Northern Essex Community College students taking courses in downtown Lawrence now have access to a beautiful outdoor space that can be used for studying or recreation.

On Friday, June 17, the city unveiled the new city center project which runs behind the NECC El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center between Essex and Common streets and Amesbury and Franklin streets.

Made possible thanks to a $900,000 Mass Works grant that was announced at the end of 2013, the new space features tree-shaded benches, contemporary lighting, colorful graphic wall murals painted on the sides of buildings, and freshly paved alleys designed with a checkered pattern.  The project was supported by a $7,000 gift from the Lawrence Partnership, a private/public sector collaboration for the economic development and general improvement of the City of Lawrence that was launched in 2014.

“When people walk through our downtown area, they will no longer see trash filled alleyways—they will see areas where they can sit and have lunch with co-workers and friends or read a book in the sun,” said Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera.  “This is an improvement on the quality of life in Lawrence.”

NECC President Lane Glenn said he calls the new city center “the connector” since it connects NECC students with downtown stores and restaurants.   “The number of students studying in Lawrence has doubled in recent years from 1500 to 3000, and we expect that number to continue to grow,” he said.   “We anticipate that this new center will be a great addition, adding life to the city’s downtown and helping to sustain and grow small businesses.”

Mayor Rivera thanked Lawrence’s state legislative delegation for their help in securing the grant for the project, and Representatives Marcos Devers and Frank Moran and Senator Barbara L’Italien spoke at the unveiling along with Juan Vega, assistant secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.  Representative Diana DiZoglio was unable to attend.

The City of Lawrence and its Office of Planning and Development partnered with NECC, Tec Inc. Engineering and Klopfer-Martin Design Group on this project.  Elevated Thought, an art-based nonprofit based in Lawrence, painted the murals.

 

The David Hartleb Technology Center on Northern Essex Community College’s Haverhill Campus was transformed into an elegant venue for the Women of NECC’s 20th annual June fundraising event which was held on Saturday evening, June 11.

Guests walked a red carpet as they entered the building, soft drapes hung from the walls, mood lighting created ambiance, and bright pink centerpieces with roses and peonies provided a colorful contrast to the gold and navy color scheme.

More than 135 guests attended the event which included a silent auction, raffles, and a mystery wine bottle grab, and over $20,000 was raised for scholarships.

NECC President Lane Glenn was the host of the event and, in his remarks, he praised the Women of NECC for their contributions to the college.

“We’re honored that this remarkable group of women have chosen to support Northern Essex,” said Glenn.  “They’ve contributed to the college financially and served as community ambassadors, promoting the college and its mission across the Merrimack Valley.”

Since their founding almost 20 years ago, the Women have raised over half million dollars for the college and awarded $300,000 in scholarships to 400 deserving NECC students.

Each year they host fundraisers including the annual June event, membership teas, and holiday events.  The June fundraisers are typically held at private homes but since this year was the 20th open house the event was held on campus.

A highlight of the evening was the announcement of a new scholarship in honor of Geraldine Murphy of North Andover, who has been the president of the Women of NECC since its founding.   Jeff Linehan, chair of the NECC Board of Trustees and a member of the NECC Foundation, presented Murphy with a plaque and announced that the foundation will award a $1000 scholarship annually in her name.

The college received $30,000 in in-kind donations for this event.  NexDine Catering provided catering services; Paula Marrero of Marrero Events, staged the facility; Elaine Barker of Paper Potpourri assisted with invitations; and the centerpieces were created by Flowers by Steve.

The Women of Northern Essex Community College is a volunteer organization dedicated to assisting Northern Essex Community College and its students. The organization generates funds for student scholarships and special projects by conducting a variety of fundraising events throughout the year, including a Fall Membership Tea and a June Gala Open House event.

For additional information contact Jean Poth, Vice-President Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the NECC Foundation, Inc. at jpoth@necc.mass.edu

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.

On Tuesday, June 7, Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill and Lawrence, MA) held a rally to celebrate its baseball team which returned from the NJCAA Division 3 World Series in Kinston, NC as the number 2 team in the nation.

The Knights entered the series as an underdog ranked 12th in the country, and as the World Series announcers kept saying “they defied the odds”, coming very close to the championship, which was decided Wednesday, June 1, in a 3-4 loss to Tyler (TX) Junior College.

At the rally—which included a barbecue, a slide show of photos from the World Series, and recognition of each team member, NECC President Lane Glenn thanked the team for “putting on a great show and showing off Northern Essex so well.”

Jeff Mejia, coach of the Knights since 2013, recognized each of the 19 players and said “we win games because we outwork every other team.”

Mejia stressed the importance of academics, thanking the college for providing an academic advisor and academic coach for each player.

“This is the first step for our players,” he said.  “My job is to get these kids into 4-year schools.”

One third of this year’s team will be transferring, many with academic and athletic scholarships.  The colleges they will be transferring to, including Ave Maria University in Florida (Robert Barry, Merrimac), UMass Lowell (Colby Maiola, North Reading), West Virginia University Institute of Technology (Anthony Dally, Lowell), UMass Amherst (Keith Linnane, North Reading) and the University of New Orleans (Jordan Roper, Lynnfield).

This was the fifth year in a row that the Knights have made it to the World Series, and second place is the closest they have ever come to winning.

Northern Essex began the series with a 12-10 win over Montgomery (MD) Community College on Saturday, May 28 followed by a 6-4 win over Niagara County (NY) Community College in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 29.

The first game lasted over 4 and half hours and went into 12 innings, ending after midnight.  The second game began at 10:15 pm due to a rain delay and didn’t end until after 2 a.m.

The Knights faced Tyler (Texas) Junior College in the semi-finals on Monday, May 30 and lost 0-10.

A 4-3 win in the semi-finals on Tuesday, May 31 against Rowan College at Gloucester County (NJ) made them eligible for the championship game against Tyler Junior College, which they lost in a close and hard fought 3-4 battle.

“I have never seen a team play with such heart and soul,” said Sue MacAvoy, the college’s longtime athletic director.  “This is such a great group of young men, and they pulled off quite a feat.”

Three Northern Essex players– Colby Maiola of North Reading (outfield), Evan Glew of North Andover (pitcher) and Jordan Roper (infield/outfield) of Lynnfield were named to All-Tournament team.

 

The team includes Brahiam Ortega of Lawrence; Jordan Roper of Lynnfield; Traverse Briana of Lynnfield; Keith Linnane of North Reading; Dave Brindamour of Georgetown; John Sirois of Merrimac; Evan Glew of North Andover; Christian Balbuena of Lawrence, Colby Maiola of North Reading; James Foley of North Reading, Nicholas Bruno of Lynnfield; Robert Barry of Merrimac; Mark Sicard of Methuen, Argeny Villa of Lawrence; Matthew Marquez of Salem MA; Gianni Esposito of Peabody; Ellido Reyes of Lynn; Xavier Nunez of Lowell, and Anthony Dally of Lowell.

The Knights had a 22-14 season record and they swept Massasoit Community College in the Region 21 best-of-3 tournament, earning a spot in the World Series line-up.

Northern Essex offers seven varsity sports teams including baseball, softball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, track & field, and volleyball. NECC’s philosophy is that the classroom experience is what makes a well-rounded athlete.

To learn more about the NECC Knights, contact Sue MacAvoy, smacavoy@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3820 or visit the website, necc.mass.edu.

The Northern Essex Community College Knights (Haverhill and Lawrence, MA) are returning from the NJCAA Division 3 World Series in Kinston, NC as the number 2 team in the nation.

The Knights entered the series as an underdog ranked 12th in the country, and as the World Series announcers kept saying “they defied the odds”, coming very close to the championship, which was decided Wednesday night in a 3-4 loss to Tyler (TX) Junior College.

“We could not be prouder of our Knights,” said Northern Essex President Lane Glenn.   “They were competing with the best two-year colleges in the country and their talent, grit, and perseverance were inspiring.  This was very exciting baseball.”

This was the fifth year in a row that the Knights have made it to the World Series, and second place is the closest they have ever come to winning.  Jeff Mejia of North Reading is the team’s head coach, a position he has held since 2013.

Northern Essex began the series with a 12-10 win over Montgomery (MD) Community College on Saturday, May 28 followed by a 6-4 win over Niagara County (NY) Community College in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 29.

The first game lasted over 4 and half hours and went into 12 innings, ending after midnight.  The second game began at 10:15 pm due to a rain delay and didn’t end until after 2 a.m.

The Knights faced Tyler (Texas) Junior College in the semi-finals on Monday, May 30 and had their only loss in the series, 0-10.

A 4-3 win in the semi-finals on Tuesday, May 31 against Rowan College at Gloucester County (NJ) made them eligible for the championship game against Tyler Junior College, which they lost to in a close and hard fought 3-4 battle.

“I have never seen a team play with such heart and soul,” said Sue MacAvoy, the college’s longtime athletic director.  “This is such a great group of young men, and they pulled off quite a feat.”

Three Northern Essex players–Colby Maiola of North Reading (outfield), Evan Glew of North Andover (pitcher) and Jordan Roper (infield/outfield) of Lynnfield–were named to All-Tournament team.

The team includes Brahiam Ortega of Lawrence; Jordan Roper of Lynnfield; Traverse Briana of Lynnfield; Keith Linnane of Everett; Dave Brindamour of Georgetown; John Sirois of Merrimac; Evan Glew of North Andover; Christian Balbuena of Lawrence, Colby Maiola of North Reading; James Foley of North Reading, Nicholas Bruno of Lynnfield; Robert Barry of Merrimac; Mark Sicard of Methuen, Argeny Villa of Lawrence; Matthew Marquez of Salem MA; John Sanchez of Lawrence, MA; Gianni Esposito of Peabody; Ellido Reyes of Lynn; Xavier Nunez of Lowell, and Anthony Dally of Lowell.

The Knights had a 22-14 season record and they swept Massasoit Community College in the Region 21 best-of-3 tournament, earning a spot in the World Series line-up.

Northern Essex offers seven varsity sports teams including baseball, softball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, track & field, and volleyball. NECC’s philosophy is that the classroom experience is what makes a well-rounded athlete.

To learn more about the NECC Knights, contact Sue MacAvoy, smacavoy@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3820 or visit the website, necc.mass.edu.

Three Northern Essex Community College employees, Tom Goulet of Plaistow, NH, Helen Mansur of Chelmsford, and Jennifer Jackson-Stevens of Boston, recently received the quarterly Employee Recognition Award for the second quarter of 2016.

The Employee Recognition Award recognizes the many and varied contributions of the college’s nearly 700 employees. Employees are selected each quarter based on recommendations from supervisors and co-workers. Recipients receive a $150 certificate to the restaurant or mall of his or her choice.

Goulet has worked at Northern Essex for 15 years. He worked in several positions before moving into the position of storekeeper IV, which he currently holds.

He received several nominations including one from Leah Proulx, a clerk in the NECC controller’s office, who wrote, “Tom consistently provides outstanding customer service. He is responsive to the demands of his position… He saves the college money by finding items that are not in use and supplying them for use when needed… Tom’s upbeat personality, friendly manner, and positive attitude, as well as his hard work and dedication are assets for the entire NECC community.”

The nomination was supported by Jane Bailey, staff assistant in academic and students affairs, Julie Carey, an assistant in foundational studies, liberal arts & sciences division, and Linda Fagan, administrative assistant in academic and student affairs, who praised him for his high work standards, consistently high on-the-job performance, good problem solving techniques, a service-oriented approach to the job, and a friendly, cooperative courteous manner.

They wrote, “Tom’s steadfast reliability has been unwavering; he has always displayed a willingness to go above and beyond…Tom anticipates what the needs are and very often will deliver items before the request is even made…Tom seemingly runs the supply area with ease and always provides prompt service, a smile and quick wit. No matter how busy he is, he understands when we have last minute requests and never makes us feel that our request, no matter how small, is unimportant…Tom is skilled at problem solving and is often consulted prior to making decisions regarding moving of office furniture, storage, etc…”

Martha Leavitt, director, campus operations & procurement of the Lawrence Campus, also supported the nomination writing, “Tom is well-known around NECC for his courteous approach and the exceptional customer service he provides daily in his job as shipper/receiver on the Haverhill campus.”

Mike Hearn, director of library services, nominated Mansur, technical services librarian, noting, “Helen Mansur epitomizes what a Northern Essex Community College employee should be… Her primary concern always remains what is in the best interest of the students…Over the past year she has assumed a very active role in the processing of archival materials received by the library as a result of the Spurk renovation process. Helen has dedicated a significant part of her work time towards helping to organize and digitize parts of the large collection. She has worked cooperatively with our NOBLE consortium and the Boston Public Library to convert as many of the college’s yearbooks and catalogs into digital format …Moreover, Helen worked very closely and professionally with the Opportunity Works interns during the process of moving 40,000 books last summer, helping to make that project a huge.”

Mansur, who has worked at Northern Essex for 25 years, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Mary Farrell, dean health professions division, nominated Jennifer Jackson-Stevens, program coordinator of the NECC Respiratory Care program, who has taught at NECC for three years, lauding her for growing the program. She wrote, “Jennifer Jackson Stevens joined Northern Essex Community College in the Respiratory Care program in 2006. Under Ms. Jackson Steven’s leadership as the Program Coordinator, the Respiratory Care program has grown in stature among the education and healthcare communities.”

She continued, “Professor Jackson Stevens is an exemplary faculty member and mentor to the students in the program. She holds the program and students to the high academic and behavioral standards of the profession…Since (her) employment at the college, the clinical response to our students has been commended. Boston hospitals, which had formerly been closed to associate degree students have accepted our students and hired our graduates… (she) is the leading influence in the Respiratory Care club that participates in many community service activities throughout the year.”

Jackson-Stevens earned an Associate in Science in Respiratory Care from Massasoit Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Eastern Nazarene College. She is currently enrolled in a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration at Eastern Nazarene College.