Associate in Arts, Maine Technical College Website

Gary McAdam

After 11 years of pro hockey, Gary McAdam, 44, of Portland, had learned a large degree about life. But he still didn't have a college degree. "Reality starts to set in," says Gar. "Just because you were a professional athlete doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have a job when you're done." Twenty-five years after leaving high school, Gary enrolled in the Associate in Arts program at Southern Maine Technical College. "To me," he says, "it's the biggest stepping stone I've ever taken."

Gary says his instructors helped him bridge life experience with classroom success. "The professors really worked hard with me. They didn't give me leeway, but if I had a problem I could go to them. And they want to hear what you say because you're coming from a different walk of life. They use my point of view in the classroom sometimes."

Ultimately, the program has allowed Gary to combine his career and educational goals. "Being an athlete, knowing the body, seeing injuries happen - it helped me decide I wanted to be a physical therapy assistant," he says. "So now I have a year's college under my belt and I'm hoping to transfer to an associate-degree program in physical therapy at another Maine Technical College. At 44, you don't have a lot of extra time to be playing around with school. And a two-year degree opens so many doors."

Norma Watson

Norma Watson, 36, of Presque Isle, had taken just enough university courses to get her "feet wet" and her heart set - she knew she wanted to become a social worker. But with family expenses tight, Watson needed a creative solution for getting her bachelor's degree. When she learned that her alma mater, Northern Maine Technical College, was offering a General Studies degree, she jumped at the opportunity.

"As long as my core courses transferred, I didn't see how I could go wrong," says Norma, who also holds an associate degree in Building Technology from NMTC. "Tuition is so low. And the schools are working hand-in-hand so it's going to be transferable. It's wonderful."

Not only does Norma hope to continue her undergraduate studies at the University of Maine, she also hopes to continue to the graduate level in social work. "It might be a real long-term goal," she says. "But I like it that I can start at a technical college and end up with my masters!"

Shea Brown

Shea Brown, 22, of Waterville, led the adventurous life of a traveler in the years following high school. In between stints as a tree surgeon, Shea took two tours of Europe and traveled extensively in the U.S. "The more you get out, though, the more you realize there's a lot you don't know," says Shea.

He enrolled in the Associate in Arts program at Kennebec Valley Technical College in 1999 because, he said, "I had more questions than answers. It was a natural choice to go to school and be more active in my education."

The broad-based curriculum has allowed Shea the Adventurer to explore several different avenues - from biology to environmental science to physics. Currently, he plans to transfer to a four-year engineering program at a Maine university. "You find a road and it keeps branching off," says Shea, "and anywhere you want to go they have the pathway for you. Everybody's here because they made a decision to better themselves, even if they don't know what that means. It's just that first step toward something better."

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