Yexis Hechavarria of Lawrence aspires to be a doctor, and the Associate Degree in Biology that she earned from Northern Essex in 2019 is the first step in reaching that goal.

Hechavarria grew up in Cuba, where her parents were both doctors, and she immigrated with her family to the United States in 2015.  Two years later, after graduating from Lawrence High School, she enrolled at Northern Essex.

Hechavarria says her parents’ careers have influenced her interest in becoming a doctor but what has been most compelling is her fascination with what she calls “the miracle of life.”

“Our bodies are so complex that it’s a wonder we exist. We are made of iron and oxygen, and other chemicals that are part of the soil and nonliving things, and yet we breathe and we walk and we talk and we feel. That is the most fascinating thing to me.”

What Hechavarria appreciates most about her experience at Northern Essex is the personal attention.  “Sarah (Professor Courchesne) is always looking for opportunities for me…internships, scholarships.”

She joined Courchesne as a research assistant on a seabird ecology study in the Gulf of Maine the summer after she started at Northern Essex and, the next summer, she was chosen for a highly selected Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Northeastern University, where she was part of a lab team focused on studying aorta pathology in mice.

The summer after she graduated from Northern Essex she was accepted into the Station1 Frontiers Fellowship program, a ten-week residential summer science and technology program that includes research, courses, and an internship.  Hechavarria’s internship was with Bambu Vault of Lowell where she worked in research and development in the biomedical field.

Hechavarria will transfer her Northern Essex associate degree to Merrimack College where she plans to major in biochemistry.  After that, she has her sights set on medical school.

With all she has accomplished in five short years in this country, we have no doubt Hechavarria will successfully reach her goal.

Congresswoman Lori Trahan (right in photo) visits a sim-lab in the El Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center. To her right are left to right: NECC Trustee Anita Worden, NECC President Lane Glenn, and NECC Trustee Chair Jeff Linehan.

On Monday, April 22, the college’s new representative in Congress, Lori Trahan, visited Northern Essex Community College’s Lawrence Campus.

In an opening meeting with college leadership and trustees, NECC President Lane Glenn shared the success of the college’s PACE Program, a federally funded student support program, and plans for a regional public safety center in the city.

This was Congresswoman Trahan’s first visit to campus since taking office in January, and she took the opportunity to pledge her support for community colleges.

Currently a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, which oversees education and workforce programs, Trahan said “If we’re going to set up everyone for financial success we need to support our community colleges.  What you’ve accomplished is impressive…Let me know what I can do to help.”

In his remarks, NECC President Lane Glenn focused on the success of the PACE program, a federally funded program that serves 250 first-generation, low income and /or disabled students each year, helping them to graduate and transfer to four-year colleges.

Northern Essex has had funding for the PACE Program for almost 40 years, and students in the program benefit from scholarships; workshops on topics such as financial literacy, essay writing, and transfer; transfer advising; and mentoring.

Last year, Northern Essex spent $1561 on each PACE student, thanks to the federal grant funding, according to Glenn.  PACE’s 80 percent student success rate proves that providing additional resources has an impact.   “We know what works,” said Glenn.   “$1561 per student is what it would cost to improve higher education outcomes across the country.”

Glenn also shared plans to build a regional public safety center in Lawrence in partnership with the city and the state.  This center has been in discussion for the past seven years.  It would be located where the current police station is now, providing economic development benefits for the city, an opportunity to grow the college’s criminal justice program, and high quality training for public safety departments statewide.

Following the opening meeting, Trahan toured the El Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center, where most of the college’s health care programs are taught, and met with first-year nursing students to discuss their goals and challenges.

After listening to a rap video on the circulatory system, the congresswoman had a discussion with NECC nursing students.

David Torres of Methuen was the first to share his story.  “I personally chose Northern Essex because I’m from here.  I’m getting a phenomenal education.  We learn in the SIM labs and then go out to different hospitals and get experience.”

Rhiannon Egan, the mother of two children under the age of four, and Jennifer Assenza, who is a single parent of three children, are both nursing students, who said they appreciate being able to participate in the PACE program.   “I’m a first generation college student,” said Egan.  “And I appreciate the college visits, the advising, and workshops on topics such as writing essays.”

Speaking of Northern Essex, Azzenza said “Everything you need is here.”

Trahan told the students that she herself is a first generation college student, who attended UMass Lowell with the help of a volleyball scholarship.

A total of 72 graduated from the most recent NECC/Methuen Police Academy.

A total of 72 men and women graduated Friday, April 12, 2019, from the Northern Essex Community College/Methuen Police Academy in the NECC Sport & Fitness Center on the Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St.

The class was the second largest class since the academy’s inception in 2015. The graduates represented 26 police departments and ranged in age from 22 to 47. Twelve were military veterans, said Methuen Police Sgt. Dan O’Connell, who welcomed the standing room only audience of family, friends, and police officers. Anecdotally he noted that in 26 weeks the student officers ran 100 miles and suffered from various maladies including dehydration, pneumonia, influenza, a dislocated patella, and frostbite.

O’Connell praised Lawrence Detective Dean Murphy and Methuen Police Officer Nicholas Dore for serving “as the backbone of the academy”. He noted that the partnership with Northern Essex and local police departments allows for “cutting edge training”. To date, he said there are 369 graduates of the police academy.

The mission of the police academy, said NECC President Lane Glenn, “is to provide the highest quality training. What we do here is one of the things I am most proud of and it fills me with tremendous pride. You walk out of this academy with a calm and commanding presence. You have an incredibly difficult job that is becoming more challenging over time.”

Methuen Mayor James Jajuga, a former Marine, police officer, legislator, and Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety, said, “What I am most proud of is the time I spent as a police officer.”

Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque congratulates his son  following the pinning ceremony during the graduation ceremony.

He warned them that they will be faced with great challenges, but that there is “no greater reward than when you can help someone. The best job in America is being a police officer. There are times you will be afraid…control that fear. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated. Be wise…be calm, but always stay strong and proud.”

Lawrence mayor Dan Rivera thanked the families of the student officers.

“They didn’t get here by themselves,” he said. “Thank you for your support of these men and women.”

The national anthem was sung by Officer Jeanette DeMasi of the Wakefield Police Department and Natalie Mardoyan of the Waltham Police Department. The opening prayer was lead by Officer Andrew Himmer of the Bentley College Police Department.

DeMasi, class president of Recruit Officer Course (R.O.C.) 03 reminded her classmates that “our blood turned from red to blue

Officers await the start of graduation.

today. Whether you are 20 or 40, expect some trials…but today we are a stronger version of ourselves than when we reported on day one.”

Officer Conor Clark of the Haverhill Police Department, class president of R.O.C. 04. joked that more than once he thought, “They are trying to kill us.” He went on, “What separates us at the beginning brings us together in the end.” He asked his fellow officers to remember as they move through their careers to “remember where you came from”.

Class gifts included a $1,000 donation to fellow officer Lillian Marie Santana of the Lawrence Police Department, who lost all her belongings in an apartment fire during the academy.

 NECC/MPD Police Academy Background

All the graduates completed an intensive 26-week program that covered constitutional law, prevention and intervention, community policing, domestic violence, elder abuse, victims’ rights, and other topics. All training took place on the Haverhill Campus except for firearms training and emergency driving techniques, which were held, at off-campus locations.

Northern Essex manages the academy with guidance from an advisory board that includes police chiefs from Amesbury, Haverhill, Methuen, Lawrence, and North Andover. The NECC/Methuen Police Academy is authorized by the Municipal Police Training Committee.

The academy opened in February 2015 in response to a shortage of academies in the area. At the time, Haverhill Police Chief Alan DeNaro, said that the Merrimack Valley has needed a regional police academy for over 25 years. “By partnering with NECC, we will be able to move quickly and efficiently train our new recruits as they embark on their chosen profession.”

For more information, contact Michael McCarthy, NECC’s vice president of administration and finance at mmccarthy1@necc.mass.edu or John Scippa, academy director at jscippa@necc.mass.edu

Here are lists of the graduates. R.O.C. 03 and R.O.C. 04

The next NECC/Methuen Police Academy will begin May 13, 2019.

Here is a list of the awards given at graduation.

An advanced manufacturing Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machine/Tool Operator training program will be offered Monday, May 20 through August 23, 2019, by Northern Essex Community College and MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center. The next information session will be held on Friday, April 26, at 9 a.m. at 255 Essex St., Lawrence.

The 15-week program includes foundational classes that will be offered over four weeks at NECC’s Haverhill campus, 100 Elliott St. from May 20 to June 14, 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. CNC classes will be held at The Greater Lawrence Technical School in Andover &/or the Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in Haverhill, June 17 to August 23 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday Through Friday.

Advanced manufacturing is a high demand industry with starting salaries of $17 an hour. The demand is expected to grow over the next seven years. There are currently more than 100 machining companies in the Merrimack Valley. This program is free for individuals 17 to 29 who have earned at least a high school diploma or HiSET and are unemployed or underemployed. Others may qualify for Career Center funding.

For additional information, contact Lisa Remington at MassHire at 978-722-7005 or lremington@masshiremvcc.com or Kimberly Jones at 978-556-3067 or at kjones@necc.mass.edu.