SMCC seawall is now complete, and workers are now building granite stairways down to the beach.
Replacement of the seawall — which stretches from the SMCC pier to the breakwater leading to Spring Point Ledge Light — began last fall with workers removing the granite blocks and then fitting them back into place from bottom to top. The wall had to be replaced after being breached during a storm.
Each block on the bottom row has a steel dowel running through it to anchor it to the underground ledge below it. Steel rods are also used to connect the layers of blocks to each other.
The final landscaping will be completed this spring when warm weather returns.