{"id":22877,"date":"2024-07-08T16:55:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T20:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2024\/07\/08\/graduate-plans-to-help-teens-map-out-their-futures\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:03:07","slug":"graduate-plans-to-help-teens-map-out-their-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/08\/graduate-plans-to-help-teens-map-out-their-futures\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Plans to Help Teens Map Out Their Futures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like many people, Josh Buffum, 23, of Haverhill, was on a different life trajectory before the pandemic. Although he studied plumbing at Whittier Tech, he found that working in that field wasn\u2019t his true passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce COVID hit, I realized that plumbing just wasn\u2019t for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So, at age 20, he decided to return to college and follow his longtime dream of being a teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to actually pursue what I wanted to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Joshua Buffum and his mother, Cynthia, following Commencement<\/p><\/div>\n

Buffum graduated with a degree in Educational Studies<\/a> this spring and says he found incredible academic success along the way, regularly making the Dean\u2019s List and earning a 3.52 GPA while working full-time at the Haverhill YMCA. This fall, he\u2019ll transfer to Salem State University to continue his studies in education.<\/p>\n

Buffum still remembers his very first class\u2014English Comp I\u2014on his very first day at NECC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt weird to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was nerve-racking to go do my first class, being back in school after taking almost three years off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, he struggled a bit that first semester. He had not only been away from the classroom for several years, but was trying to juggle two jobs along with his full-time studies.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he gave up one of his jobs and found additional support through NECC\u2019s\u00a0Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence Program (PACE)<\/a>, a TRiO Student Support Services program that assists first-generation, low-income, or disabled students to graduate and transfer to four-year colleges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey helped me out a lot in the long run,\u201d he said of the PACE program.<\/p>\n

Buffum not only found his groove in school, but said NECC helped hone his focus on a career in education.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helped me really understand a lot of what it is to be a teacher,\u201d he said of NECC. \u201cI think you really have to have the heart and soul of being one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points especially to one of his own teachers, Donna Tanner, coordinator of the NECC\u2019s Educational Studies Program, as well as his work at the YMCA with kids of all ages, from \u201clittle ones\u201d to the teens he\u2019s mentored.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s applying all of those skills toward his goal of being a teacher\u2014preferably 11th grade history so he can help students during their crucial junior year as they\u2019re mapping out their own futures\u2014and eventually moving into guidance.<\/p>\n

As he reflects on his time at NECC, Buffum said he\u2019ll \u201cmiss the connections with the teachers I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps one day, his own students will say the same thing about him.<\/p>\n

Written by Alexandra Pecci ’02<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like many people, Josh Buffum, 23, of Haverhill, was on a different life trajectory before the pandemic. 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