Northern Essex Community College students and alumni and area employers are connecting easily as the result of a new feature in the NECClink, the Career Services Management system, used by the Career Connections office.

Now all students enrolled at Northern Essex are automatically registered in the NECClink database, which is an online career services system that gives NECC students and alumni access to jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities, both locally and across the United States. Potential employers looking to hire NECC students can register and post job opportunities.

This system is free to students, alumni, and employers. Students and alumni are encouraged to create a NECClink profile in order to build resumes and cover letters, to explore industry and career related information, to view employer profiles, and to search for and apply to quality employment and experiential learning opportunities.

NECClink was introduced to the college in 2013. Previously students had to self-register to access the program, but now their information is uploaded automatically each semester as soon as they enroll at Northern Essex whether it is for one class or a number of classes.

“This change allows us to target jobs to students,” said Ashley Moore, Career Connections manager, who oversees NECClink as well as the NECC Internship Program. “Employers can register and select the majors they are interested in recruiting students from such as accounting or computer science from a comprehensive list of majors. Once employers register, we can email a targeted list of jobs to students based on their majors.”

Following the drop/add period each semester, all NECC students are sent an email welcoming them to NECClink with instructions on how to activate and use their account.

“We are really trying to get the word out,” says Moore. “We want students to be using it and we want faculty to know about it and encourage their students to use it.”

Moore says that on average there are between 120 and 140 local jobs regularly posted on NECClink. In addition, there is a link to USAjobs for student and alumni to expand their search.

Students are excited about NECClink’s capabilities, according to Moore. They like the resume builder and the ability to look for local jobs. She hopes the new ability to customize email blast specific jobs to students will make it easier for students to connect to local employers and jobs.

Emmanuel  Hernandez, a Northern Essex grad, is one of the many NECClink success stories. Hernandez, who was heavily involved with NECC’s Student Success Center, applied for a job through NECClink and was hired as a peer mentor in Lawrence. He returned to NECC this spring during the Graduate Networking Night, connecting with recent NECC graduates, but this time as an employer.

For more information on NECClink, contact Ashley Moore at amoore@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3946.

 

What do phlebotomists, flu shots and a reiki master have in common? All of them will be found at Northern Essex Community College’s Health Profession: Health and Wellness Fair on Monday, October 19, from 9 a.m. until noon in the atrium of the Dimitry Building, 45 Franklin St., Lawrence.

This event, which is free and open to the public, will showcase the health programs offered at NECC as well as educate visitors on health issues affecting society. Student and faculty representatives from all NECC health programs, including iHealth@NECC, will be available to discuss the value of each academic health program as well as health issues related to that program’s topic. Some of the health topics include bone fractures; privacy and security of electronic health records; cataracts; the link between oral disease and overall health; the art of medical coding; how to get a good night’s sleep for college students; and much more.

A highlight of the fair will be the tours of the new Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Health & Technology Center, 416 Common St. in Lawrence. Visitors will be able to see the state-of-the-art equipment available to NECC health students.

A reiki master will be available to demonstrate this alternative therapy; and Rite Aid will be administering flu shots to individuals who present health insurance cards.

All individuals who visit all tables and complete their ‘raffle cards’ will be entered in raffles.

For additional information contact Linda Comeau at lcomeau@necc.mass.edu

Northern Essex offers associate degrees in General Studies: Movement Science Option, Nursing (ADN), Nursing Advanced Placement: LPN to RN, Paramedic (EMT-P) Technology, Radiologic Technology, and Respiratory Care; certificates in Computed Tomography, Dental Assisting, Medical Assistant, Paramedic (EMT-P) Technology, Practical Nursing (PN), and Sleep Technologist; and a course in EMT-Basic.

Through iHealth@NECC associate degrees are offered in Business Management: Healthcare Practice, General Studies: Health Specialization, Health Information Technology, Medical Laboratory Technology, and Nursing Advanced Placement: LPN to RN. Certificates are offered in Electronic Health Record Specialist, Healthcare Technician, Medical Assistant – Evening Program, Medical Billing, Medical Coding, Medical Office Assistant, and Ophthalmic Assistant.

For more information, visit the website www.necc.mass.edu/health

Board Welcomes New Student Trustee

At its September meeting, the NECC Board of Trustees welcomed Sam Beverage, the newly elected student trustee.

A resident of Lawrence, Beverage is an engineering major, who plans to transfer for a bachelor’s degree after graduating from Northern Essex this coming spring.

Read more.

Educational Report Focuses on Mental Health Counseling

Bill Heineman, vice president of academic and student affairs, provided an update on the college’s mental health counseling services, which have been available since the fall of 2013, when the college hired a part-time mental health counselor.

In the summer of 2014, due to increased demand for services, Heineman reported that the college hired a second mental health counselor.

The college’s mental health counselors consult with faculty and staff who are dealing with students with mental health issues and also meet with students.

“We try not to get into long term counseling,” explained President Lane Glenn.  “Our goal is to help students with more minor issues, and refer them to long-term counseling for more major issues.”

College Prepares for a New Round of Strategic Planning

President Glenn reported that a new strategic planning process would be launched at the college’s September 8 convocation.  Wendy Shaffer, dean of development, will be leading the development of the plan, which will run through 2020.

“At convocation, we will launch the new process and identify themes and topics that we want to explore,” said Glenn.   “We know what some of those themes will be—student success, for example—but there may be new initiatives.

Quarrybrook will Bring New Resources to NECC

Northern Essex has entered a new partnership with Quarrybrook Learning Center, a private non-profit outdoor education center, located in Windham, NH, according to President Glenn.

Starting this month, Northern Essex is managing the operations and growth of Quarrybrook, which is funded by the El Hefni Technical Training Foundation, a generous supporter of the college.

Opened in 2014, Quarrybrook offers hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences to a K-12 audience on a 245-acre campus featuring trails and outdoor gathering spaces and a 20,000 square foot facility with a large fireplace and gathering room and multiple flexible “classroom spaces.”

Partnering with Quarrybook provides many benefits for the college, said Glenn, including opportunities to strengthen relationships with K-12 students and educators and further develop inquiry- based learning.   College faculty and staff will also have access to the facility, and Quarrybrook is expected to generate revenue for the college as enrollment and programming grows.

Marcy Yeager, who is currently interim director of NECC’s Cultural and International Studies Institute, has been named the executive director of Quarrybrook, and Kirsten Kortz, coordinator of the college success course, will be education development director.

Fall Semester Begins without MCCC Contract

Because the state’s Administration and Finance office has not provided salary negotiation figures, a new contract has not been agreed on, so faculty and professional staff will start the fall semester without a contract, according to President Glenn.

The Department of Higher Education is negotiating with the Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC), which represents faculty and professional staff.

Glenn is the chair of the community college president’s council, which supports ongoing negotiations, including salary parameters as soon as possible.

“Community college faculty members and professional staff are underpaid in Massachusetts,” said Glenn.  “It’s not unusual to hire someone with a doctorate and teaching and research experience at right around $50,000 or less.”

Faculty and Staff Join the College

Trustees affirmed the appointments that were approved by the president of the college during the summer of 2015, based on authority delegated by the Board of Trustees.

There were 15 full-time state positions and three non-state appropriated positions approved.

State appropriated positions included Carol Emerson, associate professor, Respiratory Care; Edward Flanagan, associate professor, Paramedic Technology; Rachel King, associate professor, Mathematics; Brian MacKenna-Rice, assistant professor/program coordinator, Human Services; Sheila Pierre, associate professor, Behavioral Sciences; Stacy Tsionis, assistant professor, Nursing; Eldiane Elmeus, assistant professor, First Year Seminar; Mayra Bonet, associate professor, Foreign Languages; Susan McHugh, associate professor, Nursing; Lori Heymans, professor, Mathematics; Jeidy Urena, special programs coordinator, Student Success Center; Izabela Kaczynska, admissions/academic counselor, Enrollment Services; Leann Klocke, staff assistant, Library; Kelly Sullivan, dean of Technology, Arts & Professional Studies; and Brian Monaghan, EDP systems analyst II, Center for Instructional Technology.

Non-state appropriated positions included Brianne McDonough, program manager, Department of Labor Guided Pathways to Success in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Project; Marcy Yeager, executive director, Quarrybrook; and Kirsten Kortz, K-14 educational development director, Quarrybrook.

The Music Program at Northern Essex Community College will offer two free master classes in the art of piano playing by NECC music faculty member Christina Dietrich, Sunday, Oct. 18 , and Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 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.

Professor 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, professor Dietrich is currently piano faculty and new department cochair at Indian Hill Music, new faculty at the Steinway Piano Academy Boston/Natick, adjunct professor at both Mount Wachusett Community College and Northern Essex Community College, and Founder/Director of the Chopin Conservatory of Music on the North Shore.  She has held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory of Music, Brookline Music School and North Shore Community College. Professor Dietrich regularly presents master classes in the art of piano performance, and is the Artistic Director of the Summer Music Festival at Northern Essex Community College, now in its sixth season.

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.

If you are a military veteran and have a story or two to tell, NECC English Professor Paul Saint-Amand, a Vietnam-Era Veteran, is looking for you. With the beginning of the Fall 2015 semester he is launching an NECC Veterans’ Writing Group. Sponsored by the NECC English department, it will be open to all veterans.

“As a veteran myself, I invite other veterans an opportunity to tell their stories in their own way, in their own time. Though our individual perspectives differ, our training, protocols, and military experience have shaped our bond as veterans,” says Saint-Amand. “When we share stories and listen to the emerging voices of other writers, we often find meaning in the stories we have yet to tell. In my mind, that is the true purpose of this veterans’ writing group.”

This informal writing group is geared toward supporting and encouraging those military veterans (active and inactive) who attend NECC to tell their stories (both in and out of the military) through a variety of genres – nonfiction, fiction, drama, and poetry.

The goal is to support and encourage each other as writers by sharing stories and offering responses to others in the group. The group meets monthly with an organizational meeting on Tuesday, Sept 22, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in SC203 Second Floor of the One-Stop on the Haverhill campus.

A regular meeting time will be discussed at this first meeting. Any questions can be addressed to Professor Saint-Amand at psaintamand@necc.mass.edu or 978-556- 3307.