2013 - Page 6 of 23

iHealth Program Offers Career Advancement

October 8, 2013/in Archive/by review

Letoya “Apollo” Mburu

When Letoya “Apollo” Mburu wanted to start his career he turned to Northern Essex. When he wanted to advance his career he returned to Northern Essex and its iHealth program.

Born and raised in Kenya, Apollo emigrated to the U.S. when he was 23. Almost immediately he enrolled in a certified nursing assistant program and started working at a nursing home and a home health agency. Apollo found he liked the personal care he could offer his patients, but he wished he could do more. With that in mind, he completed his GED and began taking college courses. Eventually, he enrolled in NECC’s Certificate in Practical Nursing Program and graduated in 2010.

“As a CNA I was limited in what I could do,” he says. “As an LPN my role was expanded and I was able to make a greater impact. I believe one of my gifts is giving encouragement to the patients.”

But even then, he knew he wasn’t done with his education. While he continued to work as an LPN, he realized he wanted even more responsibility.

“I always felt like I wanted to be more of an advocate for my patients,” says the 37-year-old. “I knew I needed to go back to school.”

He enrolled in the NECC iHealth Nursing Advanced Placement: LPN to ADN – Evening Program. He graduated in May of 2013.

With his new degree, Apollo hopes to transition into a medical/surgical position in a critical care facility and already he is talking about continuing his education. Eventually, he says, he will pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

He dreams of one day returning to his native Kenya and using his medical knowledge and skills in a teaching capacity.

“I am trying to find what I can do to help in Kenya with the knowledge I have acquired.”

Master Piano Workshops Offered at NECC

October 7, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

The Music Program at Northern Essex Community College will offer two free masters workshops in the art of piano playing by NECC music faculty member Christina Dietrich, Sunday, Oct. 20, and Sunday, Nov. 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Technology Center on the Haverhill campus.

The purpose of these free workshops will be to give piano players the chance to perform and learn in a cooperative group setting. Solo piano works and instrumental and vocal works with piano accompaniment of various levels of difficulty will be explored. Various aspects of piano performance and preparation will also be discussed.
Students at all levels of playing ability will benefit from attending these workshops.

Dietrich has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras. She has performed on the stages of Jordan Hall in Boston, Symphony Hall in Boston, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. She earned a bachelor’s in music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, her master’s in music from Boston University and pursued her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at that institution.

In addition to maintaining a concert career, Dietrich is currently on the piano faculty of Indian Hill Music, Northern Essex Community College, and is founder and administrative director of the Chopin Conservatory of Music on the North Shore.

For more information about these workshops contact Christina Dietrich at cdietrich@necc.mass.edu.

Northern Essex Community College offers an Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies: Music and a Music Technology Certificate.

NECC Graduate Receives Scholarship

October 4, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

NECC graduate Vicky Sherwood

Recent Northern Essex Community graduate Vicky Sherwood of Merrimac was selected from a nationwide pool of candidates to receive the Harold McPheeters Scholarship from the National Organization for Human Services.

McPheeters is widely considered to be the father of human service education in the United States and this scholarship recognizes an undergraduate or graduate student studying in human services.

After graduating from NECC in May, Sherwood transferred to Salem State University where she is currently a full- time student in the social work program. Outside of school Sherwood works part time at the Amesbury Senior Center and part time at the Emmaus Family Shelter in Haverhill.

On receiving the scholarship, Sherwood said “I’m deeply humbled to have been selected as the winner of the award and also very appreciative.” Sherwood has a daughter who is enrolled at Northern Essex Community College and a son who is a freshman at Pentucket Regional High School. Sherwood went on to say that “going back to school to change careers at the same time my children are starting their college journeys is financially difficult so I am extremely grateful for this award.”

The Harold McPheeters Scholarship is a service-focused scholarship that honors Dr. Harold McPheeters and his contributions to the human service profession. This scholarship is awarded each year to one currently enrolled student in an associate, baccalaureate or master’s degree Human Services program.

Sherwood will receive this award at the National Organization for Human Services conference in Maryland in late October.

NECC offers a Human Service’s Associate of Science degree as well as certificates in Alcohol Drug Abuse Counseling, Community Support and Human Services Practitioner, and Direct Support.

For additional information contact Jane Gagliardi, NECC Human Service Program coordinator at jgagliardi@necc.mass.edu.

Life Long Learning Hosts Memoir Author

October 4, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

Author Dale Stanten

On Thursday, October 17, author Dale Stanten will discuss her memoir “The Hooker’s Daughter” as part of Northern Essex Community College’s Life Long Learning Program. This presentation will take place on the college’s Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott Street at 2p.m. Admission is $2.

In 1950s Jewish Boston, Stanton’s mother established a home-based business as a prostitute to remedy her husband’s inability to provide for his family. At age six, the author was answering the front door for johns. Kids were forbidden to play with her and even the Girl Scouts asked her to leave. And when her gay sister “came out” at age 16, it was the only thing her parents focused on as contemptible.

Stanten’s memoir is a story of survival, driven by a strong will and an ability to extract positive qualities from a dysfunctional life, punctuated by immoral and illegal behaviors. Stanten was able to reconcile the reality of her environment with what she wished it to be. The resulting tenacity enabled Stanten to cope with her terminally ill husband and widowhood at age 37. Her unconditional love for her mother challenges the reader to examine beyond that which is socially acceptable and identify that which is universal.

Stanten currently serves on the North Shore Board of Juvenile Scholarship Aid, volunteers as a Big Sister, and is an active member of Power of Women, a National Association of Women on the Rise, and The Arizona Humanities Consortium for the Arts. A life-long learner, she studies Kabbalah and Torah and shares her personal journey to encourage others to rise above their circumstances, no matter how difficult, using their inner strength to determine the course of their own lives.

She currently resides in Boston and Phoenix with her husband.
Copies of “The Hooker’s Daughter” will be available for purchase at this event.

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 978-659-1225, or cboucher@necc.mass.edu.

Local Legislators Meet at NECC

October 3, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

NECC alumna Lindsey Curole, Rep. Barry Finegold, NECC President Lane Glenn, and NECC student trustee and engineering science major Emily Ramirez

Local legislators gathered at Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill Campus for the college’s Annual Legislators’ Breakfast on Friday, Sept. 27.

Those attending heard an economic forecast from Representative Brian S. Dempsey, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee; learned how Northern Essex is preparing local residents for high demand STEM careers; and received a financial update from Northern Essex President Lane Glenn.

Chairman Dempsey reported that the state is “off to a good start” this fiscal year with revenues that are $139 million above benchmark, increased cash reserves, and a recently upgraded bond rating—double A plus– which is the highest in the history of the Commonwealth.

“We are well positioned, but we need to take a practical approach and invest in things like education that are important,” said Dempsey.

In recent years, the state’s investment in K-12 has grown significantly from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $4.3 billion today, but the higher education budget has not grown at the same rate, according to Dempsey.

Rep. Brian Dempsey, NECC student trustee Emily Ramirez, NECC President Lane Glenn, Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, and NECC alumna Lindsey Curole.

Chair of the House Ways and Means Committe Rep. Brian Dempsey, NECC student trustee Emily Ramirez, NECC President Lane Glenn, Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, and NECC alumna Lindsey Curole.

“We haven’t done enough for higher education. We know the good work that happens here and I think we will see an ongoing effort to keep your budgets up in the years ahead.”

Northern Essex President Lane Glenn shared a presentation titled “NECC Prepares Local Residents for High Demand STEM Careers” with legislators.

According to Glenn, over half of NECC’s 7,000 plus students are enrolled in STEM programs such as health, science, computer technology, and engineering. Some of the fastest growing programs are engineering transfer; allied health, such as radiologic technology and respiratory therapy; and computer certificate programs such as computer forensics and computer security.

In the past three years, Northern Essex has added three new STEM programs that were created in collaboration with local employers, including associate degrees in laboratory science with a focus on biotechnology, environmental science, or chemical analysis, and the medical laboratory technician, and an ophthalmic assistant certificate.

“We’re partnering with local employers to give our students the skills that will lead to careers when they graduate,” said Glenn.

Northern Essex students Emily Ramirez, an engineering science major from Lawrence, and Lindsey Curole of Merrimac, a recent graduate of the Lab Science Program shared their stories with legislators. A 2010 graduate of Lawrence High School, Ramirez is balancing her studies with working 30-hours a week for the Microsoft store in Salem, NH. Curole is studying full time at UMass Lowell while working part time as a quality control technician for Charm Sciences, a position she received after completing her internship.

On the financial front, President Glenn started with the good news, pointing out that Northern Essex currently has the third lowest cost of the Commonwealth’s 15 community colleges with annual tuition and fees for a full-time student totaling $4710.

NECC student trustee Emily Ramirez, NECC President Lane Glenn, NECC alumna Lindsey Curole, and William Moynihan, Chairman of the NECC Board of Trustees.

NECC student trustee Emily Ramirez, NECC President Lane Glenn, Rep. Diana DiZoglio, NECC alumna Lindsey Curole, and William Moynihan, Chairman of the NECC Board of Trustees.

“We’re one of the lowest cost colleges in the state, and we’re proud of this but it’s coming at a tremendous price,” said Glenn.

When you look at the college’s net asset value, which measures the condition of a campus, the college is last in the state, falling in the “catch-up” stage which indicates that buildings need significant repairs.

“We have a $90 million deferred maintenance back log. It’s not that we don’t work at it, we do, but we need to have a more aggressive strategy as far as cost so we can address this.”

Legislators attending the breakfast included Chairman Dempsey, Senator Barry Finegold, Representative Linda Dean Campbell, and Representative Diana DiZoglio. Dennis Marcelo represented Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives and Jeff Stinson represented Representative Leonard Mirra. Also attending the event were members of the college’s board of trustees and faculty and staff.

“We are fortunate to have a talented group of legislators representing us in the Merrimack Valley,” said Glenn. “Your leadership brings home results for Northern Essex and our region.”

Haverhill LWV Hosts ‘Money in Politics’ Forum

October 1, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

Harvard Law Professor Dr. Lawrence Lessig

Jeffrey Clements is president and co-founder of Free Speech for People

HAVERHILL, MA (Sept. 13, 2013)—Harvard Law Professor Dr. Lawrence Lessig and Jeffrey Clements are leading a discussion of “Money in Politics” Oct. 3 at Northern Essex Community College.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Haverhill is hosting the public forum, discussing the influence of the campaign finance system in the electoral process and the threat to the vitality of democracy, Thursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. at Northern Essex Community College, Spurk (C) Building, Lecture Hall A.

Dr. Lessig is founder of Rootstrikers, a nonpartisan organization fighting the corrupting influence of money in politics as the root of America’s problems. Clements is president and co-founder of Free Speech for People, a national, nonpartisan campaign to challenge the creation of constitutional rights for corporations. Former State Senator Susan Tucker of Andover is moderator.

The forum is held in cooperation with the Contemporary Affairs Club of Northern Essex Community College and the Haverhill Democratic and Republican City Committees.

For more information, contact League President Carole Pelchat at (978) 702-4502 or visit www.lwv-gh.org.

NECC Presents Performance Poet

October 1, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

Carlos Contreras

Carlos Antonio Contreras, a national champion performance poet from Albuquerque, New Mexico will present his work during a White Fund lecture series titled “Becoming Comfortable in the Skin of Your Own Voice” offered in partnership with Northern Essex Community College on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 8:45 a.m. at Lawrence High School, 70-72 North Parish Road, Lawrence. This event is free and open to the public.

“I have used spoken word as a tool for growth, advancement, and survival,” says the 25-year-old.

Performance poetry he explains is “A journey in spoken word, how it heals, helps, and informs one about who they are, where they are from, and who they come from – but most of all, why that matters, to us all.”

His lecture will include a slam poetry performance and a discussion on how to use poetry to encourage participants to “find their own voices, their own messages, and their own point of delivery.”

Contreras has twice been recognized as a national champion performance poet. He got his start in the area of competitive spoken word, or Slam Poetry when he was just 17.

Today, Contreras works as an educator in Albuquerque. He leads writing workshops in the adult jail facility at the Metropolitan Detention Center where he developed the JustWrite writing exchange which is both an exchange between college students and inmates, but is also an exchange between numerous universities, and correctional facilities. In addition, Contreras teaches all levels of high school English.

For additional information about this event, or The White Fund, or to receive a calendar of upcoming events in the White Fund Enlightenment Series, call 978-738-7403 or visit the website www.necc.mass.edu/whitefund.

The 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.

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

Inaugural Poet Comes to Lawrence

September 27, 2013/in Archive/by Angela Tournas

NECC President Lane Glenn,Cuban American poet Richard Blanco, and Eileen Bernal, White Fund Tustee

Cuban American poet Richard Blanco received what is considered the highest honor a poet can receive when he was invited by President Obama to read a poem he had written at his second inauguration last January.

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Richard Blanco came to Lawrence High School and read his poetry and discussed his work as part of Northern Essex Community College’s White Fund Lecture Series.

After being asked to write an inaugural poem, Blanco said he had “lots of false starts.” He wrote three poems in total and it was a couple of days after the Sandy Hook tragedy that he became inspired and wrote “One Today”, the poem which he shared with the nation and that Hector Tobar of the LA Times called “an intimate and sweeping celebration of our shared, single identity as a people.”.

While in Lawrence, Blanco discussed his experiences writing the inaugural poem, his writing process, and his thoughts about navigating a cultural identity between two worlds: his Cuban heritage and his place in the United States.

He said reading his inaugural poem was a defining moment for him. “On Jan. 21, I found home. I realized home was here. It was an experience I hadn’t expected.”

Blanco also penned “Boston Strong” a poem honoring the victims of the Marathon Bombing that was presented on May 30 at the TD Bank Garden as part of the benefit concert and at Fenway Park at a Red Sox Game.

Born in Madrid, Spain, to Cuban exiles, Blanco was just weeks old when his family moved first to New York City and later Miami, Florida, where he was raised and educated.

Since childhood—Blanco says— he felt caught between two worlds: the imaginary world of his Cuban heritage as seen and heard only through his parents nostalgic stories about the “homeland” and the other imaginary world of the “real” America that he envisioned from TV shows and history book—a very different place from the predominantly Cuban community where he grew up.

He has a bachelor of science in civil engineering as well as a master in fine arts in creative writing from Florida International University. He started his career as a civil engineer and came late to poetry but finds the two disciplines complement one another. “I think I’m a better engineer because I’m a poet and a better poet because I’m an engineer.”

Blanco now lives in Bethel, Maine, and, in November, his memoir titled “All of Us, One Today” will be released.

The next presentation in the NECC White Fund Lecture Series will be by Carlos Contreras, a slam poet, on Wednesday, Oct. 9, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at Lawrence High School.

For more information on the White Fund Lecture Series, contact Martha Leavitt, Northern Essex Community College, 978 738 7403 or mleavitt@necc.mass.edu.

CNA Info Session Offered at NECC Riverwalk

September 26, 2013/in Archive/by Alexis Fontaine

An information session for individuals interested in becoming a certified nurse aide or home health aid will be held Thursday, October 3, from 10 to 11 a.m. at NECC Riverwalk, 360 Merrimack St., Building 9, Lawrence.

Community Action of Haverhill will offer this six-week nurse aid training program in partnership with Northern Essex Community College’ Center for Corporate and Community Education.

This 150-hour daytime program prepares students to sit for the state licensing test to become Certified Nurse Aides and also become a home health aide. It includes theory, clinical skills, and clinical practice at a long term care facility under the supervision of a registered nurse.

For more information, please contact Nancy Tariot at 978-373-1971 x 263 or Ntariot@comunityactioninc.org or Diane Zold-Gross at 978-659-1221 or dzoldgross@necc.mass.edu.

Softball Returns to NECC

September 26, 2013/in Archive/by review

NECC Softball Coach Robert Gillespie

When native New Englander Robert Gillespie relocated back to Massachusetts he was eager to continue coaching softball and thus, was on the hunt to find a team. As luck would have it, NECC athletic director Sue MacAvoy was in the process of forming a softball team and was on the hunt for a coach. The two met and now hope to make history.

MacAvoy, a former softball player and coach herself, has been fielding requests for years to reignite the college’s softball team. Softball hasn’t been offered in decades. Different years, there were different obstacles, but when she finally got the nod to create a team, MacAvoy found she had the talent and a softball field, albeit overgrown, but no coach.

Enter Gillespie, 51, who grew-up in Reading, attended Austin Preparatory School and graduated from North Adams State College with a degree in history. Although he would have loved to have gone directly into teaching after college, the economy drove him to the insurance and mortgage business instead. After his wife, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, accepted a job transfer first to Michigan and then New Jersey, he gave up his calculator for chalk and eraser. He turned to substitute teaching by day and coaching by afternoon. Eventually, he became a full-time, eighth-grade science teacher.

“It just felt natural for me to be in front of the kids talking to them, educating them, coaching them,” he says.

With a son and daughter both involved in athletics growing up, Gillespie accrued plenty of baseball, basketball, soccer, and softball coaching time, but it was softball that stuck. He went on to serve as assistant softball coach for his daughter’s high school. He became head coach in 2007. Along the way, he gathered coach of the year nominations in 2007 and 2012 and 25 years of coaching – 20 in softball.

“I like the competitive spirit of kids,” he says. “Softball is a great game. It is fast moving and requires fast skills. There is nothing better than to spend time with kids who love the sport as much as you do.”

While Gillespie was busy coaching in New Jersey, MacAvoy was at NECC regularly taking queries about starting a softball program at NECC.

“I always thought a softball team would be a great complement to our strong baseball team,” she says.

While there has been interest in softball in the 17 years MacAvoy has been here, it wasn’t until last year when she had 18 women approach her about forming a team, that she pursued funding.

Now, the old, overgrown softball field has been cleaned up. There is new clay in the infield, the backstop has been rejuvenated, and trees, branches, and vines have been cut back. Gillespie hopes to meet with players this fall, train this winter, and start using the field next spring.

Gillespie says he isn’t looking for just super stars. He welcomes all level of talent.

“I look at every player and the individual talents she brings to the team,” he says. “It is important to me that the girls have fun, but I also want them to play the game correctly. I believe in focusing on the fundamentals of the game.”

Gillespie says he is looking for the right mix of player/athlete.

“They are at NECC for academics, but playing on the team will enhance their time here,” he says.

Athletes interested in playing, are invited to attend an informational meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m. in the Sports & Fitness Center (Building D) on the Haverhill campus.

For more information contact Gillespie at rgillespie@necc.mass.edu or Sue MacAvoy at smacavoy@necc.mass.edu