Dr. Noemi Custodia-Lora of Haverhill, an assistant dean of Foundational Studies and Liberal Arts & Sciences at Northern Essex Community College, has been named an American Council on Education Fellow for academic year 2013-14.

The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration. Custodia-Lora was one of 50 Fellows, nominated by the presidents or chancellors of their institutions.

“Over the last two years, Dr. Custodia-Lora has been navigating the leadership ranks at our college swiftly, transitioning from faculty member to program coordinator to assistant dean in short order,” wrote NECC President Lane Glenn in nominating her.” She has done so as a result of her capabilities, her accomplishments, and the strong support she has from colleagues and other leaders at the institution, including me, who recognize that she will be a powerful contributor to this college, and likely to other colleges and higher education in general, in the years to come.”

Margarita Benítez, interim director of ACE’s Emerging Leaders Group and the ACE Fellows Program, noted that most previous Fellows have advanced into major positions in academic administration. Nearly 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its inception, with more than 300 Fellows having served as chief executive officers of colleges or universities and more than 1,300 having served as provosts, vice presidents and deans.

“The 2013-14 class of Fellows is a talented, diverse group,” Benítez said. “The ACE Fellows Program will strengthen their leadership skills, expand their networks and prepare them to tackle the wide array of issues facing the higher education community.”

Custodia-Lora joined Northern Essex in 2003 as a faculty member of the Natural Sciences Department. She has served in her current role as assistant dean of Foundational Studies and Liberal Arts & Sciences since August 2011. She primarily oversees the Natural Sciences Department and the Mathematics Department.

For eight years she taught Nutrition, Human Biology and Anatomy & Physiology before becoming the coordinator of the applied sciences associate degree of science in lab science program which welcomed its first class in the fall of 2009. Developed in collaboration with area employers, this program provides three areas of study: biotechnology, chemical analysis, and environmental sciences, and has received the highest endorsement—a gold level—from the Massachusetts Life Science Education Consortium (MLSEC).

In addition to her teaching at NECC, Custodia-Lora is a founding member of the ESL Social/Learning Club which is an initiative aimed at attracting more English as a Second Language students into the disciplines (and ultimately careers) of STEM. She has been involved in several leadership programs including the Chair Leader Academy. She also serves on the board of directors for the Haverhill, MA YMCA.

Before joining NECC Custodia-Lora was a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts Medical School in Boston. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and a PhD in physiology-endocrinology from Boston University.

While a fun-filled tropical vacation is a frequent spring break choice for college students, quite a few Northern Essex Community College students chose to spend their recent spring break helping others. One group of students stayed closed to home volunteering at local shelters, while a second group traveled to New York to help with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Andrew Morse, professor of History and Government at NECC, led a group of seven students from NECC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Amnesty International and Students for a Democratic Society Clubs on a trip to New York to help with Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts.

Students from all three organizations raised funding for the trip through campus fundraisers, including a February 15 bake sale. The group was gone from Friday, March 15 to late Monday, March 18.

While there they joined a cleanup effort at Idlewild Park in New York on Saturday, working alongside volunteers from Americorps and New York Cares to clean debris from the waterfront park which was flooded during the hurricane.

On Sunday, the NECC group helped cleared an elderly man’s home located in Red Hook, NY which is on the Bay overlooking Manhattan.

Michele Simon of Epping, NH, an NECC student and president of Phi Theta Kappa, found the experience extremely rewarding. “I would definitely do this again, and I would also encourage anyone else to consider it.” The best reward, said Simon, was the sincere thanks they received from organizers.

Students who went on the New York trip included Robert Ewusi of Haverhill, Lilian Lima of Lawrence, Galvir Romero of Lawrence, Jillian Horyn of North Andover, Nairoby Sanchez of Haverhill, Kelsey Terry of Amesbury, and Simon.

For the sixth year, NECC’s Athletics, Recreation, and Intramurals Department in conjunction with the NECC Student Engagement Center organized volunteer opportunities for students interested in helping out locally. The group volunteered at Cor Unum Meal Center and Lazarus House in Lawrence and Emmaus House in Haverhill.

Two Northern Essex Community College students, David Bowie of Plaistow, NH and Dana Haggar of Haverhill were recently nominated for the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship.

A 2007 graduate of Timberlane Regional High School, Bowie is an Engineering Science major at NECC. After graduation this spring, Bowie plans on transferring to UMass Lowell, where he will major in Environmental Sciences. At NECC, Bowie is the president of the Bacon Board Gamers, a student board gaming club, and a member of the Board Game Library, which lends games to the community. He also has been published in the school’s literary magazine, Parnassus and is a math tutor at the college’s math center.

Haggar will graduate with an associate degree in Deaf Studies: Sign Language Interpreting in May 2013. She plans to transfer to Framingham State College and earn her bachelor’s degree after graduation. She is a student ambassador and a member of the NECC Student Leadership Development Program, the Student Senate, and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Haggar is also the student-elected member of the college’s board of trustees.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship is for outstanding students who will be transferring from NECC, have a cumulative GPA of 3.5, and have done significant community service.