CARIBOU, Maine — Ten high school seniors from Caribou’s JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) program recently won seven awards during Career Development Conference at Thomas College in Waterville.
Dr. Valerie Waldemarson, JMG Specialist at Caribou High School, said her group won four first place trophies, one second place trophy, a scholarship, and recognition for their efforts to fight hunger in the County during the March 27 event.
Caribou JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) member Jaelynn Doody won first place with this entry she created for a marketplace display competition held in late March at a Career Development Conference in Waterville. (Christopher Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
During the event attended by more than 600 high school juniors and seniors from around the state, Caribou JMG member Jaelynn Doody garnered a first place trophy for her development of a marketplace display that she said she made in roughly one week.
Participating schools were told that their displays needed to reflect 25 years of JMG in Maine.
Doody said she cut out a large wooden circle and traced out a compass — the JMG logo — and artwork in pencil before using a woodburner to carve the image. She said the compass symbolizes JMG’s mission to “help everyone find their true north, and the right path to get where they want to be through the help of JMG.”
She further glued 25 different pieces of wood together, one for each year of JMG, to create towers on either side of the compass. The towers were adorned with photos of the Caribou JMG class.
“Caribou JMG has only been in effect for two years,” Doody said. “We were the newest group last year, and last year we came home with five trophies. Most of them were second and third place, but this year we ended up coming home with five and almost all of them were first place.”
Waldemarson estimated that more than 50 different schools were represented at the conference.
Doody said she and her team were happy that Caribou received four first place place trophies against the competition from so many schools.
“We all dressed up [in outfits reflecting Caribou High School colors],” she said, “and got a lot of compliments from judges telling us we looked professional. Other schools didn’t like it so much; they thought we got first place just because of what we wore, but we put a lot of effort into preparing for this.”
Waldemarson attested to this, and said her class began preparing for the event in December. She added that the students also were writing job and scholarship applications along with resumes and cover letters in preparation for the post high school world.
“It’s been a lot of work,” she said.
Students said they learned a great deal from the experience.
Stewart Curtis, who had to address a certain topic in a competition called “Pitch It,” said the experience of speaking in front of judges was particularly enlightening.
“My topic was how JMG impacted my life,” Curtis said. “It was a good chance to get out of my comfort zone and say some things I didn’t really think I’d say. It was a great experience.”
Waldemarson added that Curtis’ winning speech touched on the loss of family members, and how JMG has helped him personally.
Noah Rosado also said his experience with “Pitch It” was transformative.
“I learned how to communicate my thoughts to others,” Rosado said. “Beforehand, I was really shy and quiet, but I had to learn how to get over the fear of talking to others. I learned how to speak my mind, which is going to be very beneficial as we all go to college and will have to learn how to communicate with others.”
Doody said that, in being part of JMG for the past two years, the students and their instructor have grown very close.
“We’re all like a family,” Doody said. “It’s not like you’re just here for yourself. We became close and helped each other through, and we all got out of our comfort zones.”
Kaytlin Waldemarson participated in an event called, “Know It All,” in which students are required to answer questions from judges.
“They ask a lot of real life questions that you wouldn’t think of,” she said. “I think this event helped me figure out what the real world has to offer, and gave us an opportunity to grow.”
Meaghan Ireland said she participated in a group challenge to build a stack of cards as high as possible while still having a flat roof on the top.
“We had 101 cards,” Ireland said. “Just one more than everyone else. The humor in that was really great, and we were all cheering on the bus ride home. It brought us close, like a family, as Jaelynn said.”
As the bus crossed the Caribou city line on the way back home, a Caribou police cruiser met and escorted the bus to the high school on Sweden Street.
“I think [the police escort] demonstrates the support of our administration,” Waldemarson said, complimenting Caribou PD for supporting the school’s accomplishments in “academics as much as athletics.”
She concluded by complimenting her students’ ability to get along and work as a team.
“Many of these kids have grown up together,” she said. “One of their observations was that they were almost like family; they joked with each other and supported each other. They were truly going in as a team.”
