Story by Lindsay Tice '98; photo by Marc Glass

Before Kristy Durgin ’01 graduated from UMF with a degree in rehabilitation services, she thought she might become an occupational therapist, perhaps in a childcare center or preschool program.

Less than three years later, she found herself co-owning a state-funded in-home support agency for kids in Maine.



Today, as executive director of Growing Opportunities, Durgin oversees 48 staff members and helps provide support to 46 children with mental retardation or autism spectrum disorders. With long hours and big challenges, it’s not an easy job, but she wouldn’t trade it for any other career.

“I think Growing Opportunities kind of came to me,” she says.

Durgin’s path to Growing Opportunities began at UMF. She completed her program-required internship with Donegal Town, a York-based in-home support agency. During her senior year, she worked two or three days a week in the Norway office, writing service and consumer plans, completing intakes, and reconciling billable reports. She enjoyed working with families and staff. At the end of the internship, she was offered a paid position. As supervisor.

“I was pretty excited,” Durgin recalls.

At just 22, she was overseeing 15 to 20 staff members. A few months later, the program coordinator left, and Durgin was asked to take over the role.

The coordinator supervised the supervisor, conducted intakes, and created service plans, among other responsibilities. She was nervous about the responsibility but comfortable with the position. She could do the job and already knew the staff and families.

“It made sense,” she says.

A year later, the director left to start her own agency. She asked Durgin to go with her, but Durgin didn’t want to leave the clients, her “kiddos,” who depended on her.

“I just felt I needed to stay,” she says.

Soon, Donegal Town asked her to become director. Durgin’s family joked about which position she’d take next. They told her she’d run out of promotions.

Then the agency’s owners decided to sell. After much consideration, Durgin decided to buy.

“When I bought the business I said, ‘See, you were wrong. You can always go up one more step,’” she says.

Despite her youth and relative inexperience, Durgin was confident she could make it work.

The purchase wasn’t simple. There were payroll obligations, state mandates, and bank loan requirements. But Durgin and a co-worker bought the western Maine branch of Donegal Town, naming their new agency Growing Opportunities.

“We’re growing opportunities for staff and children,” says Durgin, who has supervised several UMF rehabilitation services majors as interns.

Durgin and her business partner have dealt with state funding challenges and small-business growing pains. Now 30, Durgin admits she has learned a lot the hard way.

“I think I’ve done a lot of growing as a professional in the field,” she says.

Today, Growing Opportunities helps clients from birth to age 21 improve social, behavioral, and life skills through daily or nearly daily in-home support. With offices based in Norway and Portland, her agency serves families throughout southern and central Maine, from Sanford to Farmington.

As executive director, Durgin is responsible for the agency’s day-to-day operations, regulatory compliance, budget, employees, clients, and future.

And she wouldn’t change a thing.

“Overall, it’s been a wonderful experience,” she says.