Children enjoy the outdoor offerings available on the 245 acres of land at Quarrybrook Experiential Education Center in Windham, NH.

Crazy chemistry, natural skin care, nature photography, and comic strip design are just a few of the two dozen course offerings at this summer’s Northern Essex Community College’s STEM College for Kids Program which will again be offered at Quarrybrook Experiential Education Center, 39 Roulston Road, Windham, NH., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year, there will be a focus on exploring and using the resources of the 245 acres of land at Quarrybrook, NECC’s affiliate campus. Here is a complete list of STEM College for Kids 2017 courses.

Weekly classes will run from July 17 through August 11. Each week offers three, fixed daily sessions with different offerings for juniors (grades three to five) and seniors (grades six to eight). Students can choose which weeks and courses they wish to attend. They do not need to enroll for all four weeks or all three daily sessions. They can enroll in one, two, or three of the sessions for the day. Classes are two hours each. Start times are 9 and 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Each course that is offered is $100 which includes the course fee and all materials.

In addition to a wide variety of new offerings STEM College for Kids is piloting an early drop-off and late pick-up program. Students can be dropped off as early as 8 a.m. and picked up as late as 5 p.m. There is an additional charge of $25 for each hour for the week. STEM College for Kids will offer transportation this year as well. Parents can drop their child off at the Riverwalk Campus, 365 Merrimack St., Lawrence. They will be bussed to Quarrybrook. This is also $25 per week.

Registration will be 100% online for courses, early drop off, late pick up, or transportation. at . If a parent/guardian/grandparent cannot register online, they will need to contact Alicia Blain, the administrative assistant at Quarrybrook at ablain@necc.mass.edu  or email College4Kids@necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3332 for assistance.

Katie Leahy, 22, of Methuen and Andrew Milton, 29, of Salisbury, take instruction from NECC Respiratory Care professor Jennifer Jackson-Stevens on how to handle a bronchoscope on a patient simulator.

Northern Essex Community College’s respiratory care program just became the first in the state to possess a bronchoscope that will help students prepare for their role in setting up and assisting doctors performing bronchoscopies.

A bronchoscopy is the visual examination of the breathing passages. The procedure allows doctors, using a bronchoscope, to pass into the windpipe and view and collect mucus or tissue from the lungs. Respiratory therapists are trained to prepare the equipment and assist the doctors.

The 10-year-old fiber-optic equipment was donated by Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Originally $30,000 it is valued at $15,000.

“This is a perfect example of why it’s so important to develop relationships with staff at our clinical sites,” says Jennifer Jackson-Stevens, coordinator of the NECC respiratory care program. “We are grateful for the generous gift.”

Jackson-Stevens says having the bronchoscope gives the students the chance to handle the equipment, learn how to prepare it for use, practice assisting the doctor, and clean the equipment after the procedure.

In the course of an eight-hour hospital shift it’s not unusual, said Jackson-Stevens, for a respiratory therapist to assist in one to three bronchoscopies. So experience handling the equipment is essential and invaluable.

“It gives our students the hands-on experience in a safe, learning environment using patient simulators,” Jackson-Stevens said. “When the students go to clinical sites, they are watching…observing. Handling the bronchoscope gives them additional confidence with hands-on training.”

While the bronchoscope may be 10-years-old, she said, “It’s not an antiquated piece of equipment. This bronchoscope is similar to what most hospitals use.”

Students who have experience handling the bronchoscope are naturally more marketable, Jackson-Stevens said.

Other relationships with NECC’s clinical affiliates have resulted in donations of a plethysmograph or “body box” donated by Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley in Haverhill, an arterial blood gas analyzer from Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, and neonatal airway equipment from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“We’ve made strong relationships within the respiratory care community,” she said.

Jackson-Stevens says Northern Essex has knit together a strong respiratory care advisory committee comprised of respiratory care professionals, first and second year NECC students, and recent NECC grads. Because of all their input, she said tweaks are routinely made to the program to make it is relevant as possible.

Northern Essex offers an Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Care. Respiratory therapists work closely with physicians and nurses to diagnose lung and breathing disorders, and evaluate and treat patients to help them recover lung function. The program prepares you to work at the therapist level.

After the presentation, Dr. Novello shared advice with NECC Medical Assisting student Ashley Cordero and her 8-year old daughter Jaida Marie Celestin.

Dr. Antonia Novello, the first woman and the first Latino to be named surgeon general of the United States, visited Northern Essex Community College’s Lawrence Campus on Wednesday, March 22 to share how she rose from humble beginnings in a small village in Puerto Rico to be the leading doctor in the country.

She encouraged the audience of Lawrence High School and Northern Essex students, telling them “if I was sick as a child and can be surgeon general, you can do it, too.”

Dr. Novello, who was named surgeon general by President George Bush in 1990, had medical issues as a child but didn’t have access to the surgery needed to correct those issues until she was 18 years old.  The daughter of the local school principal, she was always expected to work hard and her illness was no excuse.  She attended the University of Puerto Rico when she was just 15 years old, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree. Later, she completed medical training in nephrology, the study of the kidneys, at the University of Michigan.

Strutting down the aisle with a microphone and calling herself “the Oprah of the Latino community,” Dr. Novello engaged the audience with humor and straightforward advice.

She stressed the importance of education, the opportunities provided by internships and fellowships, and the value of always having “a friend who believes in you.”

She advised the primarily Latino audience “to walk with people who look different from you so you have to get out of your comfort zone” but to always stay connected with your own group because “they understand your values.”

Dr. Novello’s presentation was sponsored by Salem State University, the Boston Chapter of the Association for Latino Professors for America (ALPFA) and Northern Essex.

NECC President Lane Glenn introduced Dr. Novello and welcomed everyone to the El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center, 414 Common St., which is where most of NECC’s health care programs are taught.

“In this building, we prepare students from the city of Lawrence and from communities all over the Merrimack Valley for high demand careers in the health care field,” he said.

In addition to serving as surgeon general, Dr. Novello was the New York State Health Commissioner from 1999 to 2006.

Throughout her career and especially during her time as surgeon general, Dr. Novello has focused on improving medical issues that dramatically impact the public health such as smoking, AIDS, diet and nutrition, environmental health hazards, and immunization and disease prevention.

“Dr. Novello is a role model for women and Latinos and a leader in addressing major health issues across the country.  It is an honor and a privilege to have her speak at Northern Essex,” said President Glenn.

Students enroll at Northern Essex to receive an education. Ashley Moore, director of career and experiential education, makes sure they find a career.

Whether it’s preparing a resume, honing interview skills, deciding on a major, mapping out short and long term career goals, or looking for an internship, Moore is prepared to help.

She is inspired, she says, by the diversity of the students she meets at different stages of their career journey. Some students are just starting out, others have work experience and are returning to school, and still others are complete career changers.

One of the many reasons Moore excels at her job is that she walked the same path of uncertainty as some of the Northern Essex students with whom she works. A corporate finance and accounting major as an undergrad, she went right to work in the tax accounting field. She went on to earn a master’s in taxation and worked as a tax accountant.

“I didn’t really take the time to explore my career options and to define short and long term career goals. Furthermore, I did not take advantage of internship opportunities until my junior and senior years,” she says.

These are crucial steps she helps Northern Essex students navigate so they are on track, on point, and on time.

An internship is one of the tools NECC students in the business, communication/journalism, criminal justice, computer information science, and art programs, can use to experience a career field. Since its inception two years ago, Moore has placed more than 125 students in semester long internships with employers ranging from Coca Cola to radio station KISS 108.

“I really enjoy the dynamic nature of the field of career development, career education, and experiential learning,” she says. “Today’s job market is rapidly changing, with new jobs being created that did not exist even a year ago. Gone are the days of traditional career services. It’s become increasingly important for us to tune in to the changes that are happening in the workplace and to respond to them quickly in order to adequately prepare students to achieve their life goals.”

With that in mind, Moore says, Northern Essex takes a more holistic approach to career development and education by encouraging career exploration earlier in their college career. In addition to providing experiential learning like internships for NECC students they are offered tools and strategies to be successful after they graduate.

By tools and strategies she means career readiness workshops on topics that include resume writing, interviewing skills, networking for career success, professionalism in the workplace, and job searching strategies. In addition she helps with career assessments and meets one-on-one with students to discuss career exploration.

“I am most excited about being able to help students on a daily basis. I look back on my own career and there were (and still are) many people who helped me along the way,” she said. “If I can help to provide the tools, resources, and opportunities that make a difference in the lives of our students that to me is fulfilling.”

For additional information on career services or internships contact Ashley Moore at amoore@necc.mass.edu

Dr. Carlos Cuevas will speak on dating violence at NECC’s Lawrence campus on Wednesday, April 12, at noon.

Dr. Carlos Cuevas, an expert on violence, victimization, and trauma, whose recent work has focused on sexual assault and dating violence among Latinos, will present a talk titled “Understanding Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Issues of Diversity Within Latino/a Victims of Violence” on Wednesday, April 12, on Northern Essex Community College’s Lawrence campus from noon to 1 p.m. as part of its STEM Speakers Series.

This lecture is free and open to the public. It will be held in room 301 in the Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center, 414 Common St., Lawrence.

NECC’s STEM Speaker’s Series, designed to introduce a wide range of STEM topics to the general public, is funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education’s STEM Starter Academy, which is an initiative of the 15 Massachusetts community colleges to inform, engage, recruit, retain, and graduate more students in science, technology, engineering, and math, through STEM Pathway programs leading to job placement or transfer to university STEM programs.

Cuevas is an associate professor from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University and co-director of the Violence and Justice Research Lab who also has a private practice in Cambridge, specializing in working with victims of violence and trauma.  His recently co-edited a book titled “The Wiley Handbook on the Psychology of Violence,” which features a collection of original readings, from an international cast of experts that explore all major issues relating to the psychology of violence and aggressive behaviors.

With more than 300,000 STEM jobs expected in Massachusetts by 2018, Northern Essex is preparing tomorrow’s STEM workers with more than 40 STEM programs including biology, computer aided drafting, computer & information sciences, electronic equipment technology, engineering, health, lab science, medical laboratory technology, and physical sciences.

For additional information on Cuevas visit his website.

For additional information on the event, contact Carolyn Knoepfler, PhD, assistant dean of Science, Technology, Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing at cknoepfler@necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3541.