December 2025 Polar Bearings

Join us on campus for our speaker series by outstanding alumni of Bowdoin College and other leaders in a wide range of professions. 

Turning a Small Round Ball into Community Magic

Program Details:

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

11:30 a.m. Doors Open

12:00 p.m. Program Begins

1:30 p.m. Program Ends

Location:

Thorne Hall, Daggett Lounge

13 South St, Brunswick, ME 04011

We will hear from Barrett Takesian ’12, Founder and Executive Director of Portland Community Squash. He will share how a few Bowdoin students in the basement of the Portland YMCA took a little known and once elitist sport and built what is now one of the country’s leading community center models.

Barrett will discuss how his liberal arts education shaped his vision to blend sport, education, and belonging under one roof, and establish a dynamic and popular community center that brings together young people and families across all backgrounds and generations - and stands out as an inspiring beacon of civic renewal.

“Portland Community Squash provided the original model that has developed into the Community Affiliate program,” said Kevin Klipstein, President & CEO of US Squash. “Look no further than PCS to see the future of the game in the U.S.”

Barrett grew up in Southwest Harbor, Maine. After graduating from Bowdoin College in 2012, he left the private sector to pursue his passion for youth development. What began as small squash clinics in the basement of the YMCA grew into Portland Community Squash (PCS) - a multicultural, multigenerational community center now serving 1,000 members on Noyes Street in Portland. The community squash model has since expanded beyond Maine, inspiring similar efforts across the U.S. and sparking adoption in other arts and sports organizations.

Barrett has served as Senior Advisor for Community Squash at US Squash, Maine’s Ambassador for the Afterschool Alliance, and Chair of Portland’s Out of School Time Network. He continues to champion community centers both locally and nationally, contributing to initiatives with the Sport for Development Journal, Laureus Sport for Good, the Aspen Institute, and the Brookings Institution.