Photo by Christina VanHorn,
UNH Human Resources

Some people thrive at a structured four walled job. Luckily for Educational Talent Search, Debora McCann isn't one of those people. Liberated from the confines of a structured teaching job, Debora's schedule changes daily. Any working mother can agree, juggling a busy schedule is an act of hard work and going with the flow with rarely a dull moment.

Debora is the Middle School Coordinator for the Educational Talent Search program. Educational Talent Search is a statewide program that reaches out to limited income, first generation students. It helps them take the necessary steps to prepare themselves for college, while still early in middle school. "If you wait for students to get into high school, they may have already made a lot of decisions that have a negative effect on their chances of going to college," she says. "For lower income families it is not always an expectation for them to go to college and some students don't even think it's possible to go to college."

Debbie has first hand experience with that situation since she was the first of six children in her family to go to college. Growing up in Leominster Mass., she made the move to Plymouth University where she earned her bachelors degree in Physical Education. Immediately after graduating, Debbie found herself working at Upward Bound, a sister program geared to getting limited income high school students excited about college. After two years, she left to teach at Deerfield Community School. "In the back of my mind, I felt that I would return to that type of program again," she says. While teaching in Deerfield, she earned her Master's Degree in Educational Administration with the idea of returning to UNH. "When this position opened up I felt that it was the perfect position for me. After 15 years I was ready for a change." Debbie has now been at Educational Talent Search for seven years.

One of the reasons Debbie enjoys her job so much is because of the variety each day offers. She divides her time with a spectrum of people and tasks. "I love the variety of work that I do," she explains. "Every part of the year has different challenges." She can often be found in the office administrating and orchestrating events, organizing trips to colleges, and developing curriculum materials.

Debbie spends one day each week at Rochester Middle School and Henry Wilson Memorial Middle school in Farmington, working with groups and individuals in grades 6-8. "I need the ability to work well with lots of different people: middle school students, teachers and administrators, guidance counselors, parents, ETS Advisors, and folks here at the office," she explains.

However, Debbie finds common ground with all those she works with, relishing in the change of faces and places, "I love the variety of work that I do. I love spending time with my students in schools. I enjoy collaborating with peers here at UNH. I would not want to be sitting at a desk every minute of the day. I work very hard to balance my work life and my family life and this job allows this type of flexibility."

When she isn't working, her family is her biggest focus. "My greatest personal interest is my family. I have three children who are very involved in lots of sports and activities. I spend my time encouraging and supporting them."

No amount of praise can begin to quantify the work Debbie does at Talent Search and the impact she has on the students she works with. The intrinsic value of her work can be easily recognized on the faces of her students. "Recently I took some 6th graders to tour UNH. They had never been on a college campus before. They knew about them but never really visited one. Their eyes got so big, and you could see them thinking, 'I could do this! I could be here!' It was great," she says.