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Giving the 2024 Mitchell Scholars a Warm Welcome

Connections and congratulations were served up alongside brunch at the annual Welcome Celebration for new Mitchell Scholars on Aug. 3, 2024.

By Mitchell Institute

August 27^th, 2024

A Room full of joy, hope, and promise

The Wells Conference Center on the University of Maine campus was close to capacity on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 3, when new Mitchell Scholars and their family members gathered to meet one another, learn about the broad range of supports and programs offered by the Mitchell Institute, hear some uplifting speeches, enjoy a delicious brunch, and have professional headshots taken.

The 2024 Mitchell Scholars and their families were also treated to a visit from the founder of the Mitchell Institute, U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell, only weeks before his 91st birthday.

Giving the 2024 Mitchell Scholars a Warm Welcome

'From here on out, you’re part of a community'

After thanking event sponsor Kennebec Savings Bank, Casey Near (above), the still-newish Scholarship Director at the Mitchell Institute, spent the opening minutes of her first Welcome Celebration sharing some details about the class of 2024 Scholars' accomplishments:

This year, we received over 1,500 applications for the Mitchell Scholarship. And from that incredible pool of applicants, we admitted 184 Mitchell Scholars, our biggest class to date. From here on out, you’re part of a community — the Mitchell community — and you join a lineage of over 3,000 alumni who continue to make this state and the world around them better.

You should be incredibly proud of your accomplishments, your ambitions, and the care you’ve shown in your communities. As we celebrate you today, I wanted to highlight what an exceptional group you all are.

This year’s Scholars are farmers, wrestling champs, Dirigo State delegates, Olympia Snowe Leaders, poets, and yoga instructors. You speak 15 different languages in your homes. In the room today, we have aspiring pilots, librarians, computer engineers, marine biologists, teachers, and artists. Two second-generation Scholars — where one parent was also a Mitchell Scholar — are in the room today.

“You represent every corner of Maine.”

'I had different aspirations, and receiving a Mitchell Scholarship helped fuel those aspirations.'

Christina Lemieux, the 1995 Mitchell Scholar from Washington Academy and London-based Executive Strategy Director for PG ONE (the ideas, production, and media for the world's biggest advertiser, Procter & Gamble), spoke from the heart about the impact the Mitchell Scholarship has had on her life.

Almost 30 years ago, I was you—a Maine high school graduate and a newly named Mitchell Scholar. I am, in fact, one of the original Mitchell Scholars from 1995, the year Senator George Mitchell established his scholarship program.

I’m originally from the town of Cutler, which is about as far Downeast as you can go, and am part of a five-generation lobster fishing family. Growing up, my brother and I worked as sternmen on my father’s lobster boat, and as far back as I can remember, my brother aspired to be a professional lobster fisherman.

By the time he was a junior in high school, he already had a 26-foot lobster boat, which he aptly named Aspiration.

I had different aspirations, and receiving a Mitchell Scholarship helped fuel those aspirations.

It provided not only financial support, but also the validation that I was worthy of a college education and that I could belong at a college like Colby and in the corporate world—working in cities like New York and London, where I now live—just as much as my brother belonged on a lobster boat.

“And for me, that really hits at the heart of what the Mitchell Institute offers hardworking Maine students like yourselves — validation of your aspirations and the helping hand you need to achieve them.”

Senator Mitchell Praised Scholars, their families, and the Virtues of Community

Just weeks ahead of his 91st birthday, Senator Mitchell attended the Welcome Celebration to congratulate the new Mitchell Scholars and share some sage advice as they begin their college journeys.

Here is an excerpt of what the American architect of Northern Ireland’s historic 1998 peace accord, U.S. Senator, and founder of the Mitchell Institute had to say that received a standing ovation:

You’re here because you, the Scholars, are the future leaders of our state. But it’s important to note that you’re also here because of the support of your community—especially your parents, guardians, and loved ones, some of whom are here with us today. To all of these loved ones here, I extend my thanks for all you’ve done to guide these new Scholars to this important point in their lives ...

Communities are critically important in everyone’s life. You will find as you become successful, as I am sure you will be, that acquiring prestige or money means very little if you do not also give back to those communities that supported you. When I graduated from Waterville High School and entered Bowdoin College, many years ago, I was, like some of you, insecure and uncertain. My parents had no money to help me pay my way through college. I would have been lost if not for my good fortune in becoming part of a community of people who helped me all along the way.

We want you to know, right from the start of your experience as a Mitchell Scholar, that you belong in our community, and in the communities that you are about to join in college.

We believe in each and every one of you, we have faith in you. We want you to succeed. We believe deeply that you will succeed. We hope that when you do, you will think about supporting the Mitchell Institute and the students who will follow you from high schools throughout Maine. You’ve been chosen, in part, because you have made a positive impact on your communities. As you reach a point in life when you’re able to do so, we hope that you will pay forward the support you have received, whether through donations to the Institute, or mentoring Scholars, or sharing opportunities at your place of work. By doing so, you will help ensure that a child now growing up in your community may be able to follow in your footsteps. There is no obligation or requirement, but we do hope you’ll understand and value the importance of giving back and helping others.

So, congratulations on reaching this important milestone in your life. You will have many other milestones ahead of you, the most immediate being to do well and graduate from college ... As we welcome you into this community, we have confidence in you. We believe you have the talent and the drive to succeed in life. We want to help you in any way we can. Please think of us as more than a scholarship and reach out for assistance.

Staffing Up for the New Scholars

Mitchell Institute staff are a vital source of support for Mitchell Scholars, and in his turn at the podium, Scholarship Operations Manager Adam Thibodeau (above) echoed the point.

"Long before I worked at the Mitchell Institute, I was a Mitchell Scholar myself. I received the scholarship when I graduated from Lawrence High School in Fairfield many years ago," he said.

"But I still remember how the scholarship gave me a much-needed confidence boost before I started the big, kind of scary, kind of exciting change to college. Receiving the Mitchell Scholarship, for me, meant that someone from outside my family and my hometown saw the potential in me. And I hope that all of you felt a similar surge of confidence when you found out you were a Mitchell Scholar."

Thibodeau went on to give the new Scholars a comprehensive tour of the Mitchell Institute's signature programs available to them—for free—including, but not limited to, Gala, MILE I Weekend, and MILE II.

"Those are the events where we bring Scholars together," Thibodeau said. "None of these events are required, but we would love to see you at one of them over the course of the year so that we can better help you achieve your goals. "

Professional Picture Time

Making use of career networking tools like LinkedIn is a standing recommendation of the Mitchell Institute staff. To help new Scholars develop their online professional presence, the Mitchell Institute provides new Scholars with the opportunity to have a headshot taken by a professional photographer at the Welcome Celebration.

Assisting photographer Kevin Bennett was Deklin Fitzgerald (pictured standing, above), a 2022 Mitchell Scholar from Oceanside High School, a rising junior Media Studies major at the University of Southern Maine, and, on Aug. 3, 2024, a Mitchell Scholar Ambassador at the Welcome Celebration. Proof that Mitchell Scholars never pass up a learning opportunity, Fitzgerald, an accomplished photographer in his own right, talked shop with Bennett and assisted him by properly positioning a shadow-reducing reflector for each new Scholar's portrait.

Here are some of the results:

Scholars Speak

In keeping with tradition, the 2024 Welcome Celebration featured remarks from more experienced Scholars. And this year's speakers — Clayton Durepos, the 2022 Scholar from Massabesic High School and rising sophomore Computer Science and Physics major at the University of Southern Maine, and Pethuel Mutalenu, the 2019 Scholar from Westbrook High School and Mathematics graduate of Bowdoin College — more than fit the bill.

Here are excerpts from their remarks:

Durepos: Follow Your Passions and Don't Pass on Opportunities to Make Connections

In my freshman year of high school, my earth and space science teacher convinced me to take his data science course. I’m not sure how because I did not like coding, at all, but I came to love it within just a few weeks. It was something about creating something from scratch that I enjoyed. So, after data science, I took AP Computer Science to learn more about programming and to learn another programming language. In AP CS, I had to build a recursive, or a looping, program to calculate the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, a sequence of numbers that increases without bound.

The program had intrigued me: How fast could I find numbers that were how big? It was like a racer driving to get faster times around the track, I wanted to go further. I wanted to find bigger numbers, faster. The recursive approach was only so good, so I spent time developing a better algorithm. In a matter of milliseconds, my program had found a number in the sequence that would take a human decades to find, on paper. This project was my first time pushing beyond limits. It showed me how I could break boundaries with technology. I had found a field that might allow me to do the great things I had dreamt of.

After high school had ended, I wanted to learn more about tech, so I decided to go to college for computer science. I had looked into colleges all over the country, from the most prestigious private institutions to my local community college. The University of Southern Maine seemed to be what was best for me. I got the opportunity to stay close to my family and friends for a few more years and settle into adulthood before my future might take me elsewhere.

In July of 2023, I had my first no-agenda coffee meeting with a member of the Mitchell Institute staff. One hour of my summer was spent listening and broadening my perspective on all the different ways I could make the absolute most of whatever choices I make during college.

A couple of months later, I was invited to the Mitchell Institute’s biggest networking and fundraising event, the Gala.

That night, I met dozens of representatives from Tyler Tech, which is a multibillion-dollar software company, financial firms, and even other universities I had wanted to attend. I got to meet dozens of other scholars, most of whom were still figuring out college life, just as I was.

In March of this year, I went to another Mitchell event, MILE II, that did just as much for me. In just a couple of hours, I made dozens of new connections.

Those two events made me realize that the Mitchell Institute had more connections than I could’ve asked for. Not only are we, as Scholars, able to reach out to the dozens of companies that support the Institute but we’re also given access to a network of over 3,000 other Scholars.

That’s just a small piece of what I’ve gotten from the Institute, though.

In the past few months, I’ve met with several different staff members for many different reasons.

I first met with Jared, the CEO of the Institute. He gave me the opportunity to meet and connect with David Reynolds, an individual known for being one of the best at semiconductor circuit design. The meeting with David gave me invaluable insight into the next steps toward making my dreams a reality.

A few weeks after I met with Jared, I met with Casey, our Scholarship Director. She gave me a push that I needed to start moving forward with my application to one of my dream schools and suggestions for and insight on so many other awesome universities I hadn’t known about.

Coming from a small town, and an even smaller family, I never had significant connections to the outside world. Going into college, I didn’t know how I might make those connections I saw that others had and that I lacked. After engaging with the Institute and attending its events, I’ve truly gained invaluable guidance and countless connections to many different people and companies. Not only helping push me forward in my career but also providing me with answers to so many questions I had about the future.

Just like how programming let me find numbers, in milliseconds, that would take a human decades to find, the Mitchell Institute allowed me to make the connections, in my first year of college, that some might not be able to make in their four years of undergraduate study.

Mutalenu: Lean on your support systems and keep an open mind

My journey began in Benin, West Africa, where I was born and raised, and brought me to Maine, where I completed high school before attending Bowdoin College as a Mitchell Scholar. As you prepare to start this new chapter, I want to share two key pieces of advice that have guided me through my own journey: lean on your support systems and keep an open mind.

First and foremost, lean on your support systems. When I first graduated from high school and became a Mitchell Scholar, I was a bundle of nerves and excitement. I was nervous about fitting in, unsure about the academic challenges ahead, and excited about the opportunities to learn and grow. Moving from Benin to Maine at 16 was a significant transition, and starting college was another big leap. I worried about being alone in a new environment and whether I had made the right choice in my academic pursuits.

What helped me adjust to college were the people and resources around me. The Mitchell Institute played a pivotal role in this adjustment. They empowered me to explore, providing financial support and regular check-ins that made me feel genuinely cared for. I remember being here, five years ago, sitting exactly where you are now. When I arrived at my own welcome event and checked in, I was surprised the staff knew my name and remembered me from my Mitchell Scholarship application. There are many admitted Mitchell Scholars every year, and being remembered in that way made me feel cared for. Knowing that the Institute cared for me meant a lot. It lifted the nervousness of interacting with them and encouraged me to attend as many Mitchell Institute events as possible, including the MILE events, which I attended multiple times.

Additionally, my first days at Bowdoin were incredibly welcoming. On the first day of orientation, I was so nervous that I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone. But everything changed when an upperclassman approached me and made me feel so welcome. She listened to me and reassured me that everything was going to be okay. This helped me loosen up and approach the program with more openness, knowing that people genuinely cared about me. So today I am telling you, everything is going to be okay.

The second piece of advice is to keep an open mind. Growing up, I was taught to pick a path and stick to it. For me, that path was mathematics and premed. However, after my first chemistry class at Bowdoin, I realized premed was not for me. This realization was daunting, but it led me to explore other interests. With the Mitchell Institute’s support through its Fellowship program, I pursued a study away program at Harvard College for two semesters. There, I got my first introduction to electrical engineering, which ignited my passion for engineering and technology. Also, with the help of the Mitchell Institute, I attended a business program at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. There, I got a robust introduction to business, which made me more confident in my abilities to marry my passions for engineering and business in the future.

Keeping an open mind also means taking advantage of the opportunities presented to you, even if they seem outside your initial interests. I made it a resolution to interact with the Institute as much as I possibly could. In a mathematical sense, increasing the number of interactions I had with the Institute increased my chances of finding opportunities I didn't even know existed. One such opportunity came when I met Mariette Wharton at The Roux MILE, a design thinking event organized by the Institute. During a break, I approached Mariette and we talked. She then suggested I attend her entrepreneurship program in Silicon Valley, a program her nonprofit supported entirely. This experience was transformative for me both professionally and personally, deepening my skills in design thinking and innovative business ideas. Being in Silicon Valley gave me a greater picture of the current technological landscape. This encouraged me to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science, with the help of a huge Mitchell Scholar-only discount, to further deepen my knowledge in technology, which I hope to combine with my business skills to make Maine a better place.

So, keep an open mind and be willing to explore the unknown. Your college journey is not just about following a predetermined path but also discovering who you are and what you are passionate about. Engage with the Mitchell Institute and other support systems around you. The more you interact, the more opportunities you will find.

Footnotes

The Mitchell Institute gives special thanks to Kennebec Savings Bank for generously funding the 2024 Welcome Celebration and to the University of Maine Dining Services & Conferences and Events teams for their hospitality and help in making the event a success. We thank special guests Amanda Cooley, Vice President & Marketing & Communications Officer at Kennebec Savings Bank, Mitchell Institute Board Chair Sara Burns, Senator’s Circle member Margie Bride, Board Second Vice Chair Abby Diaz, Board member and 1995 Mitchell Scholar Christina Lemieux, Board member Elyse Pratt-Ronco, and Mitchell Institute Alumni Council member and 2019 Mitchell Scholar Hunter Steele for attending. Among Maine’s higher education leaders, we welcomed Lynne Coy-Ogan, President of Husson College; Debbie Cunningham, Senior Vice President of Student Success at Thomas College; Joan Ferrini-Mundy, President of the University of Maine, Dan Kane, Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Maine at Presque Isle; and Hahna David Patterson, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at the University of New England. We thank Clayton Durepos, the 2022 Scholar from Massabesic High School, and Pethuel Mutalenu, the 2019 Scholar from Westbrook High School, for delivering highly engaging remarks. We are also grateful to three current Mitchell Scholars who serve as ambassadors on their college campuses for giving of their time on Saturday, Aug. 3, to welcome new Scholars and usher them and their families to their tables: Deklin Fitzgerald, a 2022 Mitchell Scholar from Oceanside High School; Jasper Makowski, the 2022 Scholar from Foxcroft Academy, and Sara Robinson, the 2022 Mitchell Scholar from Greely High School. They were joined by Mayinga Mukinayi, a 2023 Mitchell Scholar from Deering High School.

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