By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

South Portland High School teacher Jennifer Major didn’t believe her students when they told her several weeks ago she was nominated for the Sentry 2009 Great Person Award. Thinking it was a prank, Major asked to see written proof.

The students produced a copy of the newspaper and showed Major the nomination form with her name on it, along with names of nine other candidates, including two husband and wife teams.

“I was in shock. I thought they were just joking me,” Major said.

“I’m glad to hear that Jennifer has been selected as the Great Person of South Portland,” said South Portland High School Principal Jeanne Crocker. 

“She is a great person and there will be many who will be happy with that selection.”

Last week, Major learned from her nominator, Tom Biskup, that she had won the award.

“I feel extremely honored. I was actually quite surprised. It feels good,” Major said.

Biskup is a 2008 South Portland High School graduate and currently a sophomore at the University of Maine at Orono, where he is majoring in elementary education with a concentration in special education. Major strongly influenced his decision to go to UMO and study education, Biskup said.

“She definitely deserves it. She does so much stuff that really goes unnoticed. But it’s very important to the students at South Portland,” Biskup said.

Biskup nominated Major, a Portland resident, for “her commitment to bettering the lives of students as an educator and more importantly, a caring person to all.”

A native of Moscow, Idaho, Major graduated from the University of Maine  at Orono in 1999 and spent four years teaching at Ellsworth High School. For the past seven years, she has taught United States history to sophomores and advanced placement U.S. history to juniors at South Portland High School. 

Major wanted to go to college in the east because she describes herself as a “history nerd” who wanted to be “where U.S. history began.”

She selected UMO in particular because she learned about Maine native Joshua Chamberlain when she read a book called “Killer Angels” in high school. Chamberlain is one of the lead characters in the book. Chamberlain, a Brewer native, was a Civil War general who turned the tide in the Union’s favor at the battle of Gettysburg. He later served as president of Bowdoin College and governor of Maine.

“I just really became fascinated with Joshua Chamberlain and his role in the Civil War and Maine,” Major said. “So I applied to Maine because of Joshua Chamberlain and then I ended up coming here. I miss Idaho at times. But I’ve made some really strong friends and I love my job,” Major said. 

“I’m really blessed to be here. The ocean’s growing on me.”

Major has accumulated many good teaching experiences throughout her career, she said. Her favorite occurred three or four years ago when she worked long and hard with a student who was struggling to qualify academically for graduation.

“I told him I wasn’t going to give up on him,” said Major. “When he graduated, he gave me a big hug and said he couldn’t have made it without me.”

Outside the classroom, Major spends many hours volunteering time to help and support her students.

She finds it especially gratifying to mentor students about the college application process. Major has helped many students get admitted to post-secondary institutions and she always enjoys hearing about their success after high school. 

Major is the adviser for the Interact Club, the teacher liaison for Project Graduation, senior class adviser, a sophomore class team leader and a member of the school’s leadership team, which is comprised of administrators, teachers and the student council president.

The leadership team is a core group that helps make decisions about where the school is going, Major said.

“Throughout my high school years, she was very involved in activities,” Biskup said. “She’s always been someone you can go to for advice.”

She also attends many school-sanctioned extracurricular activities involving South Portland High School students.

“Ever since I started teaching I knew a part of it was not just in the classroom but supporting kids outside the classroom,” Major said. 

“They bring a smile to my face every day. They make it different every day. They make it challenging but at the same time really rewarding.”

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext.237, or news@inthesentry.com.