One of Northern Essex Community College’s fasting growing programs recently started a student club. NECC’s new Human Services Club welcomes students of all majors, and, so far, 30 students have signed up.

Front row (left to right) Evelyn Rodriguez, co-president and Maria DelaCruz co-president.
Back row (left to right) Maria Reynolds, vice president, Allison Bersey, co-secretary and Ben Isaacman, co-secretary.

The club meets weekly and gives students an opportunity to get involved in their communities.

Diana Mele, faculty advisor of the Human Services Club, said, she was approached by students who wanted to expand networking within the community, to allow for more volunteer opportunities.

The Human Services Club works closely with Mitch’s Place, a year round emergency overnight shelter for single men and women, and is planning to host a Pillow drive. The pillow drive gives people an opportunity to donate unused pillows to Mitch’s Place.

Coastal Connection, a non-profit agency, serving adults with intellectual and physical disabilities in Amesbury, MA, will be collaborating with the Human Services Club to work on horticultural projects. Students in the club will pair-up with consumers of the agency and work on planting, gardening and other projects.

Maria Delacruz, co-president of the Human Services Club says, being a part of the Human Services Club will “provide students with experience that will help them in any field of work.”

Benjamin Isaacman, co-secretary of the Human Services Club, hopes the club will help fill a need in the community.

The clubs officers are, Evelyn Rodriguez, co-president, Maria DelaCruz, co-president, Maria Reynolds, vice president, Allison Bersey, co-secretary, Ben Isaacman, co-secretary and Michelle Carney, treasurer.

The club will host a Halloween Bash on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 12 p.m. in room C311, where they will be discussing plans for volunteer work over the upcoming holiday season and adding suggestions to goals for the club. Everyone is welcome to join. Refreshments and treats will be served.

For more information, contact Diana Mele at dmele@necc.mass.edu or (978) 556-3359.

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College offers over 70 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  More than 7,400 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 6,700 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. Northern Essex is the only state college located in the lower Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu.

Photography by Northern Essex Community College student, Noah Greenstein, will be on display at the Boxford Town Library from October 15^th through November 15^th. 

Greenstein, from Boxford, is a General Studies: Art major at NECC and winner of multiple photography awards. He uses digital photography to reflect both the beauty and personality of the region. His photos often provide thoughtful views of common sites and landmarks.

When he is not behind a camera, Greenstein is also an actor, theatre technician, and stage manager for several area theatre programs.

NECC offers an associate degree in general studies: art which provides a two-year degree with a focus on specific area of the arts, such as fine arts, multi-media, photography, or visual communications.

 Greenstein’s work can be found at www.noahgreenphotos.weebly.com.

Carlos Contreras, a national champion performance poet from Albuquerque, New Mexico, will present “Poet Artist Human Being” during a Northern Essex Community College White Fund lecture on Friday, Oct. 24, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Lawrence High School Performing Arts Center, 70-71 North Parish Road, Lawrence, MA.

Carlos Contreras

Free and open to the public, his presentation will include a slam poetry performance and a discussion on how to use poetry to find your own voice.

“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.”

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. 

Contreras works as an educator in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He teaches high school English, and is co-founder and lead facilitator of JustWrite, a creative exchange, which includes inmates from the New Mexico State Prison in Santa Fe and students from the University of New Mexico.

For additional information on this lecture, contact Martha Leavitt, director, campus operations & procurement– Lawrence Campus at mleavitt@necc.mass.edu. 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 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.

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College offers over 70 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  More than 7,400 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 6,700 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  Northern Essex is the only state college located in the lower Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu.

The NECC Fund helps support NECC’s ArtSpace Gallery, which is open to the community.

This year the NECC Annual Fund – which provides much needed scholarship awards to students, program grants to faculty and staff, and support for the college’s endowment – awarded over $10,000 to six NECC grant applicants. These grants benefit a variety of programs and enable students to experience a greater range of academic opportunities.

Among awarded grant applicants was the Global Studies Department and Adjunct Professor Richard Padova, who requested funding to set up a new speaker series featuring academics, politicians, and journalists from around the region and beyond. Titled “Movers, Shakers, and Opinion Makers”, the series is designed to enrich dialogue among students. Last month the Global Studies department inaugurated the series with former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who spoke at length about the evolving political climate and the positive influence that technology has had in bringing about social change. Dean, a leading candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009, now works as an independent consultant.

The NECC Fund also awarded the Veterans Services Program and Veterans Services Coordinator Jeffrey Williams with $2,000 in grant funds to provide for necessary organizational items, like honorary challenge coins and service flags (used in formal ceremonies to provide special acknowledgement), and to cover guest speaker fees. Assisting with these and other fees will allow the program to increase its visibility on campus and provide recognition for the achievements of its members. The Veteran Services Program serves as a critical resource for US military veterans as they navigate through the educational process.

Additional funding was granted to the Bentley Library ArtSpace, coordinated by Art Professor Marc Mannheimer and the Art and Design program, to help cover the costs of fixtures, exhibitions, and master classes. Last year, NECC Fund support allowed the Art and Design program to bring in notable guest artists like Scott Allie, editor-in-chief of Dark Horse Comics. Additional funding this year will allow for two to four new renowned guests.

Other NECC Fund awards include:

-$900 for the English/Foundational Studies and Liberal Arts and Sciences Division (FSLAS) to purchase materials related to the Literature: Art of Movies class.

-$4,000 for the Textbook Taskforce Program to assist professors in locating free resources for students by covering stipends

-$600 to provide art students with a bus trip to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts during the fall of 2014.

In its 10-year existence, the NECC Fund has awarded over $185,000 to student programs and related services. The college invites all interested faculty and staff members to submit grant applications each February for programs that will benefit the college community. Recipients are  chosen during the spring by NECC President Lane Glenn.

The NECC Fund relies upon the generosity of individuals and businesses to make these awards, and the overall success of NECC’s students, possible.

To donate, visit the NECC Fund website at www.necc.mass.edu/giving and click “donate now.”