USM Student Takes Schoolhouse Arts to New Heights

Editor's Note: Monty can be reached at home at 207-642-4228. Professor Tara Coste can be reached at Lewiston-Auburn College at 207-753-6596.

Sometimes, one person can change a piece of the world, and sometimes, they even get recognized for doing it.

Susan Monty, a resident of Standish and a student at the University of Southern Maine's Lewiston-Auburn College (LAC), has given the Schoolhouse Arts Center in Standish a new lease on life and has received national recognition for this service to her community. Monty is a finalist for the Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award, given by the Campus Compact Program. Established in 1985, Campus Compact has the mission of helping students develop the values and skills of citizenship through active involvement in public and community service. Her work for the Arts Center exemplifies the interaction of classroom and real-world experience that is the goal of service learning.

A major in Leadership and Organizational Studies, Monty’s course work at LAC engaged her in efforts, including a business plan, then a fund-raising campaign, to revitalize the under-budgeted arts center. In this rural area, the Schoolhouse Arts Center is a vital cultural resource, providing education in the arts to children and adults and producing musicals and plays. For a course in "Organizational Theory," taught by LAC professor Tara Coste, Monty wrote a budget analysis for the Schoolhouse. For another USM course, "Managing Organizational Change and Development," taught by professor Marvin Druker during the spring of 2000, Monty wrote a strategic change plan for the organization.

Last summer, she decided to go further in her efforts for the nonprofit. She designed a more energy-efficient and esthetic renovation for the facility and then approached area businesses and individuals to seek funding for the project. She has been able to get three rooms sponsored, as well as a new computer and printer donated by four area businesses. These donations acted as a catalyst, bringing in other donations of cash, labor, and equipment to help get the building painted. Monty is seeking more room sponsors this summer and expects to be able to move forward with two more rooms in August.
Last semester she set up a new accounting system for Schoolhouse for an accounting course. She is now the volunteer treasurer for the center.

Although a request she wrote to the National Endowment for the Arts for $10,000 to
expand the Summer Arts Camp was turned down, she was successful in getting a $2000 scholarship grant through the Maine Community Foundation to enable low-income families to enroll their children. The arts camp is serving more than 80 children this summer.
As a project for another LAC course, "Applied Social Policy," Monty wrote a bill for the state Legislature, the "Child Support Assurance Act," wrote testimony to support it, and found a sponsor. Then she served an internship in the Maine Women's Lobby and the Women's Development Institute to continue to work on passage of the bill, which has been held over for the next session.

Monty, now in her Senior year at USM, was chosen as one of 18 people nationally, including six award recipients and 12 finalists, to be listed in a brochure that will be distributed by the Points of Light Foundation.

Each year, the presidents of member institutions are invited by Campus Compact to nominate one student for the prestigious Swearer Student Humanitarian Award. President Richard L. Pattenaude selected Monty, saying, "Susan Monty has truly made a positive difference in people's lives through her service projects.”

Campus Compact named the award in honor of Howard R. Swearer, the 15th president of Brown University,1977-1988, and a founder of Campus Compact.