Klinbert Garcia, Business Transfer

Klinbert Garcia expects to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from UMass Boston and very little debt, thanks to his decision to start at Northern Essex Community College.

A 2014 graduate of Methuen High School, Klinbert first explored Northern Essex’s courses in web design, and then communications. After watching his friend successfully launch a business, he got the entrepreneurial bug and enrolled in NECC’s Business Program.

Klinbert earned his Associate Degree in Business Transfer with high honors from Northern Essex in May and in the fall he will transfer to UMass Boston, having been awarded the Foster Furcolo Scholarship, a full-ride scholarship named after the former governor of Massachusetts. At UMass Boston, he will major in business with a concentration in entrepreneurship.

By beginning at Northern Essex, Klinbert says he had the opportunity to explore his options without incurring large college debt.

“I took courses in communications, web design, and business, all the subjects that interested me, and what I learned in class helped shape my future plans,” he says. Klinbert also developed his leadership skills as a member of the Student Senate and as the student-elected trustee, and he gained valuable work experience through internships with the Lawrence Family Resource Center and the college’s Study Abroad Program.

While Klinbert is looking forward to life in the city in the fall, he feels strongly that starting at Northern Essex was the best decision for him. “I’ll be able to start my own business after getting my bachelor’s degree with the money I saved by starting at Northern Essex.”

To learn more about enrolling at Northern Essex, visit the website or contact Enrollment Services at admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.

For the past ten months, Coco Rays has been dishing up delicious tacos, burritos, and quesadillas—at very affordable prices— for Northern Essex Community College students, faculty, and staff, and the community out of the Revolving Test Kitchen (RTK) located at 420 Common St.

Owner Ray Gonzalez is now looking for permanent space for a full-scale restaurant in Lawrence, and the search is on for a new food entrepreneur to replace Coco Ray’s, beginning as early as December of this year.  Coco Rays plans to remain open at NECC, Monday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 9 pm, and Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm, until the search is completed.

A partnership between, Northern Essex Community College, Lupoli Companies, the Lawrence Partnership, and the city of Lawrence, the Revolving Test Kitchen was created to provide an opportunity for budding restaurant entrepreneurs to build their business with the expectation that they will eventually open in Lawrence, contributing to the city’s economic development.

In less than one year, and with help from the RTK partners, Ray Gonzalez has turned Coco Rays, a former restaurant food truck business, into a brick and mortar destination for many in Lawrence.  He received help with branding, marketing, business development, food production planning, finance, accounting, and developing a solid business plan.

“The college is so proud to be part of this,” said Lane Glenn, NECC President.  “Having Coco Rays on campus satisfied a need for delicious, affordable campus food, and, at the same time, we’re helping a really deserving entrepreneur to get his start.”

Food entrepreneurs interested in learning more about this opportunity, can visit the website.

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College offers over 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, 8,500 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,600 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website.

NECC President Lane Glenn accepts a $10,000 donation from Stephanie Lee of Verizon for the continued support of the Seagull Banding Project coordinated by NECC Professor Sarah Courchesne.

Sea gulls squawked as Northern Essex Community College Natural Science Professor Sarah Courchesne and a half dozen of her students chased them across Appledore Island in Maine as part of a sea gull banding project, funded in part, by the Verizon Foundation.

Over the last two summers, about two dozen Northern Essex students under the tutelage of Courchesne, coordinator of the project, have trapped and banded Great Black-Backed and Herring gulls and collected blood samples at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island. Each year, the Verizon Foundation has donated $10,000 to the field science program that brings NECC students out of the classroom and into nature where they gather data that is then brought back to the classroom so biology and lab science students can perform diet analysis and necropsies of dead gulls.

Last year the funds were used to purchase GPS technology to tag the individual sea birds to track their movements. This year’s grant funds the purchase of additional tags and a base station used to monitor the individual seagulls throughout the year.

“We know that allowing students to experiment, question, and practice science themselves is the best way to stimulate and maintain their interest in science not only as a subject, but as a verb,” said Courchesne, NECC natural sciences professor who oversees the project. “Opportunities for students to participate in and perform their own research are limited at community colleges…on-campus research opportunities are slim…By expanding our campus outward to include work at the Shoals Marine Laboratory we bring our students into a community of world class scientists, and by bringing that work back into the classroom students can analyze the material in our labs and we broaden their understanding of what being a science student means.”

NECC students band seagulls on Appledore Island.

While seven NECC students participated in each of the two annual Appledore trips, a total of 48 students in the fall and spring semesters participate in the microbiological and DNA analysis of the summer samples collected in the field.

“In order to be prepared for jobs of the future, it’s essential for every student to have access to experiential learning, which is why the Verizon Foundation supports programs that engage students in science, technology, engineering and math education,” said Verizon Foundation spokesperson Stephanie Lee. “With about 9 million available STEM jobs – and over 4 million available jobs in science and technology alone – students need access to education and resources that will prepare them for success in tomorrow’s high-tech world.  We are proud to partner with Northern Essex to bring opportunities for students to explore science in its natural habitat.”

Northern Essex offers an Associate of Science in Biology; an Associate of Applied Science in Laboratory Science; and an Associate of Art in Liberal Arts: Physical Science.

Sheri Carter, Business Management: Healthcare Practice

Even before Sheri Carter earned her associate degree from Northern Essex, her education was already working for her. She went from having a job to having a career.

The 46-year-old Dracut resident graduated in May of 2016 with an Associate Degree in Business Management: Healthcare Practice, and as a student secured her “dream” position as a security applications coordinator in Boston for Partners HealthCare’s eCare, the new electronic health care record system implemented at all Partner institutions. She now assists new or existing users in gaining access to the new system.

The road to Sheri’s degree with honors actually began in 1990, shortly after she graduated from Salem High School in New Hampshire. An early marriage and four children pulled her attention from her education as she focused on her family and wearing the many hats of Girl Scout leader, den mother, cheerleading coach, and school volunteer.

Sheri enrolled at NECC a few times, but children’s schedules and three part-time jobs took precedence. In 2009, she enrolled again taking two and three classes each semester, worked as a medical secretary. Her experience plus her NECC education made her the perfect candidate for her job at Partners, she said.

“In my experience, Northern Essex opened doors for me and helped me find a career I love.”

After her return to NECC, Sheri earned a 4.0 GPA every semester and embraced her role as a college student. She was a member of Alpha Beta Gamma Omicron, the international business honor society; the iHealth Advisory Board; and the NECC Student Leadership Development Program.

“In my experience, Northern Essex opened doors for me and helped me find a career I love,” she said.

One of the doors it opened was to Southern New Hampshire University, where she is enrolled in the business management: health care information program.

For my information on the Business Management: Healthcare Practice Program at Northern Essex, contact Enrollment Services, admission@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.