Student Spotlight
Megan Michaels, Mount Holyoke bound
Megan Michaels is headed to Mount Holyoke College’s prestigious Frances Perkins Program, where she plans to build upon her degree from SMCC.
Megan graduated this spring with a degree in Liberal Studies with a focus on sociology. Come fall, she will enroll in Mount Holyoke’s Frances Perkins Program for women of nontraditional college age and study sociology with a minor in development.
After completing her bachelor’s degree, she would like to work for an international trade or non-governmental organization on gender equity issues in the agricultural field.
SMCC was not Megan’s first stab at college. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts after graduating high school in 2008, but she wasn’t ready for college at the time and left after a year.
She then worked for a specialty coffee company in Portland, learning about everything from sourcing coffee beans to roasting to preparing coffee drinks.
But she knew that to truly to get ahead in her future, she would need to come back to college. She was more than ready when she enrolled at SMCC last fall, earning a 4.0 GPA in her time here.
She credits SMCC with pushing her toward her goals.
“SMCC has given me a future and faith in my ability to be a student. It’s given me confidence in asking for support from welcoming professors. SMCC is where I realized that college is whatever you make of it.”
Student Spotlight
Ruthee Reynolds, lots of drive (and driving)
Ruthee Reynolds commuted six hours to and from SMCC each day to earn her degree. But it’s been well worth it with a respiratory therapist job awaiting her now that she’s graduated.
Ruthee was a certified nursing assistant for many years when, as a single mom, she decided she needed something more to secure a bright future for her two teenage children. So she enrolled in SMCC’s respiratory therapy program, making the three-hour commute from her home in Bucksport to South Portland most days.
The long days and long drive have paid off. Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she formerly worked as a CNA, hired her into its newly created “student respiratory therapist” position in the spring semester and has offered her a permanent job beginning this summer.
“I feel like I am definitely well-prepared to be the best respiratory therapist I can be. I’m so happy I picked SMCC. This program is phenomenal.”