NECC graduate, Susan Bonenfant, her daughter Nina Gilbert and nine-year old granddaughter Grace Gilbert

For Susan Bonenfant of Plaistow and her family, Northern Essex Community College’s First Annual Campus Classic 5K and Fun Run on Saturday, May 4 is truly a family affair.

Bonenfant, a Northern Essex graduate and her daughter Nina Gilbert and nine-year old granddaughter Grace Gilbert, both of Windham, will all participate in the USATF certified 5K race which will begin at 10 a.m. on the college’s Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St., and wind through the beautiful rural campus and the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Competitive runners—as well as novices and walkers—are invited to participate. The race is part of the Merrimack Valley Striders 2013 Super Iron Runner Series. Registration for the 5K is $25 before April 29; $30 after that date. Online registration will remain open until April 29.

Children ages 12 and under are invited to participate in the Fun Run which is organized by age group with the first race beginning at 9 a.m. Registration for the Fun Run is $10. Following the race, there will be children’s activities including face painting, an obstacle course, and a balloon artist.

Vice president/deposit compliance manager and BSA officer for Pentucket Bank, Bonefant attended Northern Essex in 1975 and 1976 before transferring to Southern New Hampshire University and has been a member of the college’s alumni advisory board since 2005.

When she heard about the race at an alumni advisory board meeting, she thought it would be a great opportunity to get back into running, a sport she had enjoyed years ago.
She convinced her daughter and granddaughter to join her and there will now be three generations running on May 4.

The first 200 5K registrants and the first 50 Fun Run participants receive t-shirts. 5K Awards will be given to the top male and female overall plus age divisions: 14 and under, 15-18, 19-25, 26-30, 31-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+. All Fun Run participants will receive an award.
Since this is a Campus Classic, participants are encouraged to wear apparel from their own college as they run or walk. Proceeds from the race will benefit the NECC Annual Fund, which provides support for student scholarships and academic programs, OneFundBoston, which has been established to help the people affected by Monday’s tragic event.

The Platinum Sponsor for the race is Sovereign/Santander.
For more information or to register online, visit https://www.necc.mass.edu/campus-classic/ or contact Lindsey Mayo, NECC director of alumni and donor relations, lmayo@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3621.

NECC Chorus

This performance is open to the public. Admission is $5.

Music from the last 500 years, from Thomas Morley (1557 to 1602) to George Bizet (1838-1875) “Habanera” aria from the opera “Carmen” to Richard Wagner (1813-1883) “Spinning Song” from the opera “The Flying Dutchman” to a contemporary arrangement of John Williams, will be performed by this semester’s students as well as a few alumni.

Chorus members include Bonnie Surowiec of Amesbury, Derek Charlesworth of Haverhill, Shayna Leavy of Haverhill, Angilyne Bailey of Lawrence, Dan Smith of Haverhill, Heather Rydstrom of Windham, NH, Sergia Rosa of Lawrence, John Rodgers of Derry, NH, NECC chorus director Alisa Bucchiere of West Newbury, Jillian Scaccia of Kittery, ME, Summer LeCain of Andover, Rob Hamel of North Andover, Lissangy Rodriguez of Haverhill, Heather Trainor of Merrimac, Coty Markee of Byfield, and Amanda Clooney of Methuen.

Tickets can be purchased at the door.

For additional information contact Alisa Bucchiere, NECC Choral Director, at abucchiere@necc.mass.edu

Professor Ligia Domenech

Northern Essex Community College Professor Ligia Domenech of Haverhill has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to participate in its summer institute, “India’s Past and the Making of the Present.”

This program gives 24 higher education faculty the opportunity to spend four weeks studying the history and culture of India in New Delhi and other important sites on the subcontinent, July 1 through 26.
Speaking about this opportunity, Domenech says, “I love the fact that I will get this new learning experience that will challenge my current assumptions and deepen my perspectives about such a rich culture and its history”.

Domenech joined the Department of Global Studies at NECC in the fall of 2011. She is a published author having written about the governorship of Roberto Sanchez Vilella in Puerto Rico (1964-68), and the German U-boat Blockade of the Caribbean in 1942.
Domenech has a master’s in Caribbean Anthropology and a PhD in the History of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Three years ago before coming to Northern Essex, she spent three months at sea teaching World Civilization and U.S. History to U.S. soldiers aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter chasing drug traffickers around Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.

NECC President Lane Glenn receives one of four Dell Latitude Tablets from Shannon Boelter, Account Executive of Dell. They will be awarded to NECC students who win various academic competitions.

NECC Foundation has partnered with Dell Inc. for the past several years to assist in its student award programs. This year is no exception. The top students in Northern Essex’s Writing Award Event, Student Business Plan Competition Event, Student Activities Program, and Student T-shirt Commencement Design Competition will each receive a Dell Latitude tablet.

“We are grateful to Dell for continuing to support Northern Essex and our very talented students,” says Jean Poth, vice president of NECC’s Institutional Advancement.

For additional information contact Jean Poth at jpoth@necc.mass.edu