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!”
