MIDCOAST — Trekkers’ LEAP (Launching Empowered and Aspiring Professionals) is a program designed to help Trekkers’ students gain the real-life experience necessary to make informed decisions about their future. Spanning multiple years, the program provides the students with a wide-variety of professional experiences including mock interviews, a professional panel, a college and career expedition, and an internship placement to help prepare them for life after high-school by exploring post-secondary options and different careers.

Earlier in the year, 30 students from 10^th grade teams Beacon and Atlas participated in a workshop on resume writing, professional etiquette, appropriate dress, self-confidence and answering interview questions. At this workshop, each student created a resume to share with professionals from local community businesses who agreed to be mock-interviewers. The goal of these interviews was to provide students an opportunity in presenting themselves professionally to others.

This year local businesses and professionals who hosted mock interviews for Trekkers students at their workplace included: First National Bank, Target Marketing, Camden National Bank, Fisher Engineering, Allen Insurance and Financial, Scott Cunningham, Doug Erickson, Pat Mundy, Alice Preble, and Molly Hopper.

“Trekkers is thankful to all who were willing to provide this opportunity to these students,” according to Trekkers, in a news release. “The support of the business community is vital to the continued success of our programming endeavors.”

Regan Cahalan, from Allen Insurance and Financial, said in the release: “I was so impressed by all of the students. They all did a great job. We really enjoyed having them and they each handled themselves professionally. You guys are doing great work with them – it’s really amazing.”

Students expressed that the interviews allowed them to reflect on their individual strengths and challenges, according to the release. Each student received feedback on communication skills, body language, personal appearance, self-confidence, and resumes.

“The life skills that the students learn from this experience will provide a relevant context for reflection and increased clarity on future aspirations,” said Trekkers.  

Trekkers is a nonprofit organization providing a long-term program that connects young people with caring mentors and leverages out-of-classroom expeditionary learning to help them grow into resilient and responsible adults.

Trekkers was founded in 1994 as an outdoor-based, youth mentoring organization that now serves 240 seventh through twelfth-grade students from the Midcoast communities of Owls Head, Thomaston, South Thomaston, Rockland, Cushing and St. George.

In 2017, the Trekkers Training Institute was founded to train other youth development professionals throughout the state in the Trekkers model.

Trekkers can be reached at 207-594-5095 and www.trekkers.org.