An Interview with Sarah Bushey, Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator at the University of Maine at Presque Isle
Dr. Sarah Bushey serves as the Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) Coordinator at the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI). Her role connects UMPI students with community-based career exploration and paid work experiences outside the classroom. The opportunities can be on campus or with a local business or organization off-campus. As an institution, UMPI has also been collaborating with Presque Isle and Caribou high schools to ensure these same opportunities are available to high school students for credit.
What is something you love about your job?
The most rewarding part of being an ELO Coordinator is seeing the relationships between students and mentors blossom. Students gain so much confidence from working with a professional in their field, and mentors learn new things from students and often discover that students exceed their expectations in terms of expertise and work ethic. In the case of college students, they often experience anxiety at being away from home especially in the first year. Having a mentor working closely with them and guiding them professionally and personally can make all the difference in whether a student chooses to continue to pursue a degree. It’s also really amazing to see how students grow and become more confident when working with a mentor that is invested in their journey. With some students, the difference between the beginning and the end is like night and day!
What do you often tell businesses about creating a successful work experience for a youth?
I do ask them to be aware that they will need to work around the student’s schedule. Flexibility is very important to students in college, who are often balancing a full course load with a job or other duties. Many of our students are non-traditional and have children in addition to a job, or an elderly family member that they care for. The flexibility in scheduling is one of the most attractive aspects of the work experiences that we are able to offer students.
What are things you think employers can do to make the work experience positive for both them and the student, like setting expectations?
Being upfront with expectations for what you expect the student to be able to do and having a conversation with the student about whether or not they feel comfortable with the expectations is very important. I have my students work with their mentors to create a short syllabus with contact information, professional and personal goals of the student, and a ‘site plan’ that describes what the student will be doing and what they will be learning. That definitely helps to keep the student and mentor on task and serves as a good starting point to guide the experience.
Tell us about the diversity of career options that you paired students with.
In the last year, I had two students (Environmental Science majors) working at a local salmon hatchery learning about the conservation of North Atlantic salmon and their life cycles, taking care of and sorting eggs, the safe release of salmon, and the challenges that go along with running a nonprofit organization such as fundraising. Two freshmen sisters have been working on art-related projects and teaching classes to the children that attend the Wintergreen Arts Center. Their final project involved recreating scenes in acrylic on canvas of children that participate in the art center’s programming. The stunning portraits hang at the arts center and parents are requesting to purchase them and commission the sisters to paint more portraits. A senior student majoring in computer science worked for a semester with one of our faculty members and the Climate Change Institute. His project was focused on developing software that empowers climate scientists to import data directly from ice core extraction equipment, expediting access to proxy data. He continued work on this project in an internship for the spring 2024 semester. A first-year education major was able to visit Hurricane Island for a week-long, immersive educational experience which included mentoring high school students from Presque Isle high school. This trip counted toward his 20 hours of required classroom observation for his EDU 152 course in the fall 2023 semester. Six other EDU 152 students were able to be compensated for their 20 hours of classroom observation as well.
“I have recently been able to see how closely related and important the salmon are to the ecology of Northern Maine. On at least two separate occasions, I have spotted wild deer near the hatchery, and the spotting of those deer made me realize how vital salmon are to ecosystems. Without them, many species such as black bear, seals, striped bass, etc. would be without food and result in larger ecological problems. The constant applying of different grants and raising of money is also a large challenge faced by the hatchery. Another challenge faced is ensuring the salmons’ safety in trying to spawn.” -Joe Ryan
“We wanted to show the kids playing and what the atmosphere was like at Wintergreen. My goal is to be a pediatric occupational therapist, so I wanted to get more comfortable working with kids. The best part of the ELO was the connections it gave us to the community. Starting off as freshmen who just moved up here and didn’t know anyone, it was great to work with people in the community who love art just as much as we do.” -Izzy Theriault
"The trip stood out to me the most because it solidified my career aspirations, and I am more determined to achieve my dream. I learned from the staff members and their unique teaching methods, which gave me a greater understanding that teachers do not just need to be in the classroom.” -Joey Doll
Are there work experience success stories you can share? Or something that surprised you, the student or the employer?
I had a senior student (Biology/Pre-Med major) who completed a job shadow at Northern Light Hospital on Dermatology during the final semester of her college career. Through this job shadow, she realized how much hands-on experience she lost in the medical field due to COVID restrictions in the classroom and it made her think very seriously about applying to medical school and the timeline she would need to have in place. Her job shadow was crucial to helping her understand what she needed to focus her time on in the year post-graduation and in the process of applying to medical school. This is just an example of why it’s important to get students into the field before they graduate, because there are things they learn from physically being in that work environment that they often do not get in the classroom.
Are there state or federal resources employers should know about?
Through the Maine Career Exploration Program and Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, Manpower Maine has funding for youth who are aged 16-24 work experiences (in a role of their choice) and compensate them for up to 75 hours worth of work.
For more information: https://www.manpowermaine.com/maine-career-exploration-program/
Aroostook County Action Program (ACAP) is offering employment, job shadowing, work experience for Aroostook County youth ages 16-24. It includes up to 130 in a job placement of their choice at $15/hour. Supportive monies are also available for travel, work clothing and other necessary work items.
FMI: info@acap-me.org or call 207-764-3721 ext. 213.
This is a great opportunity to get young people in your business and mentor them without having to worry about compensating them or working a new salary into a budget!
What are your suggestions for how a business can find young people to work for them?
Many high schools, community colleges and universities host job fairs throughout the year and workshops on career readiness topics that employers are often invited to speak at. It would be fruitful to locate the folks in the schools or colleges that are involved in college prep/career readiness for students and ask them what events might be coming up where you could connect with students. The vast majority of schools/colleges have someone that works with students to prepare them for life beyond school, whether it be a guidance counselor, an ELO Coordinator, a workforce development specialist or some other title. You can often find this information by looking at the institution’s website and following their social media accounts. Most of the information I find out about events happening locally is from following local educational institutions, chambers of commerce, and local/statewide nonprofits involved with education on Facebook and Linked In. The Maine Department of Education, Department of Labor, Jobs for Maine Graduates, Maine Career Catalyst, Maine Career Exploration, Live and Work in Maine, Educate Maine. FocusMaine and Junior Achievement of Maine are all great organizations to follow.
