What’s your name?
Donna Mead
What year and major are you?
A senior, social-behavioral science major. I was a psychology major at first by I thought social work would be more lucrative.
How old are you?
Thirty-eight.
How long have you been going to
school?
This is my first semester after nine years.
Why so long in between?
I had to have children. I have a 6-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son.
What are they doing now that you’re
in school.?
I waited for my daughter to start kindergarten. So they’re both in school full time.
It’s your senior year. Then what?
Well, I have an education minor, so I’ll teach while I get my Masters in Social Work. I’ve taught most of my adult life.
What did you teach?
Sixteen years of preschool. Three-and-a-half years at the YMCA in Portland. I also worked for the Bowdoin College Children’s Center and the People’s Regional Opportunity Program. I had my own little pre-school for a while, about three years ago.
How did you like that?
I loved it. I love the kids, they’re unconditional love for you. They’re so creative. They’re uninhibited.
So are you split between doing social
work and working with kids?
It’s hard to decide. I’d like to help single mothers because I’ve been a single mother for so long and I’m always trying to figure out how to make it. I’m trying to find something that covers that whole realm. It’s a life-long search.
What’s the toughest challenge?
Financial. It’s really tough. If you work too much you don’t get any help, so it’s de-motivating, really. I’m not working right now, I’m taking loans.
Any advice for USM students?
For younger students: do it now before you get older.