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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 J U LY 8 , 2 0 1 9 F O C U S A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E / C E N T R A L M A I N E Helping students turn a diploma into a job is so high-priority that omas College guarantees qualifying students will find employment within six months of graduating. Historically, it has a 94% placement rate in half that time. at's no small feat for a scrappy little school that gets more than half its rev- enue from tuition and fees, a world apart from more heavily endowed private col- leges, including nearby Colby College. Lachance says that while it would be easy to be overwhelmed by Colby's financial might and community foot- print, omas College also does its part, mainly by placing paid interns with local businesses through its Harold Alfond Center for Business Innovation. "at's an enormous gift to the region because it's future workforce," she says. Setting out to 'break the mold' Sitting in her office with a wall plaque that reads, "If you're lucky enough to be living in Maine, you're lucky enough," Lachance shares how she sought to "break the mold in higher education" at omas College. She's the institu- tion's fifth president as well as the first woman and alum in that role. She earned an MBA at omas. As president, Lachance started by having concrete walls in the administra- tion building replaced with glass, and added a candy jar to lure students inside. Every year during orientation week, new students come into her office to sign a matriculation book, a tradition carried out at other schools and adapted by Lachance at omas. Signing takes on greater meaning for the two-thirds of omas College students who are first in their family to go to college, many from rural communities. "ey become part of the history and realize the significance of it," says Lachance, a first-generation college student herself. Reflecting on her own under- graduate years at Bowdoin College, she recalls feeling out of place coming from humble roots in Dover-Foxcroft. "I could do the academics," she says, "but I didn't have the social networks." Even in tennis, where she could hold her own, she didn't have the right clothes or know proper etiquette like classmates from privileged backgrounds. at, in part, was the inspiration behind her idea to introduce free golf lessons to omas College undergradu- ate seniors and one-year MBA students. It's a six-week course that ends in a tournament with alumni and business leaders. Lessons are free for students who enroll in a networking course; they don't just master a sport, they also gain valuable business skills. "A lot of business takes place on a golf course, and if you've never had that in your history, you are at a disad- vantage," Lachance says, proud of the school's elective golf guarantee. "I'm not guaranteeing you're going to be a good golfer, I'm guaranteeing you're going to have an opportunity to put another tool in your career toolkit that you don't get at other schools." More than half of omas College students qualify for the job-guarantee program. It promises that students will find a job related to their major within six months of graduating, or get a break on student loans or tuition. Students also have to hold up their end of the agreement, formal- ized in a contract, by meeting strict academic standards and by registering with Career Services, taking part in professional development, writing and updating a résumé and performing community service. "If you do those things, guess what? You're highly employable," says Lachance, "It's the use of a carrot rather than a stick." She says the school has rarely had to pay up in the program's 20-year history. "You don't just make that kind of promise haphazardly," says Ed Cervone, the new executive director of omas College's Center for Innovation in Education. "You do it because you know it's right and because you are producing graduates who are in high demand." Fast-track studies Despite having no state funding, omas College has been a leader among Maine educational institutions in offering free college-level courses to high school students that many public colleges now offer as well. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » OLD COMPUTERS CAN GO BACK TO WORK When your company donates its outdated technology, Goodwill creates jobs and keeps electronic waste out of landfills. Find out more: goodwillnne.org/Goodtech We refurbish computers, tablets, phones and peripherals, making technology aordable to everyone. 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