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Life Long Learning to Enjoy Halloween Party

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Northern Essex Community College’s Life Long Learning Program will host a Halloween Party on Thursday, October 31at 2pm in the David Hartleb Technology Center, Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott Street.

Costumes are optional but there will be prizes for those who do decide to march in Life Long Learning’s Horrible Parade in costume. Entertainment for this event will be a belly dance performance by IL’NARA, Hanna Yashmetsyeva of Haverhill.

Tickets for this event are $15 and they include lunch and entertainment. To purchase your ticket call Charlene Boucher, NECC Life Long Learning coordinator, at 978-659-1225, Kathy Bresnahan or Rita LaBella at Haverhill Council on Aging at 978-374-2390, or Darlene Sutton at Bethany Homes in Haverhill at 978-374-2165

Life Long Learning is a program of lectures, study groups, and trips for adults. All programs are open to the public.

For more information or to receive a free calendar of upcoming Life Long Learning events, contact Charlene Boucher, Life Long Learning coordinator, at 978-556-3825, or cboucher@necc.mass.edu.

NECC Alumna and American Idol Finalist Returns

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Former NECC student Liz Bills was an American Idol finalist.

Liz Bills, an American Idol finalist and former NECC student, will be featured at the Haverhill Chamber Expo held on Thursday, October 24 in the Northern Essex Community College Sport and Fitness Center, Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St.

The Expo is free and open to the public and Bills will be singing and greeting the public from 4 to 7p.m.

Bills was born and raised in Haverhill and starting performing music of many different styles at the age of eight.  Bills studied music at NECC before continuing on and studying at Berklee College of Music in 2011. While at Berklee, Bills studied songwriting with Mark Simos and voice with David Devo and Kathleen Flynn. In 2013 Bills competed in the American Idol singing competition and made it to the final 60. Currently Bills is working on her solo debut album. She also regularly performs with her band Analog Heart and teaches guitar, piano, and voice lessons in and around Boston.

The 4th Annual Cross Border Chamber Expo is designed to highlight signature businesses in the area and provide a chance for them to directly connect with the public and other business professionals.

This event will also feature former Boston Bruins player and captain, Terrence Joseph James O’Reilly and Rene Rancourt, the professional singer of the National Anthem for the Boston Bruins. Rancourt will open the Expo with National Anthem.

For more information visit https://www.haverhillchamber.com/index.php/programsevents/annualseasonal-events/186-cross-border-expo.

 

Local Employers Gather at NECC

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Shown left to right: Human Services Advisory Board Member Sharon Guinta of Emmaus, Inc, Paralegal Advisory Board Member Alcira Kane of Neighborhood Legal Services, and Judith Ciampi, coordinator of NECC's Paralegal Studies Program.

At Northern Essex Community College’s Advisory Board Summit on Thursday, Oct. 3, 160 business and community leaders met with college faculty and staff to discuss what the college is doing well  and how the college could better meet their needs.

The college has 20 academic program advisory boards, comprised primarily of individuals who work in the field and program chairs/coordinators and faculty, as well as an Occupational Advisory Board that tracks general trends in the local economy. These boards meet regularly to provide feedback and ensure that the programs Northern Essex offers are meeting the needs of local employers.

President Lane Glenn greeted the audience and congratulated them on doing a good job. “The degrees that you’ve helped us to put together matter,” he said. “Within a year of graduation, 95* of graduates are employed or have successfully transferred to a four-year college.”

Guests were seated at large round tables during dinner and asked to consider two questions: how Northern Essex is preparing students well for employment and what the college needs to do to improve in this area.

When the dinner hour was over, a representative from each table reported on what had been discussed at his or her table.

Business/Accounting Advisory Board Member Edward Noe of Colony Foods, Inc and Paul Bevilacqua, NECC's vice president of academic affairs emeritus

There were many common themes on the positive side–internships and content knowledge were mentioned over and over again as things the college does well. And in the needs improvement category, many employers cited written and oral skills, better soft skills, and critical thinking, as well as the desire for even more co-op and internship opportunities.

Dr. Howard Zolot, who introduced himself as a 20-year member of the college’s dental assisting advisory board, said

“One of Northern Essex ‘s best qualities is understanding the diversity of our community and bringing everyone to the table.” He also observed that “While the new generation is technical savvy, their soft skills could use improvement.” Soft skills relate to an individual’s ability to interact effectively with co-workers and customers.

Priscilla Chaves of Greater Lawrence Community Action Headstart, a member of the Human Services Advisory Board, asked the college to consider developing more programs to help adult immigrants who come to this country with degrees and are looking to transition into careers.

When the summit had ended, everyone broke to attend smaller meetings for their specific programs.

Bill Heineman, the college’s vice president of academic and student affairs, was pleased with the success of the college’s advisory board summit, which was the first to be held in many years. “It was exciting to have so many local employers in one room together interacting with our faculty and staff. Moving forward, we’ll be looking for new ways to partner. The ultimate goal is to help our students find fulfilling careers and build a skilled local citizenry and workforce.”

Top Notch Players to Perform Shakespeare Comedy

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Matthew Lundergan of Raymond, NH, Samantha Wheatley of Lowell, rear Hannah Heckman McKenna of Salem, NH, and Paul Kelly of Derry, NH newsroom

Matthew Lundergan of Raymond, NH, rear, Hannah Heckman-McKenna of Salem, NH, Paul Kelly of Derry, NH, and Samantha Wheatley of Lowell,will appear in Much Ado About Nothing.

Considered by many to be one of William Shakespeare’s best comedies, “Much Ado About Nothing” will be performed by Northern Essex Community College’s Top Notch Players beginning Friday, Nov. 1, in the Chester W. Hawrylciw Theater located in the Spurk Building on the Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St.

Play dates and times are Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2 and Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. and Sunday, Nov.10 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through www.mvarts.info

“Much Ado About Nothing” is thought to have been written at the tail end of the 16th century as Shakespeare was approaching the middle of his career. It combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honor, shame, and court politics.

Paul Kelly of Derry, NH and Matthew Lundergan of Raymond, NH newsroom

Paul Kelly of Derry, NH and Matthew Lundergan of Raymond, NH

“It is a witty comedy that ends with multiple marriages and no deaths. It chronicles two pairs of lovers. Shakespeare develops their journey with a rich sense of humor and compassion,” according to Murphy.

The production will include nearly 30 NECC students. Many of them are enrolled in public speaking, acting, or Shakespeare literature courses.

“This play allows them to see and understand how accessible Shakespeare really is,” says Jim Murphy, NECC theater professor. “It is a comedy the audience can identify with. They can see themselves in the characters.”

Samantha Wheatley of Lowell and Hannah Heckman McKenna of Salem, NH newsroom

Hannah Heckman-McKenna of Salem, NH and Samantha Wheatley of Lowell

The set was designed by Susan Sanders, coordinator of theater, technical director of the Top Notch Players, as a suggestion of London theaters of Shakespeare’s day. The costumes are Elizabethan in spirit, if not exact replicas of clothes of the day. NECC student Thera May Driscoll built some of the costumes with assistance from the Top Notch Players.

For further information contact Susan Sanders at ssanders@necc.mass.edu or Jim Murphy at jmurphy@necc.mass.edu

White Fund and NECC Present Inocente

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Inocente

Inocente Izucar

A White Fund lecture featuring San Diego artist Inocente Izucar, who was the subject of an Oscar-winning short documentary, which depicts her journey from homeless, undocumented California teen to successful artist, will be held in partnership with Northern Essex Community College, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 8:45 to 10 a.m. in the Lawrence High School auditorium, 70-71 North Parish Road, Lawrence.

This event, which is free and open to the public, will feature a screening of the movie “Inocente” followed by a 45-minute Q&A with Inocente and Matt D’Arrigo, founder of the San Diego non-profit ARTS: A Reason to Survive, which was instrumental in her survival and success.

The documentary “Inocente,” is a coming of age movie about this homeless, undocumented 15-year-old, who refused to let her circumstances define her or cancel her dream of becoming an artist.

Inocente moved more than 30 times in nine years, sleeping in crowded quarters beside her three younger brothers under one temporary roof after another, and sometimes even outdoors. Her father was deported to Mexico for domestic abuse. Her art and chronic homelessness are the subject of this short documentary, financed through private donations and grants. Inocente refused to give up on her dream of being an artist, proving that the hand she had been dealt did not define her.

D’Arrigo, is founder of the San Diega non-profit ARTS:A Reason to Survive, which was instrumental in her survival and success. ARTS provides therapeutic arts programming and education, as well as college and career preparation to children and young adults dealing with homelessness, domestic violence, illness and other major life challenges.

ARTS became a refuge for Inocente. When she first walked into ARTS at the age of 12 in her rainbow tutu and high-top sneakers, D’Arrigo, immediately saw she had promise.

“She’s exactly the kind of person I created this program for,” he said.

Today, she is a San Diego artist and activist. Despite her often bleak surroundings, her brightly colored art depicts a world of survival, love and hope. Inocente now supports herself as an artist and lives in a happy home with her rescued bunnies, Luna and Bun Bun. For more information on Inocente please visit www.Inocenteart.com

For additional information on this lecture contact Martha Leavitt, director of operations – Lawrence campus, at mleavitt@necc.mass.eduThe White Fund’s purpose is to have a free series of interactive presentations for Lawrence area adults, youth, and children. The audience is encouraged to seek wisdom, cultural enrichment, and intellectual enhancement by attending and participating.

Funded by a generous financial gift from the Honorable Daniel Appleton White, the White Fund Lecture Series has provided cultural conversation featuring well-known lecturers in fields such as history, literature, travel, the arts, and politics. The White Fund is collaborating with Northern Essex on this series.  This program is also supported in part by a grant from the Lawrence Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

For additional information or to be notified of upcoming events in the White Fund Enlightenment Series, call 978-738-7403 or visit the website www.necc.mass.edu/whitefund

The views expressed in the White Fund Enlightenment Series Presentations are the views of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Northern Essex Community College.

Public Invited to Learn More about NECC

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Anyone interested in learning more about Northern Essex Community College is invited to attend an Open House on Saturday, November 2 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Hartleb Technology Center, TC-103A/B on the Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St.

At the Open House, visitors can take a tour of the Haverhill campus, learn about financial aid, and explore the college’s more than 70 academic programs. Topics to be discussed will include transfer options after graduating from Northern Essex, the support services available to help students succeed, and the many clubs, sports, and other opportunities available to Northern Essex students.

This Open House is geared toward high school juniors and seniors and their families as well as adult students who are considering returning to school for career or personal growth.

For more information, contact Enrollment Services at 978-556-3700 or admissions@necc.mass.edu.

The Essex Chamber Music Players to Hold Concert at NECC

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The Essex Chamber Music Players to Hold Concert at NECC

Michael Finegold of Andover

The Essex Chamber Music Players, in residence at Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill Campus, will launch their 2013-2014 concert season with a program of Third Stream Music which is a fusion between classical and jazz. This concert will be on Sunday, October 20, at 2pm in the Hartleb Technology Center on the college’s Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St.

Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students.

The event will feature two pieces: Flowers in Autumn by Michael Finegold of Andover and Ascending Dreams by Marc Rossi of Somerville. Finegold’s piece combines new age classical music with jazz and includes a waltz and Renaissance music. Rossi’s composition is Indian influenced. Both composers will perform in the concert.
Performers are Tom McKinley of Reading, piano; Bruce Gertz of Cambridge, bass; Jim Lattini of Methuen, drums; Michael Finegold of Andover, flute, and Marc Rossi of Somerville, piano.

The Essex Chamber Music Players motto is “Music for the 21st Century, Music

The Essex Chamber Music Players to Hold Concert at NECC

Marc Rossi of Somerville

Treasures of the Past, New Music Premieres”. Finegold, professor emeritus of music at Northern Essex Community College, is the artistic director.

For more information, visit www.ecmp.org or contact Finegold at 978 470-1584 or ECMP314@comcast.net.

October 2013 Trustee Report

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Fall 2013 Enrollment Report

Northern Essex has more students this fall but they’re taking fewer credits, according to President Lane Glenn. There are 7352 students attending Northern Essex this fall: 40 more than last fall. But our full time equivalency—which measures enrollment in full-time figures—is down 1.5 percent from 4482 last fall to 4413 this fall.

“This is largely a function of the improving economy,” said Glenn. “Students are working more so have less time to take classes.”

Professor Produces Video during his Sabbatical

Professor Jorge Santiago believes that if faculty and staff have an understanding of the cultural backgrounds of their students, they will be better able to meet their educational needs. That’s why he spent his recent sabbatical developing a 24-minute multi-media video for Northern Essex faculty and staff that provides cultural background on our Hispanic students, which represent one-third of the college’s enrollment.

At the trustees’ meeting, Santiago shared the first few minutes of the video which emphasized the importance of “la familia.” Calling family “the pillar of the Hispanic culture”, Santiago explained that family might often come before schoolwork, and that faculty and staff need to recognize this when communicating with their Hispanic students.

The video will be shared as part of the new employee orientation and it will also be available to faculty and staff to review as often as needed. For more information, contact Santiago, jsantiago@necc.mass.edu.

Lawrence Campus Update

Completion of the El Hefni Health & Technology Center is right on track, according to President Lane Glenn. The college will move in late November, classes are scheduled to start in January, and a grand opening is planned for mid-March.

Four-twenty Common Street which will house classrooms, a bank, a bookstore, a Sal’s restaurant, and space for four-year university partners is also moving forward and should be fully operational by January.

Work on the parking and green space located on the site of the former Registry Building, which was torn down earlier this year, is scheduled to begin in November. When completed, this space will add 62 parking spaces.

Trustees Approve Revised College Budget

Trustees unanimously approved a revised FY2014 college budget of $41.1 million, which is $1.9 million less than the close to $43.3 million budget they had approved at the June meeting.

A decrease in actual state support, a rescinded general student fee increase, and projected slight decrease in the credit hour enrollment based on lower FTE’s drove the revision.

President Glenn explained that the college was able to make up the reductions by retaining the interest on the college’s investments rather than investing the interest and reducing the college’s contingency fund. “We don’t like to do either of these two things, but we felt it was the best way to balance the budget.”

Trustees Appoint Plumber/Steamfitter

There was only one personnel action at the October Trustee meeting when trustees voted unanimously to appoint Steven Fieldhouse as plumber/steamfitter I in the maintenance area.

NECC Hosts Transfer College Days

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Students interested in transferring are invited to attend Transfer College Days on Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill and Lawrence campuses this month. Free and open to the public, the events will be held on Wednesday, October 16th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the David Hartleb Technology Center, 100 Elliott St., Haverhill and on Wednesday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the atrium of the Dimitry Building, 45 Franklin St., Lawrence.

While designed for Northern Essex students who plan to transfer after graduating from Northern Essex with an associate degree, Transfer College Days are open to any community members who are interested in talking with representatives from public and private colleges from across New England. The representatives will provide information on program offerings, transfer requirements, financial aid, scholarships and other issues.

Participating schools include state universities from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine as well as many private institutions such as Simmons College, Brandeis University, Bentley University, Johnson & Wales University, Merrimack College, and Boston University, Columbia University; Syracuse University, The Boston Architectural Center and Endicott College.

Transfer College Day will highlight transfer opportunities for both full-time and part-time students.
For more information, please call 978-556-3440 or email advising@necc.mass.edu.

Student Participates in Transition to Work Program

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Left to right front, Kathy Vesey, director of the Gallaudet University Regional Center at Northern Essex Community College, Annie Baez, NECC Student and participant in Summer Transition to Work Program, Matilda “Tilly” DelVecchio, NECC controller, and Commissioner Heidi L. Reed from the MA Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Rear, Patricia Pierce, grant accountant in the NECC business office, and Bill Heineman, NECC vice president of academic and student affairs.

Left to right front, Kathy Vesey, director of the Gallaudet University Regional Center at Northern Essex Community College, Annie Baez, NECC Student, Matilda “Tilly” DelVecchio, NECC controller and Commissioner Heidi L. Reed from the MA Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Rear, Patricia Pierce, NECC grant accountant, and Bill Heineman, NECC vice president of academic and student affairs.

Commissioner Heidi L. Reed from the MA Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) recently visited the NECC Haverhill campus to honor a Northern Essex Community College student who participated in the Commission’s summer Transition to Work Program.

This program is a collaborative effort made possible through a federal grant and a partnership between the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and the MCDHH. The program is designed to increase deaf and hard of hearing students’ exposure to the workplace, gain new skills, and become marketable professionals. The program provided financial stipends to the student interns as well as job coaching. The program was open to high school and college students who are deaf/hard of hearing.

Annie Baez, who is deaf, spent up to 20 hours each week working in NECC’s business office where she performed a variety of administrative duties.

“I loved it,” said Baez, an NECC accounting and business transfer major. “It really helped me understand and apply what I am learning in the classroom. I realized I really like working with numbers.”

“She loved working in the business office and we loved having her,” said Matilda “Tilly” DelVecchio, NECC controller. “I learned from working with Annie that there are no limitations as to what she can do. Her performance was most exceptional. She was both efficient and pleasant to work with.”

Baez, a Boston resident, was born in the Dominican Republic. She enrolled at NECC, she said, because of the quality of services for deaf and hard of hearing students as well as the peer group on campus.

The partnership, says Reed, is about increasing the accessibility of employment for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The deaf and hard of hearing students who participate in Transition to Work summer internships are gaining skills to be vital members of the future workforce here in Massachusetts, according to Kathy Vesey, director of the Gallaudet University Regional Center at Northern Essex Community College.

Since the program’s inception three years ago, 150 students have participated, says Reed. Baez was one of 38 students selected from more than 100 who applied for this summer’s internships. These students have experienced a wide range of jobs from landscaping, to school programs, to office work.

“Transition to Work is part of our vision of the Commonwealth becoming a Model Employer; actively seeking to employ Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and people with disabilities who are under-represented in the workforce,” said Reed. “Here at MCDHH, we thank our interns for their commitment to learning their jobs and wish them well with future endeavors as they return to the classroom this fall. And we are sincerely grateful to the employers and mentors who welcomed, guided and advised students throughout the summer.”

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978-556-3869
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