Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, will be present at SMCC’s commencement ceremony to give a speech for the graduating class of 2024.

Before her term as governor, Mills served as Maine’s attorney general, being the first woman in Maine to hold the position. She would later serve in Maine’s house of representatives.

Janet Mills has been a huge factor for the free tuition of Maine’s community colleges; Mills and her administration originally proposed the free-college program and went to great lengths to execute it. Since then, Mills has extended the free-college program in Maine, setting aside over $15 million dollars for the graduating classes of 2024-2025. As such, it’s no surprise that she’ll be present for SMCC’s commencement ceremony.

SMCC’s commencement ceremony will be held at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on May 19th at 2:00 PM. Mills’ presence could be considered something of a victory-lap regarding her efforts to the enactment of the free college program in Maine.

A speech alone may not exemplify the tremendous impact of affordable college for Maine students. Governor Mills’ and Maine legislator’s support for the program has aided thousands of in-state students and will likely continue to do so for years to come.