Bangor - Students at penobscot job corps academy filled the gym expecting to be lectured by a visitor. Instead, governor paul lepage showed them something else.

"Any questions that you might have on your mind and we'll see if we can have a dialouge. anybody got any questions?" Governor Paul LePage said to the crowd.

And they did. Dozens of students wanted to pick the governors brain. Everything question ranging from his early life to his next stepped were asked, but one student wanted a specific answer, "What would you say to students who want to drop out of school?"

"If you're thinking of dropping out you are making a big, big mistake," said Lepage.

Many of the students felt they could relate to what Lepage was saying. Lepage's childhood wasn't an easy one, like many of the students here.

Penobscot Job Corps Business and Community Liason, Mike Jellison said "He is a role model. If you read his bio, he is out of our students. He dropped out of school, a lot of our students drop out. He's been homeless, unfortunately a lot of our students have."

Even though most of the question and answer period was uplifting. Lepage also mentioned a cause close to his heart.

"That's what I'm here for, is to encourage you to help stomp out domestic violence, let's make it socially unacceptable," the Governor commented.

LePage has opened up about his childhood, which he says was ravaged with domestic abuse. Something some jobs corps students can relate too.

Spruce Run Program Coordinator, Amanda Cost explained, "A lot of them haven't been in intimate relationships and if they have, they haven't always been that great. So, we want to give them some tools to help develop healthy relationships."

Over the past year Spruce Run has seen a four percent rise in domestic violence, especially among young adults.

"That would normally be really concerning to people, but for us it shows people are calling law enforcement because they think law enforcement are going to be helpful and that's good. We want that," said Cost.

Students left the gym wearing the purple ribbons, raising awareness around campus of domestic violence.

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