Back in the day, the road to college could be cloaked in mystery. The guidance office was visited by appointment, and if one was shy and wary of adults, that meeting could end with no further understanding of higher academia. Encouragement with incentives, road trips to college campuses, and orientation beginning in the fifth and sixth grades were not a thing.

Zip-line to present time at Boothbay Region High School, where incoming freshmen are assigned one adviser for their four-year high school career, and Kerrin Erhard, college access counselor, has designed a program to guide students toward understanding the challenges of life after high school. “It's important to provide opportunities so students and their parents know what's out there,” said Erhard. “You know the old cliché, 'Knowledge is power.’”

Erhard, along with guidance director Brooke Newberg, and guidance secretary Heather Lorrain, form the heart of this effort, which is funded with a Maine Education Loan Marketing Corporation (MELMAC) Education Foundation grant called Connect Aspirations To a Plan. Part of MELMAC's intent, as posted on the foundation’s website, reads as follows: “The MELMAC Education Foundation is committed to supporting high quality initiatives that serve the purpose of increasing educational opportunities for Maine people. The Foundation believes that Maine people and the State of Maine will thrive in the new economy by providing access to the appropriate education, skills and training at all levels.”

Erhard found out about the grant while attending a conference, from someone who thought it might be perfect for BRHS. “I applied during fall 2015, and we were awarded a two-year grant for $18,000, or $9,000 a year.”

Operating under grant guidelines and creating inducements particular to Boothbay Region Elementary School and BRHS culture (see list of activities), Erhard works with late elementary school grades up through the high school senior class. She also enlists high school graduates to return to talk to seniors about what to expect during the next phase of their lives.

November is college application month, which means filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. Erhard was focused on getting students to do that. She had posted a large thermometer on a bulletin board, filling it in as students began to complete their FAFSAs. “In 2014, prior to MELMAC, about 19 percent filled out the FAFSA,” Erhard said. “Last year, after we were awarded the grant, 42 percent filled them out.” Twenty-one percent had applied by mid-November of this year, with at least five more expected to do so. On Nov. 22, Aspire Higher Day, teachers wore T-shirts or sweatshirts with the names of their alma maters emblazoned across the fronts.

The benefits of MELMAC are not only for those seeking to attend two- and four-year colleges. “There are no carve-outs,” Erhard said. All forms of higher education are important, including certifications, technical or community colleges, the military, or work specific to a particular vocation. “I will spend MELMAC money to take students to Bath Iron Works, or Hudson Brothers, or to beautician school to explore possibilities,” she said. She will also help students explore 'gap year' options, when students defer their college attendance by a year.

She accompanies students to both in- and out-of-state colleges, including, in Maine, Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, Thomas, University of Maine at Orono, Unity, and Maine Maritime Academy, and Emerson, Northeastern, and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Massachusetts. Students meet with admissions counselors and participate in different activities. Erhard said she's amused when BRHS students go into a beautiful college dining hall. “They could have anything they want, and they always choose burgers, pizza, and fries.” Another favorite activity is the Camp Kieve trip with sixth graders for a daylong leadership course, where they are paired with BRHS seniors. “To watch the sixth graders listen to the seniors is great,” she said.

Students also have online tools to assist them. “We use the Naviance software program,” Erhard said. “It's designed to help students navigate careers and their college pathways. It starts out with career exploration, has personality quizzes, suggests colleges, provides financial aid information, and so on. It's a great resource.”

Guidance counselors work with students in their homerooms on Wednesdays, during designated school-wide Connecting Opportunities Related to Education (CORE) time. CORE time is not exclusive to MELMAC programs but, as Erhard said, “We might use a session to talk to sophomores about the RAISE.ME scholarship fund, where they can earn micro-scholarships that would be accepted towards tuition from participating colleges.”

BRHS principal Dan Welch is grateful for what the MELMAC grant has done for BRHS, saying, “Our guidance department has made a concentrated effort to help raise student aspirations and to make post-secondary education more possible for years. Mrs. Erhard has done an outstanding job at connecting our students to options. As the principal, and the parent of a senior, I couldn't be prouder or more appreciative of this program.”

Graduating seniors who have been accepted and chosen their colleges announce their pick during “Decision Day,” held in the BRHS gym around May 1. The whole school assembles to hear the news. “It's important for all of the underclassmen to see, so they can understand that this is why they're in school,” said Erhard. “This is what we're trying to do, to formulate their future.”

Senior Molly Thibault already knows what she'll tell the school on Decision Day and she credits the grant with building her awareness regarding the importance of touring colleges before senior year. “Without MELMAC-sponsored activities during my junior year, I might have missed this opportunity. At Unity College I learned about their instant admissions day, which is like speed dating with an admissions counselor. By the end of the day I had been accepted. I can breathe easy because I know my plans for next year.”

MELMAC Grant-supported activities at BRHS