PRESQUE ISLE – It took local-boy-made-good Glynn Willett several failed attempts before making it with his own business. Six attempts, to be exact.

On Saturday the co-owner and chief executive officer of one of the country’s fastest-growing private companies told the 199 members of the 2002 graduating class at Northern Maine Technical College the goal of owning your own business is one of the best American dreams.

Willett and his brother own and operate ATX Forms Inc., a tax software development business based in Caribou employing 200 people – many of them NMTC graduates.

Willett drew on his experiences to offer some business and life advice to the graduates.

Be prepared, Willett told them. Life is hard, and it is not going to get any easier with a diploma.

“You never get rid of crisis in your life,” he said. “The trick is to have fun and make your life, or running a business, like a game.”

Whether starting a company or entering employment for someone else, Willett said, it is important to be honest. “Follow through on what you say you are going to do and people will start to build up trust in you,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the graduating class, Christine Smith of Presque Isle will continue her education locally, but has her sights set nationally in the areas of teaching or law.

Smith overcame the effects of a serious car accident in 1995 to attend NMTC. She reminded her classmates how important and fleeting time can be.

Among the Class of 2002, 60 percent have already secured jobs, Tim Crowley, NMTC president, said in his opening remarks.

Once out of college, the students will face many new experiences, Crowley said.

“You will face the challenges of change and the special skills you learn will not alone guarantee your future,” he said.

“The ability to change, to adapt to change and to learn are increasingly important,”he added

The President’s Award was given to David Raymond, a faculty member in NMTC’s general education department.

Academic awards by program were presented to Gillian Riann Fitzgerald, accounting; Carol Clark MacPherson, accounting information systems; Bonnie DeMerchant, business administration management; David Wyman, computer information systems; Leslie Thompson, information technology; Christine Mae Smith, legal office administration; Tricia Mae Wells, medical office administration;

Brandy Allison Kinney, early childhood education; Sylva Jo Gallagher, emergency medical services; Derek Tompkins, nursing; Judy Collins, practical nursing; Thomas Michael Skakle, automotive body repair and automotive technology; Glenn Zimmer, computer aided drafting;

Justinian Willard Engels, diesel hydraulic technology; Scott St. Peter, electrical construction and maintenance; Heidi Maker, electrical engineering technology; Travis Brown, instrumentation and controls; James Broome, plumbing and heating; Jeff Perley, residential construction; and Bernard McManus, sheet metal.