High school was an important aspect of my life. I took pride in my academic successes and excelled in math, history, science and Spanish. I achieved a high academic standing. I held the highest grade in each class for four consecutive years. I also realized that success is not just measured numerically. I attribute my academic success in high school to understanding that each class assignment was just another step toward achieving my goal of attending college…and Talent Search helped keep me on track – helped me keep my eye on the prize.

The subject that always caused me the most difficulty in high school was English. My problem was with writing essays. In the areas of content, sentence variation and vocabulary I usually scored very high and was able to successfully articulate my thoughts. I had most difficulty with spelling and punctuation. The reason for that, I believe, is that during a developmental learning stage of my life I lived in Ozark, a small rural town in Alabama. I learned to spell phonetically, meaning that I spelled words as they sounded. Obviously there were problems with this way of spelling. For the first two years of high school, I stayed after school once a week and worked on spelling and punctuation with my English teachers and asked my Talent Search counselor, Anne, to read and help me edit.

One of my goals was to do well in high school so that I could have the academic record needed to be eligible for merit-based college scholarships. The Talent Search program helped me establish myself as a leader and a person of high academic standing. Through hard work and involvement in school and community, I was successful in accomplishing those goals.

My Talent Search Advisor, Anne St.Pierre, instilled in me the importance of higher education. She also taught me that college could open many doors and that it is a time of growth and self-exploration. As part of Talent Search, I attended National Student Leadership Congress in Washington, DC – a once in a lifetime opportunity for most students. Without Talent Search, I wouldn't have been able to attend NSLC, I wouldn't have been able to experience mock congress and network with other TRiO students. While I was in high school, METS helped prepare me for the college experience.

As for my future, when I complete college I will pursue a career in law. I want to help those young adults that have not had every advantage in life. Many of the “troubled teens” just need someone to listen to them and give them the confidence that they lack. I grew up with many young people that were very “good at heart,” but had tough lives and made some bad choices. My goal is to go back to my community and use my college education to help these teens. I'd like to show them that even if you grow up in the worst circumstances you can achieve your dreams. Programs like Talent Search help keep us on track and show students all of the opportunities available …they help keep dreams alive. As for my dream, after a career in law I would like to become involved in politics so that I will be in a position to reform laws dealing with juvenile offenders. My long-term goal is to open a halfway house for teens to help young people improve their lives.

© 2008 Maine Educational Talent Search (METS)

The Maine Educational Talent Search Project is funded entirely by the US Department of Education. The grant award for 2007-2008 is $510,255.

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Questions and complaints about discrimination in any area of the University should be directed to the Office of Equal Opportunity, the University of Maine, 5754 North Stevens Hall,Room 101, Orono, ME 04469-5754, telephone (207) 581-1226 ( voice and TDD) TYY (207) 581-9484.

This site last revised 3/3/2008 Comments or questions? Send email to Steve Visco (visco@umit.maine.edu)