Saint Joseph’s College to announce $1.45 million award to address Maine’s secondary STEM teacher shortage

President James Dlugos is set to announce that Saint Joseph’s College of

Maine has been awarded a five-year, $1,444,983 grant from the National Science Foundation’s

Track 1 Robert Noyce Scholarship and Stipend Program.

Governor Janet T. Mills will officiate at the announcement, which will be made on Monday,

March 16^th at 10:30 a.m. in the Baggot Street Cafe of the Heffernan Center at Saint Joseph’s

College. The event will be open to media.

The Growing Future STEM Teachers in Maine (GFSTM) project will provide two-year

scholarships of $25,500 per year to a total of 18 undergraduate juniors and seniors. The program

will provide special supports as they pursue STEM degrees in biology, mathematics, or physical

sciences-chemistry or environmental science, as well as secondary education certification.

Ultimately, Noyce Scholars will work in high-need urban and rural schools across Maine.

GFSTM is a collaboration between Saint Joseph’s and Southern Maine Community College, and

a partnership with 7 school districts.

The seven GFSTM partner schools include: Deering High School, Lewiston High School, and

Westbrook High School as urban schools; Bonny Eagle High School, Windham High School,

Lake Region High School, and Old Town High School as rural schools.

The Growing Future STEM Teachers in Maine project is designed to increase the number of

secondary STEM teachers in an era when nearly a third of Maine teachers are 55 years old and

nearing retirement, and to address the decades-old problem of Maine’s shortage of STEM

teachers, in particular. By partnering with a community college and seven high-need schools, the

Noyce project is designed to grow students from within those sites. The project will also

encourage students from high-need school districts to return to their communities as teachers and

leaders of the next generation of science and math educators.

“Saint Joseph’s College is deeply committed to educating the next generation of STEM teachers

for Maine schools,” President Dlugos said. “STEM education remains the foundation and the

number one priority for training Maine’s future skilled and educated workforce. By working with

SMCC and schools across Maine, this project promises to draw more students into STEM-Ed

degrees, provide teacher training with diverse populations, and plant seeds with current high

school and middle school students to become future STEM teachers.”

Maine’s Congressional leaders expressed excitement about the program. “In order for Maine’s

students to gain STEM skills, we need to make sure they have dedicated and well-trained STEM

educators,” said Senators Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement. “For decades,

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine has been giving teachers the tools they need to train the next

generation of STEM workers. This funding will help the college expand its efforts and make an

even greater impact on Maine’s students and economy.”

Representative Chellie Pingree said: “As the number of STEM jobs in Maine increase rapidly, we

need our students to be well-prepared for their future careers,” said Pingree. “Increasing the

number of public school STEM teachers will go a long way towards preparing our children for

the jobs of tomorrow. My thanks to the National Science Foundation for recognizing how

important this STEM education is for the future of Maine’s workforce and for funding this

work.”

Representative Jared Golden added: “Saint Joseph’s College does critical work to prepare young

Mainers for jobs in education and other careers, positions we need to fill in our state. This grant

will provide Maine students with opportunities to develop valuable skills that they’ll bring back

to the classroom and help address our STEM teacher shortage. I’m proud to see the NSF

prioritize schools in places like Lewiston and Old Town to provide Maine students with access to

good jobs and a quality education.”

Matthew J. Lokken, Principal of Lake Region Middle School, a project partner, said: “We

appreciate that Saint Joseph’s College will address the shortage of science teachers in our region.

In the last few years, we have not had a large pool of applicants for posted STEM teacher

positions. It is essential that students at the middle school receive rigorous and authentic learning

opportunities in STEM education for not only academic success and opportunities, but to

effectively prepare the next generation of innovators.”

The first Noyce Scholars will be awarded scholarships in Fall 2020. The grant’s investigators

and creators are Dr. Patricia Waters, Assistant Professor of Education, Dr. Emily Lesher,

Associate Professor of Science, and SMCC’s Dr. Daniel Moore, Professor of Biological

Sciences.

“This partnership provides new opportunities for our students who have a passion for math and

science,” said SMCC President Joe Cassidy. “Besides helping our students, the program will

benefit Maine’s educational system by allowing us to do our part in delivering a new generation

of STEM teachers where they are most needed. This builds upon our mission of transforming

lives and communities through education and training.”

For more information about GFSTM, the scholarship criteria and application process, see

www.sjcme.edu/stem-ed or contact Oliver Griswold at 917-617-2103 or ogriswold@sjcme.edu.

Saint Joseph’s College students share lessons learned from mission trip to Uganda

By Lorraine Glowczak

Two senior Saint Joseph's College students, Adrienne Dolley and April Benak, participated in a medical mission trip to Uganda during their winter break, leaving on January 4 and returning on January 19. They participated with the Partners for World Health (PWH) organization, traveling with doctors, nurses, and other students. While in Uganda, Dolley and Benak provided education and training to physicians and nurses on non-communicable diseases, medication administration, wound care education, infection control and emergency care.

“This mission’s goal was to help educate women and midwives with the intention of preventing complications during childbirth,” began Benak. “We also provided birthing kits, referred to as ‘Mama” kits, that contained much needed items such as diapers, pads, etc. We worked to ensure that the medical supplies given to the organizations were being used properly.”

Their fifteen-day trip included spending time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in the city
of Kampala (Capital of Uganda) as well as in the regions of Gulu and Manafwa. Dolley and Benak assisted medical staff and parents by teaching them about the proper use of CPAPs as well as taking blood pressures and monitoring babies, alerting doctors and nurses when an infant stopped breathing.

“There were no medical monitors like we have here in the U.S., alerting staff immediately when a premature baby stops breathing - so we were the monitors, walking from incubator to incubator to check on each baby,” explained Dolley. During their visits at the three NICUs, Dolley and Benak would monitor anywhere between 75 to 80 babies at one time. “In some cases, NICUs will have at least 100 babies or more to care for,” Dolley added.

As one can imagine, both Dolley, who plans to become a doctor and Benak, who will be entering into the teaching profession upon graduation in May, learned more than they could ever imagine on this medical mission trip.

It all began by volunteering with Partners for World Health, located in Portland. PWH collects medical supplies and equipment from healthcare facilities, manufacturers, other organizations, and individuals. The supplies and equipment are then sorted, evaluated, repackaged, and prepared for distribution to individuals, communities, and healthcare facilities in need.

“Our work limits the impact on the environment by diverting discarded materials from landfills and provides needed health care resources to the developing world,” as stated on the PWH website. “PWH aims to improve health conditions by sending medical personnel on medical missions to developing countries and educating New England communities about global health issues.”

While volunteering at PWH, both Dolley and Benak decided to become a part of the volunteer travel team and go on a medical mission trip with the organization. They immediately got busy to raise the needed funds by collecting recycled bottles, approaching businesses for support and having a “Hope to Help” auction that included special guest speaker, Elizabeth McLellan, the founder of PWH.

“We learned so much, not only with the trip itself, but through the process of reaching our goals - and it started right here in this community,” began Benak. “We discovered how supportive people are – everything from the Pearson’s Café [the campus/student cafeteria] who helped us collect the bottles to the Windham, Raymond, Standish and Brunswick* businesses who didn’t hesitate to help in some way. It is really amazing how supportive and encouraging people are.” *(Dolley is from Brunswick).

The positive response towards the students continued in the southern end of the globe. “All the people we met were ridiculously kind,” explained Dolley about those they met in Uganda. “We were offered food and praise and gratitude. They treated us as if we were family. I don’t think I have ever experienced anything like that.”

The two students admitted that there were some challenging experiences they faced during their medical mission trip. “We were cautioned about some things we might see that we wouldn’t see here in the U.S., so we were prepared,” Dolley said. “And, we also got to debrief with fellow PWH volunteers at the end of each day.”

Some of what they witnessed included but not limited to: three or four babies in one incubator, the lack of electrical outlets needed to power the much needed equipment, the lack of communication between medical staff and mothers and the improper use of CPAPs.

“I think what frustrated me the most was the lack of vital sign monitors,” began Dolley. “A baby could have stopped breathing for a second or for a few minutes but there is no way of knowing – and every second counts when a baby discontinues breathing. It is a matter of life and death. You don’t know if a baby has stopped breathing or if they have died.”

Although there were many challenges witnessed during this trip, Benak is taking from the experience the many positives of the medical mission and plans to convert that into educating her future students. “I want to share and teach students about different cultures and the day to day life of those in other countries,” she said. “And the only way for me to do that well is if I experience it myself.”

On her trip to Uganda, Benak focused on the day to day life of transportation, capturing in photos

how families (and animals, and products) are transported from one point to the next. “I’ve labeled this part of my adventure….’On a Boda Boda’”

Benak explained that a boda boda is a very small motorbike, slightly larger than that of an American
moped. “I have seen a family of five on one bike and at various other times have seen a cow, a baby bed, a couch, chickens and crates of eggs being transported on a boda boda,” she exclaimed. Benak has already shared this cultural experience with the fifth-grade students she taught during her student teaching assignment last semester.

Dolley, who initially wanted to be an anesthesiologist, has changed her mind about the direction of her career as a result of the medical mission. “I now want to be a doctor in neonatology, working with newborn infants, especially those preborn or ill,” she said. “But before I attend medical school, I want to take four to five years and continue to participate in various medical mission trips. Once I return and have completed medical school, I want to live in rural Maine and serve a community where medical needs are not met. I want to help those who cannot help themselves.”

To learn more about Partners in World Health or to inquire about volunteering or medical mission trips, peruse their website at www.partnersforworldhealth.org/

Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing will help seniors stay in their homes

Board members of the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller
Center for Housing.

By Elizabeth Richards

A bucket list bike ride has inspired the creation of a local chapter of a global nonprofit organization, The Fuller Center for Housing. Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing is a collaboration between six partner organizations, with 12 founding board members.

Several years ago, Bill Turner created a bucket list, which included riding across the US on a bicycle. Looking for possible rides, he came across the Fuller Center Bike Adventure, where participants ride long distances and build or repair houses along the way. His first year out, he rode from San Francisco to Santa Fe via Salt Lake City, Turner said.

The following year, he rode from Portland, OR to Portland, ME, having what he called a “great, uplifting experience” riding 4,000 miles in ten weeks, with six build days along the route. When he returned in the fall, Faith Lutheran Church was undergoing a process to determine what mission they wanted to take on. He suggested launching a Fuller Center, since there were none north of New York.

Turner and Lorraine Glowczak, another member of the congregation, began making presentations to other faith-based organizations to see if they could garner interest in becoming a local covenant partner. The result was six organizations coming together: North Windham United Church of Christ, Faith Lutheran Church, Windham Hill United Church of Christ, Raymond Village Community Church, Unity Center for Spiritual Growth, and St. Joseph’s College.

The next summer, before Turner left for another five-week ride, the founders had a meeting to discuss
the steps involved in becoming a covenant partner. By the time he returned, the group had elected board officers. By fall, the group was up and running, with regular meetings and committees in place.

Board president Diane Dunton Bruni said the group came together quickly, establishing the chapter, writing by-laws and articles of incorporation, and creating committees to reach out to families in need and to find volunteers, all within six months. Now, they’re ready to spread the word about what they’re doing to the community.

“When Bill and Lorraine came and spoke at North Windham United Church of Christ, I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved,” Dunton Bruni said. She has a long history of non-profit
involvement, having worked with the Good Shepard Food Bank for many years. When she heard about the Fuller Center, she said, she knew that it was exactly what she’d been looking for.
Sebago Lakes Fuller Center for Housing will do repairs rather than building homes, at least initially, with a focus on helping older people remain in their homes.

“It is so important to have people be able to stay safely in their homes and to know that they don’t have to leave at a time that they just want to have the memories and feel comforted by what’s around them,” she said.

The Fuller Center for Housing was founded by Millard and Linda Fuller, who also founded Habitat for Humanity. “Millard Fuller talked a lot about hope and how hope is essential in life,” Dunton Bruni said. “What we are doing is we are giving hope.”

Founding members had a range of reasons for getting involved. Nancy Foran, Pastor of the Raymond Village Church, said she had led mission trips centered around housing rehabilitation in Tennessee and other parts of Maine. These experiences were one reason why she was interested in the Fuller Center, she said. “This is an opportunity to do something right in our neighborhood.”

The Lakes Region, she added, is a sort of “dead zone” when it comes to services. “To have an organization that is going to really focus on the Lakes Region, I think it will be great,” Foran said.
With many seniors living in old housing stock, there can be many problems with their homes. “I’m really hopeful that this organization can bridge some gaps there,” Foran said.

Reverend Pat Bessey of the Unity Center for Spiritual Growth said the group decided to focus in the
towns of Standish, Raymond and Windham because these areas don’t have the same level of support as other areas. “That’s where we felt that we could be the most effective,” she said.

Steve McFarland, Director of Career Development at St. Joseph’s College, said “The need is just incredibly obvious everywhere you go in the community.” There are many people unable to maintain their homes at the level they’d like to, he said. “We’ve got a lot of caring people in these communities that want to reach out and help neighbors in that way.”

The nonprofit aligns very well with the mission and values of St. Joseph’s College as well, McFarland said. “Community and compassion are the two values that I think it most closely connects to…I think it just very much aligns with who we are as an organization, and it gives us that opportunity to get out there and do it,” he said.

Gwen Rogers of the Windham Hill United Church of Christ said the church was excited when they were approached about the Fuller Center. “Giving back to the segment of the population, the seniors who are trying to remain in their homes, was an untapped segment that I think we thought we could help with,” she said. “If you just drive around the roads of Windham and Raymond you see homes that you know need a little sprucing up, and people just need some help doing that.”

Bessey said that she saw getting involved as an opportunity to broaden their cooperation with other faith-based organizations. “Also, part of our mission is service and creating community. This fit that
criteria so well, because not only are we going to have an opportunity to do service through volunteering, but we’re also going to be creating community because we’ll be interacting with people from other organizations.”

Dunton Bruni said the organization will partner with town offices, churches in the area, and any other organizations that can help them find people in need of help.

Initial funding for the nonprofit came from each partner organization contributing a set amount, a matching contribution from the Fuller Center for Housing, and $5,000 raised from Turner’s most recent Fuller Center Bike Adventure. The group is also discussing having their own one-day bike ride around Sebago Lake in September to raise funds.

One of the things that is different about the Fuller Center, Turner said, is that some smaller renovation projects are done through their “Greater Blessings Program,” where recipients of the work commit to
paying back what is spent on their project over a time period they can afford, with no interest. In this way, the initial money raised can become a revolving fund for future projects, Turner said.

“Our mission is going to be simple,” Dunton Bruni said. “It’s giving hope to others, and carrying on the legacy of Millard Fuller and being able to help others feel safe in their homes and giving them dignity. It is done with an opportunity to pay it forward in a way that they can. When you have hope, then you look to the future.”

An evening of moon gazing on Sebago Lake

By Lorraine Glowczak

There was a total of eight of us as we boarded our kayaks and paddled towards the sunset on Sebago Lake from the beach at Saint Joseph’s College with the hopes to capture a look at a full moon rising – with its silver light reflection bouncing on the water. Nature exceeded our expectations and we were far from disappointed.

Last Tuesday evening’s adventure was the second in a monthly series of guided kayaking Moonlight Paddle tours sponsored by The Sebago Center at Saint Joseph’s College, 278 Whites Bridge Road in Standish. Professionally led by Katelyn Allen, co-owner of Sebago Trails Paddling Company in Raymond, the experience was more than magical.

The evening began at 7:45 p.m. as the eight adventuresome souls gathered together near the campfire on the campus beach to be greeted by Ashley O’Brien, The Sebago Center’s Senior Director of Customer Experience who welcomed everyone to the event and introduced Allen. The friendly and knowledgeable kayaking expert spoke briefly about the history of the lake before sharing important safety tips and logistical information. Allen than distributed headlamps, flashlights and life jackets prior to helping each of us enter and sit comfortably in our kayaks.

We then headed out as the sun was setting in the west, providing for us a show of a slightly muted fiery sky with Mount Washington as its backdrop. “The humidity is a little high right now, but on a clear day, the sun can be much brighter, and you are able to see the peak of Mount Washington,” explained Allen.

A warm summer evening breeze encouraged us to paddle with ease toward our destination, Squaw Island. As the sun made its quick descent, we made our way around the island only to be greeted by the jaw dropping view of the blue fluorescent moon peaking over the tall pines that line the beach along the Saint Joseph’s College campus.

As we paddled back toward shore, each of us going at our own pace, the serene presence of nature quieted most of our conversations for a moment so we only heard the lapping of the waves slapping against our kayaks as our headlights and flashlights bobbed up and down in rhythm with our boats.

With the campfire as our guide, we slowly paddled back to home base, trying to make the moment last as long as possible. Arriving after our 1 ½ hour paddle, we each helped one another out of our kayaks and ended the night with goodbyes, telling one another a few of our favorite highlights, with the flames of campfire behind us. At 9:45 p.m., we were heading back to our vehicles and our normal everyday lives – only to be changed, if only in a small way, by nature’s moonlight wonder.

Everyone was in agreement that the adventure was more than expected. “While kayaking isn’t new to me, I had never experienced a night paddle before,” stated participant, Lane Hane. “It was incredible! There’s something really special about being out on the lake at night, and Kate did a great job of allowing us to move at our own pace and simply enjoy the moonrise.”

“I was in reverie during the full moon paddle on Sebago Lake. Camaraderie with the group led by our guide, Kate, added to the experience,” Dorell Migliano said. “Her expertise helped lead me back to shore during some windy conditions. It was truly a memorable night!”

You, too, can enjoy the wonders of a moonlight paddle as there are a few more dates coming up to experience the adventure, Thursday, August 15 at 7:45 p.m. and Saturday, September 14 at 7 p.m. For more information or to register: www.sebagocenter.org/events/

The Sebago Center functions as an extension of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and is the latest expression of the college’s long-standing commitment to community, one of our seven core values.

Informed by the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy, they demonstrate their connectedness with one another through their expressions of hospitality, courtesy, inclusive relationships, shared values, and collaboration. They extend this value of community by reaching out to neighbors and to members of the broader civic and ecclesial communities.