Growing up, Amy had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. But when she wasn’t accepted to her first-choice college, she felt her future had vanished in an instant. It was her mother, a UMA alumna, who encouraged her to consider the University of Maine at Augusta.
What Amy discovered was an affordable, accessible education that opened doors she hadn’t imagined.
“This is where I was meant to go,” Amy recalls.
At 19, Amy was balancing college coursework with full-time employment, starting her career at the bottom of an organization. Through her experiences at UMA, she began to recognize her own potential. Supportive professors, diverse classmates, and practical learning opportunities gave her the knowledge and confidence to imagine a different future.
“Through my time at UMA, I quickly realized that I could be a leader,” she says. “My classes and my peers and my professors and everybody kind of gave me that confidence and pulled back that curtain of what was possible.”
That foundation helped Amy build a career spanning nearly 25 years before she took another leap and started her own company. Today, her passion for workforce development reflects the opportunities she discovered through her UMA education.
And her connection to UMA is just as strong today. Amy remains engaged with the university, drawing on its resources and professional network while helping introduce new generations of students to opportunities they may not yet realize are within reach.
“I think the common theme throughout my adulthood has really been around possibility,” Amy reflects. “Coming in with no plan, and leaving with a plan and the options that UMA was able to show me, made a huge impact in my life.”
Amy’s story is a powerful reminder that a UMA education is more than a degree. It’s about building confidence and creating opportunities that can last a lifetime.