Empowering the next generation of Maine . . . through aspirations, education, and effort.
There are dreams. They’re important. They give us hope for the future.
Then, there are aspirations. They involve a road that often starts with a dream and leads to a goal that you are proud of. It is rarely a straight road. A longer road often leads to more places and more opportunities. There is rarely a right road, even though many of us look for one. A well-chosen road is always challenging, hard work, fun, frustrating, and very rewarding.
You can dream to be Tom Brady from the couch. You aspire to be Tom Brady from your backyard with a football and some athletic shoes. You dream of being a vet by loving your dog. You aspire to being a vet by loving your dog and asking lots of questions on the next trip to the vet's office.
Since 1992, the nonprofit Maine College Circle has helped over 60,000 students in grades 3 - 6 in over 70 rural Maine communities along that road. For us, it is challenging, hard work, fun, frustrating, and very rewarding. There is so much more to be done to build a brighter future for these students and for their communities, and to build a healthier, more just, and more prosperous society.
Our work:
Opening Aspirations Statements
Aspirations Fairs
Aspirations Workshops
Aspirations Scholarships & Celebrations
Aspirations Circles
Each year, we provide Aspirations Workshops for over 1,500 students in grades 3 - 8 in over 25 rural Maine communities, we award roughly 250 Future of Maine Aspirations Scholarships annually, we provide informational resources to these students, we help young students explore their career opportunities through "Connections," and we do much more . . . all to help build a brighter future for rural Maine communities and to build a healthier, more just, and more prosperous society. As of June 2025, 4,591 Future of Maine Aspirations Scholarships have been awarded to 3rd through 6th graders in rural Maine.
We use the word "college" very deliberately, and define it very broadly. See how and why.
Maine College Circle • P. O. Box 1112 • Ellsworth, Maine 04605
mecc@mainecollegecircle.org