After 15 years working in retail, most recently as a store manager, Amesbury resident Jennifer Osgood was ready for a change.

While Osgood knew she wanted a career that was more purposeful, the now 35-year-old, wasn’t sure what she wanted. After a conversation with her best friend, who is an ICU nurse, and shadowing at a local hospital, she found what she was looking for in the respiratory therapy department.

“After shadowing a respiratory therapist and attending the information session at NECC, I fell in love with it,” Osgood said. “It was the patient interaction…I had an aha moment. This is nothing I ever thought I would do. If you had told me years ago I would be studying to be a respiratory therapist in my 30s, I would have said you were crazy.”

A year into the two-year program, Osgood was already working 20 hours a week at Lowell General Hospital under her student license, caring for many patients with COVID-19.

Even after a stressful semester dealing with patients felled by the virus, Jennifer said she “absolutely loves” her new career.

After receiving her associate degree in May of 2020, she was hired as a full-time respiratory therapist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.

She said health care facilities are seeing and treating COVID-19 at all different “levels of disease”.

The pandemic does not have Osgood rethinking her career choice. If anything, she said, it furthers her commitment to respiratory care.

“This is a totally new ballgame for everyone,” she said. “It makes me anxious to get into it so I can really help out.”

For additional information on the respiratory care program visit the NECC program page on our website.

I have spent much of my professional life explaining to family and friends what we do in Public Health– then came Covid 19.

People generally know what a nurse does, or a lawyer, a banker or a teacher. Until a month ago it was not so true for Public Health workers. In the past, I used examples to explain Public Health such as; it is how you get clean water, policy for seat belt laws, or access to nutritious food for all.

What is Public Health?

Public Health is community health and an umbrella term for three actions, preventing disease, promoting health, protecting communities. Now Covid 19 has hit us and no marketing campaign could have been more effective, television, radio, social media, brochures, flyers , politicians, superstars, movie stars, and even the President are talking about Public Health. Now everybody knows what these two words mean -it has become a household name overnight.

Just one month ago students knew that obesity was an epidemic and they were learning terms like endemic and pandemic. I am pretty certain that no student will ever again ask me to explain pandemic –it has become infamous! People say that fame and recognition will take you to places you might not otherwise enter. Covid 19 has brought new attention and recognition to Public Health. .

Why We Need Public Health

Public Health offers truth. How do experts give advice, make judgements or set policy? Public Health follows a pattern every time a decision is made. Public Health is the model of the three core functions: Assessment, Policy Development and Assurance. These are the backbone.
Assessment insists on data, the how, the why, the what. Epidemiologists study what exactly is going on with that curve and the direction it is taking. Policies are developed based on the numbers, the honest data that tells the story – instructing us and guiding us towards the next move. The data allows the professionals, the politicians and even the President to access the facts as they must make informed decisions. Finally comes Assurance, this is where the superheroes enter the story. The doctors and nurses and health care workers, community health workers, health educators countless organizations all working to assure that the crowd knows what to do, how to do it and where to get help and support. These are the people of Public Health who work tirelessly to ensure that the community is the healthiest it can possibly be no matter the zip code.

And so, this is how Public Health is handling the Corona virus – defining it by remaining steadfast, trustworthy, and truthful. Public Health cares about the global community. Public Health does not honor boundaries; there are no exceptions, no first class tickets, premium club memberships or front row seats. Public Health considers the whole community under its umbrella –and works to protect all from the storm.

In a month or less our whole world has changed and so has a part of my job. I no longer have to define what Public Health is –that has become common knowledge. Public Health has defined itself; I only have to underline how it is honest and trustworthy and is working tirelessly to protect everyone. Stay well, stay safe, stay informed and wash your hands!

Jacqueline Dick, M.S., is the NECC Program Coordinator and Professor of the Public Health Associates Degree and Community Health Worker certificate programs. She can be reached at jdick@necc.mass.edu

Denis Boucher, program manager for the NECC Lupoli Family Hospitality and Culinary Arts Institute , wears a lot of hats.  He teaches four classes in the college’s Hospitality Management Associate Degree Program, is overseeing the construction and opening of the Institute in downtown Haverhill.; and is recruiting students for the new 29-credit Culinary Certificate, which starts this fall.

In his educational report, Boucher told trustees the Culinary Certificate is geared toward people who want to prepare quickly—in under a year—for careers in restaurants, hotels, and more.   Students will develop skills in applied culinary techniques, advanced baking, classic world cuisine, and more.

The certificate can be completed as a full or part-time student. Each student graduates with experience, thanks to the required internship.

Boucher said the college is accepting applications for the Culinary Certificate now and also the Associate Degree in Hospitality which the college has been offering.   A series of open houses at the new institute are planned, April through August.  Boucher encouraged those interested to come in and see the spectacular views of the Merrimack River and the state of the art culinary lab, baking lab, classrooms, and conference rooms.

Boucher is marketing the program enthusiastically, with plans to meet with high school groups and sponsor a booth at the Haverhill farmer’s market.  Building relationships with local farmers is important to Boucher, who champions the local food movement and food sustainability.

The NECC Lupoli Family Hospitality and Culinary Arts Institute will be located on the second and third floors of The Heights of Haverhill, a 10-story, mixed-use building under construction at 160 Merrimack St. in Haverhill on the banks of the Merrimack River.  “We hope to take possession of the space in April and be up and functioning by May,” said Boucher.

In addition to the Culinary Certificate and the Hospitality Management Associate Degree, both credit programs, the institute will offer noncredit cooking classes in many culinary topics, including food and wine pairing, Chinese cuisine, appetizers, and much more.

It will also house the MassHire Valley Works Career Center, which Northern Essex manages.  The career center is currently located on Northern Essex’s Haverhill Campus.

Trustees Vote to Arm Campus Officers

Twelve of the 15 community colleges in Massachusetts have armed police officers on campus, and Northern Essex will soon become the 13th.

Trustees voted unanimously on a motion “to approve arming the police officers that work for the Northern Essex Community College Public Safety Department.”

Northern Essex recently completed a comprehensive public safety assessment which recommended that the college implement its first police department, including armed officers.

Officers hired for the Northern Essex Police Department will go through personal background checks and screenings as well as initial and annual firearms training consistent with the training policies adopted by the Massachusetts State Police and Municipal Training Committee.

The goal is to “provide an additional level of security and protection to our campus community,” read the trustee motion.

Report of Administration

Coronavirus

President Lane Glenn reported that the college is doing its own planning relative to the coronavirus.

The college has distributed educational information to faculty, staff, and students and faculty are prepared to teach classes online using Blackboard, the college’s online system, in case of a college shutdown.

Based on recommendations from Governor Charlie Baker, the college has also cancelled a study abroad trip to Italy which was planned for this spring.

NECC 2020 Strategic Plan

The college’s Career Services, most recently under academic affairs, will now report to Allison Dolan Wilson, vice president of institutional advancement.  “This is reflective of what’s been happening around the country,” said Glenn.   “There’s advantages to having our career center, the MassHire Career Center, alumni relations, corporate and community relations, and fundraising under the same umbrella.”

With the Academic Centers now up and running and the college’s Integrated Student Experience firmly in place, the college is making changes in the advising process, moving from a “generalized” to a “specialized” approach.

Up until now, most students received their advising in the advising center, but that will soon change.   Students with declared majors will receive advising in the academic center covering their major and students who haven’t decided on a major will visit the Student Success Hub where they will receive advising as well as services to help them choose academic and career goals.

Creating a Community Cultural Center in Lawrence

A Catholic Church in Lawrence, that has been empty for more than two decades, may become a community cultural center.

Northern Essex and the city of Lawrence are working with The Paramount Development Group to explore the feasibility of restoring and revitalizing the historic St. Anne’s Church and St. Anne’s Parish Hall located on Haverhill Street in Lawrence, according to President Glenn.

The partnership recently engaged Don Hirsch Design Studio, LLC, a theater consulting firm, to create a comprehensive plan for the restoration and sustainable operation of the center.   Four community forums were held recently to get public input and there is a 12-member steering committee that has been formed.

St. Anne’s is located two blocks away from the college’s Dimitry Building.   “Paramount is looking to give the property to the city,” said Glenn.  “There are a few different ways the college could be involved, including the potential to operate the center.”

Glenn Advocates for SUCCESS Fund

The Massachusetts Community Colleges are requesting $14 million from legislators in the FY2021 budget to create a new SUCCESS Fund (Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services) for community college students.   The fund would support wraparound supports and services that will improve outcomes for the most vulnerable populations, including low income students and students of color.

The dollar request is based, in part, on the success of Northern Essex’s PACE (Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence) Program.   A Student Support Services program funded by a TRIO grant from the US Department of Education, the PACE Program provides 250 low income and first-generation NECC students with support services such as peer mentors, academic skills workshops, field trips to 4-year schools, and targeted academic, career, transfer, and scholarship advising.

These extra services cost $1561 per student and they’ve proved to be very successful in helping students persist in graduating and transferring to a four-year college.   The success rates for PACE students are 20 to 30% higher than the overall student population.

New Hires

Trustees voted unanimously to approve three new hires: Taryn Capozzi, academic counselor, Center for Adult Education; Omar Nunez, career placement counselor, MassHire Career Center; and Denise Torrey, technical assistant III, Testing Center.