PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – This is both a chaotic yet rewarding time in the lives of Kenny and Amanda LeTourneau of Presque Isle. The husband and wife received their first college degrees May 16 from Northern Maine Community College, they soon hope to land their first jobs after college where they’ll put their degrees to use, and in early June the LeTourneaus will welcome their first son, who they plan to name Kaleb.
As they prepare for the coming changes, the couple is looking forward with anticipation to what lies ahead, and with great appreciation for a campus community that has been part of their family all along. In fact, since the LeTourneaus first enrolled at NMCC they’ve gotten married, welcomed their youngest daughter, Emilie, 2, (who joins her sister, Mackenzie, 4) into the world and prepared for their family to grow yet again.
Although going to college together sometimes made things easier, that wasn’t always the case.
“Our first semester, we took a lot of our general education classes together, which made it easier for traveling, since we commuted from Ashland at that time,” said Amanda. “Since then, we have had totally different schedules and routines, which can mean a lot of juggling with the kids.”
Time management has been especially important for both Amanda and Kenny. As a nursing and precision metals manufacturing student, respectively, the couple had to not only juggle the parenting of two young children and the work that goes along with being college students, but work extra hard to succeed in two intense educational programs, both of which demand a great deal of those enrolled.
“Academically, we helped each other with some of the general education core classes, but, overall, our programs are so separated from each other it’s hard to lend a hand,” Kenny said. “Nursing and the trades are so far removed from each other, in course work and even in their physical locations on campus; but as far as supporting each other emotionally – we definitely did.”
The emotional support that Kenny and Amanda extend to each other has been so strong that it saw the couple through Kenny’s 14-month deployment to Iraq that extended from January 2006 to March 2007. It was a difficult time, but one that only made the couple all the more determined to work toward their goals.
“It’s been very challenging. I withdrew for a while due to medical reasons when I was pregnant with Emilie and had to wait until the fall after she was born to return to classes. With small children at home and Kenny deployed during part of that time, mixed with tough classes, it was really difficult – but I have always wanted to be a nurse, so no matter how hard it got, I knew I wouldn’t give up,” said Amanda. “Although our course work is very different, Kenny has helped me a lot, encouraging me and making me feel better when things got tough.”
For his part, Kenny was less certain when entering the college what path his life would take. He was originally interested in entering an engineering program, but as often happens, life happens and plans change.
“I wasn’t sure what major I wanted when I first came to NMCC, so I tried some different things,” he said.
After trying a few courses, he settled into the precision metals manufacturing program, but upon his return from Iraq found himself out of sequence in the program. Rather than take a semester off from school, he started in the computer-aided drafting program and went back to finish in precision metals. He graduated with both an associate in applied science degree in precision metal manufacturing and a certificate in computer-aided drafting.
“Precision metals and computer-aided drafting really has a lot of the same elements that I liked about engineering – design, construction and application,” said Kenny. “I’m glad that it worked like it did, because I ended up being in one of the best programs in the state. And now that I’m done, I’m excited and ready to go to work.”
Although graduation from college marked a significant milestone for both Kenny and Amanda, the LeTourneaus didn’t plan a large-scale celebration to mark the occasion. Rather, the couple spent time after the ceremony as a family relaxing and enjoying time spent together with no papers due, tests to study for or classes to rush off to.
“It has been hard, especially for the kids, because they are too young to understand why their mom and dad have to do homework and study. But I think that us coming to school sets them up to do what they want to do. It shows them that there are no barriers. Stick with it, and you can do whatever you want to do,” said Amanda.
Young Mackenzie and Emilie got to share in their parents’ success and experienced firsthand that hard work does pay off, as they not only joined with Amanda’s mom in pinning her during the annual NMCC Nursing Pinning Ceremony, which happened the day before commencement, but attended the May 16 graduation ceremony, as well. The pinning ceremony signifies the nurses’ official entry into the profession.
