New Ventures Maine recently hired Rebecca Lux Soc as administrative specialist, based in the Augusta office. Rebecca supports staff across the organization, responds to participant inquiries, and assists with data collection, reporting, bookkeeping and many other tasks that help the office run smoothly.
Rebecca earned a bachelor’s degree in English, summa cum laude, from the University of Maine at Augusta. She was a Distinguished English Major in 2020, received the Francis T. and Catherine B. Finnegan Scholarship in 2019, and was honored with the Rising Scholar Award in 2017.
She brings four years of experience as a Peer Writing Tutor in the UMA Writing Center where, she says, “I gained an appreciation for the power of the collaborative learning experience.” Working with other student writers in many disciplines, she says she also gained insight into the depth of the capital city university’s offerings, both for traditional and non-traditional students. “I am excited to work with New Ventures Maine as it serves, in part, to help interested participants connect with learning opportunities like those found at UMA.”
Rebecca also brings knowledge of customer service, accounting, secretarial skills, and small business operations to the position. NVME’s entrepreneurial training has a special place in her heart, as Rebecca and her husband worked in the early 2000s to build, own, and operate a small ethnic food truck in Belfast, Maine called The Grab & Growl: Mayan Indian Taste. “It was a fun experience that spanned just a few summers, during which time we learned, on the fly, exactly what it takes to run a small business in Maine,” she says. “Having done all of that footwork, I’m happy to be part of an organization that is expediting that learning experience and helping people to take their business ideas to the next level.”
In addition to these experiences, Rebecca has a great interest in the humanities, as well as the desire to participate in the promotion and creation of more equitable circumstances for individuals living in Maine. Having spent extended time traveling in Guatemala, she has had the welcome opportunity to learn some conversational Spanish. Building on this and the education she received at UMA, she continues to grow her language and communication skills, with special interest in translation as it relates not only to language, but also to translating culture via language.
In her spare time, Rebecca focuses on her family and friends. When time allows, she also enjoys pursuing her love of storytelling and writing. She finds great inspiration from other writers, and also from the unique experience that living in Maine has to offer.