Students in Herb Adams’ State and Local Government class hold up pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution.
Commemorating Constitution Day
SMCC celebrated Constitution Day with a film screening, class discussions, and pocket-sized copies of the Constitution, while two SMCC students originally from Somalia became U.S. citizens.
Constitution Day is held September 17 each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. The document established the framework of our government and the rights and freedoms that U.S. citizens enjoy today.
In Professor Herb Adams’ State and Local Government class, students discussed what the Constitution means to them and whether there should be changes. There was general agreement that the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution did a remarkable job, considering it still serves as the foundation of our government 232 years later.
“I think the Constitution can be used to protect our civil liberties,” said Political Science student Lauren Despins. “I don’t agree with everything in it, but we could be living in a different country where we wouldn’t have these rights.”
Some students suggested the Constitution could be revised, such as being more inclusive toward women and the LGBTQ community or reflecting changes in technology.
“I think we really need to update it so we can better govern our modern civil society,” said Jessy Brewer, who’s also a Political Science student.
Meanwhile, sisters Zehra and Hafza Abukar were sworn in as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony held at the University of Southern Maine.
Zehra and Hafza’s family moved from their homeland of Somalia to Turkey in 2009 before moving to Maine five years ago.
Learn about jobs, internships at career workshops
About two dozen Portland-area businesses and organizations are visiting SMCC this fall, offering students the chance to learn about job and internship opportunities and meet potential employers one-to-one.
Employers are scheduled to visit the South Portland and Midcoast campuses more than 20 times this semester, either hosting career workshops or setting up recruitment tables. More than 30 employers are expected at the SMCC Job Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in the South Portland Campus Center.
For students, the visits allow them to meet face-to-face with recruiters and gain insight into what they look for in prospective employees, on resumes and in interviews.
For employers, they get to meet job candidates and promote opportunities at their companies and organizations.
“These are quality jobs and internships that can help students in their future career paths and goals,” said SMCC Career Services Director Margaret Brownlee.
Among the upcoming career workshops are:
- Idexx. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Auditorium
- Pratt Abbott. Thursday, Sept. 26, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
- MEMIC. Thursday, Oct. 3, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
- Wayfair. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 12:30 p.m., L.L.Bean Learning Commons, Midcoast Campus
- Bangor Savings Bank. Thursday, Oct. 10, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
- Martin’s Point Health Care. Tuesday, Oct. 15, L.L.Bean Learning Commons, Midcoast Campus
- WEX Inc. Wednesday, Oct. 16, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall Auditorium
- Pathways of Maine. Tuesday, Oct. 29, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
- Maine Department of Labor/Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 12 p.m., Jewett Auditorium
- Texas Instruments. Tuesday, Nov. 12, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
- Bangor Savings Bank. Wednesday, Nov. 13, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 128.
- City of Portland. Tuesday, Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m., Jewett Hall, Room 110
For a complete list of dates and times of recruitment table visits, career workshops and job fairs, please visit the Events section of the SMCC student app or contact Career Services at career@smccME.edu.
SMCC students sought for Smith, Mount Holyoke programs
Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges are holding a luncheon in October for SMCC students interested in transferring to those schools’ programs for women of nontraditional age.
SMCC has had partnerships with Smith’s Ada Comstock program and Mount Holyoke’s Frances Perkins program for more than a decade. Smith and Mount Holyoke are small liberal arts schools for women located in western Massachusetts.
Both programs are aimed at students of nontraditional college age who are seeking the challenge of completing a bachelor’s degree at a top liberal arts institution. Through the years, more than two dozen SMCC graduates have transferred to those programs.
To learn more about the programs, interested female students are encouraged to attend a luncheon at noon on Tuesday, October 8, to meet with Smith and Mount Holyoke officials.
For more information, please contact Margie Fahey, Associate Dean of Curriculum Design and Articulation, at mfahey@smccME.edu or 741-5833.
Sarah Chadwick’s drawings and Christian Farnsworth’s photos of are now on exhibit in the South Portland Learning Commons.
Spotlight shines on photo, drawing exhibits
Stop by the South Portland Campus Center to see two exhibits that feature impressive photos and drawings by an SMCC student and faculty member.
Sarah Chadwick, a Liberal Studies student, has nine of her landscape drawings on display in the library area of the Learning Commons. She drew the graphite, charcoal, ink, and pen drawings for an independent study art class she took over the summer.
In her artist’s statement, Chadwick writes that her goal was to capture the sensation of what she was drawing and remove visual clutter. “I want to focus on the compositions, and using diagonals to lead the viewer’s eye around the depicted scene,” she wrote.
Photography instructor Christian Farnsworth has a collection of a dozen images hanging in the Library Commons lounge area. The exhibit, “Earth Edge; Passing Through,” is a collection of images “playing with the idea of time, through long-exposure.”
“The compositions are evocative of our memories, challenging our observations and perspectives as one travels (passes) through time and space,” he said.