WINTHROP, Maine — When a teacher truly believes in a child, it can sometimes change the trajectory of their lives.
In Winthrop, third-grader John Burnham looks forward to a six-day summer camp in July at the National Youth Leadership Forum at Bentley University in Boston, Massachusetts.
His teacher, Mikayla Bourassa, noticed him excelling at lessons in science and engineering. John's parents, Heather and Jason Burnham, said John had simple taken off over this school year.
"He flourished when he started third grade," Heather said. "Ms. Bourassa has been absolutely amazing."
At Bentley, John will go through a week's worth of activities and instruction with children from around the region at NYLF: Pathways to Stem. A spokesperson for the program's parent company, WorldStrides, said NYLF has hosted 800,000 students for its various programs since 1985. Over the last three years, 130 Maine students attended one of the programs.
Bourassa said this is an amazing opportunity and will push John more than she could in their class setting.
"I think it will put him outside his comfort zone a little bit, but it also will really help him find his element and what he likes to learn about, and for his future as well," she said.
Bourassa's class also enjoyed a recent visit from members of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, who taught students about wildlife biology.