{"id":26947,"date":"2020-11-19T15:17:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T20:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2020\/11\/19\/observer\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:53:30","slug":"observer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2020\/11\/19\/observer\/","title":{"rendered":"An Essential Health Care Worker is Now Editor of the College\u2019s Student Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Isae Grullon, the new editor-in-chief of the Observer, NECC’s award-winning student newspaper.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Isae Grullon of Lawrence is an essential health care worker with a chronic illness that puts her at risk every day she goes to work at Mass General Hospital; the single parent of a 15-year-old daughter, who is a sophomore at Lawrence High School; and an honors student studying journalism at Northern Essex Community College.<\/p>\n

And\u2014if that\u2019s not enough\u2014she was recently named editor-in-chief\u00a0of the Observer<\/a>, the college\u2019s award-winning student newspaper, which is being delivered online during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

As editor-in-chief, Grullon will manage a staff of student writers, create an editorial schedule for the paper, and write and edit content.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the type of person who is go-go-go. I\u2019m not the type to stop,\u201d explains Grullon, who has worked in health care administration for 14 years, most recently as a unit coordinator on a gynecology\/oncology and surgical floor at Mass General Hospital.<\/p>\n

Grullon has been taking courses part time at Northern Essex on and off for the past ten years. This spring, she will graduate with an associate degree in Liberal Arts: Journalism and Communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last December, while most everyone else was celebrating the new year, Grullon was lying in a hospital bed contemplating her recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis, the most recent in a long line of autoimmune diseases that she has had to deal with. \u201cIt\u2019s such a weird disease. There are so many components. I\u2019m constantly writing down symptoms,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While Grullon initially toyed with the idea of majoring in one of the college\u2019s 22 health care programs, she found communications to be the right fit for her. It was an idea that got started in 4th grade when her teacher Mrs. Kulig gave her $1 for an essay she wrote on her favorite month, which happened to be May, the start of warm weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe liked my essay enough to give me money for it, which was amazing,\u201d says Grullon.<\/p>\n

Grullon has kept a journal ever since, where she writes about \u201cthings that pop into my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of her favorite tasks throughout her career in health care has been editing other people\u2019s work. \u201cI care more about grammar and punctuation than anyone else I know,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

After she gets her associate degree, Grullon is planning to transition her experience into a job or internship working in communications in a health care setting, possibly at Mass General.\u00a0 She will continue to support her family, while studying for a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

What does she appreciate most about Northern Essex?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amazing professors,\u201d she says, \u201cSo many people willing to lend a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

She admits that online learning, as a result of the pandemic, has been a struggle. While she has taken online courses in the past, she prefers face-to-face. \u201cRight now my bedroom is my school. It\u2019s hard to separate.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits her daughter, Jeidalyn, who she had when she was 18, with inspiring her and keeping her going. Her daughter is a sophomore at Abbott Academy at Lawrence High School and will be heading for college herself in a couple of years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she is proud of me. She tells all her friends that I\u2019m in college,\u201d says Grullon.<\/p>\n

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers\u00a0approximately\u00a060\u00a0associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.\u00a0 Each year,\u00a06,000\u00a0students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and\u00a0another 2,000\u00a0take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.\u00a0 For more information, visit the website at\u00a0www.necc.mass.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 978-556-3700.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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