AUGUSTA -- Steeling himself for statewide competition Wednesday, Hall-Dale High School senior Phillip Willett said his school's Jobs for Maine's Graduates program made high school graduation possible for him.

"If it weren't for JMG, I don't know if I would, honestly, be in school right now," Willett said, looking professorial in a black suit and tie while attending the program's annual statewide Career Development Conference at the Augusta Civic Center.

School had been daunting for the 17-year-old Randolph resident.

But he said his advisers and other students encouraged him to continue during his three years in the program.

Willett will graduate with his class this spring after carrying a full academic load while simultaneously holding down a part-time job and taking adult-education classes at night to make up credits.

"If it were not for JMG, I don't think I'd be getting my diploma," he said. "At least not this soon."

Willett was competing Wednesday in two events at the annual competition: Imagination Station, in which teams create a sales pitch for a new product; and the Employment Triathlon, a standardized test of a student's job acquisition skills.

Dave Perron, Jobs for Maine's Graduates director of development, said the program touches the lives of about 2,600 students in 52 schools across Maine each year.

The program is also available in the state's two youth correctional centers and in Lewiston for homeless young people.

The program aims to teach students skills they'll need in jobs or in college, he said.

"Our business partners around the state say they can train kids. What they need is to have them employment-ready," Perron said. "Those are the skills we teach.

"But those skills are not just for the job market. They can use them in college as well."

Courtney Kern, 17, a senior at Messalonskee High School in Oakland who participated in JMG for just one year, said the program helped her connect with her community.

"It gives you the sense you can accomplish something good for people," Kern said.

She recalled participating in a effort to thank her teachers by baking 300 cookies for them. Students in her program also collected and delivered clothing to the Preble Street homeless shelter in Portland.

"It really was an eye-opening experience to realize how many people are in trouble," she said.

"JMG has helped me be more organized," said Kern, who has been accepted to Unity College. "I did not know how to write a resume when I got in. And it really helped me in my college application process."

Kern competed Wednesday in the Employment Triathlon.

Lacey Eaton, a Gardiner Area High School junior staffing her school's JMG booth at the conference with junior Jake York, said her school's program has opened the door to possible job prospects through its community service efforts.

"We did community service with the Boys and Girls Club which helped me a lot, because I want to work with children," Eaton said. "We have to do 60 hours of community service to graduate anyway, but JMG helps you get to that goal."

Waterville High School senior Sarah Stanton, competing in the Employment Interview and Group Challenge events, said she has been hired by a local car dealer after graduation.

She said she also plans to pursue a college education.

"Without some of the stuff I have learned, I wouldn't have gotten a job," Stanton said.

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com