Capt. Kearns, Hecker speak to WVII about Pathways to Engineering program

Capt. Sean Kearns, an officer in the United States Navy, professor of naval science and commanding officer of Naval ROTC at the University of Maine; and Jeffrey Hecker, executive vice president for academic affairs at UMaine; spoke to WVII (Channel 7) about UMaine’s new Pathways to Engineering program. A collaboration between UMaine and NROTC, the program is designed to be a stepping stone for students who might not be ready to enter NROTC, WVII reported. “This prep program will help improve those academic and life skills so they can go on to succeed at the NROTC program at UMaine,” Kearns said. “We’ll be bringing 10 students from around the country,” Hecker added. “These are bright, highly motivated students from around the country coming to study engineering or another STEM discipline. We’re providing a very generous scholarship, including room and board, for these students to come to the University of Maine for year one.” The students in the program will receive full NROTC scholarships for years two through five, similar to programs in other areas of the country, WVII reported. “UMaine’s program has jumped side by side with them and it’s actually going to be a little larger in scope, with 10 students that have already been selected and they’ve already accepted the offers,” Kearns said.