For many students participating in Journey, the summer core trips are a highlight of their time in the program. Journey helps students in grades 7 through 12 successfully transition through high school and into higher education and career pathways. Each core trip builds on different skills and ideas students encounter throughout the program.
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The EdGE Secondary and Post–Secondary Youth Development Coordinators, who work directly with Journey students, create and schedule six excursions each year. While a few of the elements of the trips carry over from year to year, including the locations and some activities, the coordinators consider the interests of each cohort to tailor outings to the students.
Many of the trips include similar themes. For instance, many include a college visit and a chance to learn more about different career opportunities. A few of the outings include volunteer opportunities for students, which helps them give back to the communities they are visiting. There are also times set aside for reflection and journaling. Students keep the same journal throughout the program, and during their senior year, they read through these journals reflecting on their growth and their path through the program.
The Journey program begins in 7th grade and with students of both Cherryfield Elementary School and Narraguagus Jr./Sr. High School, their core trip during this first summer is when students start to get to know each other at a deeper level. During this time, they work together to complete tasks like cooking and cleaning and work collaboratively. They visit to Mount Desert Island, students camped, volunteered for Acadia National Park and Friends of Acadia, visited College of the Atlantic, met with a police officer who grew up in Downeast Maine, and had fun in Bar Harbor.
In 8th grade, students got a glimpse of life on one of Maine’s unbridged islands staying on Swan’s Island for 4 days. After taking the ferry over, they met with a local teacher and historian to learn more about what life is like on the island. Students are asked to also start thinking about their transition to high school. They reflect on what they are excited about and what they think are challenges they might face.
This year’s 9th grade trip got off to a great start. Students visited the Northeast Technical Institute in Bangor and went white water rafting while they camped near Baxter State Park. However, the wet weather put an early end to their outing, and Journey staff are now working to reschedule the rest of the activities for students which included a visit with a logger with a CDL license.
Earlier in the spring, students in 10th grade took their core trip to Boston. Students take a large role in planning this excursion and they decide what places they would like to visit. This year’s group chose to spend the two days exploring the city, visiting the New England Aquarium, touring the USS Constitution, and eating at Quincy Market.
The core trip for juniors focuses on college visits with students. While other core trips have college visits, during the last semester of junior year, students start to focus more on plans after high school, including college. These tours give students a low-stakes way of seeing different colleges and see what they are interested in. This year, students got to see both the Gorham and Portland campuses at University of Southern Maine (USM), which is part of the University of Maine system, as well as the University of New England (UNE), a private college in Biddeford.
Journey seniors spend their time reflecting on their time in the program and prepare for their future, well, journey into adulthood. Students look through the journals they have kept over the past six years, and they read the letter they wrote to themselves in 7th grade after their first core trip. The group also hears from different Mission staff members and mentors about their experiences, education, and how they came to be where they are today. Other activities include working on budgeting and creating plans. The students also write postcards to themselves that will be sent during their first semester.
“Students really leaned into their trip experiences this year, finding peers in their cohorts they don’t normally talk to, being fully present with leaving their phones in their bags and being flexible with trip plans,” says EdGE Secondary and Post-Secondary Program Coordinator Bri West. “I am proud of all the cohorts and what they accomplished on their trips this past program year.”
Each outing allows students to learn more about themselves, their cohort, and the communities they visit. For some of the students, these trips give them their first opportunity to spend time away from home, visit a college campus, go camping, explore a city, or cook a meal. They push their boundaries, see what they are capable of, and begin to think about their futures. Which is what Journey is all about.
Learn more about the Journey program and if you are interested in offering support and mentoring to Journey students, the program is accepting mentors.