By Erik Squire

Hello students and guests of Southern Maine Community College! Some of you got away over the summer break, some of you were here studying or working, and for some, this is your first semester. Welcome, welcome, and welcome! Now that you’ve soaked up (most of) the summer sun, it’s time to settle in and start working toward your future. I know, you probably miss the good old carefree times. But hey, if you have to be here, might as well make the most of it, right? I mean, at least you don’t live in a country where they don’t let women go to school! Anyway, whether this is your 1^st year or your 10^th (you know who you are), one thing is for certain: we can make these next three months some of the very best, and you can take that to the bank!

We at the Beacon have conducted a series of “welcome back” interviews. We talked to SMCC’s President – Dr Ron Cantor about some important changes that he’s implementing here. We chatted with a few of your peers about what drew them to SMCC. We also got some information from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CeSIL) about some cool things happening this semester.

The conclusion we came to?

There is a lot to be happy about and plenty of activities to keep you engaged this fall. Here are some of the things you’re fellow students had to say about our SMCC: Rosalee, a 1st Yr Horticulture student said that SMCC is, “close to home.” Nick Mitchell, VP of the Bauff Club, who is in Liberal Studies with a focus in Secondary Ed showed his enthusiasm by saying, “SMCC is inexpensive. I have a lot of friends that go here, and I heard there was a Magic the Gathering Group.” Lastly, Michael Wilton an RA at Spring Point Res Hall, and a 2nd year Criminal Justice student commented, “I heard they had a wonderful Criminal Justice program, and so I came here to check out the campus and fell in love with it.”

There are some things to keep in mind this semester and one of them is that we should probably take our studies seriously. Especially when you consider that the national completion rate for community colleges is at 22% over a three year period. Now don’t let those figures get you down though, President Cantor has some things in the works to keep the retention and graduation rate up. Check out what he had to say in the Beacon’s interview with him.

Beacon: Let’s start things off on a high note; what are you looking forward to this semester?

Dr Cantor: I’m looking forward to all the things that I look forward to all year round, which is many good students, faculty and staff coming together to have to have in-depth experiences that are going to benefit everyone. But especially this semester, this is an important time for SMCC because we’ve renewed our focus on student success. I would say that in the past we’ve largely focused on enrollment. For financial reasons and others, we need to keep enrollment high. We’ve changed the focus this year, so it’s not on enrollment it’s on student success. We’ve had some challenges with enrollment; enrollment is not very good at the moment. But rather than worry about that, we’re trying to get more of the students we do have, to be successful. We’ve got all sorts of programs, interventions, and support mechanisms going this year to make that happen. We’re excited because we’re seeing early signs that it’s being accepted positively and that it looks like it’s going to do some good. We’ll see if we have more students stick with us this spring and more students graduate… so far I think it’s doing pretty good.

Beacon: Okay, that sounds pretty good, and it also answers my question I was going to ask about enrollment; perfect answer. What you said also goes along with something a fellow student of mine was saying. He said he feels a kind of energy on campus, sort of a positive community that he hasn’t felt before.

Dr Cantor: Certainly a positive community; we’re investing a lot into a positive community, we always do. But in addition to positive community, it’s more focused, more targeted, on staff and faculty getting to know individual students and trying to understand them and support them and find out whatever it is they need to stick with it, to persist and be successful.

Beacon: Great! Yeah, graduation rates nationwide (from community colleges) are really low; I believe 25% – 30% (it’s 22%).

Dr Cantor: They are low and one of the problems is that there’re no consistent measures. Anyway that you try to measure it there’s problems. When you get into the specific numbers there’s a lot of issues, but clearly they’re way too low and their going in the wrong direction, and that’s part of the reason why we are focusing so much on student success.

Beacon: Alright, and do you have anything to say to new and returning students?

Yes, what you put into something is what you get out of it. In other words, get involved. Most students have family commitments, they have job commitments, they have transportation issues, they don’t have enough hours in a day, and they don’t have enough money. All those issues are out there and it makes it harder to connect and invest time and energy and everything else. But if you can arrange your life and connect and engage, it pays off.

Alright, now that you feel a little more secure about completing college, you’re probably wondering about the activities going on around campus. Glad you asked. If you made it to the Welcome BBQ you might have noticed some of the tables. These tables were there to represent some of the student organizations on campus like the Business Club, Enactus, and the Beacon; just to name a few. Most of these student organizations are run through CeSIL. What is CeSIL? Here’s a little bio:

The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CeSIL) at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is a one stop center for students who want to get more involved in campus life, serve their community and develop their leadership skills. Students who are active participants in the life of the college are more likely to persist and be successful in college. – CeSIL Blog

One of the new programs being offered by CeSIL is the Emerging Leaders Program. If you were a leader in high school, or you just want to try it on and see how it fits, then this program is for you. Shane Long Director of student involvement wrote a description about it:

The Emerging Leaders Program at SMCC welcomes all students interested in enhancing student leadership through self exploration, skill development, and an examination of diverse leadership styles. Following a community-based shared learning model, the program strives to strengthen students’ networks, enhance educational experiences, and prepare students for a variety of roles both at the college and in the community. The program is free for students and will run each Tuesday from 4-5:30 PM for 12 weeks starting September 16. Click here for more information and to register: http://bit.ly/SMCCELP

If you would like to get involved with a student organization, or attend the Emerging Leaders Program please feel welcome to get in touch with Shane Long. The CeSIL office is located in Spring Point Hall, Room 110, or you can contact them through E-mail at: mcesil@smccme.edu

That’s all my fellow SMCC students; I wish you a productive semester, hope you make good friends, and have rewarding experiences. Keep learning, get involved, and go have some fun!

~ I pity the fool who doesn’t stay in school!