Siana Finds Support

When Siana Schoppe’s father passed away while she was attending college, she lost her best friend and role model.

"My father unexpectedly passed away at a very young age and I was, and always will be, totally and completely heartbroken."

A week after his passing, Siana returned to college. She knew that’s what her father would have wanted.

Going through her biggest life challenge thus far, Siana said the CareerCenter was somewhere she could go to for support.

"The CareerCenter was there for me emotionally. Each employee that I have ever conversed with gave their condolences."

Siana first went to the CareerCenter when she was a senior in high school. Her family didn’t have a lot of money, but she knew she wanted to go to school to be an occupational therapist.

The CareerCenter helped make that possible.

"The first day I met with my consultant, she handed me a huge folder filled with scholarship applications."

The CareerCenter also helped Siana find a summer job and enrolled her in the Workforce Investment Act program.

"I rose to the challenge and filled out as many scholarship applications as I could during my senior year. As a result, I was awarded many community-related scholarships, as well as a large renewable scholarship."

Siana finished her third year at Husson University for occupational therapy. She also continues to visit the CareerCenter.

"The CareerCenter has not only opened many doors for me, but also provided me with a financial and emotional support system," said Siana.

Besides financial help, the CareerCenter has also helped Siana with other aspects of college life, such as housing issues and course schedules.

"Especially when first starting off as a freshman, negotiating and navigating your way through the various university processes can be very confusing," said Siana. "It gave me peace of mind knowing that I had someone on my side that was trustworthy, knowledgeable, and who genuinely cared for my needs."

Siana said she has always felt welcome at the CareerCenter.

"Every time I walk in for an appointment, the staff is there with a welcoming smile, asking questions about how I am doing and what has changed for me. Working with the CareerCenter, you are an individual person, not just a client, and the staff treats you with respect and kindness."

Siana said she has the CareerCenter to thank for her continuing success at Husson University. So far, she has made the President’s List for two semesters and the Dean’s List for four semesters. She is involved in campus life.

After graduation, Siana plans to practice as a registered occupational therapist at a nursing home in rural Maine.

"Emotionally, I have gone through a lot with the passing of my father, and it has made me think so much about the value of life. As I look back now, I can truly say that I would not change a single aspect of my life.  I know that I am on the right path," said Siana.

"Going to the Maine CareerCenter was one of the best choices I ever made to enhance my future. The relationships I have formed with the staff there will stay with me forever."

Jordyn: Balancing Work, School and Parenting Is Possible

Jordyn Turner graduated from high school a month before her son was born.

When looking to go to college for the fall, she found help in her local CareerCenter.

Her CareerCenter consultant signed Jordyn up for the Workforce Investment Act Youth Program, and helped her research and fill out college scholarship applications.

“The CareerCenter was always there to guide me – whether it was questions with paperwork or reading over two-page-long essays.”

Jordyn completed her first year at Washington County Community College. She hopes to pursue a career in the medical field. She’s been working as a CNA at the Eastport Memorial Nursing Home.

“The most challenging thing about going through school is juggling being the single mom of an infant son and getting all of my homework done and keeping my grades above a B. I did not think I could have passed all eleven classes that I took this year with all As and one B.”

Jordyn is thankful to the CareerCenter for its part in her success.

“I have been going to the CareerCenter for over a year now,” said Jordyn. “My career counselor continues to work with me and she checks in often.”

Jordyn has the Washington County CareerCenter in Machias to thank for its encouragement and support.

“The help I received from my consultant got me through my first year of college,” said Jordyn.

“I am looking forward to finishing up my degree, supporting my family and forever thanking the CareerCenter. This program benefits anyone who needs assistance, and I’m not sure where I would be without it.”

Interview Practice Lands Christina a Job

Christina Hall has always been a hard worker – even when faced with obstacles

Christina grew up in Maryland and was raised by a single father.

“My dad is my hero. He is a construction worker and never completed high school, but he always worked hard and when he set his mind to something he made it happen. I think that is where I get my work ethic from.”

After Christina graduated high school, her plan was to become a Marine. Instead, she became pregnant. A year after her daughter’s birth, she started working nights at a convenience store.

Four years later in 2007, she relocated to Oakfield, Maine, and began taking classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

When looking for a job, she turned to the Presque Isle CareerCenter for help.

“I first met my career counselor when I was doing work study at the Houlton Higher Education Center. I talked to him about helping me work on my resume due to an assignment I had for college,” said Christina. “Then, because of his helpfulness, I just kept going back. He has turned out to be a pretty good mentor as well as a friend.”  

Christina is thankful for her counselor’s genuine help when she uses the CareerCenter for job seeking.

“He was very personable and made me feel very comfortable. I didn't feel like I was being judged at all. He assisted me with my resume and my cover letters and helped me with re-wording and condensing things down.”  

Her counselor has also helped members of Christina’s family with their resumes and application preparation as well.

“He has always been very supportive and very interested in the plans that I have regarding my career, and has always been very excited both with me and for me.”  

Some of the challenges Christina had when finding a job was the feeling of rejection after failed interviews.

“I hate when I feel like I didn’t give it my all or that I could have tried harder. I think one of my weaknesses is that I tend to beat myself up over things like that – especially if I really wanted the job.”

Luckily, her CareerCenter counselor taught Christina how to feel more comfortable during interviews. The day before her interview for her current job, she went to him for help.

“We sat down in a conference room and he immediately asked me a hard question…I just drew a blank and then he coached me to calm down and take breaths and take it slowly, then he started to ask me questions again and made me more comfortable. He showed me that I was confident in myself and that I could do this,” she said. “I went to the interview the next day and I felt like I nailed it. And I did! I got a call the next day and was offered the job. I was so excited. I called my counselor and he was excited with me. 

Christina now works as a clerk at the court.

Emily "Don’t be afraid to apply"

Emily Jones didn't grow up with much. Her father is a log truck driver, but has been laid off for years and her mother has a disability that prevents her from working. Emily always knew she wanted to be a nurse, but wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to afford the schooling for it.

Emily Jones

“We had barely been able to make ends meet most months, and the idea of going to a four year college was something of a pipe dream to me.”

Feeling hopeless, Emily made an appointment at the CareerCenter.

When she met with her counselor, Emily said, “she listened to my concerns about school and helped me with an important decision. She encouraged me to choose a four-year college since continuing my education was important to me.”

The career counselor also helped Emily choose the school that was not only a good fit, but would also assist her the most financially. She signed Emily up for the Workforce Investment Act Youth Program because of her family’s low income and helped her apply for scholarships.

Emily is about to go into her third year of nursing at the University of Maine at Orono.

And because of the CareerCenter's help, Emily has been successful and, for the first time, doesn't have to worry about money.

“Without the Workforce Investment Act, as well as the generosity of the scholarships, going to school wouldn’t have been as stress-free as it has been so far,” she said. “Unlike my classmates, I have zero dollars of student loan debt at the present moment. This allows me to concentrate on my studies instead of worrying about the costs of my education.”

Today, the CareerCenter is still something Emily uses for help when filling out her FAFSA for financial aid.

“They also have computers available, with printers, which makes it easy to print things off for scholarships,” she said. “The staff members are always very friendly when I come in and always willing to lend a hand.”

Emily is thankful to the CareerCenter for opening up her eyes to the possibility of making college doable and affordable for her and her family. 

“A lot of people look at going on to higher education as something out of their financial means. School can definitely be expensive, but it doesn't have to be,” she said. “There is plenty of aid through grants or scholarships. Don’t be afraid to apply for those things simply from fear of being turned down. You might just get it.”

Chantal: A Resume Re-Vamp Results in a New Career

For Chantal Vachon, fixing her resume was all she needed to get on her feet – that and someone to believe in her. She found that support at the York County CareerCenter in Springvale.

When Chantal arrived at the CareerCenter, she wanted to change careers after many years working in different retail jobs. Her goal was to work in an office environment. She first met with a career counselor and learned how to re-build her resume. Then she took some classes to boost her skills while continuing to update and improve her resume.

“I must have put over 10 hours into my resume initially,” she wrote in a thank-you note. “…Now even I am surprised at what I see when I look at it.”

After solidifying her resume, Chantal applied to five jobs on a Friday. By Monday, she had been contacted by four employers asking for interviews.

“Two of the people I spoke to for interviews stated how impressed they were by my resume. I interviewed with one of them on Tuesday and they offered me the job later that day.”

She said she has the CareerCenter to thank for this change in her career.

“I don’t think I would have ever dreamed of having a resume as polished as it is now because I didn’t see myself as being as experienced as I am,” said Chantal.

Her CareerCenter counselor helped Chantal not only improve her resume so that it reflected her many skills, but also, and more important, he boosted her confidence.

“Brainstorming transferable skills with you was a huge success and creating a branding statement seemed to really help me market myself,” she wrote to her career counselor. “Prior to my re-vamped resume, I had applied to numerous positions…with minimal success, if any.”

Now, Chantal has a new job as an order processor at a distribution plant in Saco—just the kind of position she desired.

She’s excited to use her customer service and organizational skills. Chantal is also thankful that her counselor encouraged her to learn Quickbooks at the CareerCener – a skill she now uses at her new job.

Chantal said the company is expanding, and she hopes to work her way into a human resources position.

“Sometimes taking a step back, refocusing and fine tuning is necessary to get the job you really want,” said Chantal, who is happy with her career change. 

Chantal is grateful for the assistance the CareerCenter provided to help her realize that she was capable and had the skills to obtain the job she wanted.

“I don’t know how you do it,” she wrote to her counselor. “I don’t think I could have gotten this job, or even received more than one call to schedule an interview in such a short period of time, if I hadn’t had that meeting with you to fix up my old, drab resume. The knowledge I gained there is priceless and you were a major part of that. Thank you.”

Josh Taps Youth Program for College and Career Success

When Josh Spencer first sought help from the Washington County CareerCenter in 2008, he didn’t realize what a profound impact it would have on his life.

Four years later, Josh graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maine at Machias with a major in psychology and community studies and a minor in counseling.

Since then, he has already made a name for himself within the Machias community.

Josh now works as the manager of I.T. LLC – The Video Game, UPS and eBay Store in Machias. He also recently became the president of the Machias Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors after he was recognized by the chamber as the 2014 Employee of the Year.

Josh thanked the CareerCenter for helping him to start the journey that led him to where he is today.

The program at the CareerCenter helped Josh pay for college, and staff helped to guide him through the whole process.

Having a counselor there “to ask questions and to help me find answers regarding billing, enrollment and basically any other business related question I had about the college was great. If a problem ever arose she was quick to call and fix it for me. She was a tremendous asset.”

Josh continues to stay in touch with his counselor, and his sister is receiving help from her now.

Recently, Josh successfully spear-headed an event called “The Machias Showcase.” The event was a day to celebrate that Machias’s businesses. The event revolved around a raffle, where tickets were collected at each venue to help promote the businesses.

A few days before the event, Josh wrote to his counselor, “This is my brainchild, my pride and joy and I am hoping it will be a success.”

For the Washington County CareerCenter, Josh is the success.

And because of the CareerCenter, Josh’s successes are sweetened by a peace of mind.

“I did not think that I would be able to get through college without owing massive amounts of student debt, but thanks to working hard to make money, good grades allowing for better scholarships and all of the help that my counselor and the CareerCenter provided, I can proudly say I graduated without owing a dime and having never taken out a single loan.”

Josh can’t wait to see where life takes him next.

“I love being involved. It feels so good,” said Josh. “Hopefully there are more big things to come!”

Ben Gains Confidence to Get Into a Promising Technology Career

Ben* has always had a knack for technology.

"I was the guy who could stop your VCR from blinking 12 o’clock."

“I learned to solve problems early on using computer skills I learned from reverse engineering programming languages on my Commodore 64 computer, and since used those skills to solve any number of technical problems, like installing car audio equipment or building and repairing computers.”

Ben has lived in Southern Maine all his life. He was born at Goodall Hospital and raised by a single mother.

While working at a factory in the late 90s, Ben severely injured his ankle and knee. He was also suffering from some mental health issues at the time. Ben was awarded a small settlement for the work injury that could only support him for a short time; soon after, he was living off social security insurance.

“I had many mental difficulties compounded by the knee and ankle injury, which I worked through with the help of my family’s support and great doctors and nurse practitioners and therapists, eventually readying me to seek a dependable career.”

And so he turned to the CareerCenter to find that career. But what Ben got out of the CareerCenter was more than just help finding a job – it restored his confidence.

The CareerCenter empowered Ben to take that first step of re-training, and provided him with the counseling and support to get through it. By providing the encouragement and the opportunity, the CareerCenter helped Ben get back on his feet.

With the CareerCenter’s assistance, he connected with the Vocational Rehabilitation program—also known as "voc rehab," another service of Maine’s Department of Labor—that supports the employment of people with disabilities. Through voc rehab, he earned his Computer Technician certification and went on to earn a higher-level certification in Security Administration.

For Ben, passing the certification exam was not the difficult part. The technical knowledge and skills came naturally to him. Rather, his lack of self-confidence had stopped him from having a successful career.

"The most challenging issue was not being afraid of taking that first step. I was stressing about finding and beginning work again, and even feeling as though I wouldn't be competent, before I had even completed my second certification exam."

Ben said he had a difficult time picturing himself being successful.

"I had been without solid work for so long. I had the skills before even beginning the certification training, but I feared what was out there in the real world."

Fortunately, Ben found a job soon after in the tech field.

"The feeling of not fitting in, or not being seen for what I was capable of in an office environment, loomed for years until I actually made it into one, and then once I made it into the position, I felt more comfortable than I ever did sitting at home all day in my own closed environment."

Ben is glad he went to the CareerCenter for help and really values the services it provides.

"I would have no success story at all without those training programs. They were the bottom line as to why I succeeded," said Ben. "Having those certifications in my pocket proved to myself, as well as potential employers, that I knew what I was talking about when it came to computers."

*The name of the client has been changed upon request.