12,000 Reasons to be Grateful
What a Year!
As 2022 comes to an end, we want to share how proud we are of our more than 12,000 JMG students and how excited we are for all the opportunities ahead in 2023.
We have highlights from the launch of our Maine Career Exploration Badge that offers Maine high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to participate in 40 hours of meaningful work experience and earn an academic award of $500. We are proud to share stories of our students’ career exploration and shine a light on our students who give back to their communities.
JMG celebrated our first three students to complete the Maine Career Exploration Badge! Abby Reed, a student at Bath Regional Career and Technical Center; Jesse Taggett, a student at Caribou High School; and Maggie Allen, a student at Machias Memorial High School, presented their experiences to JMG’s Board of Directors. You can watch their stories here.
When Evergreen Lanes and their Rendevous Restaurant in Caribou needed 200 custom pizza pans, they turned to Caribou Tech Center and our JMG students. The students in the welding program got to work and utilized a plasma cutting table for the pans.
Morse High School JMG student Elijah Wallace, working on the Maine Career Exploration Badge and interested in pursuing a career in video production, gained experience running the camera with Groff Video during a Voice of Hope documentary series production.
ND Paper hosted JMG students from Telstar High School, where they toured the mill and gained insight into how the mill and their machines functioned. ND Paper was a wonderful host and invited the students to participate in a question-and-answer session following the tour.
Morse High School JMG student Shamica Williams is soaring to new heights as she works to earn her Maine Career Exploration Badge. To help her, New England Aviation Academy gifted Shamica an introductory flight to support her aspirations of becoming a pilot and serving in the U.S. Air Force. Shamica’s instructor Tony even let her fly the plane for a few minutes.
JMG students at Fort Fairfield Middle/High School created a positive impact in their community. They held a JMG Stuff the Bus Food Drive and with community support, collected food, household supplies, toiletries, and raised funds for the Basket of Blessing Food Pantry.
Cony High School JMG students collected more than 2,000 boxes of cereal for the Augusta Food Bank for their third annual cereal drive. The food bank has not needed to buy cereal for two years because of the students’ efforts allowing it to use funds for other critical food items.
Marwo Sougue, a JMG student and nursing major at the University of Southern Maine, received the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award for her work with Maine youth. Marwo grew up in Djibouti and came to the United States five years ago, and joined JMG while at Portland High School. Through her community work, Marwo tackled youth homelessness and continues to be a leader in her community.
We are grateful for our partner schools, supporters, local businesses, and the incredible people across Maine who support our students and provide opportunities to help them put the skills they learn through JMG into action.
Let’s continue helping Maine students thrive. Together, we can create a lasting impact.
From all of us at JMG, Thank You!