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Our Students

Maine’s Community College Students: Diverse. Determined. Going Places.

Every fall, more than 21,000 Mainers—from 17-year-old welders-in-training to 45-year-old career changers—walk onto a community-college campus ready to transform their lives. They juggle jobs, raise families, battle broadband dead zones, and still show up for 8 a.m. labs. Your support makes their grit pay off.

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Who They Are

First in the Family

Many of our scholarship recipients are first generation college goers.

Parents & Providers

Scholarship recipients often balance classes with parenting

The Barriers They Crush

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Tuition, textbooks, a dead battery, a sick child—any one of these can end a semester. Donor-funded emergency grants and scholarships plug gaps quickly, cutting stop-out rates dramatically for grant recipients. 98% of students who received Student Opportunity Support (SOS) funds between 2020 and 2024 either graduated, transferred to a four-year school or are still enrolled at the community colleges.

A Few of Our Students in Their Own Words

– Student at Washington County Community College talking about the Leon A. Gorman Scholarship.
“I am 21 years old. I am originally from Angola and have been in the United States since 2019 to pursue my dream job as an Electrical Engineer. I am a student at WCCC in Electrical Mechanical Instrumentation Technology. The Leon A. Gorman Endowed Scholarship supported and helped me with the financial assistance to pay my educational expenses, even my personal expenses this year and this means a lot to me and you have a place in my heart. Your generosity has motivated me to support others and give back to the community. I hope that one day I will be able to assist students in accomplishing their ambitions and achieving their goals in the same way that you have helped me.”
– Student praising The Intercultural Center at SMCC funded by a grant from Idexx.
“I’m a new student who just moved from Africa. I would like to testify how the Inter-Cultural Center has helped. As a new student from a francophone country, I needed to learn or be in an English environment that could help me to improve my English speaking, and I found that help in the Inter-Cultural Center. The Inter-Cultural Center helped me have many connections so I can meet many people throughout the lunch I shared with others (student or teacher). But the most important is that the Inter-Cultural Center helped me find where I can stay, I didn’t have a place to live but now I have a safe place because of the Inter-Cultural Center, which I am grateful for.”
–Graduate of the Electrical Training Program at YCCC (Funded by KeyBank Foundation), reflecting on his previous work on Maine’s waterfront.
“I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of this work but wanted to find a career that required more critical thinking. The electrical trade seemed to be the perfect balance of both. and the electrical field is extraordinarily diverse and holds more than enough variety to keep me challenged.”

Your Role

$500 buys toolkits for five HVAC apprentices.
$2,500 funds one semester of childcare for a parent-student.
$25,000 creates an endowed micro-scholarship that will help learners forever.

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More Student Profiles

Kristin graduated in spring 2024 with a 4.0 GPA in the online Human Services Associate’s and Substance Use and Recovery certificate programs—all while working full-time and raising two children. Her journey is one of resilience. Once a young executive and homeowner, Kristin’s life was derailed by addiction, which led to incarceration. She later reflected on that turning point as a “blessing in disguise,” which motivated her to choose recovery over despair. Kristin enrolled at Washington County Community College and participated in the College Transitions program funded by the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges.
Upon graduation she began working as a Peer Support Worker, leading a support group for women who have experienced domestic violence and addiction. She empowers others to rebuild self-esteem and not be defined by their past, even introducing yoga to her community as a tool for healing. Her goal is to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and become a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). She is a determined advocate for change, using her experience to guide others before they reach their lowest point.

Katahdin graduated in 2024 from Eastern Maine Community College with a degree in Business Management. During high school, he participated in four different CTE programs, including Digital Communications, Automotive Technology, Construction Technology, and Information Technology. While at EMCC, he served as a Student Ambassador and reflected, “In this role, I had the privilege of showing my excellent school to potential students coming from high school, industry, or transferring from another college.” He added, “Being an ambassador required the ability to adapt the experience you give to potential students based on their personal needs and desires. This was the most rewarding part.”

Katahdin also served as a SkillsUSA national officer, representing over 331,000 members across all 50 states and three U.S. territories. In this role, he was a panelist for the U.S. Department of Education, speaking about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in Career and Technical Education. He also advocated in Washington, D.C., for SkillsUSA and CTE, sharing his personal experiences with members of the Maine delegation.

Katahdin is a young man of strong faith. He has been involved in international development work that included cross-cultural living, medical relief for malnourished babies, and language acquisition. He is an outstanding citizen whose morals are beyond reproach.