Estimated reading time: 3 minutes There is a particular kind of confidence that comes not from being told you are capable, but from sitting across from someone who has walked your path and hearing them say: you are going to be fine. That is what MILE II is designed to create. This spring, 63 Mitchell… Read more »
News & Events
A 2025 Scholar Is Bringing Science to Maine’s Youngest Learners, One Experiment at a Time
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes Neja Jayasundara, a 2025 Mitchell Scholar from Presque Isle High School and student at the University of Maine, founded MindBloom Learning to bring interactive science experiences to young students in rural communities. Growing up in Presque Isle, Neja Jayasundara understood something that statistics would later confirm: students in rural Maine… Read more »
Mitchell Institute Announces Board Leadership Updates and New Members
The Mitchell Institute announced updates to its Board of Directors, including new leadership appointments and the election of three new Board members, effective January 2026. Abby Diaz has been elected Chair of the Mitchell Institute Board of Directors, with Tony DiSotto ’99, a Mitchell Scholar Alumnus and Maine Market President at KeyBank, elected Vice Chair…. Read more »
Mitchell Institute names Elyse Pratt-Ronco Scholarship and Development Research Manager
Jared Cash, president and CEO of the Mitchell Institute, announced that Elyse Pratt-Ronco has joined the organization as its new Scholarship and Development Research Manager. In this role, Pratt-Ronco will carry forward the Institute’s commitment to delivering data-informed practices and communicating the measurable impact of donor investments. As scholarship and development research manager, Pratt-Ronco supports… Read more »
From Morrill to the Maine Celtics: Mitchell Scholar Alum Madison Shorey Is Expanding Access to Youth Sports Across Rural Maine
Madison Shorey, Mitchell Scholar alum. Growing up in the small town of Morrill, Maine, Mitchell Scholar alum Madison Shorey felt the pull of home long before she ever left it. After graduating from Belfast Area High School in 2022, she became a Mitchell Scholar that same year and began a college journey that would take… Read more »