| Navigating The Real World

Jeff Fantine Intro

Jeff became interested in adult education through a part-time job in college. He has spent the last 23 years involved in adult education in different capacities and currently works for the Maine Department of Education as the Director of Adult Education and Family Literacy.

Posted: 08/12/2010 - 09:43

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

What attracted him to adult education

Different Adult Education programs in Maine

Maine is lucky to have community education

College Transitions building confidence and preparing students for all aspects of college life

Taking remedial classes through College Transitions

College Transitions a model for national programs

Students need help transitioning from one level of education to another

Common barriers to students in college

Who should think about College Transitions

Robert Haley Intro

Robert grew up in Falmouth, ME and graduated from Falmouth High School. He is a retired Sergeant Major with the Maine Army National Guard and worked as the Education Services Officer at Camp Keyes in Augusta. Robert earned his degree in business administration from Saint Joseph's College and a master's degree in counseling from Liberty University. He is now currently the Director of the Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans Education.

Posted: 08/11/2010 - 11:09

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

GI Bill benefits for children of disabled veterans

How to contact the Maine State Approving Agency

Using the GI Bill benefits for on-the-job training or apprenticeship programs

Post-9/11 GI Bill allows transferring of benefits to spouse or kids

Using GI Bill benefits at a private college or university

How he got his current job

Be ready and looking for opportunities

Dealing with challenges and growing from them

Prospective employers watch how you act with other people and for opinions

Advice on planning for the future and getting a job

Zark VanZandt Intro

Zark grew up in Michigan and attended Michigan State where he studied geography and education. After he received his Master's degree in counseling he worked as an elementary and high school guidance counselor. Zark went on to earn his Ph.D. in counselor education from The University of Maine and is currently a professor of counselor education at USM. He has also worked as the Dean of USM Lewiston/Auburn College and the interim director of the USM Library.

Posted: 08/09/2010 - 12:17

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

Teaching people how to explore different careers

The important process of making decisions

Things to consider when choosing a career

Different personality types and what that means for career choices

Using your skills to find a job

Big mistake: people don't value education

Another mistake: expecting people to make decisions for you

Pay attention to what is going on in the world

Soft skills needed for a good job

Most important communication skill

Don't avoid things because they're hard

Ways to stand out when applying for jobs

Building a network of people who can help you find jobs

What he would change about high school

Your career is much more than just your job

Learn from your mistakes and move on

Kim Jenkins Intro

Kim grew up in the Bangor area and went to Orono High School. After graduation she enrolled at the University of Maine at Orono where she soon realized that she didn't know what she wanted to study. She decided to take some time off to work and figure out what she wanted to do. When she decided to return to school she went to USM part-time studying communications and also worked part-time. After earning her Bachelor's degree she decided to stay at USM to earn her Master's in adult education. Kim moved to England with her husband for a few years before coming back to Maine and she is now the Assistant Dean of Student Services and Coordinator of the Student Success Center at the USM Lewiston/Auburn College.

Posted: 08/02/2010 - 15:14

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

The Student Success Center at USM

Academic counseling and career counseling at the same time makes sense

Trying out different careers before choose one

Start thinking about what you want to do early on

Tools for exploring what you want to do

There is no wrong path

Figuring out what you want to do takes work

Expect to have many different jobs within your career

Living in England and coming back to Maine

Try many different things

Biggest mistakes

Studying abroad

Whatever you decide to do make sure it is on purpose

John Scribner Intro

John grew up in western Maine and graduated from Mt. Blue High School. He went to Kalamazoo College in Michigan to study economics. After graduation he worked in Boston in a corporate job for two years before deciding to join the Peace Corps. He served for two years in Ecuador with the Peace Corps working with small businesses. He currently works for Coastal Enterprises, Inc. StartSmart program which helps refugees in the Lewiston and Portland areas start their own businesses.

Posted: 06/30/2010 - 11:31

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

Application process for the Peace Corps

Two years in Ecuador with the Peace Corps

Getting an MBA

StartSmart

Starting a business in a tough economy

A successful business started with help from StartSmart

Another StartSmart success story

Challenges faced by refugees starting their own businesses

Things to think about when starting a business

A few choices can direct your whole life

Find something you'll be happy doing and don't be afraid to take risks

Larinda Meade Intro

Larinda is currently the coordinator of the Maine College Transitions Program. Previously, she was in charge of the Bureau of Employment Services at the Department of Labor and co-directed the Portland Adult Ed program for 13 years.

Posted: 06/21/2010 - 11:44

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

The Maine College Transitions Program

Preparing adults for life in college

Challenges faced by their students

Skills needed to be successful in school

Including career exploration into the program

Success stories

A friendly place to prepare for college

Taking developmental/remedial courses at adult ed

Facebook Page

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Printed Edition PDF

The printed edition was delivered to all Maine high school students at the end of April.

Check it out here.

(The links are clickable.)

Our next printed edition will be out for the fall semester.

Tell your stories

Tell your stories and help current high school students:

1. If you are from Maine and in your 20s.

2. If you work with Maine people in their 20s.

Post your own stories
In video In text

Or interview interesting people for us:

Post interviews
In video In text

Features

How Jay Harper brings interviewing to the classroom

Jay Harper is the Freeport High School JMG Specialist. For months his students have been interviewing young professionals in career fields that interest them about their experiences since high school. Hear Jay talk about how the interview project is working in his classroom.

What not to do in an interview

It's pretty easy to interview someone for theDailyMistake, but Seth found five ways to screw it up before he got it right.

Our Sponsors

Meet employees of some of our sponsors:

NavigatingTheRealWorld.org is produced by Navigating the Real World, Inc., a Portland, Maine, based nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that will launch the companion publication, Navigating The Real World, in high schools all across Maine in Spring 2010. Our purpose is to gather and publish information and perspectives to help people in their teens and 20s navigate important life decisions and challenges - and to have some fun while we are doing this! Over the coming year we will roll out a range of new offerings using social media and other communication and information technology.

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