Local Spotlight: Amy DesRoberts

Amy Levasseur DesRoberts is a woman who embodies Thornton Academy’s maroon and gold; and her hair oftentimes does as well. Amy was the first person that I was connected to locally as a transplant in 2018. I had the good fortune to ask for a local salon recommendation and booked with Amy at On the Go Hair Designs; a place with warmth and charm reminiscent of “Steel Magnolias.”  In chatting with her that appointment, we found we had a lot in common and she invited me to join the CK Burns PTO. In those times I got to know this busy softball, chorus, orchestra, and dance mom who had a full client list at the salon. Amy is a mother to three daughters: UNE pre-dental student Lilly DesRoberts, Curry college freshman softball player Lindsay DesRoberts, and Thornton Academy freshman and this year’s Troy the Trojan Lucy DesRoberts. She has also been married to her husband Kevin for 24 years. But to fully understand Amy and what makes her such a special part of our community, we need to take a trip through her Eras. 

Her Levasseur Era 

As a lifelong resident of Saco, Thornton Academy’s campus was where Amy spent her involved and formative high school years

Tell me about your days as a TA student, how would you define your teen and young adult self.

“When I was at TA I was known as an “encourager,” I went to my friends’ games, every football game from 6th-12th grade.  I also liked to be involved so I joined, peer groups like (Natural Helpers), and was on student council. I was an average student, but thrived in the fine arts classes TA offers, especially dance. I helped begin the TA Dance Company because I loved being in front of people to help make the school better and was named Most School Spirit my senior year.

Tell us how you met your husband Kevin:

“We were eighteen when we fell in love, newly out of high school and ready to start our way in the world. We met a month after we had both graduated high school, he is from Biddeford and me from TA. We were both headed off to college, he went to Chicago and I to Plymouth State College in NH, so we decided to end things. That lasted about 4 weeks. I decided college was not for me and after one semester I came home and then after finding it hard to find work in southern Maine in the winter, I searched the classifieds for jobs near where he lived outside of Chicago, I went there to start our lives together…. The years have flown by, we have been together for 27 years and married twenty-four.”

You are an amazing team. Do you have any pearls of wisdom to share for a happy, healthy relationship?

  “Through any challenges we have faced, we never give up. We continue to make each other a priority. When we are faced with something hard, we go back and remember where we started and how we felt about each other in the beginning. The little moments are what we rely on, and we continue to work every day to keep going forward. We make time to talk without interruptions, often on a country car ride, a walk or a soak in the hot tub, and we always try to support one another and try to understand where the other is coming from.”

What makes Saco special? 

 “I love that so many people either have chosen to stay here or have moved back. I love the traditions this town holds, and how they have grown and added new traditions. I enjoy seeing faces that have smiled at me my whole life. We are lucky to live in a place that has the warmth Saco does.

Super Mom Era: 

With the birth of her first daughter Lilly, in 2004, a new era began

Tell me about your days with young ones and your LGirlie Designs custom, handmade kids clothing you designed and, well, motherhood:

“For my girls, if I could do it, I would do it. Whether it was making them magical birthdays, going on field trips, or just being cozy at home together. I loved hosting other families during those years, we did little crafting groups, I taught children how to sew and even hosted some book clubs for the girls in the summer. If they were into something, I made them little outfits with that theme. We didn’t make a lot of money because I worked part time to be there for anything they needed, so I learned to make things out of things we had. My clothing creations became a little side gig called LGirlie Designs, I never really made much money, but I had a blast!  I loved that I was able to make things for my children out of scraps of fabric: it fed my creative brain, gave me stress relief and added color to our community!”

 I met you when you were CK Burn’s PTO president. Tell me about what you contribute to locally? I will toot your horn for you because I know you do so much for Saco!

“I loved being the PTO President and building a group of volunteers who worked so well together. I have been involved with the Festival of Trees at the Saco Museum for 15 years, first starting as a designer, then a raffle tree designer and now I am the Co-director of Decorating  I was so excited to join the TA Alumni Association, and am currently on the Saco Main Street Board of Directors. During my girls’ school days I have helped make costumes for the drama clubs and gave time to the TA Athletic Boosters when I could. One of my favorite things I do is being a part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day’s “Day of Service” at the First Parish Church in Saco. I have been volunteering with them and donating haircuts since the program started. I am now the co-Advisor for Interact at Thornton, and I hope to inspire students to volunteer in our community.” 

As a busy and involved mother of three, what advice do you have for families trying to balance life/work/school/sports/extra curriculars? 

“Stay organized. I write things down, along with putting them in a phone.. Try not to take on anything that doesn’t bring you joy. Keep life simple and prioritize what you feel like you can handle. I will continue to look at life like a buffet, I’d like to “taste” everything, but I am realizing I can’t fill my plate too full and that I need to slow my brain down and focus to keep a good life balance.”

 

The DesRoberts Family with the tree they donated for Saco's 2023 tree lighting ceremony. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The “On the Go” Era

Amy attended cosmetology school in the Levasseur Era and has been a licensed cosmetologist since 2000 and owned a small in-home business…until things got a lot bigger! 

Tell me about some of your highlights (pun intended) of being a hairstylist for years. 

I became a hairstylist in 2000 and practiced for 23 years in a salon setting. My favorite part of being able to do this career was the people and the relationships we formed. I cared so much for anyone who sat in my chair, to the point it became too much for me. I went to weddings, birthday parties, and even funerals for clients. I held so many of the details they shared with me in my head and my heart. I've always said their appointments “were way more than a haircut.”  I love people and their stories. 

Why did you end up choosing to rent a booth at On the Go Hair Designs?  

Before moving to On the Go, I worked in a salon in our home in North Saco. It was an amazing fit for me to be home to raise the girls and have flexibility. When we decided to sell our house, I needed to find the next step. I had volunteered at On the Go for their “Breast Cancer Cut- a-Thon" and it seemed like a great place, so I met with salon owner, mom and fellow hair stylist, Heather Prejean, and I started there in February 2016. On the Go was community focused: while doing hair we ran many successful fundraisers. I thought I would be a hairstylist forever because I enjoyed it so much, and I always said to Heather, the ONLY WAY I would leave hair is to work at TA. Did I manifest this next era?”

The Thornton Academy Alumni Era:

An outstanding alum makes her way home

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Thornton Academy’s Homecoming 2024 is next week, October 19th and you yourself have “come home” to Thornton Academy as its new Alumni Development Associate and Events Coordinator. Tell me, what has this meant for you, to be back on the Thornton Academy campus?

“I am home. I love being a part of the TA community and being a part of conversations to work towards making Thornton the best it can be, for our kids and our wider community. I am so excited to be in the Alumni House. Through my work I can share unique historical information that is donated and discovered from the Thornton of yesteryear. My favorite thing I have done so far is my Throwback Thursday posts on our TA Alumni Facebook page. I see what is happening on campus and search into our alumni artifacts for photos or old student news articles from the past. I have shared things from as far back as 1888. It shows that campus life does change and evolve, but many of our traditions stay the same.”

What are you most looking forward to at TA this school year?

We are starting to create and host new events. This summer we held Thornton Thursdays, on the porch of the Alumni House, where every other Thursday we hosted a free lunch for alumni and staff who came to campus. We connected with alumni from the 1950’s to our recent 2024 grads. Another new event will be Friday Night Bites. It will be a community event on campus for the students, families, teammates, dancers, band members, and more to get together and have fun and kick off the weekend together. Community is extremely important to Thornton Academy, and I hope the relationships we build will go a long way. As I walk on campus, I notice the new trees that have been added and more growth with the new wellness center and fieldhouse. It is exciting to be part of!”

-Amanda Zimmerman is a Saco Resident who considers herself to be the “World’s Okayest Mom” to two terrific teenagers, a boyfriend who is the bee’s knees, and a cavalcade of pets ranging from furry to scaly.