SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (SMCC) – Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is pleased to announce that Dayna and Sean Riley of Maine Course Hospitality Group (MCHG) have created an endowment to establish the Riley Family Scholarship.
The scholarship will provide financial assistance and support to SMCC Hospitality Management students annually.
Dayna and Sean Riley have spent forty years in the restaurant and hotel business and are currently part of MCHG, with twenty-four hotels across Maine, New England, upstate New York and Florida. The Rileys were initially connected to SMCC through their son Shamus Riley, who attended the College. Sean served as an advisor to the College as well.
“Our son is a graduate of this program, as are many of our team members, all the way up to a corporate director of operations,” Sean Riley said. “The hospitality industry relies on programs like the Hospitality Management program at SMCC to support our hotels and the Maine economy. This industry has been good to our family, so helping SMCC students entering this business allows us to give back.”
“If you read the MCHG Purpose, the first words are ‘to positively impact lives.’ The Rileys and Maine Course have built their business on the same foundation as SMCC’s core mission, improving the lives of Mainers and their communities,” SMCC President Joe Cassidy said. “This scholarship will have a real impact on SMCC students for many years to come. There is no more significant way to support your community than to build people up so they can positively impact their communities and improve their lives. That’s what you’re doing with this endowment.”
To be eligible for this scholarship, students must demonstrate financial need, be in good academic standing, be enrolled in the Hospitality Management associate degree program, and have current or previous hospitality work experience.
Students interested in applying can contact the SMCC Foundation office at 207-741-5559 or foundation@smccME.edu.
Featured in photo -L to R – Meghan Riley, Sean Riley, Dayna Riley, Shamus Riley & wife Becah Riley, SMCC President Joe Cassidy, SMCC Foundation Board Vice Chair Jane Eberle, SMCC Vice President and Academic Dean Paul Charpentier, Peter A. McKernan Hospitality Center Executive Chef and Manager Jill Hannaford, SMCC Foundation’s Julie Chase, former SMCC Culinary Arts student Oliver Wilson. Front Row – Fiona Riley and Tadhg Riley.