 Upward Bound recently held its career day at the University of New England campus in Portland. Theodora Calico gave her first official speech as the new president of the University of Southern Maine. Leslie was there and has this report. Well President Calico, you have just given your first official speech as the new president of USM to a room full of Upward Bound students. What a lovely message you gave. One of the things you said was to be quiet and listen. I think our politicians should listen to you when you say that. Well everybody should listen to me, but it's a really good recipe for success in life. And you also said that you found your calling was through public education, even though you had had a private school background. Tell us a little bit about that. I was at what's now the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and that was where my first real teaching in the United States was and I had no idea what to expect. And the students blew me away with their promise and their excitement and their potential for being just as accomplished and wonderful as any other students I had met in England or America or anywhere. So and they needed, they needed the chance. You know the ones that I had met before in private higher education would have all the chances. They had the chances. These people, these students were coming because they knew they weren't going to have that many chances and this was one for them. Well I think your message was encouraging for everyone who is here listening to it, not just the students, but everyone to say yes to opportunity. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And you've just done that by coming out of a two-day retirement? It was great. Retirement was excellent, but as I said, when the call came I was ready. I said yes to it. I can still give some things that people need to receive. Well you're not just ready, you're enthusiastic and we are thankful for your yes. Well I'm glad, I'm grateful that somebody asked. Thank you. Okay. Well I'm with Laurie Davis now who's the Executive Director of the TRIO program at USM. What is that Laurie? TRIO programs at USM are made up of two federal grant programs. One is Upward Bound and that is a program that serves low income and first generation meaning that the students' parents did not attend college or graduate from college and that program serves high school students in eight southern main high schools, Samford, Bideford, Massabesic, Sackopee Valley, Bunny Eagle and all three Portland high schools. And then the other program that I oversee is called Student Support Services and that serves students at USM, college students, and the goal is to ensure their success at USM and their graduation. So this is our career day where we have people from the community come in and talk about their careers and their career paths. President Calico just did a wonderful job sort of tracing her journey to become a college president which I think was really helpful for students. They often think in high school I'm going to be A, fill in the blank. And the reality of careers especially in this day and age is that it's a more meandering path and that you start out in one place and you go end up someplace else. It may have a connection with where you thought you were and it may not but she really told them to follow that and that was a great message. Well the room was full of students. Did you have to turn away students today? I mean it was packed. Our program our summer program is a federal grant we're actually obligated to provide a six-week summer program which for us is residential because our students come from a wide geographic area and that's part of the federal law and the federal grant that funds us. And so we have about 62 students in residence this summer. We also have other students that we who aren't living with us this summer they either have graduated from high school and are heading on to college and a wide variety of colleges from SMCC, USM, YCC, Bowdoin, University of Maine and Machias. Our students go everywhere. That's terrific. Well we look forward to seeing these students out there running our world someday. Yes and they will be. Thank you. Thank you.