As a child, Beth always pictured herself going to college. Her mother completed one year of college, but never returned to finish her degree. She always told Beth how important college was and how she had wished that she had finished.

As Beth got older, she saw how hard her parents had to work. They told her that life would have been easier if they had had a college education. Beth says that was the turning point when she knew it was imperative for her to get an education.

Beth appreciated the assistance she received from her TRIO Advisor, Brenda Frey. She writes, “My advisor helped me by showing me that money would not be a problem. I was always concerned that college would be too expensive, but Brenda helped me do scholarship searches and reassured me that money would not be a problem. Brenda was helpful when it came time to decide which colleges I wanted to apply to. She helped me look up information on each college that I was interested in. The Talent Search Program also helped by providing college visits. With some of the colleges being so far away, I would have never had the chance to see the campuses before applying.”

As an active participant in Girl Scouts, Beth received many awards, which included the Girl Scout Silver Award, the Girl Scout Gold Award and Outstanding Senior Girl Scout. In High School, Beth was voted “student of the month” for three consecutive years, she was a member of the National Honor Society and she made the honor roll every quarter. Beth is currently in her second year at the University of Maine at Machias, where she maintains a 3.2 GPA in the Business Administration Program.

When asked how the decision to attend college will affect the rest of her life, Beth says, “I know that I will have a job that I will enjoy…without an education I would not be able to get a job in the accounting field. And, financially, this will help my family and me because I will have a higher earning potential with a college degree.”

© 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.

In complying with letter and spirit of applicable laws and in pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status or gender expression, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, or veterans status in employment, education, and all other areas of the University. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

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)