Walk into a typical Journey gathering and you are likely to find a group of teens chatting, laughing, and usually grabbing a few snacks. After a few minutes getting settled, the EdGE Secondary and Post-Secondary Youth Development Coordinators get students talking about the task at hand. It could be welcoming a guest speaker or creating a working agreement. They could also be going outside to hike or hitting the ropes course as a team. Students join Journey as seventh graders and spend six years working, traveling, and spending time together.
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While these monthly meetings might seem inconsequential, students say that the program has had a life–changing impact on them. Nyah Smith, who attends Husson University, shares that Journey opened a whole, new world by bringing her out of her shell. It also helped her transition from high school to college.
“I would not have done as well preparing for college if it was not for Journey. The only person in my family who has gone to college is my sister. The Journey program helped me apply for college and scholarships, write essays, and everything else through the process, it really prepared me.”
A current Journey student shares that they can explore and grow, “The coordinators treat you like an actual person, and they provide us the opportunity to be ‘an adult.’” Another shared, “I’ve been able to do more self-exploration. Journey has helped me understand where I am now is not my limit, that I can be more. There is so much out there you can be doing and there is much more in this world.”
Journey students focus on Clover Model skills, which highlights four essential elements that people of all ages need in order to thrive, learn, and develop. These skills will help them succeed in both high school and beyond as soon as they start the program. Cohorts are small, around 15 students, and throughout the six years, they get to know their peers well. At monthly meetings they work on different topics including time management, college and career preparation, and goal planning. Coordinators also offer sessions at school during homeroom and lunch periods if students want to check in. They also work with teachers, parents, and guidance counselors to craft plans for students who are struggling in school.
In addition to meetings, students attend excursions off campus to visit colleges, volunteer in the community, as well as go hiking, tubing, and skating. Once a year, students go on a three to four-day trip over the summer, where they focus on some of the skills they learned during the year. As the students get older, they help plan their own excursions based on their interests. For some students, these trips might be the first time they have traveled without their families and for others it might be the first time out of state. Each of these longer trips includes some sort of career and college visit. These trips let students see different options from technical schools to local community colleges to large universities. Which helps students better understand the different options available to them.
Nolan, a ninth grader in the program shares, “Journey has given me not just the opportunity to visit colleges and think about what I want to do later in my life, but also to meet people that have helped me facilitate what I want to do with my life as well.” Journey staff have found that giving students these opportunities early on has led to more success as they transition out of high school.
22 students have graduated from the program in the past two years. These students have been valedictorians and salutatorians. Two have become Davis Maine Scholars, receiving full, four-year scholarships. Many others have received a Mission Scholarship to aid them through their post-secondary careers. Graduates are attending colleges including the University of Maine, Husson University, Eastern Maine Community College, Wheaton College, and University of New England. Some have chosen to start their careers in the trades.
And many students have attributed this success to Journey. As one soon-to-be Journey graduate warmly noted “I thought I just had minimal options. I didn’t think I could get into college. But after joining I learned about scholarships, ideas, and options. And eventually, I want to.”
