When you walk into Orion Hall on SMCC’s Midcoast Campus, you’ll be greeted by acrylic paintings, photographs, charcoal and pen drawings and other artwork hanging on the lobby walls. You’ll even find a very lifelike drawing of Jack Nicholson cackling in that maniacal way for which he is famous.

Students in drawing, photography and painting courses offered at our Midcoast Campus created these pieces of art. The diversity of the artwork illustrates the diversity of courses we offer at our campus in Brunswick.

At an Open House on campus this month, I was impressed by the variety of academic programs in which prospective and enrolled students expressed interest. Beyond our offerings in Nursing, Pre-Engineering, and Composite Science and Manufacturing, many of our Open House visitors were interested in Liberal Studies, Business Administration, Behavioral Health and other programs we offer.

As our Midcoast enrollment has grown, so have our academic choices — and students are jumping on board. We bring all the benefits of a comprehensive college closer to home.

Heidi Stevens, of Wiscasset, graduated Sunday with an associate degree in Business Administration. To earn her degree, Heidi took most of her core curriculum — the set of common courses required of all undergraduates regardless of their major — and her business courses at our Midcoast Campus in Brunswick and at our satellite center in Bath. (The Bath Center is closing in June and moving to the Midcoast Campus.)

Today, students can earn degrees in Liberal Studies, Business Administration, K-12 Education, and Behavioral Health and Human Services by taking all their courses in Brunswick.

Our Midcoast Campus offers classes in political science, psychology, philosophy, music, Spanish, creative writing, history, sociology, theater, painting, drawing and photography.

Being the ambitious person she is, Heidi Stevens also found opportunity at our South Portland Campus in earning a second degree, in Culinary Arts. But the best is yet to come.

Now, with both Business and Culinary Arts degrees in hand, she’s prepared to make a change of career when the time comes. Heidi, who is 50, hopes to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree and open a bakery and café, where she can apply the business and culinary skills she learned at SMCC. That’s what we’re all about — pathways to success for students, businesses and communities.

DR. RONALD G. CANTOR is President of Southern Maine Community College.

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