CAMDEN – Four students from throughout the state graduated from the Community School last month. The students completed a six-month residential program that combines work, community living and academics. The school, usually referred to as the C-School, offers young men and women between the ages of 16 and 20 an alternative to conventional schooling. It also runs the Passages Program, a high school program for pregnant and parenting teens.

Two of the four students earned their high school diplomas, with two others working to complete their requirements in the following months. The four graduates, half of the term’s initial enrollment of eight, pursued a variety of academic and employment challenges.

Alex Gallant, 18, worked as an intern at the Maine Coast Artists Association. His academic work centered on a research project about Dr. Martin Luther King and guitar classes. He lives in Rumford.

Peter Hammond studied probability and game theory in math and compared the psychological models of Freud and Jung. He worked at French and Brawn and did community service for Maine Time Dollar Network. Hammond earned his high school diploma during his term. He is 18 and lives in Pittsfield.

Caitlyn Pentell, 18, is the only young woman to complete this term. She worked at Rite-Aid and did community service at the Camden-Rockport Animal Rescue Shelter. Pentell, from Gray, overcame her math block and studied literature.

Michael Welsh worked at Season’s Downeast and studied the science of sound for one of his projects. Welsh completed work for his high school diploma. He is 17 and from Damariscotta.

For more information about the school, call Valerie Behrens at 236-3000, e-mail her at [email protected] or visit www.thecommunityschool.org.