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JMG Featured Alumnus:
Bobby Oliver
2006 JMG Graduate
Calais Area High School
“Sometimes, we may try our hardest and not achieve what we were hoping, but that doesn’t mean that we’re a failure.” That’s a life lesson that Bobby Oliver, a 2006 JMG graduate from Calais Area High School, learned from his JMG Specialist, Ed Leeman, when Oliver ran for Vice President of his Career Association and lost the race.
“Mr. Leeman runs the election by having us all write essays,” says Oliver, who was in Mr. Leeman’s JMG class his junior and senior years. “After we write our essays, he grades them, and then we read each one. However, the essays we are reading don’t have the names of the candidates on them. Unfortunately, I lost, but a great person won, and she did an excellent job. I was disappointed I lost, but Mr. Leeman pulled me aside, and offered me a position as Assistant Vice President. It was an honor.”
That was just one of many important life lessons that Oliver learned during his time in JMG.
“JMG helped me learn valuable skills for after graduation,” says Oliver. “I realized the importance of receiving an education. I realized that the opportunities were limitless. I could do whatever I wanted to do if I pushed myself.”
After graduation, Oliver felt his call to service, so he joined the Army. He says, “Since I was a young child, I’ve had respect for the military. After 9/11, I felt my country calling me. The news each day showed the horrors of Iraq and Afghanistan, and I could not live with myself if I did not answer my country’s call to serve.”
Oliver was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas, where he was a Chaplain Assistant. Oliver was deployed to Iraq for 15 months, and there he served as the Chaplain’s bodyguard. He also helped to create a place of calm for his fellow soldiers in a sea of tumult. “My job,” he says, “was to support the free exercise of religion for the soldiers in my unit. I was also there to help motivate them. It’s so hard being away from home and loved ones for so long. So I tried to bring pieces of home to the soldiers. I received lots of care packages, and would distribute many goodies to the soldiers in my unit. I also gave the soldiers a place to come and relax, put the military and warzone aside for a few moments, and just talk. It always brightened up my day when I could brighten up someone else’s day.”
When he returned home, Oliver decided to take advantage of the G.I. Bill to further his education. He enrolled at the University of Maine at Machias, where he began a course of studies in Elementary Education. To gain experience, he volunteered and worked as a substitute at a local elementary school. While in school, Oliver began to look for employment. He went to the Machias CareerCenter to explore his options and ended up being hired.
“Little did I know how valuable this office would become to me,” he says. “I was offered a job as a Summer Youth Counselor working with the Young Mainer’s Summer Employment Program. We were responsible for putting youth to work at businesses all over Washington County. I was their supervisor and would visit them, offering career advice and helping them with their work experience.”
After his summer job, Oliver took advantage of the V.A.’s Work Study Program. He worked at the CareerCenter again, this time as a receptionist. “My work through the CareerCenter gave me lots of customer service experience,” he says. “It also increased my knowledge in areas such as resume writing, job interview skills, labor market information, etc.” At the end of the spring semester, the Career Center offered Oliver another job as a consultant for the Re-Employment Services Program. “I work with unemployed workers, teaching them valuable skills for their job search experience,” he says. “My goal is to help them get back to work as soon as possible by giving them the necessary tools to be successful in their job search.”
Oliver discovered a love of helping people from his CareerCenter jobs. He has since changed his field of study from Elementary Education to Behavioral Science. “My work with the CareerCenter has been so rewarding,” he says, “and I owe my success to the Jobs for Maine’s Graduates program. If I hadn’t been in JMG my junior and senior years of high school, there’s no telling what I’d be doing right now.”
He also has high praise for his former Specialist, Mr. Leeman. “Mr. Leeman is an amazing person and he is awesome at the job he does,” says Oliver. “He takes the time to help each student in the program. He made us work hard so that we could develop a work ethic that would stick with us after graduation. He pushes for excellence, knowing that our future bosses would push for excellence as well. It was an honor to be in his class.”
In his spare time, Oliver enjoys hiking and running, especially in the woods. He is also very active in his church.
Oliver has some words of wisdom for current JMG students, having been in their shoes just a few years ago. “To those in high school, and those who are about to graduate, I’d like to offer some advice: If you think there’s something you’d like to do, go volunteer to see if it’s truly what you want to do. Do your research. Talk with as many people as possible in the field you’re interested in, and make sure it’s what you want. It’s your future, and you should make the best of it. Whatever you do, you can excel if you put your heart and mind into everything you do. Good luck!”
JMG Featured Alumnus:
Jared Mcreavy
2001 JMG Graduate
Northern Penobscot Tech. Region III
Computers and cars. Those are two of 2001 JMG graduate Jared McReavy’s passions in life. McReavy, who graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln and attended JMG classes at Northern Penobscot Tech. Region III, was a student of JMG Specialist Marie Hope during his senior year of high school.
“Ms. Hope was great, says McReavy, “very fun to be around and willing to assist students in growing as individuals. She helped us cope through hardships during school and motivated us along up through graduation.”
While in JMG, McReavy says he learned how to write an effective resume, gained experience through work-study programs, and learned the value of community service. He says he also really enjoyed participating in JMG’s Career Development Conference.
“JMG is an incredible program for kids in high school,” says McReavy. “It helps to guide kids who do not have goals or know what they want to be when they get older. It also helps those who do know, to figure out how to get there. JMG should be a required course for every student. I would bet that more students who graduate from JMG have a higher success rate in life than those who do not.”
After graduation, McReavy spent a few years in the Army stationed at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs, CO as a Light Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic. After that (here’s where the computers and cars come in) he held mechanical and customer service positions at V.I.P., Wal-Mart, Sears, and TBA, Tires Batteries & Accessories, a customer service position at Microdyne, and a position as an Escalations Manager for Dell.
But it was while he was working at Sears as a Service Writer that McReavy found his true calling. McReavy says his customers “kept telling me I should sell cars as I was very polite and good with people.” Fast forward a few years, and that advice turned out to be spot on. McReavy is now a Sales & Leasing Consultant for Prime Honda in Saco, which is part of the Prime Motor Group.
“I work with customers on a daily basis and help them get into vehicles they want at a price they can afford,” says McReavy. “That’s what I love about my job.”
So what is it like working for Ira Rosenberg (CEO of Prime Motor Group)? Is he just as nice as he seems in his TV commercials? McReavy says yes; “He’s incredible! Ira is the best boss I have ever had. He’s very personable. He is around and willing to help people.”
Once, in a letter to Rosenberg, a customer wrote of McReavy that he was “incredibly professional and polite” and that Rosenberg “should hire more people like him.”
“It was the biggest compliment I’ve ever received,” says McReavy.
McReavy’s future goals include taking online courses for Business Management so he can someday either have his own business, or move up within Prime to Sales Manager and then eventually to General Manager. In his spare time, McReavy enjoys playing on his computer, building computers, building furniture, and outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and going to the beach.