To the editor:
I have just recently received a letter stating due to budgeting the Houlton cohort for nursing (through Northern Maine Community College) will be closing. This came as a huge shock to me as my future of becoming a nurse was relying on this program.
For a quick background, every two years NMCC selects eight students to attend classes in Houlton at the Houlton Higher Education Center to avoid the 84-mile roundtrip commute to Presque Isle. My classmates and I in the Houlton cohort for NMCC nursing are trying to raise awareness and fight this closure. This is my story:
I began my college journey at Husson University thinking I wanted to become a physical therapist. During my fourth year (the first year of the professional phase) I quickly determined I wanted to have a career in the medical field but not in physical therapy. I graduated with a bachelors in science and took a year off to figure out what I wanted to do in life.
After a while I discovered my true passion of becoming a nurse, specifically an OB nurse. I was researching schools in Maine that had the nursing program and stumbled first upon an accelerated program in Fort Kent that I could do. After applying I got a letter in the mail stating I was accepted. I packed my bags and headed off to Fort Kent. The first week was horrible as I couldn’t stand being away from home after already going to a four-year school. My roommate told me not only did NMCC have nursing in PI, but every other year eight lucky students were able to take their nursing course in Houlton. I was beside myself. “Could it be true”, I thought to myself.
After applying to NMCC, my acceptance letter came in the mail. Not only was I accepted into the program, but also was one of the lucky eight to take courses in Houlton! Finally after years of being away from home I could take classes and be happy with my living arrangements and not have to commute 42 miles one way to PI every day. Also, I could actually afford to go to school without taking more loans out.
Once school began, I felt so thankful every day that I would drive to Houlton for my class, a mere seven miles from my home. I never thought I’d be able to get my degree from the comfort of my home town. It truly was a dream come true!
After completing my first year of nursing school on May 14, 2014 I was so proud of myself for what I had accomplished. I felt happy to have a break from school but was looking forward to continuing my education in the fall knowing I wouldn’t be feeling those “freshman jitters” the first month or two of school as I knew I would be returning to Houlton, a familiar place in which I had a whole year to adjust to and be comfortable with.
Also, I was happy to inform my boss that I would be able to work through another year of school, as I would work in Houlton after classes got done until 5 p.m. I only worked 12.5 hours a week, but it worked out perfect as it was just enough to pay for gas to get to and from school/work as well as pay for food.
For the first time in my life I felt things were going my way. I knew exactly what I wanted in life and how to get it; I’d be able to save up enough money to pay for over half of my tuition for the fall semester so I wouldn’t have to take out yet another large student loan, burying myself into debt even more.
May 20, 2014 at 11:10 a.m., six days after the semester ended for summer break, I walked out to the mailbox and discovered I had a letter from NMCC. I opened it as I walked back to the house. “Wait, did I read that right?!” I thought to myself and read it four more times to make sure I read it correctly. I had. It stated due to budget, the Houlton cohort would be closed. I sat down in shock; I couldn’t believe it was true. Then I began to cry out of frustration and anger. I could literally feel my dream slipping through my fingers.
I am at a loss of what to do. I figured out the mileage from my house to the school if I had to travel to PI four days a week and at $3.85 a gallon (it was that price for quite sometime this winter) I discovered it was going to cost me roughly $960 in gas money alone. That is more than I spent on tuition last semester. I also estimated what it would be traveling to Houlton four days a week at $3.85 and came out to $330, a much more reasonable number.
Also, if I take courses at NMCC I will not be able to work as I will be spending most if my week in PI and my current job is Monday through Friday 2:30-5 p.m. Financially, I do not think it will be possible to commute to PI for classes. Spending almost $1,000 for one semester is quite a lot more than I can financially afford at this point in my life.
I would like to point out that not only is money a factor but also the weather. There were several times this past year that we would have a snowstorm here in Houlton, yet PI was not affected. Because of this, classes were not canceled and we still had to trudge through the snow to school. There were several occasions I would have my boyfriend drive me to class because I was not comfortable driving. If the Houlton cohort closes then this will mean either missing important class time (in which we will be penalized for missing if too many class periods are missed or if it falls on a lab/clinical day be forced to make up the time) or risk our lives to drive up to PI.
These are just a few of my very big concerns with this matter. Not only does it affect me and my fellow Houlton nursing students, but also our community. Many young high school students depend on the Houlton cohort to achieve their goal of becoming a nurse because financially they cannot afford to live in, or commute to, PI. This issue stretches far beyond the six current students in the Houlton cohort for nursing. It is a decision that will affect our entire community.
Lizz Sewell
NMCC nursing student
Class of 2015
