On April 29, the Houlton and Hodgdon Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) students participated in the annual Career Development Conference held at the Augusta Civic Center.
More than 500 seniors and select juniors took over the entire Augusta Civic Center for JMG’s annual CDC – a day to celebrate their upcoming graduations and prove they’re ready for life after high school.
Students participated in workshops and tested their mettle in a variety of career-related competitions. They pitched their own business plans, faced the fear of public speaking, and in mock job interviews, did their best to convince Thomas College reps that they are ready for hire.
Bob Moody, a manager at E.J. Prescott said, “Investing in JMG just makes sense. We get some great employees from their student population, and we send people into their classrooms to talk about the industry and what it takes to be a valued employee. Kids who’ve been in JMG are more outgoing; they have a better handle on their future, and know how important it is to build a network. It’s a great partnership.”
JMG is a statewide, private nonprofit working with students who face barriers to education. JMG provides 5,000 students a year with the skills and experience they will need to succeed in high school, post- secondary education, and careers. JMG graduates become engaging members of their communities, productive adults in the workforce, and contributors to Maine’s economy.
JMG allows for students to network with each other as well as colleges and companies throughout the state at this event.
All JMG schools that participated were randomly placed in four separate divisions. Hodgdon students competed in a division of ten JMG schools from around the state in nine areas of competition. Competition areas included communication skills, a job interview, sales pitch presentation, group challenge, public speaking, job application packet, career and financial knowledge, and two market place presentations.
Hodgdon took home six out of nine possible category placement awards including: Public Speaking, first place, Ethan Bartlett; Group Challenge, first place, Seth Bond, TJ Farrar, Branden Pitts and Austin Albert; Know It All (Kahoot Trivia), first place, Ashley Wallace and Bartlett; Communications, second place, Seth Bond and Pitts; and Pitch It, third place, Farrar and Albert
Other Hodgdon students that attended were Amanda Clark and Caleb Dube.
Houlton Students competed in Region 1 against schools throughout the state. Hodgdon competed in Region 4 so the two schools did not compete against each other. Houlton students were recognized for resume and cover letters, as well as the marketplace design. Those who participated from Houlton were: Emily Brown, Katie Knights, Emma Gallop, Janelle Levesque and Danielle Provost.
Jobs for Maine’s Graduates (JMG) is a statewide nonprofit that works within Maine’s public schools to help students reach their fullest potential. JMG serves more than 5,000 students from grades 6-12, in 79 programs throughout Maine. Students in JMG are full of potential, but face barriers to education. It is JMG’s goal to provide these students with the skills and resources they need to overcome those challenges, and to graduate from high school prepared to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce.
Specialist Joe Fagnant teaches the Hodgdon JMG program, while Dee Butler instructs the Houlton program.
