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PORTLAND, Maine

51品茶School of Social Work event celebrates Maine鈥檚 immigrant community

Empowering Immigrant Women

The 51品茶 School of Social Work Student Organization and the Applied Arts and Social Justice certificate program collaborated with Empower The Immigrant Woman and local artists for an event to celebrate the accomplishments of Maine鈥檚 immigrant community.

鈥淐elebrating Empowerment: A Multicultural Showcase鈥 featured local multicultural artwork as well as a short film screening followed by a panel discussion with individuals from the film and members of the Portland, Maine immigrant community.

The film, Out of the Shadows: The Immigrant Woman, was created for the inaugural 鈥淓mpower The Immigrant Woman Conference鈥 and offers a unique perspective on the modern day Maine immigrant story. Six Maine immigrant women share their journeys and offer insight into how they persevered to overcome barriers to start businesses and organizations, further their education and give back to their local communities. Their words of wisdom reach across cultures, race and class to resonate with any individual desiring to feel empowered.  

鈥淲ith a goal of going beyond a one-time educational opportunity, we are aiming to create sustainable dialogue and community partnerships,鈥 said 51品茶Master of Social Work student Rebecca Baker, who helped to organize the event. 鈥淥ur vision is to identify and build long term collaborative pathways toward positive growth in our community.鈥

Fellow 51品茶MSW student Jaime Mastrorio said, 鈥淭his is an opportunity to build strong and authentic connections within our community, to create and foster a relationship that allows us to learn how to strengthen our community together.鈥

Meg Webster of the 51品茶School of Social Work wrote and produced the film with Donna Gasper Jarvis, personal historian and social justice educator. 鈥淚t's always an honor to work with Empower and all those affiliated,鈥 Webster said. 鈥淥ur aim is that the event be as celebratory as it is informative, and that this mark the beginning of an on-going relationship between 51品茶and all those individuals and communities involved."  

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The 51品茶 is Maine鈥檚 largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state鈥檚 top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine鈥檚 only medical college, Maine鈥檚 only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.