Welcome to the Fall Semester
The Fall Semester has kicked off with the arrival of students who will find 鈥� among other things 鈥� an updated and improved Campus Center in South Portland and a new Learning Commons on the Midcoast Campus.
The South Portland and Midcoast campuses were bustling August 29 with the arrival of the 2015-16 academic year. Among the new things that people will notice on the South Portland Campus are:
- An updated Campus Center with new inviting glass-walled Admissions, Advising and Registration offices.
- New furniture in the Learning Commons.
- A new parking lot between Lot A behind the HUB and Pickett Street.
- New large campus maps located at four locations across campus.
On the Midcoast Campus, you鈥檒l find:
- An impressive new Learning Commons & Health Science Center, which becomes the campus hub.
- New residential housing at Orion Hall 鈥� the first time we鈥檝e offered residential living on the campus.
To stay informed and on track toward success, students should take advantage of all the resources SMCC has to offer. For general information, check out the Compass student handbook and the Survival Guide flyer. My Maine Guide on the MySMCC student portal is chock-full of information to help you with your academic, financial and registration needs, and will help you make the most of your education while you鈥檙e here and when you鈥檙e ready to enter the workforce or transfer to another school after graduation. Welcome to the Fall Semester.
Student photo exhibit displayed in Brunswick
Ever wonder what鈥檚 in a drop of Maine river water? A new exhibit created by SMCC students is now on display in Brunswick, featuring beautiful photographs of microscopic animals and plants from water samples from the Androscoggin River.
The exhibit, 鈥淟ife in a Drop of Water,鈥� includes 12 poster-sized weather-resistant micrographs (photos taken through a microscope) on a fence near the southern end of the Androscoggin River Bike Path, which overlooks the Androscoggin River in Brunswick. The exhibit was coordinated in conjunction with the Brunswick Public Art organization.
For the exhibit, water samples were collected from the Androscoggin River. Three students 鈥� Jeff Small, Cynthia Tibbetts and Danielle Staples-Libby 鈥� in photography instructor John Stetson鈥檚 Midcoast Campus class then took photos of the organisms at 400 times magnification. The project has also had ongoing support from Marine Science students Bethany Brown and Tammy St. John.
The photos were put on display in mid-August, and an opening ceremony is planned for September.
Stetson says he鈥檚 hoping to organize a future exhibit on the South Portland Campus that will feature life in a drop of water from Casco Bay.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 better than student artwork, what students create?鈥� Stetson said.
SMCC welcomes 2nd class of Path to Graduation students
About 130 first-year students are participating in SMCC鈥檚 Path to Graduation student success program.
The students gathered at a barbecue on Aug. 26 with a number of other students who are in their second year of the P2G program and are serving as peer mentors to the first-year students.
The P2G program provides first-time, full-time and college-ready students who have a financial need with scholarship funds and dedicated success coaches. Success coaches work with the students on college skills, financial literacy, education and career planning, and academic and personal achievement.
Savannah Barnes, who鈥檚 studying business, says being in the program last year taught her time management and study skills, helped her decide her major and motivated her to make school her No. 1 priority. She will serve as a mentor to an incoming student this year. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that I can pass all that I learned on to my mentee,鈥� she said.
The program is made possible through a three-year, $500,000 grant from KeyBank.