Congratulations to Courtney Allen and Samantha Townsend on their selection from a highly competitive pool of applicants with a diverse range of skills, interests, and life experiences to participate in the 2019 Maine National Education for Women (NEW) Leadership Institute!
Maine NEW Leadership Institute is an undergraduate leadership-training program. Through this six-day residential program, participants learn about the importance of women’s participation in public life and develop a greater sense of their own leadership potential, skills, and the opportunities in civic life and public office. This national program was instituted to address the underrepresentation of women in politics. Participants often emerge from the program empowered to become the leaders for tomorrow.
Courtney Allen is an Augusta native majoring in Mental Health & Human Services and Social Justice at UMA’s Augusta campus. The UMA junior states, “I will continue my studies into a master and doctoral degree. I used to know exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up – a drug counselor. I have always wanted to help people who use drugs. As I have progressed through my undergrad, I have been presented with many opportunities to redefine what help means to me. And what I have learned is that “help” comes in many forms and the barriers that people face to finding long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder are deeply ingrained into the systems of government. And this is why I have committed my life to public service. I will use my education to work in policy analysis and the non-profit sector.”
Samantha Townsend is a senior from Limington, Maine who has been pursuing her Dental Hygiene degree through UMA’s Bangor campus. Samantha’s future plans are “…to work in Maine as a hygienist…[and hope] to be involved with an ongoing push for dental care to be included in general healthcare plans rather than as a separate additional package. There is an increasing public awareness that oral diseases like gingivitis and perio contribute to systemic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, which gives me hope that insurance companies will have an interest in incorporating dental care as a preventive measure for total body care.”