Student Profile
Taylor Gustin, bright future ahead
Taylor Gustin realized she wanted to become a radiographer while in high school during a tour of a new hospital that was soon to open in her hometown of Augusta.
When the time came, she enrolled in SMCC’s Radiography program because it’s affordable, the College has a beautiful campus and she knows there will be plenty of job opportunities in the Portland area after graduation.
Taylor always wanted to do something in the medical field. She was drawn to radiography because she could work directly with patients, the demand is growing and the technology is rapidly evolving. She says there will always be something to challenge her.
Once she’s working as a radiologic technologist after graduation, Taylor says she’d like to specialize in mammography ― although there are other specialties, such as MRIs or CAT scans, that she can choose from.
She likes the clinical experience she gets as part of this program and the hands-on involvement she receives working in hospitals and other medical settings.
“There’s a certain amount of book learning, but there’s nothing that can prepare you better than working with real patients in the field.”
Alumni Profile
Autumn Theriault, living her dream
Autumn Theriault came to SMCC more than a decade out of high school to pursue her goal of teaching. Now she’s living her dream as a sixth-grade teacher.
In the years after high school, Autumn worked for the state and in restaurants, unsure of her calling until she volunteered at her children’s elementary school and realized that the classroom was where she belonged. With a newfound passion and a clear aim of teaching, she enrolled at SMCC and earned an Education degree in 2016 with a near-perfect GPA.
Autumn then transferred to St. Joseph’s College, graduating summa cum laude (with a GPA higher than 3.95) in 2018 with a degree in Elementary Education.
From St. Joseph’s, she was hired as a sixth-grade teacher in Lewiston. This year, she made the jump to an elementary school in Mechanic Falls, allowing her to be close to home and in the same school district where her children are in the fifth and seventh grades.
Autumn says teaching is a bigger challenge than she expected, but that she maintains the passion that she says Mary Jo O’Connor, SMCC’s Education program coordinator, instills in students.
“Teaching challenges you every day. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.”