The Northern Essex Community College eSports Rocket League team has captured the NJCAA Championship for the spring 2020 season with a 4-0 sweep over Snow College of Utah in the best of seven play. Match scores were 3-0, 2-1(OT), 6-4 and 4-1.

Christian Bova (Unky) of Lawrence got the Knights on the board first just over a minute into the first match when he put a high through ball straight into the back of the goal. Erik D’Attilio(Emanc6) of Boxford, gave NECC a two-goal cushion when he tucked a shot into the lower right corner past a streaking defender at the midway point of the period and added a second goal with thirty-five seconds remaining in the period for the 3-0 result.

The second match was more of a defensive battle, after falling behind in the first minute, the Knights would tie the match-up at one apiece on goal from Emonkc6 before heading to a sudden death overtime period to determine the match winner. Just nine seconds into the extra session Bova would score on a rebound shot from Edwin Guzman (Kizek) of Lawrence.

In the third match, NECC would twice rally back from one goal deficits for before going ahead 3-2 and securing the match when Guzman scored on a quick touch on the immediate restart after Bova tied the match at two with his second goal of the period. D’Attillio would add two and Bova one goal including the match winner to account for the 6-4 final in the third match.

In the final match to conclude the sweep, Guzman put the Knights up 1-0 just over a minute before Snow would not the match at one. It wasn’t long before D’Attilio would rattle off three more goals before the final horn to result in the 4-1 match final give the Knights their first esports Championships.

A very proud Knights head coach David Arivella had this to say on the team’s championship, “The practice and dedication our players put into this season was incredible, especially during these stressful times. Seeing our Rocket League team follow through and come out with our first NJCAAE championship victory was amazing and I truly respect and commend their accomplishment.”

Northern Essex launched its Esports team in the fall of 2019 and opened an NECC Esports Lab in Room 103 in the B Building. The lab includes 10 gaming computers and a projector and has become a gathering center for teammates, who practice their craft, work on their homework, and socialize. The coach is David Arivella, a Northern Essex computer science alum who works as an academic technology assistant in the college’s library.

Esports is a rapidly growing varsity sport on college campuses. In the summer of 2016, just seven colleges and universities had varsity Esports programs. Today there are more than 170 programs and it continues to grow. Northeastern recently announced that it is starting a varsity Esports program, the first Division 1 program in New England.

For more information, contact Dan Blair, NECC Athletic Director, at dblair@necc.mass.edu

Northern Essex Community College competes as a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and sponsors 12 varsity intercollegiate sports including baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s soccer, Esports and men’s and women’s track and field. For more information on Northern Essex Community College Athletics please visit the official website of Northern Essex Athletics.

Senator Ed Markey will host a livestream discussion Wednesday, April 29 on how COVID-19 is affecting Northern Essex Community College campuses and how the student body is uniquely impacted by the pandemic. Northern Essex Community College has campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, gateway cities that have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

WHO: Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.)

President Lane Glenn, Northern Essex Community College

WHAT: Livestream discussion on how community colleges and their students are uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis

WHEN: Wednesday, April 29, 6:30 PM

WHERE: https://www.facebook.com/EdMarkeyforMA/

In his first semester at Northern Essex, business transfer major Jeurys Santiago attended a “Lunch and Learn” event, part of a series put on by the Center for Business and Accounting.

It changed everything for the 2017 Lawrence High School graduate.

He was inspired by fellow student Daniel Keating’s presentation. Keating sparked a flame in Santiago when he presented the idea that two major companies: Uber and Airbnb, had become extremely successful without owning their own vehicles or properties. Santiago, who considers himself an entrepreneur, thought about how he could replicate that business model to suit him and his goals. That’s how the idea for Minds With Purpose (MWP), Santiago’s self-made networking platform, came to be.

“What I like doing is helping people and connecting people with others who can help them achieve their goals,” said Santiago. He decided to create a networking platform where he could do that and also create a profitable business at the same time. The profits aren’t the bottom line for Santiago. In MWP’s first year, his plan is to focus on visibility and getting the word out.

“I don’t chase money, I chase genuine connections, money isn’t everything,” said Santiago.

MWP launched with an introduction video posted to Instagram on an account with less than 500 followers; the video was viewed over 2,000 times and shared 100 times in followers’ stories, said Santiago.

“I live in Lawrence and that’s a city that has a lot of violence and drug use, so when we put that video out we made a powerful statement, ‘we’re going to be the change we want to see,’” said Santiago.

The first MWP event, which premiered in December 2019, was a “giveback challenge,” reminiscent of the viral “ice bucket challenge” which promoted awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. MWP’s “giveback challenge” encouraged followers to perform a good deed and repost it, tagging others to encourage them to do another good deed, and so on. It’s an ongoing challenge so Santiago’s hope is that people continue to share the message of giving back. MWP’s next event, “A Merry Christmas Giveaway,” held at the end of December 2019, supplied 60-70 people in need with all types of winter clothing.

“I started MWP to show people that the support you need is right in front of you, in your own community,” said Santiago. Santiago’s community is Lawrence and he noticed how many people around him were musicians, so he created “Music Mondays,” hosted by MWP, with the intent of giving local artists exposure in a sober setting to brighten up the first day of the week. The first event went very well, according to Santiago, and they were able to give the winner a substantial prize. Santiago’s goal is to have “Music Mondays” be a more regular event, and to expand it to other music scenes in nearby cities, they’re currently working on one for Haverhill. Eventually they plan to incorporate fashion shows and work with local, upcoming brands, models and designers, according to Santiago.

“Being here at NECC helped me,” said Santiago. He said he’s always had a business/entrepreneur mindset but that NECC provided him with resources he couldn’t get elsewhere and helped him learn how to network and use LinkedIn properly. “Sheila Muller helped me with a lot of connections. When I needed a venue, she connected me with someone she knew who operated a loft space in Lawrence,” said Santiago.

Santiago isn’t a new entrepreneur though, in his past he’s sold bracelets and hats out of his dad’s barber shop in New York City, and he sold Yu-Gi-Oh cards as a kid. Santiago runs MWP while also juggling five classes, but he attributes NECC with teaching him things like different marketing techniques. Economics class taught him about profits, and Intro to Business with Chuck Phair, explained entrepreneurship, solopreneurship, corporations, and nonprofits. Santiago says he’ll use the skills learned in Intro to Public Speaking in his business from now on.

Santiago’s ability to connect with people is what helps him be successful, he says. “There’s no losing in helping people in your community and I know that I can make a change in the cities around me.”

Eventually Santiago would like to create an app for MWP, and even further down the line, a paid membership model with one flat rate to attend all events.

MWP has been hit hard by the spread of Coronavirus and the ongoing closures of event spaces and social distancing since MWP is all about bringing people together said Santiago. Along with changing his business model, Santiago now has the added challenge of completing his degree online. Still, he’s keeping MWP alive with a new podcast called “Talks With Purpose” which will continue to give local artists and businesses exposure.

For additional information contact mindswithpurposes@gmail.com