In a surprise visit to the Ludlow Schools Board of Education meeting Thursday evening, Gateway Community and Technical College awarded Ludlow’s Director of Student Services, Jennifer McMillen, with its Pathfinder Award.
This award honors “the unsung heroes who provide students with mentoring and support as they make important decisions about their future,” said Gateway Senior Admission Advisor Maddi Kues, one of the Gateway staff members who presented McMillen with her award before the Ludlow Board of Education.
“I just have loved my 28 years here,” McMillen said.
McMillen, who quipped that she’s only had two other jobs besides her career at Ludlow, has served in a variety of roles in the district. She started as a special education teacher in the 1996-1997 school year and then served as the district’s high school counselor for about ten years before moving into her current role as director of student services. She will retire at the end of this school year.
Superintendent Mike Borchers, who is also retiring this year, projected a list of programs on a screen at the front of the meeting room for which McMillen had been integral, if not outright responsible, in her time as the student services director.
Some of the most notable programs included the district’s dual credit program with Gateway, whereby high school seniors could earn college credit while also taking their high school classes–McMillen didn’t have the exact figures in front of her, but she said that roughly 85% of high school seniors in the district graduates with college credit as a result of the program.
Other programs included the district’s Adopt-A-Class program, where local professionals visit classrooms to teach students about their respective industries, book vending machines in the school buildings, various clubs and social events, the entirety of the district’s social media outreach, the district’s newsletter, career exploration programs and the district’s after-school programs. She’s also served as the district’s grant writer.
“You’re talking millions of dollars,” in grant funding in the after-school programs alone, Borchers said. “Every single one of those things is something that this one person does.”
Shelby Krentz, Gateway’s director of early college opportunities, attributed much of the success of the district’s dual credit program as well as Gateway’s River City Network program, which introduces students to careers in IT and then helps them get on-the-job experience through co-ops, to McMillen’s efforts, saying her efforts served as a model for other districts to follow.
“Jenny has been a huge part in that from the very beginning,” Krentz said. “The whole river city network piece has come about because a large part of what you’ve done.”
McMillen said one of her favorite parts of her job is showcasing the students’ success on social media.
“I’ve really cherished that,” McMillen said, “and taking pictures and just knowing all the kids’ stories behind those pictures, but then also kind of spreading the good news of our district.”
“I always like to say that Ludlow is both my heart and my home,” McMillen said.
