NMCC student selected
to participate in leadership institute
PRESQUE ISLE – Northern Maine Community College student Mariah LeMieux-Lupien is among 28 women from across Maine selected to participate in a summer institute designed to empower and encourage college women to become politically active and to take on leadership roles.
Mariah LeMieux-Lupien
The second-year student from Presque Isle, who will graduate from NMCC in 2011 with an associate degree in computer-aided drafting and a certificate in residential construction, will participate in the Maine National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership Summer Institute on the University of Maine campus in Orono June 3-8.
The program, co-sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, is an intensive six-day residential program that includes workshops for students to actively develop leadership skills, such as public speaking and networking, as well as presentations from politically active women throughout Maine. In addition to guest presenters, LeMieux-Lupien and her fellow participants will also benefit from the faculty-in-residence, a group of women public leaders who serve as mentors for students throughout their stay.
“Finding out that I was selected was very exciting. It’s a big honor to be chosen when the process is so competitive,” said LeMieux-Lupien. “My hope is to develop stronger, more effective communication skills. I’d like to increase my leadership skills and apply them to help my family and my community. I feel that NMCC has had a great impact and is a big reason I was picked. I’m grateful to my instructors and classmates who have helped me grow as a student and a person.”
Maine NEW Leadership is a program open to undergraduate students enrolled in any Maine college or university and Maine residents enrolled in out-of-state schools. Program coordinators are committed to including women from diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, racial and educational backgrounds in each annual session.
According to NMCC computer-aided drafting instructor Pam Buck, who encouraged her student to apply and supported her application with a letter of support, LeMieux-Lupien will bring as much to the program as she will receive in return.
“Mariah is a very dedicated student here at NMCC and always strives to deliver her best work. This summer leadership program will allow her to be involved with successful women leaders and to increase her awareness of the importance of being an active participant in civic and community service,” said Buck. “I know she will bring this added knowledge and experience to share with us in the classroom next year and use it to shape her future career.”
LeMieux-Lupien has been actively engaged in both the NMCC campus community and the community at large. She is a member of the NMCC Student Senate, serves as treasurer of the campus chapter of the international Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, is a volunteer tutor in the Academic Success Center, and represents the student body on both the NMCC Foundation Board and the newly formed Alumni and Friends Association. She is a member of the local Hand to Hand Garden Project, which involves growing organic vegetables and donating the produce to the local soup kitchen and homeless shelter, and is currently working with the Aroostook Branch of the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross to coordinate a first responder emergency training seminar this coming fall.
After graduating from NMCC next spring, LeMieux-Lupien plans to continue her education, eventually earning her license as a home inspector. Additionally, she hopes to design affordable green homes.
