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Sharing a MILE Together in 2022

In the shadow of Mount Katahdin, Scholars develop leadership skills and make friends for life at the annual Mitchell Institute Leadership Experience

By Mitchell Institute

October 27^th, 2022

The population of Millinocket, Maine, swelled by nearly 75 people over the weekend of October 7–9,

as Mitchell Scholars, Institute staff, and a small but mighty corps of Alumni volunteers took up residence at the New England Outdoor Center for MILE — the Mitchell Institute Leadership Experience. Throughout the Institute's signature weekend-long program, Scholars developed leadership and relationship-building skills while canoeing the Penobscot, hiking to the summit of Mount Katahdin, completing a community service project within Baxter State Park, and making friendships that will last a lifetime. Best of all, the Mitchell Institute offered the program at no charge to Scholars. It's one more reason the Mitchell Institute community is fond of saying that being a Scholar means receiving far #morethanascholarship.

A Warm Welcome for All

After arriving Scholars were greeted by Scholarship Director and MILE organizer Kim Gustafson (above right) and assigned to their generously appointed lakeside cabins by Alumni volunteers Kate Durost'03 and Alfine Nathalie '08, they had some free time to unwind and get acquainted over cups of lemonade.

“You’ll regret not participating in this event,” said Paul-Alexandre Liwanga (above left), who passed on playing in a varsity USM soccer game to attend MILE weekend. “The whole group of us is bonding together like we have known each other for a long time. It’s a beautiful experience. This is why they say it’s so much more than a scholarship. It’s a family.”

Learning More About Each Other by the Lake

Part of the MILE curriculum involves gaining practice with the fine art of navigating introductions — and refining what to say about oneself. To help Scholars hone their skills at breaking the ice, Mitchell Institute President and CEO Jared Cash (above center) asked each Scholar to give a 30-second thumbnail sketch of themselves to the group. And there was no better place to initiate a round of introductions than the NEOC dock overlooking Millinocket Lake at sunset.

On Saturday, Scholars Set Off to Hike, Paddle, and Practice Teamwork

Through registration, Scholars self-selected for one of several Saturday excursions and outings guided by NEOC staff: setting out to summit Mount Katahdin at sunrise, paddling the east branch of the Penobscot by canoe, and participating in a combination of nature walks and teamwork exercises. Whatever they chose to do, Scholars did it on full stomachs, after a hearty breakfast replete with eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, fruit, yogurt, and cereal. And wherever they went, they were treated to the splendor of peak foliage in the wilds of northern Maine.

Then one more activity before dinner: an Unscheduled Swim

By 4 p.m. Saturday, the mercury hit the day's peak of 51 degrees, not accounting for the stiff northerly breeze that put whitecaps on Millinocket Lake from time to time. Perfect conditions for swim, said Bryanna Alley, the 2020 Scholar from South Portland High School, and Sara Robinson, the 2022 Scholar from Greely High School, who hastily organized a "polar plunge."

“I just realized I wanted to go swimming, so I said, ‘Should we get a group together?’” said Robinson (below left).

“It was kind of started as a joke,” said Alley (below right). “But then again when do you get the opportunity to run into a lake with Katahdin in the background and with a group of people you just met yesterday?”

As for how Institute President and CEO Jared Cash got involved, Alley apparently called his bluff.

“I said, ‘The President should join us,’ and he said, ‘If you get 10 people, I’ll go in,’ and I said, ‘We already have 10 people!’”

And thus a new MILE tradition was born.

“Water shoes will have to be added to the packing list for Scholars from now on!” said Robinson.

After dinner both nights, more food for thought

Dinner on Saturday was much like it was on Friday: excellent food and plenty of it — even after the calorie-depleted Scholars put away seconds and thirds from the all-you-can-eat buffet. Following dinner on both nights, Scholars were treated to thoughtful and highly interactive presentations by Mitchell Institute Board member Elyse Pratt-Ronco, Assistant Director of Upward Bound at the University of Maine at Farmington, and Alfine Nathalie, the 2008 Scholar from Falmouth High School, holistic health coach, and founder and host of Alfine TV, a YouTube channel that focuses on holistic health, plant foods, slow living, and feminine wellness.

On Friday evening, after Gustafson delivered an overview of Mitchell Institute resources for Scholars — including MILE II at Unum, the virtual Money MILE, No-agenda Coffee meetings and the Fellowships award program — Pratt-Ronco (below) led Scholars through an interactive workshop on the Wise Choice Process. A cognitive structure for navigating dilemmas and decisions, the Wise Choice Process involves asking oneself six questions: What is your present situation? How would you like it to be? Do you have a choice? What are your possible choices? What is the likely outcome of each choice and What choices will you commit to?

In addition, she shared Active Listening skills with Scholars so they could pair up and practice them while helping their partners examine real-world issues through the lens of the Wise Choice Process.

On Saturday evening, after Gustafson delivered an overview of campus-based resources available to each Scholar at their respective colleges and universities (think: the offices of financial aid, study abroad, career development, and student activities), Alfine Nathalie (below) led Scholars on her signature Soul Care Safari. Through her interactive and trivia-based tour of the African savanna, Scholars learned seven key wellness practices as exemplified by the "wildest, fastest, and tallest creatures on the planet." Scholars vied for prizes (water bottles to encourage proper hydration) while learning lessons on self-care, holistic health, and sustainable wellness practices to support their personal and professional endeavors.

And before bed, some time to express gratitude

To close out the night, Cash had Institute staff and volunteers pass out stacks of thank-you cards at tables so Scholars could pen notes of gratitude to people who had helped them along their journeys.

As he did at the Welcome Celebration for new Scholars in early August, Cash recounted Senator Mitchell's later-in-life wish that he had thanked his high school English teacher, Elvira Whitten, for introducing him to the works of Steinbeck and other literary greats in his junior year.

“I’m certain that my life would have been different, far less meaningful, had I not been one of her students,” writes the Senator in his memoir, “The Negotiator.”

“My early failure to comprehend and thank her for her role in my life is consistent with our society’s failure to properly recognize and value the contributions made daily by thousands of Elvira Whittens,” the Senator continues. “All across America, extraordinary and devoted men and women teach, and also shape and inspire, our children … We all benefit if in our society as many young Americans as possible reach their full potential.”

Which, Cash told the Scholars, is where they and the thank-you cards come in.

“I encourage all of you to take a moment to write to and thank a teacher, a coach, or a mentor that made an impact on your life the way Elvira Whitten did for Senator Mitchell,” he said.

Sunday is for Community Service

Evidence of community impact has been a steadfast hallmark of the Mitchell Scholar selection process — and MILE programming. So, after another hearty breakfast, Scholars boarded a NEOC bus bound for the south entrance of Baxter State Park, where a group of rangers awaited to shuttle them to the sites of their community service projects: either delivering and spreading new loads of gravel to campsites and paths at Daicey Pond Campground or getting six cord of firewood stacked and stored for next summer's use at Kidney Pond Campground.

Before launching into the morning's work, Baxter State Park Supervising Ranger Bruce White thanked the Scholars and the Institute staff for their annual contribution to maintaining the park for public use, saying their work "will benefit the park and its visitors in the coming year."

Parting Shots

A Scholar makes her feelings about her first MILE known on a foggy bus window.

Jean-Daniel Liwanga, the 2020 Scholar from Baxter Academy for Technology and Science and junior Computer Science major at the University of Southern Maine, does a backflip before boarding the bus from Baxter back to NEOC.

Deklin Fitzgerald, the 2022 Scholar from Oceanside High School and first-year Media Studies major at the University of Southern Maine, captures the riot of color around the New England Outdoor Center after paddling the Penobscot.

Annie Bickerstaff, the 2022 Scholar from Central High School and first-year student at the University of Maine, takes in the peak foliage from the shore of Millinocket Lake on Saturday evening.

“I’m just sitting here taking it all in and feeling so thankful for this,” Bickerstaff said. “I look forward to the possibility of being here again next year with my sister.”

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Footnotes

The Mitchell Institute thanks volunteers Kate Durost '03, Alfine Nathalie '08, Elyse Pratt-Ronco, and Larry Ronco for their many labors and supports throughout the weekend. We're also grateful to the New England Outdoor Center proprietors and staff for making Scholars feel welcome with their fine food, superb accommodations, and gracious hospitality. Finally, we thank the Ranger Staff of Baxter State Park for providing Scholars with meaningful and fun community service activities that will benefit the Park's visitors in the coming year.

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