Thanks to NECC’s College to Career Program, Mary Campbell of Methuen is training for a new career in computers.

Northern Essex Community College is currently recruiting students for a grant-funded program designed especially for unemployed and under-employed adults who want to prepare for careers in high demand technology and health care fields.

Students in the program can take advantage of the College to Career staff that will assist them with the college process, facilitate access to support services, and help them find a job when they have completed their certificate program. Certificates can be completed in as little as eight months, and the curriculum is strongly focused on the workplace, including an internship.

There are several certificate programs to choose from including health care, computer information sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

Mary Campbell of Methuen, who was a hairdresser for 30 years and most recently an administrative assistant, learned about the program at the ValleyWorks Career Center last fall and quickly enrolled. She will complete a Certificate in Help Desk Technology this fall, and has plans to continue on for an associate degree while working full-time.

Campbell is confident that her internship in the IT Department at Northern Essex will lead to a job troubleshooting computers and she is also interested in data management.

“”I never thought I would be at this point. It’s truly an amazing feeling,” she says.

The $20 million grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to the Massachusetts Community College System. As part of the Transformation Agenda, community colleges across the state are developing programs in targeted areas including life sciences and biotechnology, information technology, health care, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and financial services and entrepreneurship.

For more information on the program, contact Renee Deyermond, college and career navigator, at 978 659-1223 or rdeyermond@necc.mass.edu.

NECC President Lane Glenn accepting check from President and CEO of Eastern Bank, Bob Rivers.

Bob Rivers, president and chief executive officer of Eastern Bank, recently visited Northern Essex Community College to deliver a $10,000 unrestricted donation to the college.

NECC President Lane Glenn accepted the donation on behalf of the college.
“This generous donation will allow us to address pressing needs at the college,” said NECC President Glenn. “It will be a great benefit to our students.”

Rivers is a member of the NECC Foundation Board. Eastern Bank recently opened a branch on Essex Street in Lawrence, near the college’s Lawrence’s sites. This was the first new retail banking office in the city in 23 years.

“Eastern Bank’s contribution to NECC is a reflection of our shared mission, as well as our admiration and appreciation of the college’s inspiring leadership,” said Rivers, who added that the donation was part of the bank’s focus on supporting organizations that are addressing the issue of workforce development.

Eastern Bank is a part of Northern Essex Community College’s strong network of friends and alumni who are committed to providing opportunities for students at NECC.

The Office of Institutional Advancement supports the college’s mission to enhance the social, cultural and economic life of the Merrimack Valley by raising funds to support the college’s many programs and by developing partnerships with the community.
For additional information, contact Jean Poth, vice president of institutional advancement, at jpoth@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3624.

Founded in 1818 and based in Boston, Eastern Bank is the largest independent and mutually owned bank in New England, with $8.6 billion in assets and more than 90 branches serving communities from the Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod. Eastern Bank offers banking, investments and insurance all under one roof, and prides itself on working harder to understand its customers’ needs so it can deliver these services in a committed and personal way. Eastern Bank includes Eastern Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance. For more information, visit www.easternbank.com, www.facebook.com/easternbank and www.twitter.com/easternbank.

NECC reading tutor Noreen Fantasia

The 47-year-old mother of two got involved in the project, which was created to draw attention to One Fund Boston, after her husband’s friend Pat Garrett of Derry, NH, wrote new lyrics to the tune of Billy Joel’s song, “New York State of Mind” which appeared on Joel’s album “Turnstiles” in 1976. Garrett, a personal trainer who had never written lyrics before, was inspired while working out and listening to the song just after the Boston Marathon Bombings.

His attempt at singing the new lyrics to Joel’s melody was met with only the frankness that a longtime friend can offer.

“I told him his lyrics were incredible, but his voice not so much,” Fantasia of Salem, N.H. joked. “I suggested we ask my friend’s 12-year-old daughter, who has performed before, to sing the song.”

Garrett agreed that a more experienced singer would better showcase the lyrics. Enter Emma Stanganelli also of Salem, N.H., who, after a failed attempt to record the song in a bathroom ala Bieber-style, completed the recording in less than an hour at a Haverhill recording studio.

After that, Fantasia went to work. She took 97 images Garrett had collected and created a Power Point using the new recording. Unfortunately, once it was uploaded the images and music didn’t sync. She recreated it using Movie Maker. Once the image was uploaded to YouTube, a video sharing website, it quickly started receiving attention.

After several hundred hits, a friend suggested they contact Billy Joel and receive his approval. They did and Joel, who famously performed the song during the Performance for New York City, following the 2001 attack on the Twin Towers, gave them the nod to use the melody.

Fantasia says she is glad to be a part of the video, which depicts iconic mages of Boston including The U.S.S. Constitution, the Freedom Trail, the Hatch Shell, and Fenway Park.

“What I like about the video is that it shows what we love about Boston. I grew up in Revere and worked for 18 years in Boston,” she said. “This has been a really positive experience.”

Here is the video.

Jean Poth, Groveland, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Groveland, Gerri Murphy, President of the Women of NECC, North Andover, and Linda and Larry McHugh, co-host, North Andover at the Women of NECC’s annual fundraising event held at Linda and Larry McHugh’s home in North Andover.

More than 85 guests of the Women of Northern Essex Community College attended the 17th annual fundraising event hosted by Larry and Linda McHugh at their home in North Andover.

Larry and Linda McHugh graciously hosted the annual fundraiser which raised more than $12,000 for scholarships. Numerous items were featured in the silent auction and additional items were available through a raffle.
The event was catered by Corporate Chefs. Flowers by Steve, Inc. donated floral arrangements and Paper Potpourri donated invitations for the event.

The Women of Northern Essex Community College is a volunteer organization dedicated to assisting Northern Essex Community College and its students. The organization generates funds for student scholarships and special projects by conducting a variety of fundraising events throughout the year, including a Fall Membership Tea and a June Gala Open House event.

For additional information contact Jean Poth, Vice-President Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the NECC Foundation, Inc. @ jpoth@necc.mass.edu