The Planning Into Action
First Year
Turning
By Sandra Gauvin
On April 12, 2013, Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI)
held its public launch at the Mark and Emily Turner
Memorial Library in Presque Isle – the first step on its
mission to 1) help the young people of Aroostook County
realize their dreams of attending college and having a
successful career, 2) stem the outmigration of youth from
The County, and 3) give a much-needed boost to the
economy of Northern Maine. In the year since the launch,
many exciting things have happened.
The third leg of our stool was to work with Aroostook
County’s 16 school districts to help Aroostook Aspirations
become engaged with the student populations. Our mission
includes educating students about the opportunities that
are available to them in The County. The president, vice
president, and executive director of AAI have worked
extensively with superintendents, principals, guidance
directors, and teachers to ensure that all students are aware
of these opportunities.
The first goal was to create a strong board of directors made
up of successful, knowledgeable people from throughout
Aroostook County and the state of Maine. The board that
began with six board members has now increased to 24.
The honorary board, again made up of prominent leaders
throughout the state, has grown from three to 12. In
addition, Aroostook Aspirations has brought on board 12
strategic partners and continues to create strong partnerships
with other successful businesses throughout The County.
The next step was to add county collegiate partners. Today
all four of the county colleges (Northern Maine Community
College, University of Maine at Presque Isle, University of
Maine at Fort Kent, and Husson University) are strong
allies in the effort to help more students attend college
in Aroostook County. In addition, they have offered a
second-year scholarship equivalent for the Gauvin Scholars,
creating a “renewable” aspect to the initial scholarship.
Husson College has taken this generosity one step further
by giving $1,000 equivalent scholarship for years 3 and 4 to
students transferring from their first two years at NMCC to
Husson’s Presque Isle campus.
In addition, AAI’s many media partners throughout The
County and the state have worked diligently to help keep
the public informed not only about the economic and social
needs of Aroostook, but also about the efforts Aroostook
Aspirations continues to make in trying to address some of
these needs.
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SUMMER 2014
During the past year, Aroostook Aspirations attained 501
(c) (3) status, hired a dynamic executive director, created
several committees to help make the initiative stronger,
moved into a physical office space, created and expanded
a presences on the Web and in social media, was featured
in education segments on our local television statio