MOUNT DESERT—Dreaming is a pretty good start to career aspirations. But an even better start might be talking to (and learning from) the people who have careers that you’re aspiring toward.
And it’s never too early to start. Aspirations, connections, and possibilities were celebrated during an aspirations fair at Camp Beech Cliff, December 17.
The aspirations of the 76 sixth graders were all over the place: actor, podcaster, soccer player, marine biologist, veterinarian, engineer, lego designer, art curator, waitress, entrepreneur for skin care products, teacher, firefighter, chef, Youtuber, meteorologist, construction worker.
That diversity of possibilities didn’t make Bob Stuart, director of the Maine College Circle pause. It’s hard to imagine anything making the Trenton man stop in his mission Instead, he just got to work, shepherding a team of teachers and volunteers to find professionals to staff at roughly 16 tables at Camp Beech Cliff and get ready for the questions. There were a lot of emails and spreadsheet columns involved in the organization process.
There were also a lot of questions from the students at the actual event. What’s it like being a firefighter? What sort of schooling do you have to have to be a pilot? What’s the best part of being a chef?
Students arrived by 9:45. After a quick talk where Stuart was surrounded by students and teachers, the kids headed to the tables of their professionals. They had 20 minutes at that table. They did it twice more. Professionals gave out cards or literature so that students could contact them with follow-up questions.
The fair was organized by Stuart and multiple teachers from schools throughout the island. It involved those spread sheets and asks—finding local professionals who could come in and talk to the students. It involved a lot of volunteers right before the holidays.
But it happened.
There’s a point to all that work. That point is helping local kids be heard and respected now so that they can aspire toward their futures. According to Maine College Circle “from our 25+ years in schools, it has become very clear that grades 4 and 5 are the pivotal years for aspirations in rural communities.”
“Career fairs give students an up-close look at different career paths through interactive presentations by community leaders,” according to the Cherokee Chamber.
Career days can help kids find different passions, things they might not have even thought of before. It can also help them expand their understanding of different career paths. It also allows them to meet people who do the things that they might want to do and understand paths to get to that profession.
“Reading about a career in a textbook is much different from learning about a career straight from someone in the field. Seeing a nurse visit their classroom and talk about helping people who are hurting might ignite a spark inside a student’s heart. A banker, engineer, or someone working in public service can explain their career in a fun, relatable way that might open a student’s eyes to more than they thought possible. Career fairs expand students’ knowledge of the many industries and career choices available,” Cherokee Chamber wrote.
Via an email to the group of volunteers and teachers involved, Stuart said that he hopes the work continues throughout the year via aspiration circles, which would continue those conversations.
“They are simple, fun, and designed to provide local support for students to explore and pursue their aspirations through elementary and middle and high school and beyond,” Stuart said. “We are building aspirations circles for these students and others in Hancock County interested in culinary arts, animal science, performing arts and entertainment, public and protective services, health science, construction and engineering, and enterprise/entrepreneurship.”
The group also gives out small scholarships for college.
THE MISSION
“Our goal is to help more young, rural Maine students create a pathway through education to a career and a lifestyle they will be proud of. We pursue this mission by supporting better, earlier, and equal access to information on the opportunity of education, particularly higher education. We try to provide inspiration to build aspirations. We emphasize the value of effort. We promote community engagement and try to build energy within each community to celebrate their children and their community’s future. That is never simple or easy, and it takes years,” Maine College Circle’s mission statement reads.
It continues, ”We can’t ask children to aspire to what they don’t know and understand. Information on education, particularly higher education, is a foundation upon which students and their communities can build aspirations for a brighter future.”
ABOUT MAINE COLLEGE CIRCLE
“Maine College Circle was established in 1992 as a publicly-supported, 501(c)(3) nonprofit to help provide better, equal, and earlier access to information and inspiration about the opportunity of higher education. The name of the nonprofit was changed in 2018 from the Foundation for the Advancement of Education to Maine College Circle. Today, Maine College Circle's Future of Maine Initiative helps shape early aspirations, while we emphasize the value of effort. Our goal is to help build a brighter future for rural Maine students and for their communities.
”Maine College Circle is led by a staff of one, the program director, an active Board of Directors made up of educators, business professionals, and college students from Maine. And, much of the work is done and led locally by over 100 volunteers from around the state. We have a strong partnership with the Mitchell Institute and Mitchell Scholars who join us at most of our Aspirations Workshops. And, we have a very active group of students at Bowdoin College (the Bowdoin College Maine College Circle Group through the McKeen Center). We are slowly developing partnerships with other Maine colleges so that we can engage the next generation in shaping the future of rural Maine.”
LISTEN TO A COUPLE STORIES FROM THE MAINE COLLEGE CIRCLE
2021 Future of Maine Scholarship Recipient from Charlotte:
2021 Future of Maine Scholarship Recipient from Danforth:
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