| Navigating The Real World

Hussein Ahmed Intro

Hussein moved to the U.S. from Somalia in 2001 and settled in Georgia. In 2002 he moved with his family to Lewiston, Maine. Hussein is currently the owner of a store in Lewiston, Barwaqo.

Posted: 08/30/2010 - 09:25

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

Why he started his business

Starting a business is challenging at first

Assistance from Coastal Enterprises with advice, and later, with special financing

Expanding his products and serving the needs of his community

Halal meats for Islamic community

What it takes to succeed in business

Mistakes new immigrant business owners make

Advice for immigrants starting a business

Views of clothing and food sections

Jason McIntosh Intro

Jason McIntosh is a Morse graduate who chose to attend a two year community college. He is 24 years old and working for the company that employed him after college.

Posted: 08/27/2010 - 19:46

by: maddywhalen

Other stories:

If I could redo high school...

Planning life after high school

Paying for College

Working at Woodex Bearing Company

Current job

Job Training

Owning cars and a house

Vehicle maintenance

Debt

Commuting to college

Balancing life

Morse High School memories

Brett Wickard Intro

Brett grew up in Illinois and came to Maine to attend Bowdoin College. When the record store in Brunswick went out of business in the 80s and Brett had no summer job, he decided to open up his own record store. At the last minute he found a location, ordered some CDs with money he had saved, and Bull Moose was born. Twenty years later there are ten Bull Moose locations in Maine and New Hampshire. Brett also runs Crickery Wood, a software development company in Portland.

Posted: 08/27/2010 - 16:26

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

How Bull Moose got started

Where the name 'Bull Moose' came from

How Bull Moose has stayed alive in a struggling economy

The future of music, movies, and video games

Bull Moose expansion through Maine and NH

Artists visit the stores and attract wild fans

Challenge: Trusting other people with important jobs

Working with very little money

Now is a great time to start a business

Advice for starting a business

Allow yourself to make mistakes

How his job has evolved over the last 20 years

Gabrielle Melchionda

Gabrielle grew up in Amherst, MA and graduated from UMass Amherst in 1992. As a junior in college she began making lip balm out of her mom's kitchen. By the time she graduated she was selling her products in 40 stores across New England. Today her company, Mad Gab's, sells natural bodycare products all over the world. Gabrielle shares the story of how she started her business, how it has evolved, and what she would do differently.

Posted: 08/20/2010 - 14:11

by: kjoseph

Other stories:

Starting a business and discovering her strengths

The evolution of Mad Gab's

Good advice for starting a business

Things she would do differently

Good advice: Learn to live within your means

Erek Gaines Intro

Erek grew up in Falmouth and attended Falmouth High School. After high school, Erek attended the University of Southern Maine where he majored in political science for his undergraduate degree. Erek then went on to earn his graduate degree in law at the University of Southern Maine. Today, Erek works for the IRS as a tax revenue officer.

Posted: 08/19/2010 - 14:49

by: vaydanatasha

Other stories:

Choosing the same path again

Advice on spending money for college

Who does well in college

Challenges of being a tax collector

Setting goals and knowing how to get there

If he could do high school over again

Jennifer Corey Intro

Jennifer grew up in Yarmouth and went to Yarmouth High School. After high school, Jennifer decided to go to Colby College in Waterville where she majored in english and art. Jennifer has worked as a manager at a fine arts supply store in Portland. She is planning on attending law school in Maine in the future.

Posted: 08/19/2010 - 14:29

by: vaydanatasha

Other stories:

Choosing Colby for a boyfriend

Good experience at Colby

Developing important skills at a liberal arts school

Was the cost of college worth it

Maintaining connections with people from your college network

Wishing she had taken a year off before college

The path where she is right know

Challenges of working in a small business

What she imagined for herself in high school

Falling into a certain job unexpectedly

If she had to do it over

Choosing one thing to excel at in high school rather than trying everything

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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
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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.

©2009 NavigatingTheRealWorld.org