LIMESTONE, Maine — Luke Shorty began his seventh and final year as the executive director of Limestone’s Maine School of Science and Mathematics, or the Magnet School, last month.
For Shorty, the departure will be bittersweet, as he is leaving for the central, midcoast area of the state to spend more time with his wife, Lisa, who is in the process of finishing medical school to become an osteopathic doctor.
“Lisa and I have been in a commuting relationship for half our marriage,” Shorty said. “We had our fourth anniversary last year, and realized that we wanted to start a family, but she had five more years of medical training to go through.”
Shorty and his wife have lived apart for three years, and are only able to see each other “once every five to six weeks.”
“We realized we no longer wanted to be in a commuter relationship,” Shorty said, “and that it was time to focus on us.”
Shorty said there is a possibility of returning to The County once his wife finishes her medical training.
“There’s something about Aroostook County,” Shorty said. “It kind of gets in your bones and you fall in love with these sweeping vistas, the amazing community, and the great people. It’s definitely not off the table to come back at some point.”
Shorty was drawn to The County when he met Alan Whittemore as a sophomore attending Lawrence High School in Fairfield.
“At the time [Whittemore] was the admissions director, and he came to our high school and spoke to us about MSSM, which was a brand new school at the time,” Shorty said. “A bunch of us said ‘Hey, that sounds like a cool place to go,’ and the rest was history.’”
Whittemore recalls Shorty’s arrival at MSSM.
“I immediately knew that Luke was a unique individual,” Whittemore said. “He was one of the first cheerleaders of the school; his enthusiasm for MSSM was immediate.”
Whittemore later left MSSM to pursue another career, but gave Shorty a call in 2011 when he learned he was appointed executive director of the school.
“His response was true Luke,” Whittemore said. “‘Alan, where are you? I’ve been looking for you.’”
“He invited me to return in the role of representing the school from the admissions perspective in 2012,” Whittemore said, adding that he accepted the offer.
Whittemore, now the dean of enrollment, credits Shorty’s involvement with the school for its “return to a strong position, not only in Maine or the United States, but globally.”
Shorty credits the school for making him who he is, referring to his time as a student there as “transformative” and citing the experience of failing his first course as a life-changing event.
“I’d never failed a course in my life, but changed my mindset from the person who always does well in school to a growth mindset,” Shorty said. “That is one of the most important lessons I took away from my time here at MSSM. It’s a critical and important lesson for young folks to learn. It can be hard to learn if you’re not challenged or pushed.”
Thankful for the school’s positive impact on his life, Shorty came back as a math instructor soon after graduating.
The decision to return, and to ultimately apply for the position of executive director, was inspired by James Patterson, an MSSM founder and former executive director.
“[Patterson] communicated that, while much has been given, much is expected in return,” Shorty said, “and that [MSSM] was really a gift from the people of Maine.”
Shorty shared a Presque Isle apartment with Daniel Melega in 2010, while he taught math at the school. Melega, who now teaches U.S. History at MSSM, said Shorty often brought his vibrant personality and excitement for math and science home.
“You’d think we’d have left all the ridiculous charades here in Limestone,” Melega said, “but I can remember taking kitchen chemicals out and asking what we could do with them, just to see what’s possible.”
Melega said that Shorty is always “tuning into the things that make you whole,” and that they would often have conversations of a philosophical or religious nature, reflecting on “what it means to be alive” or what it means to live the best life.
“He has a great sense of humor and was always looking to do something different, whether it’s hiking, going to Aroostook State Park, or driving to Houlton because we could, and because it was necessary to have a change of scenery,” Melega said.
Shorty’s former roommate said this all ties in as “a function of Luke’s energy, enthusiasm, and spontaneity.”
“We’d need to do something different to make sure we’re not in a rut,” Melega said, “and that we were in a good place.”
Melega said he originally didn’t know Shorty was applying for the executive director position at the time, and that it “says a lot for the number of hours he put in.”
Shorty summarized his transition from teacher to director in two words: “I applied.”
“They were doing a search,” said Shorty. “I’d be active in trying to develop new programs and attending all the board meetings and thought this was an opportunity to give back even more. I called my girlfriend, who wasn’t my wife at the time, and she was supportive. So I threw my name in the hat and here I am.”
Those who know and work with Shorty have an abundance of anecdotes about their time with him.
MSSM Senior Reed Oestreicher said of Shorty that the first thing he thinks of when he’s mentioned is “a funny, goofy guy who stepped on stage, after I drove 5 ½ hours to see the school, and started cracking these horrible jokes. At that point I knew this was the kind of nerdy, fun environment that I would love.”
Oestreicher said Shorty tells one of his corniest jokes every Tuesday.
“He always asks what a mathematician’s favorite day is,” Oestreicher said. “It’s Tuesday. Two’s Day. It’s the same joke and everyone here knows it, but it’s silly, fun stuff like that that keeps the energy and atmosphere here amazing.”
Melega said one of his favorite Shorty memories is of a STEM-themed weekend at the school in which students constructed a weather balloon.
“The balloon ultimately landed in New Brunswick,” Melega said, “but Luke was instrumental in getting people together so we could retrieve the balloon.”
Whittemore recalled a 2013 open house in which he and Shorty took the stage while Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” pumped through speakers.
“We had 300 people in attendance, kids from all over Maine,” Whittemore said. “There was so much energy and excitement. So we just ran at each other on stage and high-fived each other four or five times in conjunction with the music and cheers from the crowd. He’s a rock star and, to be part of that, I’ll never forget it.”
Shorty said he’s going to miss the students and the team of staffers at the residential high school most of all.
“You have a team of adults who are really focused on the students here, who are excited and want to be challenged and form their own sense of community down in that dormitory,” Shorty said. “That’s what I’ll miss the most.”
Shorty said his final year as executive director feels like graduating all over again.
“My plan is to give them the best transition I can give them,” Shorty said. “It’s been a great opportunity to serve the state of Maine kids here and it’s just very rewarding to give back to the place that gave me so much.”
Whittemore said that while he’s seen Shorty mature into an adult, his “enthusiasm hasn’t changed in any manner.”
“He has the respect of all associated with him, however tangentially it may be,” Whittemore said. “You gravitate to Luke. He’s a magnet, and how appropriate for the leader of the magnet school.”
